Mac Mini Late 2012 Teardown
Teardown
Teardowns provide a look inside a device and should not be used as disassembly instructions.
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Apple is shrinking! No, not in the AAPL stock way (that's high as ever), but in the 'Let's name everything Mini' way. Along with the announcement of the iPad Mini on October 23rd (teardown coming soon; we promise) came the new and improved Mac Mini, the 2012 iteration of the optical-drive-less Mini from last year. With the current trend, we look forward to maybe one day tearing down a smaller version of the Mac Mini: the Mac Mini Mini. But until then, we content ourselves with tearing into the Mac Mini Late 2012.
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Tools
Relevant Parts
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Mac Mini Dual Hard Drive Kit
(Add a second HDD to your Mini)
$49.95
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Step 1
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Mac Mini Late 2012 Teardown
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Good things come in mini packages. This Mini is packing:
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2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 or 2.3 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
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500 GB hard drive or 1 TB hard drive configurable to a 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB solid-state drive—upgradable with an extra hard drive or SSD using our dual hard drive kit
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4 GB, 8 GB, or 16 GB of DDR3 SDRAM
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Intel HD Graphics 4000
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Thunderbolt and HDMI ports
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SDXC card slot
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This Mini lacks an optical drive, just like its predecessor.
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Step 2
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It's beginning to feel like Groundhog Day. The same model number (A1347) has graced the 2011 and 2010 Minis.
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The port layout is consistent with last year's model:
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10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet
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FireWire 800
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HDMI (HDMI to DVI adapter included)
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Thunderbolt (supports high-speed I/O and Mini DisplayPort)
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Four USB 3.0 ports (an upgrade from last year's 2.0)
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SDXC card reader
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Step 3
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A simple twist of the bottom cover and we're in. That is plus one for repairability.
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Upgradeable RAM!! Oh, how we've missed you!
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The 2012 iteration of the Mac Mini is equipped with PC3-12800 DDR3 RAM.
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It's refreshing to see an Apple product with user replaceable/upgradeable RAM.
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Step 4
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We're fans of easily removable fans.
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Easily accessible fans mean soot sprites better run for cover, because cleaning dirty fans is no problem.
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Need to clean your fan? Directions can be found here.
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Step 5
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We remove the fan cowling, eager to get at the Wi-Fi antenna plate.
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We are really starting to suspect that Dr. Emmett Brown had something to do with this Mini as the antenna board and grille look identical to the last two renditions.
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Step 6
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Here we find the legendary Mac Mini logic board removal tool in its natural habitat.
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Note the ease of use as the tool swoops in to release the logic board of the Mini.
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Step 7
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The first component off the logic board assembly is the speaker assembly.
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The speaker cable was arranged in a twisted pair, probably to reduce EMI that could distort the sweet, iconic tones of the Apple startup sound.
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Step 8
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The Wi-Fi board, labeled BCM94331PCIEBT3B, stands no chance against our spudger as we make it truly wireless.
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Removing the EMI shields allows us to peek at the ICs on the communications board:
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Broadcom BCM4331 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi chip
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Broadcom BCM20702 Bluetooth 4.0 transmitter
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SiGe 5503A 2304A Dual Band 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN Front End
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SiGe 2598L
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P2303A TUB2P
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7871 1228 C6050
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