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utradar
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Joined: 10 Mar 2009
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Location: Nashville
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 Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 4:11 pm Post subject: Hard Drive Upgrade Options |
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I want to upgrade the 120GB HDD in the new Mac mini, but I don't know what kind of drive to get. I'm planning to buy one from new egg, but I'm not sure what specs to look for. Can someone shed some light on this for me?
Thanks!
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YoungDave
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g5g5
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| Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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| YoungDave wrote: | 7200 RPM 16MB for performance  . |
You know it. I just put the 320GB 7K320 in mine for $52 thanks to Tony Montana and a coupon code.
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YoungDave
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Joined: 30 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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| g5g5 wrote: | | YoungDave wrote: | | 7200 RPM 16MB for performance . |
You know it. I just put the 320GB 7K320 in mine for $52 thanks to Tony Montana and a coupon code. |
That's the exact same one i was about to link him to ,$66 shipped not bad
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145228
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Setup:
09 Mac Mini 2 Ghz C2D
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maccave
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Joined: 20 Sep 2006
Posts: 16
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| Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:15 pm Post subject: noise levels? |
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how are the noise levels on the 320 7200 hard drives?
same as the factory ones?
i value quiet over speed.
and the new 09 Mac mini is a LOT quieter than my 1.66 Mini. |
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philiparcario
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Joined: 19 Jun 2006
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Location: Howell NJ USA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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I have used the
hitachi travelstar 320gb 7200rpm not slow not loud
the western digital 250gb 7200rpm black scorpio fastest very quiet
the western digital 500gb 5400rpm blue scorpio quiet stores a lot
the seagate momentus 250gb 7200rpm noisy but fast
of all of them if the 250gb size is not a deal breaker the scorpio black is the best of what i have used. next week I am putting in a samsung 500gb m-1 5400rpm in a 2gb 2.0 mini reason is for a dvr with elgato tv . low heat quiet lots of storage.
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2010 Mm 2.4 C2D oem 320gb hdd 8gb ram
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lacie little big disk 2x 512gb ssds
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utradar
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Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 8
Location: Nashville
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| Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:18 am Post subject: |
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Great link, guys. Thanks so much.
My next question is how hard will the upgrade be? Are there instructions somewhere? I hope there's no soldering involved.
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philiparcario
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Joined: 19 Jun 2006
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Location: Howell NJ USA
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| Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:03 pm Post subject: |
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i fix it dot com has pictures did you ever open one?
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2010 Mm 2.4 C2D oem 320gb hdd 8gb ram
2012Mm base 2.5 with 16gb ram diy fusion drive
2012Mm quad with 8gb ram oem 1tb hdd
promise pegasus r6 3x 3tb + 3x 4tb =21tb hdds
lacie little big disk 2x 512gb ssds
synology 2tb disk station |
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philiparcario
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Joined: 19 Jun 2006
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Location: Howell NJ USA
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| Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:06 pm Post subject: |
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link for photos
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/First-Look/Mac-Mini-A1283/659/3
lots of thin putty knifes 2 or 3 tweezers some good screwdrivers lots of light
_________________
2010 Mm 2.4 C2D oem 320gb hdd 8gb ram
2012Mm base 2.5 with 16gb ram diy fusion drive
2012Mm quad with 8gb ram oem 1tb hdd
promise pegasus r6 3x 3tb + 3x 4tb =21tb hdds
lacie little big disk 2x 512gb ssds
synology 2tb disk station |
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cheef
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Mar 2009
Posts: 476
Location: Birmingham, UK
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| Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 2:19 am Post subject: |
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Or you could view the video's of RAM and hard disk upgrades here.
It's fairly painless, will just take a bit of time if you haven't done it before. Hardest part in my opinion is removing the case, everything else is but a screwdriver away.  |
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Night_Sailor
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Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 59
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| Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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| utradar wrote: | Great link, guys. Thanks so much.
My next question is how hard will the upgrade be? Are there instructions somewhere? I hope there's no soldering involved. |
It is easy to open up. Once open, be sure to carefully remove the ribbon cable that joins the drive mounting assembly to the motherboard. There is a delicate connector for this. You gently pop up each side with a small screw driver and the ribbon cable comes right out.
Also, remember to reconnect the fan power or else it will run full speed and be very loud.
There are lots of places with pictures of this. I have lots of pictures myself. Perhaps I'll post the procedure here if i get a chance.
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g5g5
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| Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 5:01 pm Post subject: Re: noise levels? |
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| maccave wrote: | how are the noise levels on the 320 7200 hard drives?
same as the factory ones? |
The Hitachi 7K320 is slightly louder than the stock 5400rpm Hitachi (can't remember the model number), but I certainly wouldn't consider it being loud or even noisy. It does run slightly warmer though.
| Night_Sailor wrote: | | Also, remember to reconnect the fan power or else it will run full speed and be very loud. |
You don't really have to worry about that with the new Mac minis. The connector isn't down on the main board anymore. It's a little harder to forget about this time around. I've been there and done that though. 
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1.25GHz Mac Mini / 1.8GHz iMac G5 / 2.0GHz C2D Mac mini (2009)
4GB iPod mini / 2G iPod shuffle / 16GB iPhone 3G
Apple TV 2
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