That should be a very fast system, it has a quad core CPU - I have the next model up with the 2.6ghz i use it exclusively for video editing. The easiest way to speed it up is to move the system to an external USB 3.0 SSD. I'm using a 1TB Samsung T3 but there are many other choices. Just use Carbon Copy Cloner to make a clone of your internal drive to the external SSD, then select it under startup disk in System Preferences and reboot.

Quick and no need to open up your Mini. Your hard drive would have had a write speed of about 100MB/sec when it was new. A good external SSD will be about 400MB/sec - four times faster. It is just a bit slower than an internal SSD (I get 450MB/sec with my original Apple internal SSD). Good advice above.

SSD is the key to improving your performance. A few approaches: 1. Tear the Mini apart and replace the HDD with a 1 TB SSD (costly, doesn't solve the capacity issue you are nearing).

Same, but put a 128 256 512 GB SSD in and get a kit to keep your 1TB HDD and of 1TB +128 256 512GB. Seagate Firecuda for instance is a 2.5' 2TB hybrid drive, not as fast as SSD, but considerably faster than HDD. External boot drive on USB3. Here too, SSD will be fastest, SSHD is also going to be better than current HDD. If RAID is desired, OWC has USB3 Drive Enclosures with slots for 2-4 HDD SSD SSHD drives that can mirror (RAID1), or RAID5 (3+ drives). \powerpoint for mac 2016\ liveslides auto start video.

If replacing internal drive, choices are to clone the current drive to the new drive before replacing (use Carbon Copy Cloner or similar), or install fresh OS to the new drive(s) and restore from Time Machine (effective but slower). In both cases, prepare the new drive while externally connected (USB adapter comes with many kits), then do the physical replacement. If you go route 1 or 3, you can keep the 1TB drive in a USB adapter for additional external storage. If you go the Fusion route, it will destroy all data on the existing disk, so make sure you have a good TM backup. Same for external drive, clone to the new drive, or install fresh and restore TM to the new drive. In this case, after preparing the external SSD SSHD, reformat the internal drive and use it for extra storage.

RELATED: 10 Ways To Free Up Disk Space on Your Mac Hard Drive. As on any computer, freeing up disk space can also speed things up if you have a very small amount of disk space. To check, click the Apple menu, select “About This Mac,” and look under the “Storage” heading. This in depth guide will walk you through all the steps of using OnyX, a free multifunction App for OS X that allows you to troubleshoot common problems and speed up your Mac. First things first, lets install OnyX.