Mac Mini Late 2012 - SSD or RAM upgrade?

[AppleLova]

Hey everyone!

I recently acquired a Mac Mini — the late 2012 model. It's up and running, but it's fairly slow, and I'm certain that its performance is related to the slow 500 GB HDD it came with. The hard drive is mechanical, and so I'm thinking of either upgrading the RAM (4GB) or the hard drive. If I was to upgrade one, which one would you recommend I upgrade? And if so, do you have any good ones you can recommend that aren't overly pricey?

Thanks!

 

[tpivette89]

In reality, you should upgrade both. SSDs are getting cheaper, and Best Buy has some good deals on Samsung's 860 EVO line recently. A 500GB SSD will set you back about $60.

Also, 16GB of 1600mhz RAM can be had off eBay for about the same price as the SSD. So for less than $125, the computer will be maxed out as far as upgrades go and will serve you well for a few years.

However, if you can truly only do one upgrade at this time, I'd go SSD.

 

[tlaw81]

My recommendation would be the SSD first and then the RAM.

 

[AppleLova]

Thank you both for your prompt replies! I'll give eBay a look, and see if I can find the ones you mentioned for around 60 bucks, tpivette.
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My recommendation would be the SSD first and then the RAM.

I figured RAM would be better to upgrade first since it's as small as it is (4GB) — but since you're saying the HDD, I could see why, as SSD's in my experience make a huge difference, especially for older machines.

 

[tpivette89]

Looks like the prices have come down a bit since I bought my 16GB kit (July). I have no affilliation with this seller, just did a quick ebay search:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/16GB-2x8GB...sh=item4b70096bd5:g:svQAAOSwKS9d5~Y3&LH_BIN=1

 

[adam9c1]

MicroCenter has fairly inexpensive SSD drives.
120GB 2.5" Inland for $15
They have I belive 240GB, 480GB and 1TB models.

The storage drive is more difficult task but still doable if you take your time and have the right tools.

Having said that SSD and 4GB RAM will make your computer run quicker than 8GB or 10GB coupled with the 5400 RPM drive.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

You want to upgrade BOTH the SSD AND the RAM.

The RAM is easy:
Buy ONE 8gb DIMM. Then pop off the bottom cover and replace the "topmost" DIMM.
This will "bump you up" from 4gb to 10gb of installed RAM.
Cheap and easy.

For the SSD, you can go two ways:
First way:
Open the Mini, pull it apart, and put in the SSD.
Can be risky, and it's easy to break something inside.

Second way:
Buy an EXTERNAL USB3 SSD, plug it in, and set it up to be the new boot drive.
Faster, easier, SAFER.
You'll see read speeds around 430MBps and writes in the 350MBps range.

You can either get a 2.5" "bare" SSD and a USB3 enclosure
or
Get a "ready-to-go" USB3 SSD such as the Samsung t5 or Sandisk Extreme.

If you get a 1tb SSD (that's what the internal drive is?) you can use CarbonCopyCloner to "clone over" the contents of the internal drive and be ready-to-go in the time it takes for the clone to complete.

CCC is FREE to download and use for 30 days -- this will cost you nothing.

 

[oldskewlmacuser]

I just acquired the (late 2012) mac mini i5. I am interested in using it to make beats using a DAW. I attempted to download FL studio and it said I didn't have enough memory. FL Studio says it needs at least 2GB of free disk space online. According to my mini I have more than 300 GB left on my internal HDD available. I have been doing endless research and I plan on upgrading my RAM so I will have 10GB total. But I am stuck on if I should purchase an SSD (internal) and how large? I am not fearful of the install I am sure I could handle taking the machine apart but I don't want to waste the money on a 1TB SSD if I don't have to just to play around with a DAW I have never used before on an ancient machine. Also when it comes to the SSD install...what is a data doubler? Is it essential? Anyone have any advice. Sorry if this is the wrong forum or has been discussed before. I am new at this