[geeks] Q about USB 3.0 vs Thunderbolt interface on Mac Mini

[Lionel Peterson]

> On Dec 17, 2015, at 3:37 PM, hike <mh1272 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> If you still have the stock 5400RPM hard drive in your Mac Mini, you might
> use the USB3 drive for the OS and boot drive.  Stuff all the files on the
> internal or use it as a Carbon Copy backup, etc.

I honestly don't remember if this has it's original Apple HD - it's an i7 Mac
mini from a few years ago with 1TB inside.

> My Mac Mini will boot faster on the USB3 drive than the original Apple
> internal drive.  Quite a nice speed up.

Yup.

> You can also swap the original, 5400RPM HDD for a 7200RPM, a hybrid, or a
> solid state to gain speed for all the disk ops.  If you plan to keep the
> Mac Mini a long time, an internal upgrade would mean that you would only
> have to swap it out once.  MacSales may have a bracket for 2 hard drives.
> If so, you could create your own fusion drive or keep everything internal.

I really just want to add time machine back-ups for all our various Apple
devices... The Mac mini has been neglected too long, I think it's from 'late
2012' if I remember correctly. I got a 5 gig My Book for $150 for the backup
archive...

> HTH

Thanks,