Storage

The Mac mini is just that, miniature. It was designed to be a quick computer with a small footprint, not a media powerhouse with large amounts of storage. Because of this, no matter what hard drive you have installed in your mini, you will enevitably run out of space and need to get an external storage device. This section covers the various hard drive enclosure options that are currently available along with the best drives that you should use in conjunction with your Media Center. The computer may run your files, but your hard drive is where your files live. This is also where you have the most options and biggest potential to screw yourself in the long run. Storage is, without a doubt, the most important part of your HTPC.

Enclosures

When you have a huge desktop computer (like a PC or a Mac Pro), you typically have enough room inside for a few more hard drives. Unfortunately, the Mac mini doesn’t have this luxury, and if you want to expand the amount of storage space you have you will need to get some type of external solution. Here are a few options that meet various needs and price points, from the simple to the extreme!

Hard Drives

After you have your Enclosure, you will need to pick the right drive for the job. My recommendation is Western Digital’s Green Power drives, which were designed for ‘constant use’ applications like Media Centers!