Intel X25-M SSD Upgrade for 1.83CD Mini Worth Every Penny

[bkbaskin]

I had been considering a new mini or iMac to replace my aging, though completely functional 1.83GHz Core Duo Mini /w 2GB RAM from summer 2007. I was holding myself to a pretty strict budget when it occurred to me that the worst part of the computer was the crummy 80GB Fujistu internal HDD and the limited throughput of FW400 external disks.

So I bought a 160GB Intel X25-M SDD from Newegg and replaced the internal HDD with it. Used CarbonCopy to clone the drive and made a quick swap.

Wow. What a difference. The nearly useless benchmark of boot time shaved a full minute off (1:45s vs. 45s). Far more important was opening my iPhoto library with 23,000 photographs: 45s on the old drive to 9 seconds with the SDD. Open Office loads in 2 or 3 seconds, many apps are nearly instant.

Even Safari finally got a little of teh snappy!

Maneuvering around my iPhoto library is no longer a chore, my computer is pleasant to use, and all my music and video is still on an external, where it belongs. I'm very pleased.

If anyone has an older mini like mine and doesn't need the faster CPUs/video of a new one (or doesn't want to spend the money), then this SDD might be the trick. When I do upgrade, the SDD goes into the new computer, so I consider it money well spent...

Just my story...

 

[i7QuadCoreMania]

Have the same drive in my i7, went from a velociraptor in my last 24" iMac, and got the 80gb ver. in my Dell 10v hackintosh.

The speed is phenomenal though I have heard the new crucial drive is quicker, overall I'm statisfied with the speed, been running this baby since January and love it.

 

[atomic50]

MacBook

I totally agree, I have had a Macbook since it was release in May 2006, and buying a intel x25-m 80gb for my birthday last year has instilled new life in it. I can now wait a tad longer to get a 27" iMac

 

[pcollins]

is there any way the apple care would still cover the computer if this was installed?

 

[bkbaskin]

Applecare...

No idea, really, though if I brought it in for some reason, I might put the original drive back in. It was still working as designed; only "as designed" means "slow as molassas" for the old 80GB Fujitsu

In fact, if the Mac seemed dead, replacing the boot drive with a known-good one would be part of my problem solving process.

Of course, none of this helps if you break it during the upgrade!