SSD on Mac mini: Crucial MX300 525GB

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Level 3

557 points

SSD on Mac mini: Crucial MX300 525GB

After the great experience of replacing old HDD for SSD on my Macbook Pro, thinking of replacing the one in my sluggish Mac mini (mid 2011).

Found this on Amazon : Crucial MX300 525GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - CT525MX300SSD1 and considering it's much more affordable than OWC (which don't understand that value you put on custom declaration is the price you paid, not the theorical value of a good...), I was wondering how suitable it will be - even though not ''Mac-prepared'' (how difficult would it be if suitable ?)

Thanks,

Rob

MacBook Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12.2), i7, 8GB memory, SSD 1TB

Posted on Dec 27, 2016 10:10 AM

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Answer 1

lanstrad1 Author

Level 3

557 points

Jan 7, 2017 6:28 AM in response to lanstrad1

kahjot,

Great advice and I should have listened to you. For others who may be tempted by the experience:

Looks like I broke a pin on that connector (looks like this visually, could not reconnect, and found a tiny tiny pin of copper...) - see at 2:41 min (or the step at 6:27 min...) on this video:

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/mac_mini2011_hd/

(followed that even though the drive is not an OWC...)

This cable especially (at least for me) seems very difficult to put back (and indeed, I might even have broken it while unplugging it.... Will see.

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Answer 2

kahjot

Level 4

2,463 points

Jan 7, 2017 11:41 PM in response to lanstrad1

YIkes, I am sorry to hear that. I have looked at that OWC how-to video a couple of times. The second time, I watched it because I wanted to see if the procedure really was as fiddly and unappealing as I remembered from my first viewing. It was. I decided that I would rather bite the bullet and pay a local Mac place to do the work, if I ever decided to install a different internal drive. Haven't felt the need, yet, since my Mini is being set up mainly to run my iTunes library.

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Answer 3

lanstrad1 Author

Level 3

557 points

Jan 9, 2017 6:00 AM in response to kahjot

To add to the discomfort zones for those still feeling that the OWC video (for the mini) - although it states the difficulty level to "involved": just got the assessment ftom Apple - much worse than i expected: they would need to replace circuit board - which would bring the overall cost including labor to ... the price of a new mac mini. In conclusion: I no longer have a mac mini ....

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Answer 4

Jan 9, 2017 5:25 PM in response to lanstrad1

Look around at School auctions, and surplus property web sites.

You could find a Mid 2011 iMac or Mini for cheap.

I just bagged four 27" 2010/2011 iMacs from my local school system,
one has a bad video board, one has a cracked glass, one has a ghosted screen, one won't boot.

I am using one for parts, I expect to get three working.

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Answer 5

kahjot

Level 4

2,463 points

Jan 9, 2017 8:52 PM in response to lanstrad1

Really sorry to hear that your Mini is broken. You have confirmed my plan to get this done by a certified tech rather than by me, if I ever decide or need to replace the internal drive. I'm comfortable working on the guts of most Macs going back to the late 80s, but I have avoided futzing with two of the Macs I have owned or worked with: the SE and the Mini.

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Answer 6

lanstrad1 Author

Level 3

557 points

Feb 4, 2017 5:37 AM in response to kahjot

End of the story :

Ok I ran out of the Apple Store - where the only solution offered was to replace the logic board (they don't offer soldering works there), and price of that solution was almost the cost of a new Mac mini...

Found a shop (Apple authorized officially) where I could finally have the soldering done for about CAD$80. Got it back 3 days ago and so far, everything's perfect.

Mac mini had never been so fast with the SSD ! Fantastic. (Really wondering if the much higher OWC price really make a difference - of course I'm comparing different things, but on my MBP mid-2012, i7, which should be faster than the i5 of the mid-2011 mini, I almost sense the mini snappier... at least it seems to wake up much faster. Boot up a few seconds less too. But I haven't tried practical measures... barely just comparing the ''almost twice the price'' of the OWC here for... ??)...

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Answer 7

Dec 30, 2016 9:28 AM in response to lanstrad1

So long as the interface on your computer is SATA III (6 gigabyte/second), there should be no problem.

I looked, the 2011 Mac Mini has two SATA III ports,

so you can either replace the existing hard drive,

or ADD a hard drive...

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/mac-mini/2011

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+Mac+Mini+Mid+2011+Dual+Hard+Drive+Kit/66 34

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Answer 8

kahjot

Level 4

2,463 points

Dec 27, 2016 8:00 PM in response to lanstrad1

It should be an excellent choice. Installing it will be more of a pain than it is to install a new drive in a laptop. Yoy might want to have it done by a certified Mac shop.

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