Original link: https://luolei.org/2023-mac-mini-ssd-upgrade-experience
On 618 this year, I upgraded a set of office computers for my wife. Built a Mac with a 2TB hard drive.
Why upgrade your computer? ​
How many Mac computers do I currently have at home
- MacBook Pro 14-inch (2020) M1 16GB + 512GB: My company’s work computer is also my main machine
- MacBook Pro 15-inch (Mid 2014) i7 + 16GB + 500GB: My wife’s main work computer, it’s quite powerful after using it for so many years
- MacBook Air 13″ (2018) i3 + 8GB + 256GB: My Wife’s Laptop
My wife is half a video creator, and the main work needs to use Adobe and Final Cut Pro for video editing. Although Final Cut Pro on macOS has been optimized for image processing, this nearly 10-year-old machine is undergoing a system upgrade. Finally began to show fatigue and began to bear too much burden.
Why choose Mac mini? ​
Before buying this Mac mini, I also considered the MacBook Pro M1 Pro and the new MacBook Air 15-inch in 2023, and my wife personally wanted to buy an iMac.
- MacBook: My wife already has a MacBook, and there is really no need for mobile office, which is a bit wasteful. The starting price of the 16G + 512GB specification combination of the Apple notebook product line is above 10K, which is not very cost-effective.
- iMac 24 inches: The iMac is actually a good choice, but the current iMac still only has the M1 chip, plus only a small 24-inch screen. give up.
Taking into account other peripherals at home, including 4K monitors, keyboards and mice, we evaluated the current needs and equipment. Finally, I found the combination of Mac Mini with Thunderbolt hard disk box and external large-capacity solid-state hard disk.
Speaking of which, I am no stranger to this combination. I wrote an article in 2017 to share the speed-up solution of iMac through USB3.0 external hard disk.
After so many years, Apple’s memory and hard disk are still expensive. In the end, I still adopted the solution of Mac mini plus external hard disk. The specifications and prices are as follows, all purchased from JD.com.
Hardware List ​
- 1.
Mac mini: M2 + 16G memory + 256G hard disk 
¥4718 - 2.
SSD: Hynix P44 Pro 2TB ¥877 - 3.
Hard disk box: WERO Thunderbolt 3/pseudo-USB4 dual protocol ¥ 662 
Total price ¥ 6257
Except for the Mac mini, which is a little troublesome plan through Beijing consumer coupon discounts of 6000-600, and then superimposing stores with 6000-200 discounts, other hardware is at a discounted price of 618.
Unpack ​
This is the protagonist of today’s accessories, WERO’s Thunderbolt hard disk box and Hynix Solidigm P44 Pro. Now the price of SSD is extremely cheap. Although you can buy a domestic high-speed solid-state drive for less than 600 yuan, since I plan to use it as a system disk for Mac mini, I compare it with stability and quality. Hynix’s P44 Pro is considered The high-end products of the first echelon are not cheap either.
This is the WERO hard disk enclosure, which adopts the dual-chip solution of Thunderbolt 3 and external USB4 protocol, and supports a maximum transmission rate of 40Gbps. I have also seen the TB405 hard disk enclosure of Acasis, but the price of the two brands is not much different after the discount , and finally chose WERO. If the budget is limited and it is only used for Mac, you can also choose a box with a single Thunderbolt 3 chip, and the price will be much cheaper.
I haven’t paid attention to the hardware market for a long time. When I first saw the brand SOLIDIGM, I wondered what it was. Later, I checked the information and found that it was established after Hynix acquired Intel’s solid-state drive business. It can be regarded as the first echelon. I bought this hard drive at JD.com’s self-operated store, and its packaging box indicates that its manufacturing plant is located in Delaware, USA.
The box is inserted into the WERO hard disk box, and the WERO box comes with a screwdriver and a cooling sticker. The M2 hard drive generates a lot of heat, so it is still necessary for a box like WERO to dissipate heat from aluminum alloy.
After installation, connect the box to the Thunderbolt 4 port on the back of the Mac mini near the HDMI, and you can run at full speed. WERO This box I read the evaluation said that the appearance is online, the actual look is not bad, I bought the matte silver.
The steps to install the system to the external hard disk are also relatively simple:
- Format hard disk AFPS format + GUID partition
- Download the latest macOS from the App Store
- Install macOS to the external hard drive
After the installation is complete, restart the computer and set up a new system environment. At this time, the system has been running on the external hard disk, and the reading and writing speed can reach 2700MB/s.
Then put a comparison of the read and write speeds of the mini built-in 256GB hard drive and the external 2TB hard drive.
Summary ​
The combination of M2 + 16GB memory + 2T hard disk, with a total price of 6.3K, is still a cost-effective solution for me. 
Advantages ​
- M2 chip + 16GB of memory, the performance is sufficient for most work scenarios.
- 2TB solid-state drive: Fast enough, you don’t have to worry about running out of space.
Disadvantages ​
- An external hard drive occupies a Thunderbolt interface, and the other Thunderbolt interface is currently connected to a Thunderbolt expansion dock.
- There is definitely no built-in hard drive for stability: Although I have used the iMac external USB hard drive for several years without any problems.
If you don’t have a ready-made monitor keyboard, I personally recommend buying the MacBook Pro M1 16GB + 512GB version. But if your other conditions are met, Mac mini + external hard drive has many cost-effective choices.
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