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Mac Mini Merom upgrade success, finally (or do I speak too soon?)
After a false start due to my own ignorance followed by a butt-saving eBay turnaround, I have finally obtained what I can call moderate success in upgrading the CPU in my Mac Mini from a 1.66GHz Core Duo to a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo (T7200).
First, the sexy part:
Then, the slightly puzzling (at times) part:
The new configuration is clearly faster than the previous level, which was in turn moderately faster than the earliest version. My Mac Mini now sports a 7200RPM SATA drive and a T7200 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo CPU. I guess I like the number 7200.
I fully expected xbench results similar to those displayed above. It's a straightforward benchmark, and it tests synthetic operations that can only be roughly mapped on the real world.
What vexes me slightly are the application results. Admittedly, I didn't do anything especially time-consuming, such as encoding a DVD, which would spread out processing differences over a longer sample period. I was anxious to start _using_ this thing, but I'll try an encode tonight. However, I ran through a simple series of applications that I generally run that don't have any involvement with the network. Hence, I avoided my 200+ tab Firefox startup, Mail.app, etc.
The installation was rather quick and painless, apart from a moderately unsettling moment when I broke one of the plastic heat-sink retaining pins. However, I improvised something with a couple tie-wraps (man, I'm white trash) that kept the heat sink seated firmly against the CPU.
That previous paragraph is what you're going to be pointing to in, oh, about ten seconds.
I followed the procedures that have been posted to the web and they worked quite nicely. I tried using an expired credit card first (instead of a thick business card), but that loaded up the opposite side with too much pressure. Instead, I used 3x5 cards in pairs and the case was cracked in no time.
Having been through the exercise before, it was short work removing the top chassis and motherboard, and the CPU was exposed, released, replaced, re-Arctic Silvered, and sealed back up in about twenty careful minutes, other than the swearing when the spring-loaded clip flew across the room. The smoke test passed, and I ran through the "benchmarks" mentioned above. I did the same for the pre-7200 RPM drive upgrade, thinking I'd be making a huge performance leap with HD and CPU upgrades, but so many things have changed in the interim that the comparison wouldn't be meaningful.
After running through the above sequence and restarting the machine, I started up my usual coterie of permanently-resident applications -- Firefox (with its multiple windows with 30-70 tabs each), NetNewsWire and its 600 feeds, Mail.app, iCal, iTerm (the application with the weirdest memory usage on earth), and a few other tiny proglets.
For some reason, the fan comes on with a disturbing increase in frequency and volume compared to the old CPU. Go ahead and re-read that paragraph I pointed out for you up above. I'll wait.
For those others of you who have upgraded from a T2300 to a T7200, and didn't bollix up things as I have, are you seeing the same thing?
To confound the straightforward issue of "2.0 = 120% 1.66 == teh h0t" and any 1:1 speed/watt comparisons between Core Duo and Core 2 Duo, and of course my foolish "snap the sprogs on the retaining pin", I upgraded to 10.4.8 last night, which has a reputation for increasing the fan usage on other Intel-based Macs. I noticed this last night while playing bzflag, but the fan level playing the game last night is the baseline level today. However, the computer hasn't shut itself down yet, which is a good sign.
I am interested in other people's experiences with this upgrade, precisely because of the fan issue. I've had to relocate my previously-silent Mini underneath my desk for the time being, as I hate any sort of computing noise, whether it be drive or fan spinning, or just weird scritching or GSM cell phone synching.
If I did the math, which I always end up doing in these situations, I have about $1,204.35 + $174.26 + $337.20 = $1,715.81 in this Mac, which is pretty close to the low-end configuration for a Mac Pro. I know this, and this happens to me time and again due to my sporadic demand for instant gratification.
If you have any clever suggestions for additional benchmarks or tests to run to compare to your own Core Solo/Duo Macs, please leave a comment. Also, if you want my old T2300, send me an email.
[edit]
I got sick of the fan noise, so I opened it back up, popped the heatsink off, and followed the Apple recommended practice of putting on about 900cc of thermal paste. After closing it up and a disconcertingly long restart, the fan is back to normal.
That doesn't mean everything is working properly, just that the fan is quieter.
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I installed a T7700 (2.4GHz Core 2 Duo) Merom into my Mini (originally 1.66 Core Duo), hit the PRAM reset button, put it back together and booted with no problems. Got the processor from eBay for 165 bucks! No noticeable increase in fan noise or temps.
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Do you know if it's possible to replace a solo core processor with a T7200?
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...was probably because you forgot to re-connect the 2-pin connector at the very front beneath the opening on the DVD drive the first time you closed it up. if this is the case, the fan will noisily spin at full tilt. Word to the wise.
I also busted TWO of those pins doing this same upgrade last night. So currently mine is going along with artic silver, and 2 pins across from each other...
I called the in-town mac resource. In typical Mac gesture, they offered to replace the motherboard, said that was the only way. This is why people don't like macs.
OSX 10.6 should run a little faster on these slow things.
On another note, I've had a Nintendo NES (yes, you read that right) that I have had for 2 years and is running about the same hardware - slot-loading dual-layer DVD burner, 2 GHz Core 2 Duo, 7200 RPM SATA drive, etc. If you are interested, here is the "how to" build your own version. I've had this thing much longer than this mac mini, which so far has been a disappointment (sorry mac lovers). Note that the original article used older hardware and was made in 2004. In 2006 the original VIA motherboard melted, so I upgraded to centrino/core 2 duo and added a case fan. http://zatch.brazoslink.net/Nintendo/NintendoPC.html
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I Know the bus is faster (800Mhz), there is some problem with that? It's pretty cheaper than 7600
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I read somewhere that the Merom runs cooler than the Yonah. I bought at core solo and next week end I plan to upgrade the Mini with a T7200.
