iFixit and MacminiVault have both completed their teardowns of the new Mac mini, with Macminicolo planning theirs soon.
We already knew the main bad news: soldered RAM means you can’t upgrade the memory later, so you have to decide how much you want and pay Apple’s pricing for it. Both iFixit and MacminiVault described replacing the RAM as “impossible.”
Getting access to the inside of the new Mac mini is more difficult than it used to be …
The twist-off bottom cover of the previous model is gone, with a new plastic cap needing to be levered off. Beneath this is a plate with three tamper-proof screws.
iFixit identified these as TR6 Torx, and said it was the first time it had ever seen these in use. The company’s Torx drivers only went down to T7, so they had to improvise – but will be getting TR6 drivers in stock.
The WiFi antenna also hampers access, but the good news, says iFixit, is there is no glue to contend with.
There is better news on the drive front: it can be replaced, albeit only by pretty much dismantling the entire machine.
iFixit tested this by replacing the 5400rpm hard drive of the base model with the SSD it pulled from its earlier Retina iMac teardown. While the new Mac mini is single drive only, iFixit did note an empty socket that it thinks may allow a blade SSD to be added; it will be investigating this.
You do, of course, have the option of connecting external drives, and Macminicolo‘s view was that a second Thunderbolt port is a good trade-off the for missing Firewire 800 one now that the price of Thunderbolt drives is starting to fall.
iFixit notes that the AirPort card is now a full PCIe one, supporting WiFi ac, and found that the new fan – while visually identical – in fact now has contact-free bearings, with fluid lubricant carrying the load.
MacminiVault’s view was that this model is a “transitional” one. Though they described it as solid, they believe next year’s model is likely to have Broadwell/Skylake microarchitecture, offering a significant performance jump. It also still holds out hope of a smaller power supply allowing the size of the mini to be reduced.
More teardown photos on the iFixit and MacminiVault sites.
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There is no good news for a Mini people waited 2 years for. it”s lost its charm as a user friendly upgradeable machine with quad core processors.
Went to pickup a 2012 model quad-core from BestBuy yesterday. Got it with a discount too. I had to move before they were all gone. The new ones are terrible.
I’m fine with all the other specs, but why did Apple have to solder in the RAM? That was very stupid. Apple may view the Mac mini as being an entry level Mac, but that’s not always the case. I have a late 2012 Mac mini. I upgraded it to 16GB of RAM, and later bought a dual drive kit from iFixit. I installed an SSD and left the original hard drive in place. The Mac mini doesn’t have the processing horse power of my late 2013 MacBook Pro, but it does a great job running VMs in Parallels, and Adobe CC apps at the same time without the slightest drop in performance.
I did exactly the same thing, bought the base model and bumped it up to 16 GB DDR3 courtesy of Amazon for $160. A year later I got a SSD from Amazon and the kit from OWC and now have a 750 GB Fusion Drive. Who knows, maybe I’ll swap out the i5 for an i7?
Forget the new Mac Mini – if I want another Mac, I’ll find a used i7 on eBay.
Why is Apple making things so difficult for those of us with less than $1,000 to drop on upgrading our PC? If you want to win the dedicated PC user, it helps if you have a competitive product that offers competitve performance and options.
This means I will hold onto my Mac mini until the current version of OS X no longer supports it. By then, I may be back to using only one Mac, so it might not matter. I originally bought a Mac mini way back in 2009 to use as a testing platform for OS X Server. That Mac mini kept getting used for more general purposes until I just decided to start using two computers. With a combination of iCloud and Dropbox, I never have to worry about where my files are.
Because they miss out on the revenue they get from the ‘higher than NewEgg/Amazon/VendorX’ RAM prices. If you want larger RAM, now you have to pay them them for all of it.
The angle that I’d like to understand is what portion of their overall Mac sales are Minis, and what percentage of Mini buyers are DIY’ers looking to upgrade it in the first place. If the majority of the Mac Mini buyers are tinkerers anyhow, why not just leave everything as replaceable/user serviceable.
I’m willing to bet that the price of 2012 Minis on eBay just went up a bit…
16GB of RAM is really overkill for anyone except pro users who are doing video editing etc. and those people would be stupid to try it on a Mac mini. It is 100% impossible for OS X to use more than 4GB of RAM for it’s own processes and 100% impossible for each app running on OS X to use more than 4GB either. If you need even 8GB it is because you are running some huge memory intensive app like (again) a video editing suite. So a Mac mini with a choice of 4GB or 8GB provides “max” performance anyway. You might *want* to add more to take it to 16GB, but you should understand that the extra memory is a complete waste and will rarely if ever be used. It won’t make the machine faster.
Each user’s needs differ. I’m not an idiot. I’ve been working in IT for over 14 years. Overkill? That’s a dumb thing to say when you have no concept of what other people use their computers for. As it happens, I did see an immediate speed increase when I upgraded to 16GB. The reason is because OS X caches less of its processes in virtual memory. I do use apps that consume a lot more than 4GB of RAM.
