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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Intel Mini 1.5ghz maximum ram?

RobinS - May 5, 2008 - 4:34 pm

I've heard that the max ram the 1.5ghz model can take is 2gb. But I've heard that higher Mini models recognize 3gb. They have a faster CPU. I wonder if I upgraded my CPU to a Core 2 Duo, would that allow my Mini to recognize 3gb or is there something else in the computer that would have to be upgraded or changed?

RobinS - May 5, 2008 - 4:38 pm

Forgot to ask, considering how cheap ram is now, I was also contemplating putting in 2 x 2gb sticks as then it would hopefully run in dual channel. That seems better than 3gb in single channel.

earthsaver - May 5, 2008 - 6:19 pm

I'm pretty sure no one is producing CPU upgrades for Mac minis. Have you heard otherwise?
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/mac_mini/intel
http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...ni_cs_1.5.html

- Ben

RobinS - May 5, 2008 - 7:46 pm

You know, Ben, if you want to find out if somebody has done something innovative, a Mac dealer is going to be the last place to look. They are just going to poo-poo any idea that might hinder their future prices.

Tons of people have replaced the CPU. That's easy. Its overclocking that intrigues me because the Core 2 Duo CPU's run so cool, relatively speaking. My system's temps are just great using 1 x 120mm fan cooling the whole board instead of that ridiculous 2" fan that comes stock. Its about 25C in here now and my CPU is 30C. Northbridge 1 & 2 are aboth 29C. So much cooler than before.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9433215@N03/
http://www.intelmactemp.com/list?v_m...i&sort=hddsize
Look at the temperature differences...I'm at the top of the list. You'd think I was in an igloo.
But even if the CPU heatsink needs changing that seems doable if I can get a video card heatpipe heatsink to fit. It should have a small enough footprint to fit on the Intel Mini's motherboard/logic board.

RobinS - May 5, 2008 - 7:49 pm

Oops.....that's another topic.......you said CPU upgrades instead of memory upgrades. And I started rambling away.....lol.

It doesn't say why it can only address 3gb though. I don't think its the CPU - must be something else on the board that is restricting this.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other.../53IM2DDR4GBK/

DeltaMac - May 5, 2008 - 9:30 pm

Here's a fair article - http://guides.macrumors.com/Understanding_Intel_Mac_RAM

So, it's a combination of the CPU and the mother/logic board (well, the chip set, anyway)

Your CoreSolo = 2GB max RAM
Upgrade to Core2Duo, you should get the full 3.3GB, if you install a pair of 2GB sticks. I also read that you should see a slight advantage with a matched pair for dual-channel... So, sees 4GB, but uses only 3.3GB
With the low price of memory today, not a bad trade-off, eh?

RobinS - May 6, 2008 - 5:47 am

When you say "upgrade to Core2Duo" you mean get an entirely new Mac Intel Mini, right?

I want to just change the CPU - not get a new computer just for the CPU. 1.5ghz Mini's are good for the money. When you are paying $200 or more for a CPU upgrade, its silly. Especially when I'm not using anything except the logic board! No fan/speaker/Airport/Bluetooth/internal hard drive & optical drive/etc.

It sounds like its built into the newer logic boards,doesn't it? Which means with a 1.5ghz machine I'm stuck at 2gb.

DeltaMac - May 6, 2008 - 7:53 am

The reason you can find a lot of reports of those that upgrade the processor on the mini, is that the processor is socketed. All other Intel Macs are soldered to the logic board. (Well, except for the Mac Pro, of course!) This article tells something about upgrading: http://www.macintouch.com/specialreports/minimonster/
It looks like the Merom sold in the latter part of 2007 uses a different socket than the used when your mini was sold. So, could be challenging to get a Merom chip that will now simply drop in...
- Dale

RobinS - May 6, 2008 - 11:38 am

I wish I could find articles that were newer but I didnt have much luck either. There are lots of C2D 1.83 Merom's used now so perhaps this is a good choice. They are dirt cheap now. That should give me a significant speed boost for almost now cash outlay.

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/m....html#storytop
Just reading these comments is bewildering. The money they spend! I woudln't consider spending more than about $60 because in a year that's about what I can sell it for. Its like Mac owners have an economic block to value. They buy their Mini new, then spend about $200 on a CPU upgrade, meanwhile leaving the 5400 rpm hard drive (a huge performance hinderer) intact. Because they can't bear to mess with the Mini's style and cute footprint. Its a wonder these people can feed themselves. Its like they're 12 years old. "I see it - I want it". Is it any wonder the foreclosure crisis is strangling the economy now? Middle aged men with the economic common sense of children. "Fools rush in" was never more appropriate.

First you upgrade ram to 2gb 667mhz: about $15-25 used.
Then you upgrade the hard drive to a full size 7200rpm: $40 for 200gb, $60 for 300gb or if you want to go nuts - 150gb 10k rpm Raptor for $110-130. (Selling off the original hard drive for $40-60.) Then you sell the optical drive for about $40-60 and replace it with a firewire or USB external case ($15-20) and DVD burner ($15) - more money in your pocket. Then you upgrade the CPU to 1.83 or 2gbz: about $50. Selling off the old CPU results in about $20 expenditure. Then another firewire or USB external hard drive for backup. And you cool the whole board with one 120mm fan. THEN you consider overclocking if you can replace the heatsink with something functional.

