The Apple Mac mini has only one RAM slot, and for good reason: its purpose is to be small. When I picked up a 1 GB stick and popped it in, I was left with the original 256 MB stick that came with it.
Unsure what to do with it, I decided to crack open my trusty old Dell Dimension 4600, which I got years ago for much less than the cost of a Mac mini, and see if I could add it in.
After sucking out tons of dust using a vacuum, I was ready to look at what was available for expansion.
Sure enough, the computer has four RAM slots – and only three were being used. I suppose that at least one of these was from some other old computer, but I really don’t remember anymore. Anyway, although I wasn’t certain the RAM would be compatible, I threw in the 256 stick from the mini.
This gave me a grand total of 1024 MB RAM — the same amount as what I have in my Mac mini now — effectively for free. Some other people might let their old, original RAM sticks sit on the side, gathering dust; but not me. It’s going to be put to good use!