Plus if you have a SSD or Fusion drive the penalty of hitting the “hard drive” in virtual memory is lessened. I don’t like soldered RAM either but I doubt Apple has done it out of spite considering they have to be able to turn repairs around quickly.
This is a joke, right? I got a 4GB machine yesterday and installed Yosemite. With only iTunes running, the machine was using 3.98GB of RAM. It needs that for anything else, it’ll need to start swapping. Which means massive slow-downs.
I really hate it when people like you get on here and just make shit up. Let’s all help people… but is there really a need to just make shit up?
OSX is a 64-bit architecture. It and its applications can use more than 4GB of RAM. In fact, Final Cut Pro will use up to 32 GB of RAM if it is available, right out of the box. No need to believe me. Read it from Apple directly: http://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/specs/
Olivier Suritz writes “This is a joke, right? I got a 4GB machine yesterday and installed Yosemite. With only iTunes running, the machine was using 3.98GB of RAM. It needs that for anything else, it’ll need to start swapping. Which means massive slow-downs.”
In fact, since at least 10.9, OS X’s memory management model tried to use as much of the physical memory as possible. Thus, inactive processes will show up in that total…. even if you have quit them. The model is based, perhaps, on the assumption that the most likely application to need memory is one you’ve used recently.
Thus, on an 8 GByte machine that’s been running for a while, the “in use” figure will tend asymptotically to 8 Gbyte; on a 16 Gbyte config, to 16 Gbyte, and so on.
I’m not saying it’s the optimal model, but it’s the one OS X uses.
Many use the mini for music and video production. Those applications, as Mike Murray has stated, will use ALL ram available. You really do not know computers and applications at all, do you?
There are a couple of reasons for this:
1. people rarely upgrade their systems and when they do, they usually end up with a whole new system. I have the same issue with my MB. New MB means a new CPU and means new ram, because the SIMM specs changed.
2. More to the point, removing the connector bus for memory means better performance, space saved, less breakage/issues, etc. Mainly with the advent of SSD, performance would be my guess.
The mini is reasonably cheap… just add the ram at the start.
You can get a Torx 6 security bit here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HYTGMM/
While I’m disappointed by the use of security screws and soldered RAM, I’m glad it’s not like the current iMacs where you have to melt glue using a hair dryer. If you get the middle $699 option which comes with a base of 8 GB of RAM and swap in an SSD, I think almost any user will be in good shape.
That breakdown is not daunting to me. I’ve done surgery on two of the former Mac mini cases that required a putty knife to get in the case. Added a CPU & larger HDD in addition to RAM.
i will order enough RAM CTO but I will add my own SSD
People need to understand who this Mac is for. Once you do that, you’ll understand why there’s “no user-serviceable parts inside.” This is not a Mac for the die-hard computer user. It’s not for the cutting edge, tinkerers who upgrade their machine all the time. This is the Mac for those who need a simple computer for email and internet and one or two apps. Nothing fancy. School kids who need something to do school work on. This is the computer you use for 2 years, and then replace with a better one. This is not the computer that you constantly upgrade for the next 5 years. The market that Apple is after for this is not the market that cares about specs. This is the Mac you buy your Mom so she can look at pics of the grand kids on Facebook. This is the Mac your kid uses to type up their book reports.
In the beginning, the Mac Mini was for the PC switchers. You could get your feet wet with OS X for under $500 bucks. But now, I think it’s more for those who want the computer version of an iPad. Basically, users with light web and app usage, and those who need a keyboard, mouse, monitor, and printer.
Terrific. So using your logic, I was an idiot for buying a Mac mini when I could have dropped $2500-3000+ on a Mac pro just for the privilege of being able to upgrade. I did buy my mom a Mac mini, and guess what… I’m going to open it up and install an SSD and upgrade it to 16GB of RAM. I’ve had my “feet wet” with OS X since it was called NeXTSTEP yet I still like to buy Mac minis.
Have you ever used a Mac Mini? They are a super capable machine! I video edit on a weekly basis for our church broadcasts and several other side jobs. I’m not sure you’ve ever used one, but you must have bought into the Apple “mini’s are for entry users”. That is certainly not the case. I have a 2011 MBP, and a 2014 rMBP, and constantly find myself using the Mini as my go-to station machine.
There is only one Mac that is serviceable really, the Mac pro. Apple doesn’t want people in their own machines, they know what is best for us.
No. I know what’s best for me. Not the company. And I show that by choosing how to spend my money. In my opinion there is no reason for a desktop machine to have glued parts. and although I’m not as annoyed as I was a year or so ago, there’s no reason for a desktop machine to not have an internal cd drive.
