I have an SATA I compatible SSD that I want to insert into my Mac Mini. What adapter do I need to buy, and what tools do I need to open it? I don't want to buy the wrong stuff here.

Also, Ebay links with the needed stuff would be highly appriciated.

If the SSD is the size of a normal 2.5" HD you will have massive problems making it fit.

Allways the 1st resource when working on Apple-HW:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+mini+%28PowerPC%29+Hard+Drive+Replacement/268

I'm about to put SSDs into my PowerBook and iBook as well.
Looking forward to it. Although due to the limited bus speed the actual speed improvement might be not that much.


Manfred

> What adapter do I need to buy [...]?

For mSATA SSD:

https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=11368&forum=53&start=7

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And a SSD IDE drive? they are more expensives than SATA, but I have two and both works fine with my Mac Mini, although sometimes the MAC Mini Controller device is a hell because some times with new drives the boot gives problems.

U need to find SATA to IDE 44 adapter like this:

2_5_39_39_Hard_Drive_SATA_to_IDE_44_Pin_Converter_Adapter_1455_6.jpg

I do the same, and MM have enough space inside for placing 2.5" SATA drive with adapter without cutting of everything. Only one moment - you need new hole(s) for new drive for fix it inside frame by screw. Also you can remove terrible speaker, you get more space for drive and can forget about "TADAAA" during each boot :)

[ Edited by clr666 30.01.2016 - 11:20 ]

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This will not fit in any of your devices without reworking them.

There is no space in macmini, ibook or powerbook to apply such adapter. Use an 2.5" to mSATA adapter. I recomment the one sold from DeLock. Then get a mSATA SSD and you will be happy.

SSD in a (portable) computer is so much fun. Not only about the massive speed boost, but also about how you can use your device. No more moving harddisk parts inside allow you to move with a device as you want, not the other way around.

Avoid cheap adapters as they may overheat due cheap power converters. The DeLock ones are proved to be working nicly and nothing is won if you buy two or three cheap interfaces just to learn the little more expensive one would have saved you money in the first place.

Plain 2.5" IDE SSDs are expensive more or less first generation SSD technologie, small and slow. You don´t want that. Go for mSATA and you can get sizes up to 1TB and above if you want, while real IDE SSDs are limited around 120GB for a price you can get the mSATA equipment plus a 250GB mSATA card at least.

For G5 systems i recomment the cheapest SanDisk SATA SSDs at least for the system drive. I own 6 of them and they all worked perfectly.
Latest was a 240GB for 70 Euros. Don´t get the high speed ones for our systems.

The slowest SSD you can buy now, will even, when handled without trim and other SSD commands, be faster than any of your systems can handle speed wise. Even in worst case those "slow" drives do around 300-350MB/s reading and writing, while their max is about 550MB/s or so. Paying for faster versions simply gives you nothing in return as the speed is lost in the machine.

Thanks for all the advice! As I don't want to do anything wrong I think I will go for Geits suggestion.

I don't need a big SSD as all my stuff is stored in an external USB HDD for easy swapping. I only use some 20 GB for my MorphOS need so a 80 to 120 GB would be more than enough.

Since I'm very insecure when it comes to hardware: from which international Ebay sellers can I buy the adapter and an SSD for my needs?

> for mSATA [...] you can get sizes up to 1TB and above if you want

I can't find ones above 1.0 TiB.

> real IDE SSDs are limited around 120GB

As you should know, 2.5" PATA SSDs are available with up to 480 GB.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDMLP480/
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDMLP240/
http://www.google.com/search?q=KSD-PA25.1-256MJ


Edit: I've even found a 512 GB one:

http://www.google.com/search?q=FE8512MD2D
http://www.supertalent.com/products/ssd_product_detail.php?category=DuraDrive&type=105

[ Edited by Andreas_Wolf 31.01.2016 - 12:28 ]

i see that on amazon, maybe it's compatible :

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=SSD+PATA

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Should work.

