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Author Topic: Mac Mini RAM upgrade  (Read 1033 times)

Tim Hall

  • Victoria is my queen
Mac Mini RAM upgrade
« on: 28 February, 2021, 09:45:55 pm »
A friend has a Mac Mini from 2010.
Specs are:
2 x 1 GB DDR3 1067MHZ RAM
2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor
320GB spinny rust HDD
Yosemite 10.10.5

It runs very slowly. Click $ICON, go off make cup of tea, sit down at the app will have opened. Maybe. (I exaggerate slightly)

Is adding more RAM by ditching the 2 x 1GB and replacing with 2 x 4GB a way to speed things up?

It's been stashed in a cupboard for  awhile but its use is likely to be grabbing photos off an SD card, light bit of editing and cataloguing. Plus random bits of internetting, maybe some word processing/spread sheeting.
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grams

Re: Mac Mini RAM upgrade
« Reply #1 on: 28 February, 2021, 09:56:05 pm »
It might help a bit, but it could also be the hard disk is on its last legs.

They changed the design in 2010. If it's an actual 2010 model (which the specs suggest) the RAM is very easy to replace - simple hatch on the bottom.
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andrewc

Re: Mac Mini RAM upgrade
« Reply #2 on: 28 February, 2021, 09:58:46 pm »
More memory is always good, but a better upgrade would be replacing the hard drive with a SSD.  If he doesn’t want to dismantle it he can use an external drive in a FireWire caddy.


I did that for my Dad’s iMac & it was a good improvement

.  One of these plus the SSD of choice.
https://www.flexxmemory.co.uk/storage/enclosures/owc-mercury-on-the-go-pro-enclosure-with-firewire-800-usb-3-0/?msclkid=1973191a1425104099ac792605498010
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citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Mac Mini RAM upgrade
« Reply #3 on: 28 February, 2021, 10:12:14 pm »
Quote from: andrewc on 28 February, 2021, 09:58:46 pm
More memory is always good, but a better upgrade would be replacing the hard drive with a SSD.

Based on my own experience, I would very much second this. I upgraded my Mac mini to SSD last year and it made the world of difference. And it’s not difficult to do it yourself. See threads passim.

2GB of RAM really isn’t a lot, so it wouldn’t hurt to upgrade that too.
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"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Mac Mini RAM upgrade
« Reply #4 on: 28 February, 2021, 10:22:02 pm »
Read this thread, you might find it instructive:

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=115770
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"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: Mac Mini RAM upgrade
« Reply #5 on: 01 March, 2021, 06:29:46 am »
A memory upgrade transformed my MacMini of a similar vintage. So much so that I haven’t felt the need to change the disc. Memory upgrade, if it’s the same model, is a 2 minute job. I spent longer unplugging and reconnecting the cables.
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ian

Re: Mac Mini RAM upgrade
« Reply #6 on: 01 March, 2021, 09:19:16 am »
I put an SSD in my 2009 Mac Mini. If I can do this, anyone can. I also put some more RAM in. It's surprisingly speedy. I use it as a server now, but for a twelve-year-old computer it's perfectly capable for web browsing and general use.

I did randomly power up the even older 2007 Mac Mini a while ago. Now that was slow.
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