RAM in my Mac mini

Soldato
Joined
28 Jan 2011
Posts
8,129
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.

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

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?
 
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.
 
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.

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.

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!
 
Sod it :D

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!
 
Update people -

Decided to send the RAM back, I use the Mac currently for the basics PLUS RekordBox and it runs so well, and I don't do anything anymore taxing, so although it might assist have 16 or 32 gigs of RAM, its totally fine and smooth for me atm.

If this changes over time, then I will consider upgrading, as I ordered the RAM and the toolkit (which im keeping) for any future ventures! :)
 
In a few years time, DDR4 32gig kits will become the current 8gig DDR3 SODIMM kits making the upgrade a no brainer.

you’ll probably never really max out the 32gig kit but it doesn’t hurt to have it in case.

yeah, will probably change out in the future if need be, but so far the 8gb has been plenty for my uses..
 
Decided to upgrade my mini..

would 16gb suffice? Or should I put in 32gb?

I don’t need 32gb and I am assuming that the extra 16gb won’t make much difference in speed?
 
Would this ram be suitable for the 2018 Mac mini?

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