SSD upgrade for Mac mini 2014

Question

Georgerc27 Author

Level 1

4 points

SSD upgrade for Mac mini 2014

I am planning to get one. But upgrade options are confusing me.

1. I see videos about Nvme blades installed right after opening the cover with some adapter.

What is that port? pcie? What max speed that port allows?

2. I read internal fusion drive comes with 2 cables, one sata and pcie for nvme blades.

Is it possible to replace them with compatible ssd and nvme drives? I read the pcie is proprietary and only supports apple drives.

3. Minis with sata hdd doesn't come with the pcie cable. Is it possible to buy later and add a blade drive?

4. What is the maximum speed of those ports? I don't want to buy faster drives that aren't supported by the motherboard.

5.Any suggestions for the right drives are appreciated.

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Nov 24, 2021 3:44 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Nov 24, 2021 4:33 AM in response to Georgerc27

First, the hard drive can be replaced with most any SATA III, 2.5" SSD.

Second, the SSD blade is special for Mac and needs some adapter to use off the shelf NVMe SSD. Alternatively, a few vendors, OWC for one, has direct replacement for the Apple SSD blade.

Reply

Answer 2

den.thed

Level 10

95,638 points

Nov 24, 2021 8:52 AM in response to Georgerc27

Keep in mind that the 2014 Mac Mini is going on 8 years old and the RAM is not upgradable.

If it is a non-Fusion model, then I might consider replacing the HDD with a larger SATA lll 2.5" SSD.

If it is a Fusion drive model, then I might have considered spending a little more for a larger Blade SSD.

Sadly it's getting late in the game for the 2014 and IMHO I would save/put the money towards a new Mac Mini.

Reply

SSD upgrade for Mac mini 2014

Similar questions