Page 1 of bassman_uk A quick Mac Mini question :)

i`m gonna upgrade the cpu/hard drive/optical drive/memory on my mac mini, & i was wondering how you went on opening yours to do the memory upgrade, it looks pretty easy going off the you tube vids, but i don`t wanna hurt my little precious :)

i`m getting a 2.16ghz core duo cpu, & i just won a gig of memory on ebay for £2 lol :) & i allready have a 160gig lapto sata drive to try out in it :) then all i gotta do is get a superdrive of fleabay for about £40 & i made a mega mac mini for about £120 in upgrades :)

Heya

Still here, but mainly lurking now!

Right.............. down to business!!

I used a demo video from You Tube for instructions as to how to open the mini up. I went out and bought a 99p putty knife - I got one with a flat edge too (this helped when I got the knife in flat - eventually!!)

The main difficulty is getting the knife in. Once the knife is in, its plain sailing!

The trick I used was to force the rim away with on old credit card or something like that, just enough so that you are able to get the knife in.

If you follow the video, you will have no probs. Mine is back together, unscathed looking as sexy as ever!

I have to say, the memory was straightforward - unclip the wifi/bluetooth module (only one, but can`t remember which!) and flip the dvd drive forward to get to the RAM slots.

One thing I thought when i opened it up was `I`m glad I`m only doing the Ram!` - the rest of the stuff looks pretty difficult, but obviously its do-able!

Good luck with the upgrade, and let me know how you get on!

This item was edited on Saturday, 31st May 2008, 23:15

righto, i got a gig of memory on ebay for £2 (delivered as well lol :)) so i figured i`d fit it now rather than wait till i get my cpu sometime around weekend, all went well, opening the case was quit a lot easier than i thought it would be, i used 1x 2.5" putty spreader + 1x 1.5" putty spreader & a stanley blade to start the opening enough to use the spreader, worked fine, & took about 1 minute.

the fan controller is the first thing i disconnected, but only because i read about it HERE (great guid for the cpu swapout btw) taking the screws out & lifting the dvd drive/Hdd platter was also a simple operation, just lifts out & you carefully put it to the back whilst being carefull with the ribbon connector. actually swapping the memory was a simple push & click afair, putting it back together was the most challenging part, & even that was no big deal, the screws being fiddly was the extent of the problem, & i just used the old bluetack trick to get them in position. of course i forgot to reconnect the fan controller, so i got worried about the fan running full speed, since i`d never even heard it switch on before today :) took a few seconds to reconnect.

I also remembered you saying you had a weaker WIFI signal after you put your back together ? i had the same problem, but mine isn`t working at all, BUT.... i deffinately know what caused it, & will fix it when i swap the cpu. look at the picture bellow.



do you see the wire that comes from the top middle & plugs into the silver thing ? thats the wifi antenna, & it came of mine when i separated the platter, i looked at it but couldn`t see anywhere obvious for it to plug into, thats why mine isn`t working at all, if your still experiencing a weak wifi signal i would guess it`s pressing against the connector, but is partialy unseated. i`ll fix mine when i do the cpu, it`s no big deal for me as i can swap the hardwired ethernet from my Xbox 360 & shove it in the mini & still get access to my network & internet.

as for the cpu swapout, i`m a lot happier about everything now, the DVD drive & HD platter looked pretty easy to get to, just the usual 4 screws, it just looks like you gotta be carefull when you do it etc etc, & the cpu, looks like once you seperate the top half like when you do the RAM, you just unscrew the mobo from the base of the case, flip it back over so it`s bcak on the HDD platter, then release the plastic heatsink mounts underneath the mobo, then turn it back over & CAREFULLY remove the heatsink, i`ve done this on GFX cards quite a few times, & i don`t expect any problems, then under the heatsink thers a fairly standard intell socket, with a single release screw, looks like a normal ZIFS so swapping the CPU out at this point should be as easy as any normal AMD or Intell socket.

i`ll let you know how i go on :)

I still think you`re far braver than me, but I`m less experienced at fiddling witht hings by the sounds of it :D
The memory was simple enough from what I remember, and you`re right, I`d forgotten about the wifi signal, although I think I`ve put that down to where I moved my router to, although I am having mega probs with it, well I was until I downgraded the firmware!
At least you`ve sussed the wifi problem on yours though. Sounds like your ready for the next upgrade stage, and that I am defo interested in :)

i got outbid on the cpu :( i don`t wanna pay more than £60, i`ve put an offer on another one (T2600 @ 2.16ghz) but even if they accept, it`ll be next week before i get delivery :( i`ll update this thread as it happens :)

Thats a shame about the CPU, but as you remembered the Golden Ebay rule, there`s always another one that will come round the corner at the right price!

I await your updates with anticipation :D

just a little update :)

i`ve been to skint to go for a cpu, but i have upgraded the hard disc, i took my 160gig external sata drive & fitted it into the mini, then used the disc utill to format it etc, no apparent issue`s the install`s about half way through, & at the end of it i`ll have nearly trippled my internal HD space :)

so thats 2 of the 4 upgrades done, only the cpu & the dvd burner remain :)

Nice. Will be interested to keep up with how you get on with this one Chris.
Got a mate of mine who`s looking at a little media PC and an old Mac mini with a few choice upgrades (like you`re doing) might be just the ticket. And I think he actually has a T2700 chip in a broken laptop that he might be able to utilise.

"Build a man a fire, and he`ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he`ll be warm for the rest of his life."
-Terry Pratchett.

This item was edited on Sunday, 20th July 2008, 19:31

And I think he actually has a T2700 chip in a broken laptop that he might be able to utilise.

provided it`s a socket, rather than a solder job, it`ll be fine, but as a media pc, even the most basic core duo (like mine) is just fine. plays anything upto a 1080p .mkv file.

also, when opening the mini, you really don`t need the stanly knife/credit card, a 2-1/2" putty knife with one edge sanded down is fine, takes about 5 seconds to open it up.

edit= make sure it`s a yonah core on the cpu, even if it`s not, it may work, as peeps have used core2duo cpu`s on the same board... but just check first :)

This item was edited on Sunday, 20th July 2008, 22:57

UPDATE.

done some more digging around to see if the T2700 will work, some say it wiil, some say it won`t :/ it`s the same socket, & physicaly it`s identical, Except it draws 34watts not 31watts like the t2300 & T2600, now, i would be pretty happy to guess the power difference won`t make a great amount of difference, but i wouldn`t like to go out & buy one on the offchance, but i am sure it wouldn`t cause any harm, so if your pal decides to fit his T2700 i`m very interested to know if it works consistantly, & doesn`t have any overheating issues.