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Intel Mac mini Upgraded to 2.16GHz Core Duo

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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XtremeSystems.org documented their upgrade of a 1.5GHz Mac mini Single Core to a 2.16GHz Dual Core processor.

This appears to confirm that the Mac mini's Intel processor is upgradable. Disassembly pictures posted last week revealed that the Mac mini Intel processor is socketed like the Intel iMac, suggesting that a simple processor replacement could be performed.

I picked up an Apple Mini Mac for $599 and Fry's Electronics today. It was the low end unit with plans to swap out some of the guts for a mega upgrade that would be an unavailable configuration from Apple.

For those with access to Yonah chips or prefer to purchase from an online retailer but did not have a platform to run it on, this is very cool interim machine to check out.
Click to expand...

The author posts screenshots showing Before (1.5GHz) and After (2.16GHz) system information screens documenting the upgrade.
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2006/03/05/intel-mac-mini-upgraded-to-2-16ghz-core-duo/
Wow thats amazing, So you can get MacBook Pros power for about 1/2 the price. (Just guessing on that, I have no idea how much the 2.16 chips cost)
 
But what about heat?

That's great & all, but what about the heat factor? It's not like the Mac Mini has lots of fans to cool a more powerful chip.
 
Mmmmm

First fuel cells now toasty minis. Hell may have frozen over with the transition to Intel, but it doesn't feel that way in the Apple of tomorrow.
 
Wow, that's cool. They've got to be talented to get a new processor in that thing, and I guess it opens a whole lot of upgrade possibilities in the future. Oh, and I guess that things very hot.
 
ScottB said:
Wow, that's cool. They've got to be talented to get a new processor in that thing, and I guess it opens a whole lot of upgrade possibilities in the future. Oh, and I guess that things very hot.
Click to expand...

Is the surface of the mini non-stick? I hate having to apply butter for my eggs. (Unhealthy.)
 
It's very cool that we finally have a relatively low priced upgradeable Mac. (I guess it would be too much to ask for an upgradeable GPU as well...)

But it does suck that Intel's chips cost more than PPC chips. Is that just Intel's price premium, or is there something in the design/manufacturing process that's inherently more expensive? Or is it just that the PPC G(n) series were designed to be low cost?

I bought my 1.25 GHz Mini last year, upgraded RAM and OC'd it to 1.58, and have been wishing for a faster one for a while, but now that it's here, money is tight for me and they increased the price! Plus I'm a bit sour on the integrated graphics/shared memory deal.

Well, here's to (the thin sliver of) hoping the next desktop tower Mac will be both upgradeable and afffordable!
 
cool, but...

Very cool, but by the time you've bought a mini, and then gone and bought another CPU, you've suddenly spent an awful lot on a Mini. Add a display and you might as well have bought an iMac...
 
Voidness said:
Only if Apple would use this in thier Macs (Atleast the iMac and Mac Mini):

http://www.gen-x-pc.com/note_AU259IA_MXM.htm

That would rock!

(For those of you too lazy to click on the link, it's about a PCI Express graphics card that's designed for notebooks, and is designed to be easily upgradeble)
Click to expand...

That is also pretty cool but I wonder what this would do to the cost? Would it be worth upping the cost of the low end machine for this assuming, of course, that the cost per machine would increase?
 
runninmac said:
Wow thats amazing, So you can get MacBook Pros power for about 1/2 the price. (Just guessing on that, I have no idea how much the 2.16 chips cost)
Click to expand...

You can't upgrade the procs in the MBPs, only in the new iMacs and Minis.

schatten said:
That's great & all, but what about the heat factor? It's not like the Mac Mini has lots of fans to cool a more powerful chip.
Click to expand...

Exactly, which is why Apple doesn't care if the chip was soldered on or not. It probably would have cost extra to have the CPU soldered on, but since you'd just end up busting your machine if you made a significant upgrade, then it's your problem. And nobody would spend that type of money to get a 2.16 GHz Core Duo Mac Mini, since buying that chip separate would cost a fortune. Apple knows that.
 
schatten said:
That's great & all, but what about the heat factor? It's not like the Mac Mini has lots of fans to cool a more powerful chip.
Click to expand...

A little further down in the discussion thread, he states that the fan inside the mini is adequate for cooling the processor, and he also says that he would probably be able to fit a copper water cooling system on the chip, as Apple is using standard sizes/clips/mounts now...

In my opinion, it's awesome that Apple is using more and more standard hardware components. The Mac should be fine for anyone, but also have some hidden goodies inside that modders can play around with. (And a $599 computer with optical audio in/out??? that's a good deal, too! I wonder if they'll do that to the iBook too...).
 
macorama said:
Very cool, but by the time you've bought a mini, and then gone and bought another CPU, you've suddenly spent an awful lot on a Mini. Add a display and you might as well have bought an iMac...
Click to expand...

It's actually not a bad deal for someone like me who bought a Core Solo and might want to upgrade in a year or two, when the price of say the 1.66GHz Duo like in the higher end Mini might be closer to $150. Plus in theory I could find someone who wants to buy the Core Solo I would be removing, making the net cost of the new CPU closer to $100.
 
leftbanke7 said:
That is also pretty cool but I wonder what this would do to the cost? Would it be worth upping the cost of the low end machine for this assuming, of course, that the cost per machine would increase?
Click to expand...
I'm assuming it shouldn't have much effect on the cost, if any. It's just a slot and a daughter card to hold the GPU. But i'm guessing it wouldn't fit in a Powerbook (I refuse calling it a Macbook Pro :p ), since the casing seems to be too thin.
 
macorama said:
Very cool, but by the time you've bought a mini, and then gone and bought another CPU, you've suddenly spent an awful lot on a Mini. Add a display and you might as well have bought an iMac...
Click to expand...

not if you buy *Nice* CPU upgrade, a bigger screen then the iMac, and don't need the GPU, the Mac Mini could be faster then the iMac:eek:
 
This is fantastic news!! :D

It'll mean that by the time the Yonah chips are old news we'll be able to purchase decent priced upgrades - we won't be locked down by the overinflated prices by Powerlogix and the like.
Now I wonder if Merom will work in these minis - that would be seriously cool!!
 
Cool.

Upgrades may not make $$$ sense TODAY, but maybe the Core Duo will hang around as a low-end chip even after Merom is out--and it may offer higher Ghz for less money then. That could make it a tempting upgrade in a year or two.
 
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