RobinS - May 6, 2008 - 11:54 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...s#Intel_Core_2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ge.2C_65_nm.29

http://www.ambor.com/public/meromswap/meromswap.html

DeltaMac - May 6, 2008 - 11:53 pm

I have a mini that I use with an upgraded C2D (yes, cost a couple hundred, but that was a couple of years ago), and nothing else done, using original fan with a closed case. I have no interest in the conglomeration of upgrades that you try, because I have a working, useful Mac, taking up a tiny space in my media booth. Yours, even though potentially better performing, would not be practical for me. Mine does what I want, with a minimum of fuss. It's used for PowerPoint/ Keynote, with the occasional DVD video clip. It's used about 3-4 hours a week, and the tiny footprint is a great advantage. I wouldn't even consider modding the mini past the processor upgrade. That tiny fan that you look down at, actually does cool the system if used as the engineers originally designed, and is part of the purpose for the position of the fan (inside the case). The original fan has no chance of cooling if the cover is not in place (no proper airflow, eh?)

Your impression that other users don't necessarily share your ideas, is probably correct! That doesn't mean that their ideas are less correct (for them, at least). They just choose another, equally valid path. Also, those articles are a couple of years old (when those pieces were considerably more expensive - not everyone will wait until prices go down because of technological obsolescence.)
The only thing that lacks on my mini is a little more powerful video. The 3100 chip used in the MacBook would be nice, or simply an AGP slot so I could have a second display attached. That's one reason that I'm interested in what happens with the Psystar open computer. The only Mac that really does what I want is the MacPro, which is way overkill for my needs (besides being way too large!)
BTW, the C2D that I installed runs somewhat cooler than the original CoreSolo with no other mods on my mini.

RobinS - May 7, 2008 - 9:01 am

>I have no interest in the conglomeration of upgrades that you try, because I have a working, useful Mac, taking up a tiny space in my media booth.

You know, if someone would make up a frame to house the Mini's logic board, a 120mm fan and a full size hard drive and DVD burner, it wouldn't take up much space at all. I was looking around for angled steel to do this with, but the minimum size is about 1" x 1" and that is really hard to find. 1.5" x 1.5" is usually the smallest. But if I could find 1/2" x 1/2" angled steel (or even something like PVC) that was pre-drilled, I could make up a frame with a very small footprint. Actually the footprint would be almost the same as the present Mini's because the logtic board would be mounted vertically! Of course it would have a height about 4 times as high, but for most environments that wouldn't be an issue. I need to work on that... The optical drive is about the same width as the Mini but unfortunately they usually don't run well when mounted verticaly - they have to be horizontal or on their side.

>The original fan has no chance of cooling if the cover is not in place (no proper airflow, eh?)

Actually mine cooled OK if the plastic housing holding the fan is in place for proper ducting of the air. But putting the top of the case on doesn't help at all. Look at the high temps of most Minis. They are a testament to that fact. Yesterday I even removed the PCI-E Mini Airport card (as I use ethernet) to cool the board even better. Packing a hard drive into the mix just makes things worse. But with a 120mm fan in place, which only sits about 1/2 an inch above the board, you get amazingly low temps with the fan NEVER ramping up. That was marvelous for me.

Psystar: Yes we're all watching what will happen. Personally I'm amazed it took this long for something like this to happen. Apple's inaction indicates to me that the chances are good the people with an interest in the money in the company are aiming to release this for general use. But it may take a few years. They just have to time it right so there is no backlash from their dedicated user base. What will really be indicative is what the next update will entail. If 10.5.3 doesn't brick the Psystar computers, that will be a sign that Apple is indeed heading in that direction. I just want more people to use OS X and having it available to people with a budget as low as $200-$300 for a used computer will really open things up.
$20 Motherboard: Intel 915 with built on video
$20 CPU: Intel with Hyperthreading so the EFI patch works.
$20 RAM: 1gb DDR-2
$20 Hard drive: 80gb Sata
$15 Optical drive: Single layer DVD burner
$15 Case: with generic power supply
$60 Monitor: 17" LCD
$170 Total.......if you live in a big city with accessibility to used parts so there are no shipping charges. Otherwise about $250 off Ebay because of the shipping. Pretty amazing what happens when you step back and put things together.

If they could opt for another PCI-E Mini card, that would be great. Then perhaps they could offer video options for the Mini. If they did that, the same with their laptops, one PCI-E Mini video card could work in several laptops and Mini's. Buyers would have selection and Apple would lose less business to hardware savy buyers who would otherwise opt for a Windows machine.

>BTW, the C2D that I installed runs somewhat cooler than the original CoreSolo with no other mods on my mini.

This I have heard before and further encourages me to look at overclocking options!

So if you might be able to throw this back in the pool that would be great. Just in case there is anyone out there who has done any Mini Intel CPU overclocking. The desktop CPU's (E4300 for example) are overclocked from 1.8 to 3.3ghz all the time with great reliability. That offers unbelievable value. Imagine being able to even get the Mini up to C2D 2.5ghz! Even if it means changing out the CPU heatsink, a video card heatsink can't cost much. Surely a fraction of the cost of a high end mobile CPU these days.

TechSupport - May 10, 2008 - 9:10 am

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