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. Now you can go and simply buy an external hard drive (it’s the first options on this list) but depending on how you plan to use your Media Center, there may be some better options out there for you that actually enhance what your Media Center can do for you. Below are several external enclosures that I am recommending, please note that you will still need to purchase a hard drive to put into whichever enclosure you choose.
Drobo
Choose this if… You have the money and plan on storing terabytes upon terabytes of audio & video files.
If you can afford it, this is by far the most hardcore If you are a real media buff and plan on ripping your entire movie collection and then some, there is no question… you need to get the Drobo. The Drobo is not just an enclosure, but also a proprietary RAID system that allows you to use up to 4 (or 5, depending on the model) hard drives to create one massave storage disk that can withstand a single drive dying without any data loss. This is probably the best and most fool proof hard drive enclosure you can buy, but it is also the most expensive. Once you have two or more drives in the Drobo, your data is protected. Should one of the drives fail you can just pull it out and pop in a new one. Your movie library will be intact and so will your sanity. The best part is that as bigger hard drives come out, you can just pop out one of the old ones and put in a new one. No reconfiguring or shifting files around, it does it all for you.
While there are numerous RAID options out there, none of them let you run several differently sized drives. I have personally owned a Drobo for three years now and it has never given me a problem. Plus, the one time I had an issue, their customer support was insanely helpful.
Because the Drobo does not come with any hard drives, if you don’t have any that you plan on using, you will need to get at least two to utilize the ‘backup’ feature. Check the Hard Drive section for advice on which hard drives to use with this enclosure. And if you are still confused as to what the Drobo can do, just watch this video on the right and you should be good to go.
Buy Drobo: Amazon
Company Website: Data Robotics, Inc.
Single External Drive
Choose this if… You need extra storage immediately and you don’t want to think about anything.
If you want to quickly and inexpensively expand your storage capabilities, the easiest thing to do is buy an off the shelf external hard drive. I am recommending the Western Digital Elements Hard Drive as it is very highly reviewed and I have never had any problems with Western Digital drives. They have sizes that range from 500GB to 3TB and my suggestion would be to get the biggest drive that you can afford.
Buy Western Digital Elements Hard Drive: Amazon
DIY External Drive
Choose this if… You have an extra drive laying around and want an inexpensive option.
DIY stands for “Doing it Yourself.” Instead of just buying an external drive, like we did above, you will choose an internal hard drive and put it in an external enclosure of your choice. You will get the same effect as the option above, but by doing this you can choose whatever hard drive you would like (maybe you have one laying around, so it won’t cost you anything) and whatever enclosure you would like. Here are some slick enclosures that would compliment your Media Center:
Macally G-S350SU: This enclosure looks just like a Mac Pro and it can be positioned horizontally or vertically, which is useful. It comes with USB 2.0 and an eSATA port which 95% of Mac users will never need. All around a great enclosure, just look at it though, it’s sexy as hell!
Buy Macally G-S350SU: Amazon
Macally T-S350SU: This enclosure is dirt cheap and made by the same manufacturer as the above unit, but don’t let that fool you. It has a sleek exterior and a simple USB 2.0 connection (plus eSATA). Sometimes simplicity is all you need. Pair this with a quality hard drive and you will be good to go.
Buy Macally T-S350SU: Amazon
Upgraded Internal Mac mini Hard Drive
Choose this if… You don’t need all the storage in the world and don’t mind taking apart your computer.
For the streamlined individual who doesn’t plan on storing insane amounts of media, the best solution might be to just upgrade your internal hard drive so that you don’t have any extra wires/plugs coming from your mini. The 2011 Mac minis can sport two drives at the same time, which means up to 2TB of space in the mini. Older Mac minis can still add 1TB of internal storage. You will need to read how to take your Mac mini apart here (iFixIt Teardown).
Buy 500GB 2.5″ Drive: Amazon
Buy 750GB 2.5″ Drive: Amazon
Buy 1 TB 2.5″ Drive: Amazon
Conclusion
While I firmly believe that you should have some type of redundency, there are lots of options out there that will meet various price points and feature requirements that you have. Before you purchase anything you should really ask yourself what your goal is with your hard drive. Are you going to rip your entire music & movie collection? Do you plan on moving the hard drive around a lot? Do you want it to have lots of connections for various computers in your house? And most importantly are you going to freak out if your hard drive dies? Over the last few years I went through several solutions and ultimately it may be a question that time and trials will answer.
