03-23-2006, 03:37 PM
I had to have it.
The 4200/2mb 80GB drive in the Mini serves its purpose, but I have a 120GB/7200/8mb cache Maxtor sitting here, and I wanted to use it to speed up the Mini.
And did it ever!
Scores in a moment, but let's discuss the box.
I chose the first incarnation, with switches. The second incarnation has side ports and is, if I recall correctly, fully automatic for fan/temp control.
At first glance I wasn't all that impressed with the revised package, but after having spent some time behind the Mini, there is some real benefit to having a side mount USB/FW plug. So consider that very seriously. Remember, this is not just a FW drive box, it is also a FW/USB 2 hub as well. The side mount plugs are on the revised unit, not the first incarnation.
The Maxtor drive JUST fit into it. In fact, I would have liked to have shaved the sharp square corner from the Maxtor casting if I had such a capability. OWC mentions on the site that certain drives simply will NOT fit. The Maxtor I have fits, it just took about an extra 90 seconds to make sure it was snug.
The unit has its own temp sensor that you place above the drive, and comes with halogenated nylon tape to hold it in place.
The one real surprise is the top. Pros and cons. Pro - very easy to get into the case. It is a flexible material, most likely polypropylene, similar to a RubberMaid lid.
You don't see if after you stack the mini on top of it - so it really isn't an issue. It was, however, a surprise. I suppose I expected something more like the Mini top itself - hard - but that would have made getting in/out of the box more time consuming. In addition, the MiniStack case must "give" a little bit depending on what you are ramming into it. A rigid top with screws would have made this somewhat limiting.
Remember... there still has to be a PATA cable and a power plug hanging off the back of the drive, and hair widths become important if you want it to look just like a Mini!
Had the case not had a tiny bit of flex, this Maxtor never would have made it. The slight flex in the MiniStack base might result in a less than perfect fit of the plastic snap-top lid (minor MINOR gaps around the edge, like how the hood of your car fits in relation to the fenders), but again, the mini sits on top of it, and becomes unseen and a non-concern. The width of a piece of paper vs. a matchbook cover is what allows this unit to accomodate the various flares of HD manufactures- which use the casting as a heatsink on the HD itself.
--
I powered the unit on, and nothing happened. I connected the Mini to it, and nothing happened. I STARTED the Mini, and the MiniStack came to life. I like that! In auto-sense mode, it remained idle until the Mini came to life.
Using XBench 1.1.3, the stock Mini scored 114. The FW Mini scored 135. Sorry, I don't know what the baseline for v1.1.3 is. The processor in the Mini kicked it to 168 initially, but the drive scores brought it down.
The video was decent, however, if you get a silent upgrade mini with 5400 rpm drives and the 1.5GHz G4 and the 64mb video, you'll be doing some positive screaming.
The MiniStack with my drive made an incredible difference on my disk scores. And I've still got a mere 256mb in this thing (I'll get it the 1GB stick soon).
When you see the 3.5" drive inside the MiniStack and consider all the OTHER things that are actually inside the actual computer --- you'll be all the more impressed with the Mac Mini (even if it does use a 2.5" drive).
There is NO ROOM inside these things. And yet, everything is there.
I foresee another MiniStack in my future, when I want to add a 300-500GB drive to my units, regardless of whether it goes to the Mini or to the iMac I will ultimately add.
There were open box units for $50 at OWC, and blank top units for $58. Mine was $59.95 + $4 to ship it. Grab them. You are going to pay this much for a FW case, and it won't have the USB2/FW hub built into it.
Just do it.
The 4200/2mb 80GB drive in the Mini serves its purpose, but I have a 120GB/7200/8mb cache Maxtor sitting here, and I wanted to use it to speed up the Mini.
And did it ever!
Scores in a moment, but let's discuss the box.
I chose the first incarnation, with switches. The second incarnation has side ports and is, if I recall correctly, fully automatic for fan/temp control.
At first glance I wasn't all that impressed with the revised package, but after having spent some time behind the Mini, there is some real benefit to having a side mount USB/FW plug. So consider that very seriously. Remember, this is not just a FW drive box, it is also a FW/USB 2 hub as well. The side mount plugs are on the revised unit, not the first incarnation.
The Maxtor drive JUST fit into it. In fact, I would have liked to have shaved the sharp square corner from the Maxtor casting if I had such a capability. OWC mentions on the site that certain drives simply will NOT fit. The Maxtor I have fits, it just took about an extra 90 seconds to make sure it was snug.
The unit has its own temp sensor that you place above the drive, and comes with halogenated nylon tape to hold it in place.
The one real surprise is the top. Pros and cons. Pro - very easy to get into the case. It is a flexible material, most likely polypropylene, similar to a RubberMaid lid.
You don't see if after you stack the mini on top of it - so it really isn't an issue. It was, however, a surprise. I suppose I expected something more like the Mini top itself - hard - but that would have made getting in/out of the box more time consuming. In addition, the MiniStack case must "give" a little bit depending on what you are ramming into it. A rigid top with screws would have made this somewhat limiting.
Remember... there still has to be a PATA cable and a power plug hanging off the back of the drive, and hair widths become important if you want it to look just like a Mini!
Had the case not had a tiny bit of flex, this Maxtor never would have made it. The slight flex in the MiniStack base might result in a less than perfect fit of the plastic snap-top lid (minor MINOR gaps around the edge, like how the hood of your car fits in relation to the fenders), but again, the mini sits on top of it, and becomes unseen and a non-concern. The width of a piece of paper vs. a matchbook cover is what allows this unit to accomodate the various flares of HD manufactures- which use the casting as a heatsink on the HD itself.
--
I powered the unit on, and nothing happened. I connected the Mini to it, and nothing happened. I STARTED the Mini, and the MiniStack came to life. I like that! In auto-sense mode, it remained idle until the Mini came to life.
Using XBench 1.1.3, the stock Mini scored 114. The FW Mini scored 135. Sorry, I don't know what the baseline for v1.1.3 is. The processor in the Mini kicked it to 168 initially, but the drive scores brought it down.
The video was decent, however, if you get a silent upgrade mini with 5400 rpm drives and the 1.5GHz G4 and the 64mb video, you'll be doing some positive screaming.
The MiniStack with my drive made an incredible difference on my disk scores. And I've still got a mere 256mb in this thing (I'll get it the 1GB stick soon).
When you see the 3.5" drive inside the MiniStack and consider all the OTHER things that are actually inside the actual computer --- you'll be all the more impressed with the Mac Mini (even if it does use a 2.5" drive).
There is NO ROOM inside these things. And yet, everything is there.
I foresee another MiniStack in my future, when I want to add a 300-500GB drive to my units, regardless of whether it goes to the Mini or to the iMac I will ultimately add.
There were open box units for $50 at OWC, and blank top units for $58. Mine was $59.95 + $4 to ship it. Grab them. You are going to pay this much for a FW case, and it won't have the USB2/FW hub built into it.
Just do it.
