According to everymac ( 
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/stats/mac-mini-core-2-duo-2.0-specs.html 
) "Apple officially supports 2.0 GB of RAM, but third-parties have been 
"unofficially" able to upgrade it to 3.0 GB of RAM using one 1 GB module 
and one 2 GB module."  I was just wondering whether anyone had tried 
this out before I ordered a 2gb module.  Thanks,
John

M. John Matlaw <mjlaw@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> According to everymac ( 
> http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/stats/mac-mini-core-2-duo-2.0-
> specs.html 
> ) "Apple officially supports 2.0 GB of RAM, but third-parties have been
> "unofficially" able to upgrade it to 3.0 GB of RAM using one 1 GB module
> and one 2 GB module."  I was just wondering whether anyone had tried 
> this out before I ordered a 2gb module.  Thanks,
> John

The "A1176" doesn't identify a specific Mac Mini model. There are three
generations of Mac Mini with that model number, and they have different
memory limits.

Mac Mini (Early 2006): up to 2.0 GB
Mac Mini (Late 2006): up to 2.0 GB
Mac Mini (Mid 2007): up to 3.0 GB (unofficially)

As you reference "Core 2 Duo" I expect you have the third one (the first
two are Core Solo or Core Duo), but it would pay to check.

To be certain you have the third one, look in System Profiler (which you
can get to via Apple menu > About This Mac > More Info). The first page
shows you a "Model Identifier", which is "MacMini1,1" for the first two,
and "MacMini2,1" for the third one.

I have the Mid 2007 Mac Mini, and although I haven't tried installing
more than 2 GB in it, it should work fine as reputable Mac memory
suppliers and every reference I can find says it will work.

In particular, note what is said by http://macsales.com (Other World
Computing), assuming you have identified your model correctly. They are
a good company to deal with. Their web site has a Mac model selector
from which you can identify parts they sell for upgrading your specific
model.

There is a slight performance penalty for mixed sizes of memory modules,
but it is significantly outweighed by the performance gain of having
more memory. You can eliminate the small performance penalty by
installing two 2 GB modules, but you won't be able to access the
additional 1 GB of memory. (At least, not all of it. Some of it might be
usable.)

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz

On 1/24/11 10:08 PM, David Empson wrote:
> M. John Matlaw<mjlaw@invalid.invalid>  wrote:
>
>> According to everymac (
>> http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/stats/mac-mini-core-2-duo-2.0-
>> specs.html
>> ) "Apple officially supports 2.0 GB of RAM, but third-parties have been
>> "unofficially" able to upgrade it to 3.0 GB of RAM using one 1 GB module
>> and one 2 GB module."  I was just wondering whether anyone had tried
>> this out before I ordered a 2gb module.  Thanks,
>> John
>
> The "A1176" doesn't identify a specific Mac Mini model. There are three
> generations of Mac Mini with that model number, and they have different
> memory limits.
>
> Mac Mini (Early 2006): up to 2.0 GB
> Mac Mini (Late 2006): up to 2.0 GB
> Mac Mini (Mid 2007): up to 3.0 GB (unofficially)
>
> As you reference "Core 2 Duo" I expect you have the third one (the first
> two are Core Solo or Core Duo), but it would pay to check.
>
> To be certain you have the third one, look in System Profiler (which you
> can get to via Apple menu>  About This Mac>  More Info). The first page
> shows you a "Model Identifier", which is "MacMini1,1" for the first two,
> and "MacMini2,1" for the third one.
>
> I have the Mid 2007 Mac Mini, and although I haven't tried installing
> more than 2 GB in it, it should work fine as reputable Mac memory
> suppliers and every reference I can find says it will work.
>
> In particular, note what is said by http://macsales.com (Other World
> Computing), assuming you have identified your model correctly. They are
> a good company to deal with. Their web site has a Mac model selector
> from which you can identify parts they sell for upgrading your specific
> model.
>
> There is a slight performance penalty for mixed sizes of memory modules,
> but it is significantly outweighed by the performance gain of having
> more memory. You can eliminate the small performance penalty by
> installing two 2 GB modules, but you won't be able to access the
> additional 1 GB of memory. (At least, not all of it. Some of it might be
> usable.)
>


Thanks for the reply.  You're right, I have the Macmini2,1 - Intel Core 
2 Duo - 2 GHz.  System profiler shows my current ram slots holding

BANK 0/DIMM0:

   Size:	1 GB
   Type:	DDR2 SDRAM
   Speed:	667 MHz
   Status:	OK
   Manufacturer:	0xCE00000000000000
   Part Number:	0x4D342037305432393533455A332D43453620
   Serial Number:	0x62539A37

BANK 1/DIMM1:

   Size:	1 GB
   Type:	DDR2 SDRAM
   Speed:	667 MHz
   Status:	OK
   Manufacturer:	0xCE00000000000000
   Part Number:	0x4D342037305432393533455A332D43453620
   Serial Number:	0x624A0EDC


I had looked at the OWC site ( 
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/mac_mini/intel ) and was thinking 
of getting -

2.0GB Memory Module (1 x 2048MB) for all Intel Core 2 Duo Mac mini 
models    Same Day   $38.99

and was wondering if it made a difference which slot I put it in.

