New Mac mini advice - 5400RPM or 7200RPM?

[StingMe]

I'm replacing a 2006 1.66GHz mini with a new 2.53GHz model - with Apple's pricing on these it actually makes some sense to allow them to bump up the RAM and HD rather than do the upgrades myself. Plus, the current mini will be sold to offset the cost of the new one so that makes the whole upgrade all the more attractive.

Would I see much of a performance increase by getting the stock 320GB 5400RPM drive and replacing it with a 500GB 7200RPM drive? Is there a downside to using the faster drive in a mini? Apple wants $90 to upgrade the 320 to a 500GB 5400RPM drive and for about that I know I can get a 500GB 7200RPM drive and then have the 320 to sell, reuse, whatever. But then there's the labor involved in tearing apart a new mini...

The mini is used for basic tasks, but the user routinely has a dozen or more apps open - Eudora, Google Earth, iTunes, iPhoto, Safari, Word, Preview, Excel, Powerpoint, iChat, Skype, iCal, Skitch and a bajillion windows (mostly email). iPhoto is probably the most taxing app, as they have about 20,000 photos, many in RAW format, and the Library is approaching 200GB.

The current mini is attached to a 500GB ministack, which is being used as its primary drive but I'd rather bring all of the storage into the mini at this point.

What say you - should I just go with Apple's 500GB 5400RPM drive and be done with it? Thanks!

[DRR]

I would go with the 500GB/7200. That's a big iphoto library and a fast disk will speed every single application you use.

It sucks more power, but the Mini does not run on battery. It will create a little more heat, but I've owned 3 minis and they all manage heat incredibly well. I would not hesitate to put a 7200 rpm drive in a Mini.

Plus by DIY, you get the 320GB drive as a spare. Buy an inexpensive USB case for it ($6) and run it as a backup drive, or clone your system to it in case of emergency... whatever. HD upgrade in a Mini is not difficult, just go slow, don't force anything (except maybe when you're cracking open the case and keep track of the screws.

[mikebw]

Yeah if you can afford it the faster drive will be a nice improvement.

[mattkime]

The scorpio blue drive is frequently recommended - http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=506

Its as fast as most 7200 drives.

[Jimmypoo]

just make sure it has more cache than the 5400. I've had both with the same cache and
they performed almost identical. Add more cache, and that drive beat them all, even when
connected over FW vs. the ATA bus.

So pay the extra and get the cache, even if you end up with a 5400 but 16 or 32mb of cache.
Look at the Samsungs on 2.5" for great deals.

[RAMd®d]

So pay the extra and get the cache, even if you end up with a 5400 but 16 or 32mb of cache.

I haven't had a 5400 or 7200 with a 16MB or bigger cache, but I've had 5400s and 7200s with 8MB caches, and I can't tell any difference in performance without a stop watch. I haven't bothered with a stopwatch because if the difference is that slight, there may as well be no difference at all.

With an 8MB cache constraint I would go with a bigger 5400 rather than a smaller 7200.

[Jimmypoo]

RAM's right... I couldn't recall where the cut-off point was, but if there is a 16, I'd get
it over the same size 5400 (and skip the 7200).

I always ran some HD performance app -- although I haven't for some time, there are
tons, like MacBench - and you can just run the HD part to see how it performs.

If all else is equal, except price and rotation speed, I'd opt for the cheaper one.

[colonel panic]

I upgraded my media center Mini with a Seagate Momentus 7200.4 7200 RPM, 16MB Cache and really didn't see much improvement. If I had to do it again, I would probably go for a bigger 5400 RPM drive.

[jdc]

OWC makes it look pretty easy.

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/mac_mini_2009/

Have you thought about a 640 or 750 gig drive?

WD Blue 640 gig 5400 RPM is $99, about $20 more than the same drive in 500 gig size

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6822136459

[MacMission]

I'm not feelin' a consensus in this thread on this issue.