Logic Board - Dual Nehalem processors

[mrpinkfloyd]

Does anyone know if the logic board is the same for all current dual nehalem processors offered by Apple? Or does the dual 2.26GHz quad have a different logic board than the dual 2.93GHz quad?

It seems like if they have the same logic board you could buy the dual 2.26GHz now and down the road you could buy the dual 2.93GHz chips (when they aren't $2,600 more) and just replace the dual 2.26GHz chips. Maybe it's not that easy, but if it is it seems like a great alternative to buying the top machine right now. Does anyone know if this is possible??

 

[jmpage2]

Does anyone know if the logic board is the same for all current dual nehalem processors offered by Apple? Or does the dual 2.26GHz quad have a different logic board than the dual 2.93GHz quad?

It seems like if they have the same logic board you could buy the dual 2.26GHz now and down the road you could buy the dual 2.93GHz chips (when they aren't $2,600 more) and just replace the dual 2.26GHz chips. Maybe it's not that easy, but if it is it seems like a great alternative to buying the top machine right now. Does anyone know if this is possible??

The problem with this strategy is that the prices of server class chips, like the Xenons, don't typically drop much (or at all) over time.

 

[nanofrog]

Does anyone know if the logic board is the same for all current dual nehalem processors offered by Apple? Or does the dual 2.26GHz quad have a different logic board than the dual 2.93GHz quad?

It seems like if they have the same logic board you could buy the dual 2.26GHz now and down the road you could buy the dual 2.93GHz chips (when they aren't $2,600 more) and just replace the dual 2.26GHz chips. Maybe it's not that easy, but if it is it seems like a great alternative to buying the top machine right now. Does anyone know if this is possible??

Other than the CPU's on the daughter board, they'd be the same. Just the chipset, NIC, HDD controller + SATA ports, audio, Voltage Regulators, and PCIe slots.

So swapping CPU's would be possible, provided Apple hasn't actually soldered them. Not exactly cost effective though, as mrpinkfloyd mentioned. Xeon processors aren't cheap, and they don't tend to drop much in price either.

 

[Ploki]

Other than the CPU's on the daughter board, they'd be the same. Just the chipset, NIC, HDD controller + SATA ports, audio, Voltage Regulators, and PCIe slots.

So swapping CPU's would be possible, provided Apple hasn't actually soldered them. Not exactly cost effective though, as mrpinkfloyd mentioned. Xeon processors aren't cheap, and they don't tend to drop much in price either.

you can swap the whole cpu board. its certainly cheaper than swapping the whole logic board. but not by much lol.

 

[nanofrog]

you can swap the whole cpu board. its certainly cheaper than swapping the whole logic board. but not by much lol.

I wouldn't be too sure of that, when you consider the heatsinks, CPU(s), and the daughter board itself. Apple isn't known for inexpensive replacement parts.

Though more hassle, it would be cheaper to replace the CPU(s) alone IMO. It shouldn't be that bad, but...

(I've not seen a pic of the underside of the daughter board to see how the heatsinks are mounted, so it could be easy, or a major PITA).

 

[mrpinkfloyd]

thanks for all the responses. all helpful information. i'm usually of the mindset that you should buy the top machine you can afford so it'll last the longest. i'm currently using my dual 1.25Ghz G4 powermac as my main computer at work and my 2.16Ghz dual core macbook pro as my main home computer.

so at this point, any new desktop is going to provide me a vast performance difference when compared to the G4 powermac...and the powermac has been going strong for 7+ years now! my original 667Mhz powerbook G4 from 2001 is also still running strong (well maybe not STRONG but it still works)...in my experience nobody builds a computer like apple!