RAM in my Mac mini

Zeebedy · 5 Jan 2022 at 21:26

I purchased a man mini base, with 8gb of RAM, hoping to upgrade if:

1. will not be overkill having either 16gb or 32gb
2. Will help improve performance

I will need to order the ram and a tool kit to do so, but is it worth it in the long run? As under basic usage my ram utilisation is about 5 to 6 go out of the 8gb.

is it worth 32 over 16 also?

ChrisD. · 5 Jan 2022 at 21:31

Which year? 16 should be ample.

Zeebedy · 5 Jan 2022 at 21:33

It’s a late 2018 model Chris.

Feek · 5 Jan 2022 at 22:42

16 should be plenty. Do you need tools for that model, doesn’t the base just twist off?

Zeebedy · 6 Jan 2022 at 01:15

Feek said:
16 should be plenty. Do you need tools for that model, doesn’t the base just twist off?

Yeah, its the 2012 models that have the RAM upgrade being a piece of cake! :mad:

ChrisD. · 6 Jan 2022 at 07:44

It’s easy enough if you are careful and take your time. I bought the iFix stuff from Amazon and whilst it’s expensive it’s excellent.

HACO · 6 Jan 2022 at 12:33

Zeebedy said:
I purchased a man mini base, with 8gb of RAM, hoping to upgrade if:

1. will not be overkill having either 16gb or 32gb
2. Will help improve performance

I will need to order the ram and a tool kit to do so, but is it worth it in the long run? As under basic usage my ram utilisation is about 5 to 6 go out of the 8gb.

is it worth 32 over 16 also?

If you have to ask whether you'll need 32GB, you probably don't. But DDR4 So-DIMM is cheap anyway. You might as well just get more.

visibleman · 6 Jan 2022 at 13:33

Zeebedy said:
is it worth 32 over 16 also?

Arguably 16GB probably would be enough but if you can justify the spend then you might as well go the whole hog saving you upgrading it further down the line.

Saying that, a Late 2018 isn't too bad to do (as long as you have all the correct Torx and TR bits) and iFixIt has a decent guide - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+mini+Late+2018+Memory+(RAM)+Replacement/115309

Zeebedy · 6 Jan 2022 at 16:32

HACO said:
If you have to ask whether you'll need 32GB, you probably don't. But DDR4 So-DIMM is cheap anyway. You might as well just get more.

Yeah, was thinking that, maybe just fork out the little extra and get 32gb.

visibleman said:
Arguably 16GB probably would be enough but if you can justify the spend then you might as well go the whole hog saving you upgrading it further down the line.

Saying that, a Late 2018 isn't too bad to do (as long as you have all the correct Torx and TR bits) and iFixIt has a decent guide - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+mini+Late+2018+Memory+(RAM)+Replacement/115309

Seen some videos on YouTube and it does seem fairly straight forward.

Will Apple install RAM for me if I get it independently, obviously there would be a charge, but I'm thinking they will only install first party RAM?

visibleman · 6 Jan 2022 at 16:44

Zeebedy said:
Will Apple install RAM for me if I get it independently, obviously there would be a charge, but I'm thinking they will only install first party RAM?

Would be very surprised if Apple would do it. Although an authorised Apple service centre might but they probably would only do the job if you bought the RAM through them.

Saying that, the tools (iirc, i think you need three or four Torx bits/screwdrivers) for a Late 2018 is about £10 if you grab them from Amazon or eBay and it'll take you 20-30 minutes start to finish being ultra careful.

Zeebedy · 6 Jan 2022 at 16:48

visibleman said:
Would be very surprised if Apple would do it. Although an authorised Apple service centre might but they probably would only do the job if you bought the RAM through them.

Saying that, the tools (iirc, i think you need three or four Torx bits/screwdrivers) for a Late 2018 is about £10 if you grab them from Amazon or eBay and it'll take you 20-30 minutes start to finish being ultra careful.

Yeah, true, and I suppose if worst came to worst I could also get it repaired if I did say, damage something delicate.

Zeebedy · 6 Jan 2022 at 18:51

Hey guys, will this kit be compatible with the mini?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304166947136

HACO · 6 Jan 2022 at 20:21

Zeebedy said:
Hey guys, will this kit be compatible with the mini?

Should be. You can check Crucial Mac compatibility here:

https://content.crucial.com/content...emory-for-mac-systems-compatibility-chart.pdf

visibleman · 6 Jan 2022 at 21:38

Zeebedy said:
Hey guys, will this kit be compatible with the mini?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304166947136

Not on the Crucial's support list but CT8G4SFRA266 should work and there's a number of reviews on Amazon of people using them in Mac's/Late 2018 Mini's ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Crucial suggest CT2K8G4S266M (16GB Kit) which is around £10-15 more expensive (their own sites appears to be one of the cheaper places to purchase).

Zeebedy · 8 Jan 2022 at 14:13

hey guys,

going to go with 16gb, as suggested, I'm not really finding much limitations performance wise, the main thing is that the mini is "swapping" the files a lot using the hard drive, which I'm a little concerned about?..

HACO · 8 Jan 2022 at 14:20

Zeebedy said:
hey guys,

going to go with 16gb, as suggested, I'm not really finding much limitations performance wise, the main thing is that the mini is "swapping" the files a lot using the hard drive, which I'm a little concerned about?..

No reason to be concerned. It's how operating systems work.

Zeebedy · 8 Jan 2022 at 14:23

HACO said:
No reason to be concerned. It's how operating systems work.

so, if its safe, should I stick with 8gb? I'm only doing the basics, but if it will help make the system a little "snappier" it might be worth the odd £70 (RAM and the tool kit)?

ChrisD. · 8 Jan 2022 at 14:29

Zeebedy said:
so, if its safe, should I stick with 8gb? I'm only doing the basics, but if it will help make the system a little "snappier" it might be worth the odd £70 (RAM and the tool kit)?

If you are just web browsing, YouTube, Office apps etc then I don't think you'll notice any difference.

Zeebedy · 8 Jan 2022 at 14:32

ChrisD. said:
If you are just web browsing, YouTube, Office apps etc then I don't think you'll notice any difference.

What about Rekordbox? Will that be quite demanding? it only States 4gb as a minimum, but 8gb recommended apart from that app, it will be like you say, just the basics!

Zeebedy · 8 Jan 2022 at 15:50

Sod it

just ordered a 32gb kit, should help with some future proofing and the costs equated to £40 more than the 16gb kit, so there that.

Also a tool kit, its straight forward enough I suppose, its just the scale of things being so so small that bother me a little, but got a quote from a Mac repair / upgrade shop, granted they are reputable but at £85 to do :eek:

I will try myself.

If there is any issues with the small cables then I will deal with that when (hopefully not) arrises!