Late 2012 Mini with Dual 4tb Samsung SSDs?

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Level 1

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Late 2012 Mini with Dual 4tb Samsung SSDs?

I use my late 2012 Mac mini as my Plex media server. My current setup is the factory installed 500gb HDD with my media stored on a 10tb WD external drive. I've been chasing Thunderbolt speed for about a year now, but other than the Lacie Rugged Thunderbolt 2 drive, I haven't been able to find any other true Thunderbolt external drives--and none of them are the capacity that I need anyway.

So, what I would like to do now is install two 4tb Samsung Evo SSDs inside the Mac mini and store my media internally and use the 10tb external as a backup drive. Will this work? Reading comments on iFixit, it appears many people have had issues installing SSDs into the second drive bay. I've also been told that Samsung SSDs aren't terribly reliable or stable in MBP's 'second' (i.e. optical drive) bay.

Could it simply be a matter of using a genuine Apple SATA cable for the second bay? Or are there other restrictions that are impossible to get around? I wonder, too, if the problems encountered by other users could be avoided by formatting the drive prior to installation. The Mac mini hard drive replacement is a royal pain, so I'd like only to do it once--but only if I know for sure it will work.

Mac mini, macOS 10.14

Posted on Feb 9, 2020 3:26 PM

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Answer 1

den.thed

Level 10

92,818 points

Feb 25, 2020 7:14 AM in response to wyldoxz

Can't say for sure if there is an SSD size limit, but I suspect not because OWC macsales.com sells a 2TB SSD for that Mac Mini.

All you need is a Data Doubler kit to add a second drive in the upper bay.

see > https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMM11D2/

The 2010, 2011 and 2012 Mac Mini's are fairly easy to work on and upgrade. I have 4 Mac Mini's all with SSDs, a 2010 with a 320GB PNY SSD, a 2011 with dual 480GB PNY SSDs, a 2012 with a 960GB PNY SSD and a second 2012 with dual 960GB PNY SSDs. Heck' I can practically swap out drives in the lower bay with my eyes closed in less the 10 minutes. The drive in the upper bay take a little longer because you have to pull the logic board and power supply to get to the upper bay tray.

It helps a lot if you study and then follow the OWC macsales.com video and the iFixit guide. I suspect that the folks who had trouble, either had 10 thumbs, got into a hurry and busted something or did not know how to properly format a drive for macOS.

For other 4T options, see > https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?N=100011693%20601321642%20600545605

[Link Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 2

wyldoxz Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 16, 2020 3:47 PM in response to den.thed

I gave it whirl, and my test was successful. The second bay had no problems supporting the fast 4tb Samsung drive. I did, however, err on the side of caution (and economy) and bought a 4tb Samsung 860 QVO SSD for the second bay--just in case. (And you were right, the installation of the drives wasn't nearly as difficult as I had anticipated.)

It's been about day with both drives installed, and I've been copying my media over. So far, so good. No lag or performance issues at all. Although, I have pretty much filled both drives already, which has sparked a follow up question...

Can Mac minis be daisy-chained together via Thunderbolt? I'm curious if there's some way to look at both Macs on one monitor while also using the same keyboard and trackpad for both. I know KVM switches used to be the way to flip back and forth between two or more computers on the same monitor and keyboard, but I don't know how those would work with Bluetooth keyboards/mice/trackpads. Ultimately, my new brainstorm is to buy another late 2012 Mini, install 8tb of SSD into it, and run both together as a single Plex server. Have I gone mad? Because I feel a little crazed.

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Answer 3

den.thed

Level 10

92,818 points

Feb 16, 2020 4:36 PM in response to wyldoxz

wyldoxz wrote:

I gave it whirl, and my test was successful. The second bay had no problems supporting the fast 4tb Samsung drive. I did, however, err on the side of caution (and economy) and bought a 4tb Samsung 860 QVO SSD for the second bay--just in case. (And you were right, the installation of the drives wasn't nearly as difficult as I had anticipated.)

It's been about day with both drives installed, and I've been copying my media over. So far, so good. No lag or performance issues at all. Although, I have pretty much filled both drives already, which has sparked a follow up question...

Awesome, thank you for sharing the results with the Community.

Can Mac minis be daisy-chained together via Thunderbolt? I'm curious if there's some way to look at both Macs on one monitor while also using the same keyboard and trackpad for both. I know KVM switches used to be the way to flip back and forth between two or more computers on the same monitor and keyboard, but I don't know how those would work with Bluetooth keyboards/mice/trackpads. Ultimately, my new brainstorm is to buy another late 2012 Mini, install 8tb of SSD into it, and run both together as a single Plex server. Have I gone mad? Because I feel a little crazed.

The 2012 Mac Mini only supports Target Disk Mode using Thunderbolt 2 or FireWire 800.

see > Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode - Apple Support

Yeah' the rest of your hypotaness, is a little out there. You would get better speeds and space from connecting a Thunderbolt 2 drive enclosure, like the > https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB4MJB0GB/ instead of another Mac Mini.

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Answer 4

wyldoxz Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 9, 2020 5:24 PM in response to den.thed

The problems they had were performance issues, though the most descriptive comments mostly just refer to 'beach balling' and drives spontaneously unmounting. All such problems were seemingly resolved by swapping the positions of the HDD and SSD in the bays, or so say those who were having the problems to begin with.

I've had a difficult time finding anyone who has installed two entirely new SSDs (and forget 8tb total), so I'm glad to know you've had some success with that. Even so, I'm still a little hesitant to drop the money on another 4tb SSD. I might be inclined to try installing the 4tb Samsung and my MBP's 2tb Samsung drive to see how that goes. If it goes well, it might be safe to assume that the Mini can handle 8tb SSD?

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Answer 5

den.thed

Level 10

92,818 points

Feb 9, 2020 5:51 PM in response to wyldoxz

Yeah' the older pre 2012 systems only had 3G drive controllers or you had to use a lame adapter in the optical bay that didn't bode well with some 6G SSDs.

That sounds like a good plain. After a time or two, I think that you'll find it easy to play musical drives.

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