iFixit

Two T6 Torx screws hold the speaker in its place on the logic board.

With the speaker removed, this Mac Mini can no longer bump fat bass beep at you.

Our trusty spudger makes quick work of the Wi-Fi board's cables.

More T6 screws hinder our path, but we will not be deterred.

802.11n connectivity is possible thanks to a Broadcom BCM4331 "single-chip wireless solution."

The Broadcom BCM20702 Single-Chip Bluetooth 4.0 Processor with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support is identical to the chip found in the 13" MacBook Air we just took apart.

Just like in the previous Mac Mini, the heat sink is held in place by a bunch of spring-loaded T8 screws.

Some of the screws were a little different, though. We found T6 screws that were screwed into the top of T8 screws. A screw within a screw . . .

After de-routing a couple cables and unscrewing a few #00 Phillips screws, we were able to remove two antennas and the I/O wall from the logic board.

The antennas are attached to the plastic I/O wall since wireless signals don't transmit well through metal.

Ah ha, we meet again L-block.

Main ICs on the underside of the logic board:

• Intel BD82HM65 Platform Controller Hub
• Intel V116A068 2.3 GHz Dual-Core i5
• Intersil ISL6364 Dual PWM Controller
• Parade PS8171 HDMI/DVI Level Shifter
• SMSC USB2513B USB 2.0 Hub Controller
• AELTA 8904C-F
• SMSC 1428-7 System Management Bus temperature sensor

Big players on the top side of the logic board include:

• Intel L116IA35 Thunderbolt port controller IC, similar to that found on the Early 2011 21.5" iMac
• Broadcom BCM57765 gigabit ethernet and memory card controller
• Texas Instruments XIO2211 FireWire Controller
• Cirrus Logic 4206B Audio Controller

One T6 screw holds the power supply in place.

After removing a small metal bracket and twisting the AC power-in port, the power supply slides right out through the Mini's empty front.

Look familiar to you, too? Good, then it's not just us.

One more T6 screw and we can pull the IR sensor/receiver from the optical drive-- what? No optical drive? To make room for the additional hard drive option, Apple has removed the optical drive from this year's Mini and replaced it with some good old-fashioned emptiness.

The IR sensor stares straight into the depths of our souls. Sorry buddy, you won't find your lost optical drive here.