Unibody Mac mini meets iFixit, gets a delicate teardown exposé
Been wondering how Apple's managed to cram all that goodness into the new (and flatter) unibody Mac mini? Well, look no further, as our friends over at iFixit took no time to acquire said machine for another scrupulous teardown treatment. Just as we saw ourselves, it all begins with a simple twist on the bottom round plate, and with a bit of fiddling the guts can then easily slide out -- you'll see a wondrously dense logic board along with its now-internal power supply and the usual components. We've thrown in iFixit's list of highlights after the break, but as always, hit the source link for the finely detailed disassembly guide.
Departing from previous generations, the Mini's unibody top enclosure is machined from a single block of aluminum.
With a simple counter-clockwise twist, we were able to gain access into the Mini's internals. Gone are the days of the putty knife. You will be missed, old friend!
Removing the RAM is very simple this time around, requiring only the simple prying of two clips.
The fan doesn't have too much work to do, since the new Mac Mini is the most energy-efficient desktop, running on less than 10 watts at idle!
There are two blind holes in the case of the Mini that are meant for the ends of Apple's custom U-shaped logic board removal tool. We just used two Torx screwdrivers. We call them the "Mac Mini logic board removal tool."
In keeping with its space saving design, the fins directing air toward the vent hole are slanted to allow for better fan placement.
The new Mini's power supply churns out a minuscule 7 Amps at 12V. Compare that to the 25.8 Amps at 12V cranked out by the iMac Intel 27", and you can understand how they fit the power supply inside the Mini.
The Mini's 3/8" woofer dome won't be popping ear drums anytime soon.
Apple had to get creative with the antenna placement because they switched to unibody construction for this Mac Mini.
