http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Mini-Replace-Hard-Disk-w-SSD-Solid-State-Drive-tp7583384.html
My 2010 Mini was getting pretty slow, and the problem was clearly the hard drive and swapping. I also have an Air with SSD which is really, really snappy .. especially for being the first generation.
So SSD it was. The video I followed was OWC (Other World Computing):
I also followed the advice to pre-install a bootable copy of my existing disk onto the SSD via SuperDuper.
One additional upgrade: because there are multiple screw head types in this exercise, I bought the OWC screwdriver kit so I'd have the Torx 6 & 8 as well as a really odd Hex driver from the current iFixIt kit floating around.
The SSD is a Samsung from Amazon .. 256 GB. That seem small by today's standard, but with the "cloud" and a local NAS (Network Attached Storage) with RAID (redundant storage), I felt I could manage the somewhat reduced size (the hard drive being replaced wast 500GB).
No major problems other than finding the Mini had an unconnected heat sensor (decided it was for the disk so just taped it on), and the video having a few errors in terms of size screws.
Man has it been worth it! The old Mini has a new life .. and I can wait on a replacement for another couple of years. Seriously, SSD replacement is a great way to improve your computer. And with the good video and the toolset we've got, I'd say most of us could perform the procedure. No where near is difficult as changing an iPhone cracked screen.
-- Owen
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College