Testing conducted by Apple in October 2018 using preproduction 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7-based Mac mini systems with 64GB of RAM and 2TB SSD, and shipping 3.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7-based Mac mini systems with 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. Adobe Photoshop 19.1.6 tested using a 10GB file and rotate, unsharp mask, auto color, and scale functions. Mac mini (Late 2014) has memory that is integrated into the main logic board and can't be upgraded. 2012, 2011, 2010 To remove and install memory in your Mac mini (Late 2012), Mac mini (Mid 2011) or Mac mini (Mid 2010), use the following steps. 2009 Mac mini takes 8 GB RAM, mini Server a steal, 27″ iMac now ‘the Mac to have’, and more, Mac News Review, 2009.10.30. Also using Blu-ray with the new iMac, 10 years of Mac OS 9, Magic Mouse potential, SSD upgrade for desktops, Chrome alpha for Mac, and more.
Hey,
I just attempted to install 16 GB of crucial RAM into my late 2009 mac mini as I'm having some major beach ball issues after updating to Mavericks. I popped these in the machine:
When I started it up, the light flashed and it was honking at me. When I put the old RAM in it worked fine. How much RAM can I put into this thing?
Thanks. (Here is an EtreCheck:)
EtreCheck version: 1.9.12 (48)
Report generated July 27, 2014 at 8:42:06 AM PDT
Hardware Information:
Mac mini (Late 2009) (Verified)
Mac mini - model: Macmini3,1
1 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores
4 GB RAM
Video Information:
NVIDIA GeForce 9400 - VRAM: 256 MB
TH-42P**7 1280 x 720 @ 60 Hz
System Software:
OS X 10.9.3 (13D65) - Uptime: 4 days 13:29:8
Disk Information:
Hitachi HTS543232L9SA02 disk0 : (320.07 GB)
EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 319.21 GB (179.61 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5670S
USB Information:
Western Digital My Book 1234 3 TB
EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
Morpheus (disk1s2) /Volumes/Morpheus: 3 TB (1.08 TB free)
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
FireWire Information:
OEM OEM ATA Device 00 800mbit - 800mbit max
EFI (disk2s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
Raid (disk2s2) /Volumes/Raid: 8 TB (4.15 TB free)
Gatekeeper:
Anywhere
Kernel Extensions:
[loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.6.6 - SDK 10.6) Support
[loaded] com.iospirit.driver.rbiokithelper (1.8.0) Support
[loaded] com.logmein.driver.LogMeInSoundDriver (1.0.3 - SDK 10.5) Support
Problem System Launch Daemons:
[failed] com.apple.wdhelper.plist
Launch Daemons:
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
[running] com.cleverfiles.cfbackd.plist Support
[running] com.crashplan.engine.plist Support
[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist Support
[not loaded] com.logmein.logmeinblanker.plist Support
[running] com.logmein.logmeinserver.plist Support
[loaded] com.logmein.raupdate.plist Support
[running] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist Support
Launch Agents:
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
[failed] com.logmein.LMILaunchAgentFixer.plist Support
[running] com.logmein.logmeingui.plist Support
[running] com.logmein.logmeinguiagent.plist Support
[not loaded] com.logmein.logmeinguiagentatlogin.plist Support
[running] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist Support
[running] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist Support
User Launch Agents:
[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist
[running] com.plexapp.helper.plist Support
User Login Items:
iTouch-Server
SABnzbd+
Dropbox
CrashPlan menu bar
Plex Media Server
sb
Google+ Auto Backup
Internet Plug-ins:
o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.2.18903 Support
nplastpass: Version: 2.0.11 Support
LogMeInSafari64: Version: 1.0.497 Support
Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10516.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support
LogMeIn: Version: 1.0.497 Support
Flash Player: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
LogMeInSafari32: Version: 1.0.497 Support
googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.2.18903 Support
SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.0.0 Support
iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8
Safari Extensions:
Open in Internet Explorer: Version: 1.0
Audio Plug-ins:
BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9
AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9
AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9
iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9
iTunes Plug-ins:
Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9
User Internet Plug-ins:
Picasa: Version: 1.0 Support
3rd Party Preference Panes:
Candelair Support
Flash Player Support
MacFUSE Support
teleport Support
Time Machine:
Skip System Files: NO
Mobile backups: OFF
Mac Mini Late 2009 Specs
Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off
Volumes being backed up:
Macintosh HD: Disk size: 297.29 GB Disk used: 130.02 GB
Destinations:
Raid [Local] (Last used)
Total size: 0 B
Total number of backups: (null)
Size of backup disk: Too small
Backup size 0 B < (Disk used 130.02 GB X 3)
Time Machine details may not be accurate.
All volumes being backed up may not be listed.
Top Processes by CPU:
56% firefox
30% Plex Media Server
11% ScreensharingAgent
7% SABnzbd
4% WindowServer
Top Processes by Memory:
474 MB firefox
254 MB CrashPlanService
98 MB Finder
98 MB mds_stores
41 MB ScreensharingAgent
Virtual Memory Information:
Ram For Mac Mini Late 2014
1.23 GB Free RAM
1.04 GB Active RAM
495 MB Inactive RAM
716 MB Wired RAM
9.95 GB Page-ins
2.38 GB Page-outs
Mac mini (Late 2009), OS X Mavericks (10.9.3)
Ram For Mac Mini Late 2009 Ports
Posted on
While I’m happy with the new iPad Air 2, and it has seriously cut down my desktop usage, I still need a traditional computer to get work done. The problem was that my Mac was running slow. It’s over five years old. I thought about getting a new Mac, but the new models didn’t impressed me. They’re either too expensive for my budget or not a significant improvement over the earlier Macs. To save money, but boost performance, I decided to upgrade my Mac Mini.
Macs aren’t really known for massive upgrading. That’s one of my disappointments with the new Mac Mini. The RAM is permanently attached. It’s not designed for RAM upgrades. The early 2009 Mac Mini doesn’t have that problem. I thought it was at the max already, as I had previously upgraded the RAM to 4GB. But apparently, a firmware update raised the cap to 8GB. Considering that I bought the Mac Mini with just 1GB of RAM, adding two 4GB modules is a huge upgrade. The additional RAM seems to help with Yosemite. I’m not really a fan of this OS X update, as I think Mavericks was more stable and looked a lot better. While more RAM alone won’t make the OS prettier, it seems to help with stability.
Although, to be fair, I did another large upgrade simultaneously. I upgraded the hard drive in my Mac Mini from a spinning disk to a solid state drive. This change should improve system boot times and data reads times, while reducing power consumption. The addition of a silent running SSD makes my previously quiet Mac sounds almost ghostly. The only noisy parts left are the optical drive (which I rarely use) and the fan. The latter is the one part I’m worried about. I’m not sure how long can that thing can keep spinning.
At some point Apple will likely stop supporting the 2009 Mac Mini. It’s already at the edge of hardware supported by Yosemite. Even though I think Yosemite is ugly, downloading the latest security updates are important. I don’t know how long the software will hold out, but I figure that I added at least two years of life to my Mac. That should be enough time for the Intel Skylake CPUs to make their way inside Mac hardware. For now, my Core 2 Duo processor is hanging in there.
Oh sure, my Mac is missing the latest features like USB 3, Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Yet, the older versions are getting the job done. I was more concerned with getting rid of the lag with opening files, browser tabs and applications. If I was to buy a new mid-range Mac Mini directly from the Apple, with 8GB of RAM and an SSD, it could run $900. But instead, approximately $160 of parts turned my old Mac into a competitive machine.