I don’t think it’s what Apple wants, it’s what they see in focus groups and user surveys. If 98% (say) of the people buying minis never open even the previous, easy-open lid which you, I, and the rest of the other 2% who are likely to read this page and comment on it liked, Apple is going to modify their design to fit the needs of that 98%, if they can make it at a lower cost and high profit margin. (Nasty minis don’t have the margins of Mac Pros.)
We can rant all we want, but we’re the 2%. (Note that all statistics used here are extracted from a bodily orifice, but I bet they’re close.)
As for the four-core vs. quad-core CPU offerings, I’ve seen it speculated that that’s also driven by design cost: the previous generation of Intel CPUs used the same connectors for tow- and four-core models, but no longer. Apple decided to save the cost of designing two different motherboards, so the argument goes, to be able to offer a lower-cost base model.
I bought the Late-2012 Server edition (fastest processor and dual 1TB drives) just to run my entertainment center – I added more memory via crucial – and I’m glad I bought then.
It’s sad what Apple did this to this great little powerhouse with this year’s model. :(
I agree. Removal of a quad core option makes me now search for a late 2012 server edition as well.
While all the comments on the unfriendly changes to the mac mini are valid, one should remember that Apple has not made the Mac mini solely as a separate engineering development process; it shares much of its development with the MacBook Pro models.
The 2012 Mac mini model shared their engineering development with the non Retina MacBook Pro models of that year and this year’s Mac mini models share their development with both current gen MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro models, depending on the model of Mac mini. So as the portables have moved to PCIe flash and soldered RAM, so have the new Mac minis.
Not saying that is good, but that is why. Apple could develop the Mac mini separately, but then it might not hit the price points and maintain the margins Apple expects.
Honestly, I’m irked by the ram But this explanation this far seems very plausible.
There’s a problem with this logic, as it implies there could be two models of the Mini, just as there are two models of the macbook pro.
The 15 inch macbook pro has a dual core processor, so the mac mini could also have a dual core processor.
I’m sorry, but I can’t agree with this logic.
Correction: I meant the 15 inch macbook pro has a quad core processor, so the mac mini would have a quad core processor as well.
So, recommendations…should I look for an older used Mini and upgrade the internals myself or just go with the new one?
Then you’re stuck with older graphics and no 802.11ac. Not really worth it in the long run IMO. YMMV though.
That’s true. I hadn’t thought about that. Probably best to look at the new one and a possible hard drive upgrade later.
But you’re also stuck with a dual core processor, which is horrible for applications such as Logic Pro, bitwig, protools, ableton, Final Cut Pro, etc.
Most people don’t upgrade their computers, I don’t even get why this computers exists in 2014, it’s cool, I mean, it’s a very cool machine, but in 2014 most people have laptops and those who don’t can get an iMac, because let’s be realistic here, you spend 500 dollars but then you have to get a trackpad or a mouse, a keyboard and a screen! it’s not a 500 dollar computer at the end, but it’s a cool machine, I prefer having MacBooks but there is still a market for desktops (for home use, of course there is the need for better machines depending what you want to do with it)
It’s because the mini sells to Businesses at least 2:1.
Everyone keeps thinking the mini is a consumer driven platform. It is but to a lesser degree than its use as a departmental, development and more. Businesses buy Mac mini by the stack. Consumers are more fixated on laptops, iPads and desktops from my experience.
Apple is marketing the Mini as a BYO devices machine. For the average computer user (not talking about depth of work, talking about the average world citizen who would be buying a computer) they already have an older computer that they are replacing. Last time I looked, even your 2005 XP machine came with a mouse and keyboard and screen that probably haven’t bit the dust. You don’t factor in the devices price to the Mini, because odds are that you already have them in a closet or tech box in your house.
I have my MacBook folded up in an Ikea napkin holder to make it MORE like a Mac Mini.
Does anyone care about a quadcore? You realize it does NOT make it faster… just handles some multitasking better. Most people are using these as server machines anyway, which means a faster dual core is better than a slower quad.
Curious on thoughts here.
I like idea of quad core and feel like perhaps Apple over-simplified here. They may skip Broadwell and move right to Skylake which is going to have mostly quad core configs.
Do you have any idea what you are talking about?
Logic Pro and Final Cut will use as many cores as are available. So will protools, Bitwig, and any other DAW.
Your comment is personalized and not speaking from a place of knowledge at all.
Quad core is essentially REQUIRED for music and video production.
Great teardown. just curios that a 500 machine comes with no keyboard or mouse…
Great breakdown. May you show us a close-up of the soldered down RAM part?
http://www.macminivault.com/2014mini/ << soldered on memory shown in our tear down
Ah, thanks!!
I have a question, maybe someone on here can answer, I was taking a Mini apart and in this process:
Two wires (looks like one-wire in photo) pulled apart from a clamp (#1 in picture) with the clamp still connected to the other part (#2 in pic.).
I’m wondering if anyone can tell me what these wires do/are-for and how severe mixing them up could be?
http://tinypic.com/r/2evt4xh/8