All Posts by Date or last 15, 30, 90 or 180 days.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases @AMAZON

Designed for the most demanding needs of photographers and videographers.
Connect and charge all of your devices through a single Thunderbolt or USB-C port.

Oct 2014 Mac Mini (new one): is the Memory Upgradeable?

The October 2014 MacMini is a study in compromise, which could be frustrating for some users:

  • The memory is not user-upgradeable (soldered on).
  • Dual-core CPU options only (no quad core). Base model has extremely slow 1.4 GHz CPU.
  • Internal drives are limited also, versus two in prior models.

So this MacMini downgrade upgrade that kills the cult appeal of the MacMini. it’s now just a “toaster” with no inferio upgradeability and no quad-core option, which is a major issue for some uses. It even might be slower than the 2012 model. Which is not to say it is a bad machine, just more of a “toaster” now (so to speak).

By the time the 3 GHz CPU and 16GB memory and 256GB SSD are specified, it’s a $1400 machine. This makes little sense to me; refurbished quad-core laptops can be had for about that price.

One reader suggests that memory in the new MacMini might not be upgradeable (e.g., soldered on). Caution advised until the situation is clarified, otherwise be sure to order with 16GB memory (+$200 is a steep premium to bump up to 16GB from 8GB, as per usual Apple practice).

MacPerformanceGuide recommendation for MacMini memory

Apple makes no mention of such a critical consideration, but that would not be a first. MPG sure hopes that that the late 2014 Apple MacMini memory is upgradeable as always has been.

Note that the new iMac 5K is described as having “four SO-DIMM slots, user accessible”, and that the MacMini is not so-described, which does not bode well.

UPDATE: all indications are that the memory in the MacMini is soldered-on, so be sure to order it with 16GB, or at the least no less than 8GB. The knowledge base MacMini memory page has not been updated for the 2014 model, so no clarity there.

Update 2: confirmed that MacMini has soldered-on memory and thus cannot be upgraded after purchase.

View all handpicked deals...

Voigtlander MACRO APO-LANTHAR 65mm f/2 Aspherical Lens for Sony E
$999 $849
SAVE $150

diglloyd.com | Terms of Use | PRIVACY POLICY
Contact | About Lloyd Chambers | Consulting | Photo Tours
Mailing Lists | RSS Feeds | X.com/diglloyd
Copyright © 2020 diglloyd Inc, all rights reserved.
Display info: __RETINA_INFO_STATUS__