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Macbook A1181 Upgrade

D

DedeGJ

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 18, 2012
27
1
Hello,

First of all, i want to sorry for my english, because it have bugs :)

So I found my old macbook A1181 in my drawer, and i want ask, can i upgrade it? Like Change processor from Core Duo 2.0ghz to 2,4GHz C2D? or processor is soldered into motherboard?

Another thing is RAM's. What is maximum supported in mac A1181?

And Hard Drive. There is sata I or sata II? :)

Greetings :)
 
The cpu is soldered to the board, but if you have experience with BGA rework its possible to replace it. YOu need a BGA version of the CPU in question, not a socketed one. They're 100+ quid a piece.

The maximum ram is 2Gb. 2x1Gb is preferred but 1x2GB works too. DDR2 of course.

The hard drive is SATA 1 (1.5Gb/s) but can be replaced with modern SATA2 and SATA3 drives, including SSD's
 
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DaKKs said:
The cpu is soldered to the board, but if you have experience with BGA rework its possible to replace.

The maximum ram is 2Gb. 2x1Gb is preferred but 1x2GB works too.

The hard drive is SATA 1 (1.5Gb/s) but can be replaced with modern SATA2 and SATA3 drives, including SSD's
Click to expand...

i don't want to try... No Experience... but nobody born with experience... So 2x2gb won't work? Ohhh... so no lion for this laptop... i think i gonna sell it :)
 
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DedeGJ said:
i don't want to try... No Experience... but nobody born with experience... So 2x2gb won't work? Ohhh... so no lion for this laptop... i think i gonna sell it :)
Click to expand...

Nope, it does not boot with 2x2, or 2+1 or anything above 2gb. Been there done that, got the t-shirt.

As for Lion, I'm currently running a modified version of Lion DP1 called roaringcore lion. Its technically pirate software but i own a retail version of Lion, so i'm really not bothered by it... Safari and Mail is buggy, but with Firefox and Thunderbird it works fine. No third party software issues. Everything that works on SL works on DP1 too.
 
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DaKKs said:
Nope, it does not boot with 2x2, or 2+1 or anything above 2gb. Been there done that, got the t-shirt.

As for Lion, I'm currently running a modified version of Lion DP1 called roaringcore lion. Its technically pirate software but i own a retail version of Lion, so i'm really not bothered by it... Safari and Mail is buggy, but with Firefox and Thunderbird it works fine. No third party software issues. Everything that works on SL works on DP1 too.
Click to expand...

ohh. ok. i gonna try that :) Thanks for info :)
 
Forget the CPU upgrade and stick an SSD in it. I have been doing this with 2006-2008 models and it breathes new life into them!
 
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broboore said:
Forget the CPU upgrade and stick an SSD in it. I have been doing this with 2006-2008 models and it breathes new life into them!
Click to expand...

But the ssd price is same as this laptop price :D but maybie this is idea. coz now i'm using Western Digital Blue Caviar and it's little bit slow... but if i can upgrade cpu, and put ssd in, i can sell it for about 500$... prices in my country is big for mac's :) like you know, new 13.3 mac book pro with i5, 500gb hdd and etc costs about 2000$ :D
 
DedeGJ said:
But the ssd price is same as this laptop price :D but maybie this is idea. coz now i'm using Western Digital Blue Caviar and it's little bit slow... but if i can upgrade cpu, and put ssd in, i can sell it for about 500$... prices in my country is big for mac's :) like you know, new 13.3 mac book pro with i5, 500gb hdd and etc costs about 2000$ :D
Click to expand...

The slowest SSD will max the sata 1 port on you mb. Just buy the cheapest one and you're set.
 
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I personally have never had an issue with used SSD. I always check the Warehouse Deals at Amazon and stick with more reliable drives like Intel, Crucial, & Samsung.
 
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DaKKs said:
Its exactly the same thing. But instead of bad sectors you have bad blocks.
Click to expand...

Ohhh... thats new info for me :) And look, i found that people are selling A1181's with more than 2 gigs of ram...
 
DedeGJ said:
Ohhh... thats new info for me :) And look, i found that people are selling A1181's with more than 2 gigs of ram...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I just read a post that claims you can flash 2,1 firmware onto the 1,1 making it capable of using 3.3gb ram. As far as I know its a myth, but if its legit, that would explain the extra ram in those you saw.
 
You should know that machine is an 2.0Ghz Core Duo model. Therefore, it's the first gen machine (MacBook 1,1 Early 2006). Those Core Duo (not Core 2 Duo) machines can only handle a max of 2GB 667mhz DDR2.

Core 2 Duo MacBooks (MacBook 2,1 Late 2006 or newer) can utilize 3.3GB (2x 2GB) or more (MacBook 5,2 Early and Mid 2009).

The Core Duo model came in 1.83Ghz or 2.0Ghz clockspeed. So you have the higher end of the time. Although the Intel GMA 950 64MB graphics card remains the same.

I have an Black MacBook 2.0Ghz Core 2 Duo (late 2006) machine which has 4GB RAM and 120GB Vertex 3 SSD. It flies.

I've done this to a 1.83 Core Duo model before, and it still flies! SSD's can be bought for 70 euro's and then you still have an vertex 3 (sata III, but no worries)
 
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I have modified it a bit, though. It's damage less and no wear and tear. new parts and such.

Just a collector machine in superb shape. Pretty proud of it ;):apple:
 

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Cpu upgrade

Hey whats up guys.

so i have a working logic board out of my macbook a1181 2.0 DualCore Intel
and i got this board i got of ebay that looks exactly the same except it has a core 2 duo 2.0 4mb of cache isntead of 2mb. now ive heard someone trying of doing this saying you have to replace the efi bios or whatnot. Anybody thinks this is possible with rework equipment of course.

the ebay board is faulty apparently but havent tested it yet. because keyboard needs fixing for the power button to work.

i wander if i just pop the c2d out and reball it and stick it on the working one.

just a project idea. i also wanna paint the thing purple for my misses.


Thanks
mmd7ie.jpg

2zstohe.jpg
 
Just wanna say good luck and Keep us Posted! My current Mac machine is this Macbook im using at the moment. Its a macbook 3,1 that is maxed out.. I have 4gb Ram, 750Gb barracuda drive and dual booting snow leopard with 7. Its an awesome machine. SO keep us posted how it works out and if it can run Lion, how does it run?
 
i abandoned the idea due to the fact that the c2d (2.0) is only 10% better then core duo (2.0). so not really a massive upgrade. i think u can swap the efi firmware with the a newer one to get more ram and thoughts?
 
Mac Ram and Processor

DedeGJ said:
i don't want to try... No Experience... but nobody born with experience... So 2x2gb won't work? Ohhh... so no lion for this laptop... i think i gonna sell it :)
Click to expand...

I have the exact same model of the A1181 and I have 4GB of Ram in it. The MAX. is 8GB on that processor. I also have a friend with the same Mac as you and me and he has a new 2013/14 Intel Core i7 in it works really good. He did not mod anything else.

(I am currently replacing the Mag Safe Board in my Mac do to it not charging. Advice would be helpful;) )

:apple::apple::apple:

PS: You can run the current OS X 10.9.3
 
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