Mac mini's use 2.5" hard drives, so they are limited on the capacity (160GB as of this writing). But, the mini is capable of so much more. So how do you get the mini more storage? Simple. You add an exterior hard drive. One example is Newer Technology's miniStack.
What It Is
Newer Technology's miniStack is a hard drive solution for your Mac mini, but it also gives you the ability to act as a USB and FireWire hub. It has 3 USB ports, 3 FireWire ports, a USB uplink port, 2 different types of connections to the Mac mini, and a security slot to secure the miniStack to your desk with a Kensington MicroSaver Security Cable. The miniStack takes up virtually no space because it fits seamlessly together with (under) your Mac mini.
The power management system us designed to work with your mini, and conserve power. When the miniStack’s switch is set to on, it ill turn on and off whenever your Mac mini does.
There are two different ways to connect a miniStack to a Mac mini: via USB and via FireWire. The miniStack gives you a couple of choices to optimize for your scenario.
1. You flip the connection switch to auto in which case you will connect with either USB or 1394 (FireWire) to the Mac Mini ... automatically choosing as appropriate;
2. Or, you flip the switch to 1394a and you connect the miniStack to the Mac mini through only FireWire, which will make it run faster.
The miniStack reviewed is the second generation design. In version 2, you no longer have an option to manually set the fan speeds; the miniStack automatically controls the fan to keep the unit cool. It also has a large passive heat sink to radiate heat away from the hard drive.
To give you more flexibility in your setup, one of the USB ports and one of the FireWire ports are ports are now on the left side instead of the back. Newer Technology touts the miniStack as 34% faster than the the mini’s internal hard drive.
Depending on what you want, there are a couple of ways that you can purchase this product from Newer Technology:
1. If you want it without a hard drive (no software included): $79.95
2. If you want it with a hard drive in it (EMC Retrospect Backup and Intech HD Speedtools included):
80GB $119.00 – 160GB $139.00
250GB $159.00 – 320GB $189.00
400 GB $269.00 – 500GB $295.99
750GB $499.99
This product has a two-year repair/replacement warranty.
What We Thought
To put this product to the test, we thought we’d try it as a small file server, that is, a physically small server that has three quarters of a terabyte of disk space. After running it for several weeks under MacOS X Server, we were quite satisfied with the results.
Obviously, a Mac mini is not a high throughput machine, nor is an external FireWire drive as efficient as an internal drive, but that’s not the fault of the miniStack. If you need a physically small file server, that’s relatively quick, can have a good amount of disk space, and doesn’t need high throughput, a mini combined with a miniStack is a great solution. Although remember, the mini’s 2.5” internal drive is not intended for server use … so make sure you back up on your boot drive.)
Or, it you just want a ton of disk space for your mini, this is simply a great solution. Not because it’s elegant, but because of all the additional posts it has as well.
For more information, on Newer Technology’s miniStack, visit http://www.newertech.com/ministack.
Article Synopsis
Mac mini's use 2.5" hard drives, so they are limited on the capacity (160GB as of this writing). But, the mini is capable of so much more. So how do you get the mini more storage? Simple. You add an exterior hard drive. One example is Newer Technology's miniStack. Newer Technology's miniStack is a hard drive solution for your Mac mini, but it also gives you the ability to act as a USB and FireWire hub. It has 3 USB ports, 3 FireWire ports, a USB uplink port, 2 different types of connections to the Mac mini, and a security slot to secure the miniStack to your desk with a Kensington MicroSaver Security Cable. The miniStack takes up virtually no space because it fits seamlessly together with (under) your Mac mini.
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