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Mac mini processor upgrade question

S

skippy911

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 1, 2006
105
0
Hello,

I was thinking to save some money and buy a mac mini with the core solo processor and slap in a nice new core 2 duo. Is there a list of core 2 duo processors that are compatible with the mac mini? Also since its been since august last year that the mac mini has seen a refresh is there any speculation on when a new model mini may be released?
 
skippy911 said:
Hello,

I was thinking to save some money and buy a mac mini with the core solo processor and slap in a nice new core 2 duo. Is there a list of core 2 duo processors that are compatible with the mac mini? Also since its been since august last year that the mac mini has seen a refresh is there any speculation on when a new model mini may be released?
Click to expand...

There has been recent talk ranging from a possible refresh next month. Or even in may. Really no one knows. As far as I know you can get at least up to a t7600 in the Mini. Beyond that perhaps someone else can speak up.
 
Nichod said:
...you can get at least up to a t7600 in the Mini. Beyond that perhaps someone else can speak up.
Click to expand...

you got it, the T7600 is the fastest chip you can use in the mini.

look for the mobile (socket M or socket 479) T series chips, but watch out for the front side bus (FSB) as the mini can only use the 667mhz chips and not the newer 800mhz chips. seems to be the older chips are even numbers (7200, 7400, 7600) and the newer chips are odd number (7300, 7500, 7700).

i used a T7200 in my solo upgrade, it runs 24x7, and it's never had a problem. amazing difference from the solo to the c2d chip! max out the memory at the same time since you will have it all apart, and test everything before you put the cover back on... ;) best of luck.
 
I concur with the others. The T7600 is where you can get with your mini.

As far as a refresh, I keep a pretty close eye on the minis. (See my signature) I've been able to predict the last 3 refreshes by watching the supply with my resellers. As of right now, I don't see a new refresh coming anytime soon. Maybe in a couple months.
 
I'm pushing mine to a t7600 this week! :D

The problem is, finding a core solo on the cheap (people seem to be pricing in the "upgradability" (if you ask me.)
 
hate to raise an old thread, but a friend to me said that desktop CPU's can be put into laptop computers... so uuhh can they be put in mini's?? im guessing the answer is no. its probably a retarted question!

another question, what is the current model intel CPU (mobile) that the mini can hold, it probably cant take a penryn processor can it?

cheers.
 
to upgrade the Mac Mini

I want to purchase a used Core solo and then upgrade the processor & RAM to T7600 and 2 GB. Is socket M the same as socket 479 or socket 479 mPGA? One can get them cheaply from Hong Kong or China for about $300. Is this advisable or should I get the Boxed processor for $679?

Anybody have any advise for me (like am I nuts)? Is there a better way to get a fast Mac Mini? Should I opt for a cheaper T7200 (2 GHz) instead?

Thanks guys
 
DoFoT9 said:
a friend to me said that desktop CPU's can be put into laptop computers... so uuhh can they be put in mini's??
Click to expand...

Tell your friend does not know what he is talking about.

The 2.33GHz is the largest processor that will fit in the current Mac Mini.
 
There are only two T7600s - ball grid (SL9SD) and pinned (SL9SJ).

Some people are selling ball grid with pins soldered on - there was a report of success at another site with one of these.

The T7600 would be theoretically 15% faster than a T7200 for a CPU bound problem. But in the real world with the FSB limits and cache misses I would expect significantly less.

How much are T7400s?

BTW I have heard reports that can buy a socketed T7600 laptop (Sony or Dell or something) for less than a new T7600 CPU, flip in a T7200, and resell it for a very low cost. I have not seen a list of which laptops have socketed T7600s though.
 
I upgraded mine with T7600 cpu, Mac Pro wifi N card, 2gb ram and 320gb 7200rpm drive. WOrks great.


Keep this in mind though. If the mac mini did not SHIP with the core 2 duo chip it won't support over 2gb of ram. Only the current shipping mac minis will support 3.3gb of ram. There are no exceptions. Good luck.
 
Actually the MB138LL/A and MB139LL/A support 4GB. Also, I've found that after prolonged use, the Wireless N card will get too hot and stop working at least in my experience with 3 T7600 Mac Mini's this has happened.
 
brand said:
Tell your friend does not know what he is talking about.