Here i Denmark the T7600 cost more than double the T7200. Strange - because it is only an increase of 330 mhz.
Greetings from Per
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It's nutty how much more expensive the faster CPUs are than the T7200, even this long after the release. It really doesn't make sense to spend the extra money for a Mac Mini, in my extremely arrogant opinion.
Good luck with your upgrade.
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This isn't an issue about price, it's about space. I want a server that I can stick into a corner and that doesn't take up a lot of space or even requires a large 19" industrial rack.
So what I wonder, did anyone successfully upgrade a macMini with one of these quadCore CPUs?
Would there be thermal problems, or are the heatsink/fans in the MacMini good enough to keep that thing within operating range?
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The QX6700 (and Exxxx, etc.) has a different packaging than the T-series chips that the Mini likes. You have to look at mobile options for chips that can be swapped into a mini, with pins to connect the CPU and socket, not balls or pads.
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In my T7600 upgrade I managed to snap the little plastic tabs off of two of the plastic clips holding down the heatsink. Due to much frustration with the debacle I resorted to regular zinc screws (with careful spacers) to help hold the heatsink in place. I was afraid I had radically altered the thermal dynamics ... but under regular use I see the low fifties/high forties in both cores and no noticeable increase in fan activity. I may just be transferring more heat to the m/b with the super-conductive screws so I'll probably end up melting that before the chip. The highest temp I've seen is 89C encoding some video, but it's clear the CPU throttles itself at that point and it backs off... lengthening the expected encoding time ... making me wonder why I spent almost as much on the chip as I did on the mac mini. :-) About the fan noise anything is better than the jet engine inside my PC's 600W power supply. I love the mini!
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Also snapped my plastic clips. Came up with nylon screws. Apparently someone else has also. Work just great. Use #4-40. 3/4 inch will do, but 1 inch might be better. I've got some ordered. I'm running about 47C under normal opertions.
P.S. These are cheap!
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I have a lowly Core Solo chip in my MACMINI. Anyone want to donate their old Core Duo 1 chip to me?
Thanks,
Vladik@usa.net
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Reeses:
This is awesome. Thanks. I'll be upgrading both my processor and the hard drive on my Mac Mini. You can't beat the form factor and who cares if it costs as much as a Mac Pro after you're done. Who wants that huge aluminum box on your desk that weighs 100 pounds?..HAHAHAHA It's just too bad the Mac Mini doesn't have a better video chip.
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I upgraded mine to a T7600 (2.33 Ghz) runs faster, no difference in fan noise. I at first purhcased from Page Computers, where they listed the T7600 in stock, but when in didn't ship and I looked up the order it said "partial" in the order status area. I know they had it only virtually, because when I asked what "partial" meant - they quickly said they couldn't get it from their regular sources. Went to Newegg, at my door within two days. Installed, booted and showed what it was immediately in "About this Mac".
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Hi, as a fellow Mini owner who is very anxious to do this same thing, I only have 1 question:
Have you ever upgraded the firmware? What does Apple System Profiler show as your firmware version?
I have SMC Firmware Update 1.0 sitting in Software Update, but I am concerned that a future firmware update may disable or lock out the ability to upgrade the CPU.
Several people have done this upgrade, but I can't find anyone talking about the firmware issue. I assume it does not matter since it hasn't been mentioned, but I'd still like some clarification.
Thanks a ton!
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System Profiler says 1.3f4. I ran the updater some time ago, so I didn't need to run it again.
If it locks my CPU and bricks the Mini, well, there's a use for bricks that goes back hundreds of years, and there's an Apple store not far from here. :-)
(Just joking, I would never throw my computer through the window of a store just because they illegally rendered my computer inoperable. That's why I'm married to an attorney.)
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I wonder if you are not getting the speed you want because of the Speed throttling due to heat. I remember reading about a tool that will measure this?
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For those of us looking to do a similar upgrade and do not want to make the same mistake buying the wrong cpu, what exactly is the correct one?
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Any of the T7x00 seem to be OK. I swapped in a T7200, and I've seen other people with T7400s. The mistake I made the first time around was buying an E6600, which is still a Core 2 Duo, but with a different interface. I.e., no pins! :-) You'll want "Merom" not "Conroe".
I believe there's another line of core 2 duo mobile chips with only 2MB of L2, but I haven't read of anyone doing a chipswap with one. They may not be out yet, or they may not be compatible.
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The idle temperature reading should have been "57" degrees Celsius, not 75. Sorry.
S.
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The idle temperature reading should have been "57" degrees Celsius, not 75. Sorry.
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Hi,
I, too, did the Merom thing to my Mini (a 7400 though), and didn't notice any increas in fan activity. Idle temp is 75 degrees Celsius, while maximum temperature after 10 minutes of torture (as described on the Intel Mac Temperature webpage) was 89 degrees (still Celsius).
VERY dumb question - after reading about your mishap with that plastic plug, I wondered if you aligned the heatsink properly, i.e. with the heat fins running front-to-aft, not right-to-left, so to speak (it IS possible, I did it myself).
What are your temperature readings?
Best, Sebastian
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The fan starts out low, and only boosts up to "holy diamonds, what is that noise?" if I do something CPU intensive. Oddly enough, opening NNW or Firefox seem to be the easiest (and less expected) ways to achieve that.
Ah well, it's only a mini, and I still have the old CPU. If I burn it up, I can always replace it or justify buying a Mac Pro. :-)
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This string is old. Hopefully, someone is still out there to answer the question.
Can I replace a solo core processor with a T7200?