If you own either a 2011 or 2012 Apple Mac Mini, your machine has the ability to house a second hard drive. Other World Computing’s 'Data Doubler' ($34.99 plus shipping and handling) provides you with the additional components, tools, and a color manual on how to complete this task by yourself. Yet, one must furnish his/her own hard drive for this kit. Additionally, Other World Computing has posted a complete YouTube video including both the disassembly of the entire computer (as this activity is not for the uninitiated), installation, and reassembly.
Commonly a second internal hard drive is used for additional music/video storage or possibly for a backup solution. However, if a solid-state drive is installed with the Mac Mini’s traditional hard drive, one has the ability to combine the two aforementioned drives, thereby, creating a Fusion Drive. A Fusion Drive promises “the best of both worlds” for storage, since it retains the speed of a solid-state drive, while permitting larger and affordable amounts of storage, as a traditional hard drive currently does. Macworld published a set of terminal commands (another procedure not for the uninitiated - as terminal utilizes a command line interface to modify the operating system) that allows one to create a homemade version of this seemingly “ideal” drive. Currently, the Apple’s Fusion Drive is only available at time of purchase for the 2.3GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 Mac Mini (base price of $799) for an additional $250. Thus, you could frugally purchase the 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 Mac Mini (base price of $599), a solid-state drive of your choice (approximately $149), and the Other World Computing’s 'Data Doubler' ($34.99 plus S&H) for a subtotal of $782.99. Aside from saving a couple of hundred dollars, one has the opportunity to learn about the interworking of a computer.
Of course, perform these instructions at your own risk to yourself and/or your computer, as I am not responsible for any injury and/or damage that may occur.
