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mini core solo to merom upgrade ;)

so is it worth it to:

Buy a refurb/used Core Solo Mini

Buy a Core2Duo chip

Install


Is the cost of the solo + the core2duo chip equal to LESS than the cost of a brand new core2duo mini?
 
This is one of the great benefits of the Intel transition: cheap, available CPU upgrades for the masses!

Take a look at what G4 upgrades are still going for....:eek:
 
From the dead

I wanted to raise this to ask about heat. I was thinking about doing this when the T7400 or maybe even t7600 come down in price.

After doing some searching I came across this thread: http://www.pclincs.co.uk/Forums/showthread.php?threadid=10120

Basically the OP says the mini is not suited to handle the heat put off from a 7400 for 24/7 use.

So I ask how is your T7200 running? DOes it seem stable. I also noticed that alot of the OPs testing seemed to be in Windows. I wonder if maybe that is a factor as OS X may handle the temps better.

I just don't want my Mini to be on fire to point where it is unusable. Thanks.
 
T7200 working well

2ghz working well here. my initial testing and benchmarks were mostly done using xp, as that is what most people were asking for.

after the initial testing, have been running mostly os x, and have about 4 weeks of uptime at this point (24 x 7). set to sleep after 30 minutes, running parallels (beta, bootcamp partition) and have had no issues to report at all. totally stable. running parallels gets the temps up into the mid 70C range, but drops back to 48-58C range during normal use with firefox, itunes, playing dvd, etc. the average temps have been about 2 degrees below what i recorded with the core solo before doing the swap. i believe it's because i took the time to clean/polish the heatsink, and used artic silver.

next step here is the external sata 3.5" drive mod for more storage, and faster performance. the T7200 is more than enough cpu for my use, and rarely is working above idle. i am still amazed at how fast and silent this little square box is. really amazing stuff. best of luck.
 
4JNA said:
well, my T7200 core 2 duo retail cpu just arrived this afternoon, and i spent the last 2 hours or so installing new parts in my core solo base model mini. installed the cpu, 2gb of memory, a UJ-845S superdrive, and a 7200rpm 100gb sata hard drive. :D

not an easy upgrade. lots of really small wires and connectors to remove to get the drive/fan frame off. also needed to take the motherboard out of the base to remove the cpu heatsink. be VERY careful removing the heatsink, as the temp sensor is glued to the bottom of it! the cpu socket is just like any laptop socket, and can be 'opened' and 'closed' with a flat blade screwdriver. the core solo chip and the new core 2 have a really different looking silicon top, so needed to scrape the old compound off the heatsink as it would not have 'matched' the original pad install. used some artic silver 5 when i installed the heatsink. holding the heatsink steady and pushing in the mount pins was a bit of a trick!

so. works! booted right up. no changes/firmware/anything other than removing and installing hardware. 'about' now showing '2Ghz Intel Core 2 CPU T7200'. and now shows 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM. sweet :)

temps have been in the high 40's and low/mid 50's (C) so far. just running update, surfing, etc. going to wait a couple days for the artic silver to complete the thermal bond before running any real benchmarks. right away though... it's fast. really fast. makes using my dual 1.8 G5 seems slow for a 'how it feels' benchmark. and quiet. same as the core solo as far as noise, but will see when i start with the benchmarks.

bootcamp and xp pro are next. will post pictures and benchmarks later. if anyone has benchmark ideas or requests, please let me know and i will try and add them to the list...

peace.
Click to expand...

Having nearly a panic attack in simply upgrading ram and hard drive on my last rev ppc mini 1.5, I must say about this project that I AM COMPLETELY impressed.

Hat's off to you 4JNA.
 
Mac minis are alot of fun and offer lots. But i have a question, will the old dothans work in the new Yonah sockets, or vice versa.
Thanks
 
California said:
Hat's off to you.
Click to expand...

Thanks! :)

elec999 said:
Mac minis are alot of fun and offer lots. But i have a question, will the old dothans work in the new Yonah sockets, or vice versa.
Thanks
Click to expand...

not in the mini. some pc motherboards are able to use either (dothan or yonah), but the mini is not socket compatible (pins/FSB) with the older chips. plus the thought of a celeron in a mini is just icky :eek: :confused: :apple:
 
Nice. Looks like the T7200 is the sweet spot on price/performance, as the price gets even steeper on the 7400 and up.

Newegg currently lists the T7200 at $298, still a bit expensive in my mind, but as that gets closer to $225, I'll be upgrading the 1.66ghz Yonah in my mini.
 
Returning to this thread. After further reading, I found out that Merom does get hotter, and uses more power then the Yonah based cpus. Currently my mac mini 1.5gig is kinda slow when running boot camp. I was thinking of getting a Yonah T2700. Is there much of a difference between the Yonah and the Merom, I know 2mb vs 4mb buffer. Right now I also need to get the cooling issue with my mac mini fixed, as it is pretty loud.
Thanks
 
elec999 said:
Returning to this thread. After further reading, I found out that Merom does get hotter, and uses more power then the Yonah based cpus. Currently my mac mini 1.5gig is kinda slow when running boot camp. I was thinking of getting a Yonah T2700. Is there much of a difference between the Yonah and the Merom, I know 2mb vs 4mb buffer. Right now I also need to get the cooling issue with my mac mini fixed, as it is pretty loud.
Thanks
Click to expand...
I'd go with a Merom over Yonah right now. It shipped at the same price points that Yonah came in at. No point in paying the same price for older hardware.
 
whoa, zombie thread...

it came back!

ok, mini update. nothing but positive results to report. again.

to recap: T7200, installed after cleaning heatsink, artic silver 5 used, 2gb installed, 7200rpm 100gb hard drive, UJ-845 installed. no changes to fans, covers, plastic, etc.

initial testing showed temps at or just under the stock 1.5 core solo. no change in noise levels. mine was silent before the upgrade, and i can't tell a difference after.

pushing hard in windows (games, Pii, benchmark) i can get the new c2d chip into the mid 70's where the fan spins up to around 2000rpm and temps stay stable. as soon as the app quits, the temps and fans return normal within a few seconds. almost spooky how fast the temps drop actually.

have been running folding (100% cpu usage on both cores) 24x7 for about a month now. it runs at 72-74 degrees C, the hard drive is running at 46-48 degrees C, and the fan is stable around 1600rpm. not silent, but really hard to hear given the number of computers i have running.

the most amazing computer i have ever owned. crazy fast. silent or close to it. kicks the crap out of most everything else i have. running 'folding' is pure number crunching on the cpu, very little else is used (GMA950 doesn't matter). for perspective, the mini averages about 1200 points per day, and a dell dual xeon server (3.2ghz Xeon HT, 2mb cache per cpu, 4gb ECC registered DDR, dual 147gb 15k rpm U320 scsi in raid) averages about 900-1000 points per day. :eek: :apple:
 
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