Or would it be important to have a manufacturing match and get -

3.0GB Upgrade Kit (2.0GB Module + 1.0GB Module) for all Intel Core 2 Duo 
Mac mini models  Same Day   $58.97



And if I decided to go whole hog (you say I might get a small 
performance boost and possibly a little more memory) what's the 
difference between

4.0GB Upgrade Kit (2.0GB Modules x 2 Matched) for all Intel Core 2 Duo 
Mac mini models  Same Day   $75.99

and

4.0GB Upgrade Kit (2.0GB Modules x 2 Matched) CAS 4 Low-Latency for all 
Intel Core 2 Duo Mac mini models  Same Day   $77.99


and is it worth $2.00 for CAS 4 Low-Latency.  (And what does that mean?)


thanks,
John

M. John Matlaw <mjlaw@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> On 1/24/11 10:08 PM, David Empson wrote:
> > M. John Matlaw<mjlaw@invalid.invalid>  wrote:
> >
> >> According to everymac (
> >> http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/stats/mac-mini-core-2-
> >> duo-2.0-specs.html
> >> ) "Apple officially supports 2.0 GB of RAM, but third-parties have been
> >> "unofficially" able to upgrade it to 3.0 GB of RAM using one 1 GB module
> >> and one 2 GB module."  I was just wondering whether anyone had tried
> >> this out before I ordered a 2gb module.

[...]

> > I have the Mid 2007 Mac Mini, and although I haven't tried installing
> > more than 2 GB in it, it should work fine as reputable Mac memory
> > suppliers and every reference I can find says it will work.
> >
> > In particular, note what is said by http://macsales.com (Other World
> > Computing), assuming you have identified your model correctly. They are
> > a good company to deal with. Their web site has a Mac model selector
> > from which you can identify parts they sell for upgrading your specific
> > model.
> >
> > There is a slight performance penalty for mixed sizes of memory modules,
> > but it is significantly outweighed by the performance gain of having
> > more memory. You can eliminate the small performance penalty by
> > installing two 2 GB modules, but you won't be able to access the
> > additional 1 GB of memory. (At least, not all of it. Some of it might be
> > usable.)

[...]

> I had looked at the OWC site ( 
> http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/mac_mini/intel ) and was thinking
> of getting -
> 
> 2.0GB Memory Module (1 x 2048MB) for all Intel Core 2 Duo Mac mini 
> models    Same Day   $38.99
> 
> and was wondering if it made a difference which slot I put it in.

No, the memory controller will automatically adapt either way around.

> Or would it be important to have a manufacturing match and get -
> 
> 3.0GB Upgrade Kit (2.0GB Module + 1.0GB Module) for all Intel Core 2 Duo
> Mac mini models  Same Day   $58.97

That is not necessary. (The 3 GB kit would only be worth spending the
extra money if you currently had a pair of 512 SODIMMs.)

> And if I decided to go whole hog (you say I might get a small 
> performance boost and possibly a little more memory) what's the 
> difference between
> 
> 4.0GB Upgrade Kit (2.0GB Modules x 2 Matched) for all Intel Core 2 Duo
> Mac mini models  Same Day   $75.99
> 
> and
> 
> 4.0GB Upgrade Kit (2.0GB Modules x 2 Matched) CAS 4 Low-Latency for all
> Intel Core 2 Duo Mac mini models  Same Day   $77.99
> 
> 
> and is it worth $2.00 for CAS 4 Low-Latency.  (And what does that mean?)

"CAS" means "Column Address Strobe". It is one of the signals used to
supply address information to the memory. Think of the memory in each
chip as a grid. The address is split in half, with the high order bits
used to select a column of memory, and the low order bits used to select
a row.

Sequential accesses to rows within the same column can go at maximum
speed of the memory, and randomly jumping around to different rows
within one column is reasonably quick, but changing to a different
column requires an additional delay. This would happen when the computer
needs to access an area of memory which is some distance away from the
previous access.

"CAS 4" refers to the time delay when changing columns (4 memory bus
clock cycles). I'd have to look up the details, but I expect that
"normal" memory timing for DDR2-667 is CAS 5, thus CAS 4 will be 20%
faster for the access cycles in which a different column needs to be
selected. This will probably work out to another small increase in
performance over getting the standard latency memory.

Compared to getting a single 2 GB module, getting a matched low-latency
pair (4 GB total) will probably give you a performance gain of no more
than 5% (assuming memory-bound tasks: disk I/O is so much slower that
the extra memory speed will hardly be noticed).

If you think a potential increase in performance that small is worth
doubling the cost of the memory upgrade, then go for it.