The 2.33GHz is the largest processor that will fit in the current Mac Mini.
Click to expand...

ok thanks for that, i really should have known that....

twould be good if they could upgrade it to take the new penryn processors! quad core and everything would be really nice in that mini.
 
mac mini upgrade

Hi.
Can someone please advise me on what processors i could upgrade too on a mini 1.83ghz intel core duo MA608LL/A 2gb ram.
What sort of improvement might i expect.
Thank you in advance.
Robin.
 
The above 3 CPUs (T7200, T7400, T7600) are the only faster CPUs that fit in your C2D machine.

I have a complete list here: http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20069 .

In that post there is a link to a MacWorld article where they compare a 1.83 and 2.0 Mac Mini C2D (8% faster). A T7600 (2.33GHZ) would be up to 25% faster than a 1.83GHz for CPU bound tasks.
 
ADent said:
The above 3 CPUs (T7200, T7400, T7600) are the only faster CPUs that fit in your C2D machine.

I have a complete list here: http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20069....
Click to expand...


sweet list. i should have done the same as i'm getting tired of typing the same thing over and over...

only problem i have with the post is that the Core Duo T2700 is faster, feels faster for everyday stuff, and can be found for about half of the Core2Duo T7200. the other point would be that the CD core used 31w and the C2D core chips all run at 34W or more. it makes a difference if noise and power are on your watch list. just my 2 cents after folding (24x7 @ 100% on all cores) for the last few years on everything from the original solo to the current stock. best of luck.
 
Just picked up a t7400. Popped it in and OSX won't bootup. I put the 1.66 CD in and it's fine. I put the T7400 in and was able to boot Tiger install DVD but the screen is corrupted. RAM problem? I picked up the box second hand and it has Nanya brand RAM.
 
I just tried some Kingston RAM. No difference. Looks like the T7400 was a BGA and pins were added. There is one pin empty where there is no pin on the 1.66 CD cpu. Anyone know if that's normal?

Update:

Seems to be something with the graphics chip. Both in 2d and 3d. When at the tiger install screen the blue background has vertical darker blue strips. The buttons are off color. I reinstalled and when in Tiger you see triangles of other random parts of the screen in any window you move. It jumbles about in interesting patterns. Anyone ever see this? The firmware is up to date.
 
I've just done a T2400 upgrade and probably fried my logic board in the process. There's a thread on here where I'm pleading for help if you look!
 
anarchocptlist said:
I just tried some Kingston RAM. No difference. Looks like the T7400 was a BGA and pins were added. There is one pin empty where there is no pin on the 1.66 CD cpu. Anyone know if that's normal?

Update:

Seems to be something with the graphics chip. Both in 2d and 3d. When at the tiger install screen the blue background has vertical darker blue strips. The buttons are off color. I reinstalled and when in Tiger you see triangles of other random parts of the screen in any window you move. It jumbles about in interesting patterns. Anyone ever see this? The firmware is up to date.
Click to expand...

I upgraded my mini last Septemberish with a t7600 that was a BGA array that was modified with pins. I had the same problems as you. I could get the mini to boot up if I didn't attach the heat sink (would not advise that :eek:) I put my original 1.66 Core Duo next to the modified t7600 and the t7600 was about 2-3 millimeters taller. The only thing that I could come up with was that the extra height was causing the logic board or the chip or something to flex beyond its tolerances. Yes, that was a guess.
I sent my t7600 back to the seller and got a t7400 pin array and it worked fine. Good luck.
 
Oneness said:
I upgraded my mini last Septemberish with a t7600 that was a BGA array that was modified with pins. I had the same problems as you. I could get the mini to boot up if I didn't attach the heat sink (would not advise that :eek:) I put my original 1.66 Core Duo next to the modified t7600 and the t7600 was about 2-3 millimeters taller. The only thing that I could come up with was that the extra height was causing the logic board or the chip or something to flex beyond its tolerances. Yes, that was a guess.
I sent my t7600 back to the seller and got a t7400 pin array and it worked fine. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I had saw that thread but thanks for the reply. I've been letting the heatsink just lay on top of the CPU without clipping it in and I get the same results. There must be something more to it. The fact that their seems to be a pattern to the data corruption seems to indicate something is being consistently aggravated. I bought the chip from kaga0719 on ebay who I understand people have used before without issue. Makes me wonder if it's something to do with the setting of the pins.
 
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