Upgrading 2012...?

[TheFauxFox]

So I have a late 2013 Mac mini 2.3ghz (quad i7) and 10gb of ram (added an 8gb stick to the stock 2gb) and I'm looking to perform some upgrades... I've got a few questions about various upgrades

1) I want to add a SSD to boot from and store important files on, essentially making a fusion drive, do I REALLY need the frame for the second hard drive or could I just use some adhesive to hold the SSD onto the main hard drive?

2) Is there any way that I could upgrade the wireless N to wireless AC internally and have it work OK? I know there is external but I'm using all USB ports (and I have a USB splitter!)

3) Anyone know where I can find a single 8gb 1600mhz RAM chip for less than 63 bucks? That seems to be the best price on Amazon...


thanks everyone!

 

[jbarley]

to answer your #1 question...
your mini will accept 2 standard 2.5" HDDs internally without the need for any "frame".
You will need the proper connector cable, depending on if you are adding the drive to the upper or lower drive position.

 

[rigormortis]

theres all kinds of reports from various sources about ssd drives. how they wear out and what worries me is that if you write to a ssd and unplug it and leave it in your sock drawer , after 5 years, you might find out that your data is gone. this is called SSD NAND DECAY

i wouldn't trust ssd with important documents.

you can put a hard disk in a sock drawer or 5 years and it will still read. as long as the interface is still being used.

just because ssd is so fast and the manufactures insist they are reliable, you still have to do backups

u should just use it as a regular fusion drive. and don't use the ssd for important stuff only. always trust time machine.

make sure u get a ssd with native trim support

 

[redheeler]

theres all kinds of reports from various sources about ssd drives. how they wear out and what worries me is that if you write to a ssd and unplug it and leave it in your sock drawer , after 5 years, you might find out that your data is gone. this is called SSD NAND DECAY

i wouldn't trust ssd with important documents.

you can put a hard disk in a sock drawer or 5 years and it will still read. as long as the interface is still being used.

just because ssd is so fast and the manufactures insist they are reliable, you still have to do backups

u should just use it as a regular fusion drive. and don't use the ssd for important stuff only. always trust time machine.

make sure u get a ssd with native trim support

Let me remind you that HDDs are much more prone to failure due to having moving parts. Although if you have important data, always back it up to more then one drive! I have an HDD backing up an SDD just to have more then one copy of the data just in case something is deleted by accident or one of the drives fails (SDD failure is not out of the question by any means). I even plan to get a second HDD to back up the first one eventually.

 

[rigormortis]

and ssd hard drives are prone to failure just by leaving them turned off for too long
usb flash drives are prone to failure by simply losing them in a couch in a hospital waiting room