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Mac Mini upgrade, is this possible?

Hi All,


I have 2011 2.3 i5 Mac Mini with 4gb ram and 500 gb memory. I want to do a ram upgrade to it. I'm currently looking at the ram upgrades sold by crucial..I'm wondering since my mac mini has 2 slots can i install one with an 8gb drive and the other with a 2gb drive so i can have a total of 10gb? is it possible? I think it is possible, but i am not too sure. Should my mac be a little faster with the upgrade? I only plan on using it for programming, listening to music, I like to keep open alot of tabs, and i also plan on running programs like VirtualBox. I feel like 4gb is not enough anymore.


Also, i heard it's better, for example, to have 2 slots filled with 4gb drives instead of just 1 slide with just 8gb. Is there a difference?

Any answers would be appriecated.


Thank you,

Jim

Mac mini, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Feb 28, 2014 11:32 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Mar 1, 2014 2:15 AM

There has been a recommendation of upgrades of RAM in matching pairs;

this may be due to the fact the processors and busses use them in tandem

so there is a gain in computational speed and reliability if the correct RAM

(random access memory) is used; and from a reliable well known supplier

that knows Apple products & has guaranteed tested quality products.


Your model Mac Mini mid-2011 can use up to 16GB RAM, per specs...

Built-in MemoryNone
Maximum Memory16 GB (Actual) 8 GB (Apple)
Memory Slots2 - 204-pin PC-10600 (1333 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM

...according to download database from http://mactracker.ca


•Mac Mini: How to remove or install memory

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4432


•Mac Mini (mid-2011) Memory specifications and upgrades

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4805


•Mac Mini mid-2011 memory and solid state drive benchmarks - OWC

https://eshop.macsales.com/Reviews/Framework.cfm?page=/Benchmarks/CS5BenchmarkPa ge-MacMini.html


OWC RAM 2x8GB (16GB)

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/8566DDR3S16P/


{when considering an SSD upgrade, or the 'data-doubler' upgrade

read carefully to learn if your AppleCare would be impacted first}


•Mac Mini mid-2011 Hard Drive/SSD installation video - OWC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p25bIhMVYw0


Product links on video page return to part source for comparison.


If you are going to upgrade a Mini or any Mac, be sure you have

more than an idea; or have an expert upgrade it for you at an

independent shop. Some upgrades may void your AppleCare.


{While I have posted a few links here, I have never done business

with OWC (they wouldn't ship to my tiny town PO box) and have

no interests in the business, except to help Mac users get it right.}


Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Mar 1, 2014 2:15 AM in response to jimisonfire

There has been a recommendation of upgrades of RAM in matching pairs;

this may be due to the fact the processors and busses use them in tandem

so there is a gain in computational speed and reliability if the correct RAM

(random access memory) is used; and from a reliable well known supplier

that knows Apple products & has guaranteed tested quality products.


Your model Mac Mini mid-2011 can use up to 16GB RAM, per specs...

Built-in MemoryNone
Maximum Memory16 GB (Actual) 8 GB (Apple)
Memory Slots2 - 204-pin PC-10600 (1333 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM

...according to download database from http://mactracker.ca


•Mac Mini: How to remove or install memory

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4432


•Mac Mini (mid-2011) Memory specifications and upgrades

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4805


•Mac Mini mid-2011 memory and solid state drive benchmarks - OWC

https://eshop.macsales.com/Reviews/Framework.cfm?page=/Benchmarks/CS5BenchmarkPa ge-MacMini.html


OWC RAM 2x8GB (16GB)

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/8566DDR3S16P/


{when considering an SSD upgrade, or the 'data-doubler' upgrade

read carefully to learn if your AppleCare would be impacted first}


•Mac Mini mid-2011 Hard Drive/SSD installation video - OWC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p25bIhMVYw0


Product links on video page return to part source for comparison.


If you are going to upgrade a Mini or any Mac, be sure you have

more than an idea; or have an expert upgrade it for you at an

independent shop. Some upgrades may void your AppleCare.


{While I have posted a few links here, I have never done business

with OWC (they wouldn't ship to my tiny town PO box) and have

no interests in the business, except to help Mac users get it right.}


Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

Mar 1, 2014 3:13 AM in response to jimisonfire

Running various tests will give a numerically better performance

if both slots contain the same amount of RAM. Whether you

will "see" any such really depends on usage.


4GB of RAM these days is a bit thin, especially if you are running

virtual machines. How much performance is impacted depends

on the the VM's OS. Something like XP will work with less system

resources allocated to it than say Win8. Also, performance impacts

also depend on what you plan to do with the VM.


Personally, I have a 2011 MiniServer with 16GB of RAM and

I am daily running with a Parallels Win8.1 virtual machine

(need to for many of my work apps) and some times a Win7

VM at the same time.


Bottom line, my rule of thumb has always been to install

as much RAM as you can afford.

Mac Mini upgrade, is this possible?

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