So would this be a good buy then?

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDMLP060/

Seems a bit expensive, but otherwise o.k..

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I saw a module somewhere. However no clue about why one would need such space in a local system. :) Unless you want to have all amiga games in the world on your system, a NAS is the better choice anyway. Especially due the partition size limit of 127 GB we still have for our file system.

I just have 16GB in my main system using right now. :D

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Well, possible they created bigger ones later, because there was a market growing, but if you look at the prices and the speeds you will notice that they probably gathered all cheap old chips together to create such drives, as IDE speed is the limitation anyway. Far to expensive.

Also some of the thingies are already not available from what i saw clicking on the links.

And if you, for some reason, want the use the SSD elsewhere you are stuch with the slow IDE, while the mSata can be used everywhere (plugged in a PC, with an SATA adapter) with max speed it needed.

IDE shit is old and slow. Investing money in those drives is a waste.

I havn't found the parts I need that ship to Sweden for a good price. So the IDE solution is just about even.

This seems to be the best priced IDE SSD I can find. Not being mSATA beside, is it any good?

http://www.amazon.com/KingSpec-2-5-inch-Solid-SM2236-Controller/dp/B008RWKFYE/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1454257249&sr=1-1&keywords=ssd&refinements=p_n_shipping_option-bin%3A3242350011%2Cp_n_feature_keywords_four_browse-bin%3A6158690011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A6797516011

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If you are struggling to find sellers that will post to Sweden without extortionate charges I don't mind forward posting anything you buy on eBay.co.uk. Should be quite cheap to send all the items as one parcel by Royal Mail International delivery. We post stuff to family in Switzerland and Bosnia all the time and its quite reasonable.

@Intuition

Thanks, that would be awesome! But first I need to know exactly what I should buy.

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Oh please. I've bought an IDE-mSATA adapter from eBay for a couple of dollars (shipped from Singapore to Poland, I've received it in a week or so) and a 120 GB mSATA SSD in a local computer store (bought online for some 200 PLN, that would be about 50 Euros). I don't believe it would be worse in Sweden.

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I've had a 64GB Crucial mSATA SSD in my PowerBook for a couple of years now using a cheap Chinese IDE adapter. It works very well though it's not as fast as I thought it would have been but that's probably due to the IDE bus.

[ Edited by Intuition 31.01.2016 - 20:02 ]

There are a lot of adapters that look different so I simply don't know what will fit inside a Mini. Which is why I ask people who do know for links. It's easier than having to guess. Though I do understand that it must look like I'm fairly stupid in the process.

> the partition size limit of 127 GB we still have for our file system.

What about IceFS?

>>> real IDE SSDs are limited around 120GB

>> As you should know, 2.5" PATA SSDs are available with up to 480 GB.
>> Edit: I've even found a 512 GB one:

> possible they created bigger ones later

The KSD-PA25.1-256MJ has been available since 2010.

> some of the thingies are already not available from what i saw clicking on the links.

Of the 5 SSDs (1x 240 GB, 2x 256 GB, 1x 480 GB, 1x 512 GB) I linked to, 3 are available directly or indirectly from my links. The remaining 2 are available from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L53B7BM
http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00G1REB74

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I'll look through my purchase history later for a link to the exact adapter I have. Any mSATA SSD should be fine though, you just decide how much you want to spend and choose one really.

@Intuition

Thank you. That is really helpful!

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That one looks like mine. And the mSATA SSD drive I got for it was Intel 525.

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This is the link to the auction i won in June 2013.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/mini-pci-e-Msata-SSD-to-44pin-IDE-adapter-as-2-5-toshiba-HDD-for-IBM-laptop-209-/181099068248?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:GB:3160

The SSD I use with it is a "Crucial CT064M4SSD3 64GB M4 SATA III 6Gb/s mSATA MLC Internal SSD" i bought from Amazon UK. It cost 56 pounds back then but now you can buy drives double the size for half that price.