Upgrading My $599 M4 Mac Mini with 2TB SSD – 6 Months Later

Hey everybody and welcome back to the channel. In today's video, I want to

channel. In today's video, I want to talk about this upgrade that I made to the M4 Mac Mini 6 months ago that has really changed the way I use this device. And it lets me use it pretty

device. And it lets me use it pretty much just like this, just as the Mac Mini itself without a lot of things plugged in. And that's installing a

plugged in. And that's installing a third-p partyy two TB SSD in the M4 Mac Mini. Let me rewind a little bit. Before

Mini. Let me rewind a little bit. Before

I made this upgrade, I was always attached literally to an external SSD. I

mean, I had no choice. It's part of the reason I did content on the home drive for the M4 Mac Mini. The internal

storage on the base model M4 Mac Mini was just not enough. You really can't run Logic Da Vinci Resolve projects straight off the internal drive without

constantly juggling space. And because

of that, I was always tethered to external drives, hubs, cables everywhere. It kind of defeated the

everywhere. It kind of defeated the purpose of having the small footprint of the M4 Mac Mini. It was possible. Yeah,

but not really clean or simple. That's

when I decided to try upgrading the internal SSD myself. I found a two TBTE replacement drive, user installable, affordable, and went for it. I made a video a few months ago. I'll leave a

link in the description below on how to do it. Now, I'll be honest, installing

do it. Now, I'll be honest, installing it wasn't too hard. A little

nerve-wracking maybe, but totally doable with the right tools. And here was the thing. Once I got it up and running, it

thing. Once I got it up and running, it was like unlocking the full potential of this machine. 6 months later, here's

this machine. 6 months later, here's what I've noticed. I rarely need to hook up an external SSD anymore. I'm editing

everything in Da Vinci Resolve directly on this two TBTE drive and then offloading it to an external backup when I'm finished. So far, I haven't had any

I'm finished. So far, I haven't had any issues with the SSD. I've done a few backups just to be safe, but it's been rock solid. I know when these things

rock solid. I know when these things first became available, some people had problems, drive failures, OS bugs, vendor compatibility, but I think a lot of that has been ironed out at this point. And honestly, even if something

point. And honestly, even if something did go wrong, buying through Amazon gives you that extra peace of mind. You

can return it, get a replacement, whatever. It's a risk, but it is a

whatever. It's a risk, but it is a manageable one. And here's the math.

manageable one. And here's the math.

Instead of paying a premium for Apple's built-in storage upgrades, I bought the base model and spent significantly less money upgrading it myself. And now I have 2 TB of internal space with room to

grow. My current setup with the M4 Mac

grow. My current setup with the M4 Mac Mini is extremely minimal. I literally

have two things plugged into this computer. I have power plugged in right

computer. I have power plugged in right here and I have a Thunderbolt cable plugged into one of the Thunderbolt ports in the back. What this allows me to do is in my room I have this hooked

up to one monitor. Now I can do my editing productivity work direct on the Mac Mini and then when I want to game I started using an ASUS Rag Ally X which is a Windows handheld desktop. I've been

a PC gamer since the early 2000s and one of the things that Apple used to let us do was install Boot Camp and I would just have one machine. I would have my Windows partition on it. I would be able to game on my Mac and we can't do that

anymore. So, what the two TBTE drive has

anymore. So, what the two TBTE drive has allowed me to do is really have my Mac and my Windows machine together, not take up that much room on my desk at all, and be able to do productivity

editing and gaming all in one setup. So,

would I recommend doing this?

Absolutely. If you're comfortable opening up your Mac Mini and doing a little bit of work, it's definitely the thing to do. But if you're someone who plans on using the M4 Mac Mini a lot, editing, coding, content creation, you

name it, this is one of the best upgrades you can do. You'll save money, simplify your setup, and make this already affordable machine feel like a powerhouse. Now, in a few weeks, I'll be

powerhouse. Now, in a few weeks, I'll be doing my 9-month review on the M4 Mac Mini cuz it seems every 3 months things change how I use this machine. I'm still

using it on a daily basis, but because of this drive and how it's allowed me to make this thing so small, I've changed where and how I am using the M4 Mac Mini. So, make sure you stay tuned for

Mini. So, make sure you stay tuned for my 9-month review coming up soon. If you

have any questions, let me know in the comments below. And if you got knowledge

comments below. And if you got knowledge and value out of today's video, please make sure to hit that like, subscribe, and notification bell to keep up to date with the latest videos on the channel.

And until next time, my name is Jeff Fagan. Thank you for joining me as

Fagan. Thank you for joining me as always, and I will catch you in the next video.

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