Possible to User Replace the i5 to and i7 in iMac

[Zach Schible]

Ok this might seem a bit silly asking about products still fresh out of the gate and in this case not available yet. But…*

I was wondering if anyone who had some really good technical knowledge thinks it would be possible to replace the i5 proc. in the iMac with the i7 if I chose to do so down the road. This means it would be user replaceable. It seems the general consensus is that they are socketed so why not?

I ask this because to be honest I don't think I need the i7 iMac at this time but in the future (i.e. 3-5 years) I might. Therefore I could save the cash now buy the i5 iMac and later pick up a cheap or used i7 proc. And because my Apple care will have run out voiding a warranty wouldn't be an issue.

My workflow usually consists of having Lightroom, PS4, Adobe Bridge, Safari, Adium, iTunes and Rapidweaver all running at once. So I think the i5 would do a decent job of running these for now.

so what do yawl think?

 

[rgarjr]

I think its been discussed here that they use different sockets set.

 

[UAofE]

Yes, you'll be able to upgrade the i5 to a faster i7 later on.

 

[Cave Man]

Yes you can. Not soldered and not epoxied. You can't go from a Core 2 Duo processor to an 'i' processor, though.

 

[Sun Baked]

Gots to wait for the fool to break the freshness seal and see which chips and sockets are used.

And to see if Apple is using standard PC carrier packages, especially since it isn't too big a deal for Apple to request a non-standard carrier (something they did with the Mac Pro and the MacBook Air.)

 

[Cave Man]

I think MacFixIt already did a tear-down.

 

[UAofE]

I think MacFixIt already did a tear-down.

Not of an i equipped model since nobody has one yet.

 

[Cave Man]

Yes - they only did the C2D. Hopefully Apple doesn't solder/epoxy the i chips. That would be a real bummer.

 

[Eidorian]

The Core 2 Duo 3.06 GHz models will be limited to LGA 775 based processors.

The quad core Core i5 and i7 iMacs are based off of LGA 1156. Right now the only thing that's faster is the Core i7 870. Nothing beyond that on the roadmap right now for LGA 1156.

 

[rgarjr]

Hopefully Apple doesn't solder/epoxy the i chips. That would be a real bummer.

When you say epoxy, do you mean Apple actually puts a goop of glue and sticks it on there?

 

[Eidorian]

When you say epoxy, do you mean Apple actually puts a goop of glue and sticks it on there?

Kind of...

Here's the Mac mini's processor.

 

[Sun Baked]

You'll note that the glue stick came about (more widespread) the time of the XBox and Nvidia GPU problems... just another layer of reducing the shifting of the chip during thermal cycles.

 

[MasterDev]

Knowing Apple, I think they will epoxy and/or solder the chip.

 

[Eidorian]

Knowing Apple, I think they will epoxy and/or solder the chip.

Well it was socketed in the past and the LGA 775 based models are socketed as well.

They must have gotten a killer deal to buy into a dead socket this late in the game when they should have been using it since 2006.

 

[Zach Schible]

I think its been discussed here that they use different sockets set.

hmm…*would you happen to know the specifics sockets? Thanks for the post.

 

[Techhie]

Knowing Apple, I think they will epoxy and/or solder the chip.

I don't know that this will be the case because they have been in the habit in recent years of making them socketed. My question would be if the LGA 1156 has anything else in store for future upgrades.

 

[rgarjr]

Kind of...

Here's the Mac mini's processor.

So does Apple do this so you won't upgrade to a faster processor or what's the reason behind the glue of chips?

 

[Eidorian]

hmm…*would you happen to know the specifics sockets? Thanks for the post.

So does Apple do this so you won't upgrade to a faster processor or what's the reason behind the glue of chips?

Both of these questions have already been answered in this thread.

 

[MasterDev]

Well it was socketed in the past and the LGA 775 based models are socketed as well.

They must have gotten a killer deal to buy into a dead socket this late in the game when they should have been using it since 2006.

Good point, I didn't even think about that. But didn't the imac g4 have a non socketed processor?

Edit: Nevermind, they were socketed... Don't know why I thought otherwise.

 

[Eidorian]

Good point, I didn't even think about that. But didn't the imac g4 have a non socketed processor?

Lets just limit it to Intel only Macs for now.

 

[grahamnp]

I think its been discussed here that they use different sockets set.

Not really, the i5 750 and i7 860 use the same socket 1156 and so does the i7 870. The i7 920 and above use the 1366 socket.

Too bad the processor is relatively hard to get to as the upgrade to the 860 costs almost as much as an 860 by itself.

 

[Cave Man]

They must have gotten a killer deal to buy into a dead socket this late in the game when they should have been using it since 2006.

So it's safe to say the revisions are a stop-gap?

 

[Eidorian]

So it's safe to say the revisions are a stop-gap?

LGA 775 in such expensive hardware for the lack of a better term is stupid.

I suspect the entire iMac line is going Core i# and LGA 1156(B) in the next revision for the sake of simplicity. Clarkdale is coming up at a lower platform TDP cost and BOM compared to the current LGA 775 one. With Hyperthreading (2 cores, 4 threads) in some cases you might be able to squeeze near Core 2 Quad performance.

 

[53x12]

Not really, the i5 750 and i7 860 use the same socket 1156 and so does the i7 870. The i7 920 and above use the 1366 socket.

Too bad the processor is relatively hard to get to as the upgrade to the 860 costs almost as much as an 860 by itself.

Yeah I agree. On newegg the difference in price is only $90 between the two. Too bad Apple wants to charge $200, but I guess they need to keep their investors happy.

 

[Sun Baked]

Lol...

Knowing Apple, it'll be a Foxconn Socket 1156 ... so extreme overclocking and going to a higher draw CPU might not be a good idea.

Which seems to be the overclockers unfriendly socket and board if they have this socket.

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Note: while it is the stay away board on the PC side ... Foxconn is a rather common vendor for parts on the Apple side, and they create a lot of boards and sub-assemblies for them.