Upgrading RAM in Your Mac mini

Upgrading RAM in your Mac mini is a pretty simple procedure. Crack open the Mac, press a couple of tabs, and add the new RAM. You have no screws to remove and no other parts that you need to remove first. If you're thinking of paying someone to upgrade your Mac mini's RAM, keep in mind that the installer isn't going to work very hard to earn your money.

When replacing RAM, you have to buy the correct amount and type.

Mac OS X performance and RAM
RAM is tied to performance in a negative way. Too little RAM leads to slow performance and frequent appearances of the dreaded spinning beach ball. Adding RAM can fix this, but only to a point, and it depends on what you're doing. Microsoft Word, for example, isn't going to run faster with 1GB RAM than with 512MB. iMovie, though, runs faster.

How much is enough?
During the first seven months of the Mac mini's existence, it came with 256MB RAM. Apple realized that this wasn't enough and upped the minimum configuration to 512MB. If you're dedicating the Mac mini to playing DVD movies in your car, you probably don't need more RAM. But if you're editing movies, photos, or audio, you need more.

If you are going to upgrade, go for the maximum of 1GB RAM. Consider that the Mac mini has a single RAM slot. When you upgrade RAM, you take out the old RAM module and replace it with a new one. The old RAM module might make a good coffee stirrer, but it isn't good for much else. That means that you should upgrade once and buy as much RAM as you think you'll ever need.


Buying the right RAM
Different computers have different types of RAM. You can often just ask for RAM that works with the Mac mini. But if you're shopping around, it's good to know what you're looking for.

The Mac mini comes with a type of RAM called PC2700 (333-MHz) DDR SDRAM with 184 pins — quite a mouthful. It can also use PC3200 (400-MHz) DDR SDRAM, which is the same size. The latter is faster RAM, but the Mac mini runs it at the same (slower) speed as the PC2700 DDR SDRAM. There's no point in paying more for the PC3200 type.

Installing a new RAM module
In this section, you find out how to remove the old RAM module and add the new module. First is removing the old RAM module:

1. Remove the outer casing.

2. If you have internal Bluetooth, remove the Bluetooth antenna by following these steps:

• a. Loosen the yellow tape that holds the antenna to the DVD drive.

• b. Grab the rectangular portion of the antenna and pull it up and out. Place the antenna off to the side of the Mac mini.

The antenna remains connected to the Mac mini at the rear.

Try not to bend the long, straight portion of the antenna. Doing so could degrade the Bluetooth connectivity.


3. Locate the RAM module on the left side of the Mac mini.

4. Push down on the black plastic latches on both sides of the RAM module.

The left latch hits the metal shielding and doesn't go as far down as the right latch. This is normal. Don't force it or you can damage the shielding. Also, because the right latch can go down farther, the right side of the RAM module pops up slightly.


5. Carefully grab the top of the right side of the RAM module and lift it out of the slot, right side first. Then pull out the left side.

Now you can install the new RAM module.

Your new RAM module has two sets of gold-plated fingers at the bottom. (No kidding, this is real gold.) You're not imagining things if the module looks lopsided. One side of the fingers is bigger than the other side. This guarantees that the RAM module fits in only one way. If it's not going in, you have it oriented the wrong way.

To install the module, push it straight into the RAM slot. Don't put it in at an angle. Keep pushing until the two latches automatically pop up into the locked position.