Is there any way to get a performance comparison between the Newertech Ministack using USB2 and FW connection as opposed

[jdc]

external FW is faster than the internal drive

http://www.barefeats.com/mini01c.html

OWC has some of the v1 ministack cases for $55 -- dont forget that the ministack cases offer additional FW and USB ports -- so making a comparision to a $15 USB case is not really relevant...

i would try your local apple store for the memory upgrade, i understand the intel minis are hard to break into -- i broke into several G4 minis pretty easy...