To confirm the speed benefit, you might like to have a search for anyone
who has done benchmark tests comparing a 3 GB configuration and 4 GB
low-latency configuration in that Mac Mini model (or in a late 2006
MacBook Pro, MacBook, or iMac, which have the same memory architecture).

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz

David Empson wrote:
> M. John Matlaw <mjlaw@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> 
> 
>>On 1/24/11 10:08 PM, David Empson wrote:
>>
>>>M. John Matlaw<mjlaw@invalid.invalid>  wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>According to everymac (
>>>>http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/stats/mac-mini-core-2-
>>>>duo-2.0-specs.html
>>>>) "Apple officially supports 2.0 GB of RAM, but third-parties have been
>>>>"unofficially" able to upgrade it to 3.0 GB of RAM using one 1 GB module
>>>>and one 2 GB module."  I was just wondering whether anyone had tried
>>>>this out before I ordered a 2gb module.
> 
> 
> [...]
> 
> 
>>>I have the Mid 2007 Mac Mini, and although I haven't tried installing
>>>more than 2 GB in it, it should work fine as reputable Mac memory
>>>suppliers and every reference I can find says it will work.
>>>
>>>In particular, note what is said by http://macsales.com (Other World
>>>Computing), assuming you have identified your model correctly. They are
>>>a good company to deal with. Their web site has a Mac model selector
>>>from which you can identify parts they sell for upgrading your specific
>>>model.
>>>
>>>There is a slight performance penalty for mixed sizes of memory modules,
>>>but it is significantly outweighed by the performance gain of having
>>>more memory. You can eliminate the small performance penalty by
>>>installing two 2 GB modules, but you won't be able to access the
>>>additional 1 GB of memory. (At least, not all of it. Some of it might be
>>>usable.)
> 
> 
> [...]
> 
> 
>>I had looked at the OWC site ( 
>>http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/mac_mini/intel ) and was thinking
>>of getting -
>>
>>2.0GB Memory Module (1 x 2048MB) for all Intel Core 2 Duo Mac mini 
>>models    Same Day   $38.99
>>
>>and was wondering if it made a difference which slot I put it in.
> 
> 
> No, the memory controller will automatically adapt either way around.
> 
> 
>>Or would it be important to have a manufacturing match and get -
>>
>>3.0GB Upgrade Kit (2.0GB Module + 1.0GB Module) for all Intel Core 2 Duo
>>Mac mini models  Same Day   $58.97
> 
> 
> That is not necessary. (The 3 GB kit would only be worth spending the
> extra money if you currently had a pair of 512 SODIMMs.)
> 
> 
>>And if I decided to go whole hog (you say I might get a small 
>>performance boost and possibly a little more memory) what's the 
>>difference between
>>
>>4.0GB Upgrade Kit (2.0GB Modules x 2 Matched) for all Intel Core 2 Duo
>>Mac mini models  Same Day   $75.99
>>
>>and
>>
>>4.0GB Upgrade Kit (2.0GB Modules x 2 Matched) CAS 4 Low-Latency for all
>>Intel Core 2 Duo Mac mini models  Same Day   $77.99
>>
>>
>>and is it worth $2.00 for CAS 4 Low-Latency.  (And what does that mean?)
> 
> 
> "CAS" means "Column Address Strobe". It is one of the signals used to
> supply address information to the memory. Think of the memory in each
> chip as a grid. The address is split in half, with the high order bits
> used to select a column of memory, and the low order bits used to select
> a row.
> 
> Sequential accesses to rows within the same column can go at maximum
> speed of the memory, and randomly jumping around to different rows
> within one column is reasonably quick, but changing to a different
> column requires an additional delay. This would happen when the computer
> needs to access an area of memory which is some distance away from the
> previous access.
> 
> "CAS 4" refers to the time delay when changing columns (4 memory bus
> clock cycles). I'd have to look up the details, but I expect that
> "normal" memory timing for DDR2-667 is CAS 5, thus CAS 4 will be 20%
> faster for the access cycles in which a different column needs to be
> selected. This will probably work out to another small increase in
> performance over getting the standard latency memory.
> 
> Compared to getting a single 2 GB module, getting a matched low-latency
> pair (4 GB total) will probably give you a performance gain of no more
> than 5% (assuming memory-bound tasks: disk I/O is so much slower that
> the extra memory speed will hardly be noticed).
> 
> If you think a potential increase in performance that small is worth
> doubling the cost of the memory upgrade, then go for it.
> 
> To confirm the speed benefit, you might like to have a search for anyone
> who has done benchmark tests comparing a 3 GB configuration and 4 GB
> low-latency configuration in that Mac Mini model (or in a late 2006
> MacBook Pro, MacBook, or iMac, which have the same memory architecture).
> 
Thanks for all the info.  I'll probably go with the one 2gb module.  I 
believe OWC will buy my excess 1gb module for $8 so it won't be quite as 
extravagant an expenditure.  And hopefully, a 50% memory increase will 
make it worthwhile.

Thanks again,
M. John Matlaw