Beware of Sharp Objects

We received our BTO Core i7 Mac Mini today after a brief delay due to customs.  Upon receipt, we executed on the memory upgrade procedure provided by iFixit.  A lesson learned in this process involves variation in the amount of pressure that is applied to the duct by thumbs in an effort to remove the logic board from the enclosure.  The BTO model required more force than one of the default configurations.  Unfortunately, some blood was shed to facilitate the upgrade due to skin being weaker than the duct plastic.

The adventure was certainly worthwhile in light of the non-trivial cost savings versus ordering a memory upgrade directly from Apple.  The speed with which we were able to upgrade the memory in the Core i5 model was drastically improved.  Full teardown and reassembly occurred in under 10 minutes. The most frustrating part (for those with big hands) involves the reattachment of the wire for the antenna plate.  Patience and a sprinkle of profanity may be required to complete the effort.

We’ll be finishing the entire setup process as time permits this week.  External cable management will be required for the variety of peripherals that will be connected to provide the utmost flexibility for our solution. While the screen shot is crude, a preview of a multi-pass run of BlackMagic DiskSpeed is provided below and mirrors what other reviews have stated.  The internal flash is fast!