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Apple Archive
Intel Inside Macs Paves the Way for Affordable CPU Upgrades
- 2006.11.10
People have been "building their own" PCs for years now - and for just as long, clones of "the original" have been available: Apple II clones, IBM PC clones, and even Mac clones.
Many of the early IBM PC clones were built around motherboards manufactured in Taiwan. Then came the Compaq Deskpro and its clones, which used standard ISA slots and gave users more control over what they could add to the machine.
Proprietary Architecture
Proprietary anything tended to fail miserably in the PC compatible world. Just look at IBM's PS/2 line of desktop computers from the 1980s. They were very solid computers meant for business use. Their cases could be compared to the case of the Power Mac G5 and Mac Pro in terms of construction.
However, IBM insisted on using its own Micro Channel Architecture slots on all but the entry-level models instead of the ISA slots everyone else used. While theoretically better than ISA, MCA didn't catch on due to the expensive cards and IBM's licensing fees, so very few other manufacturer adopted the technology (only NCR, Apricot, Tandy, Research Machines, and Olivetti used MCA at all, and then in only part of their product line). Therefore the PS/2s became a bit of a pain to deal with toward the end of their useful life, as cards were rare and expensive. A used ethernet card, for example, could cost $50 or more in the 90s.
On the Mac side of things, Apple had NuBus, SCSI, ADB, and the Mac serial ports. None of these technologies were compatible with anything on the PC side (with the exception of SCSI, which few PCs supported, and there were cables that allowed use of RS-232 serial devices with the Mac's DIN-8 serial ports), so some people avoided Macs for their lack of compatibility with the "PC standard". (For example, a Mac's 800K floppy wasn't compatible with a PC's 720K format.)
Upgrades
The processors in Macs were also more difficult to upgrade, and sometimes the motherboard was designed specifically to address certain chips (for example, the Mac IIx was designed to work only with a 16 MHz 68030 processor, even though the CPU was removable).
Today this has changed, and now I can take the hard drive from my PC, put it in a Mac, and access the data just as if it was a Mac hard drive. RAM (provided it's the right type) is generally interchangeable (and I say generally, because Macs tend to be more picky about how close the RAM is to its specifications), video cards sometimes work in both Mac and PCs (provided there are drivers, and sometimes only after the firmware has been "flashed"), and now Macs and PCs use the same Intel processors.
Overclocking
PCs have been targeted by overclockers far more than Macs. In the past, users had to move jumpers and play with DIP switches to get their PCs to run the CPU at a higher speed, but these days most PCs provide an option to change the clock speed of the processor in the BIOS, along with the bus speed.
Apple's recent issue with MacBooks overheating, and their subsequent firmware update that reportedly slows the processor down slightly, shows that this is possible for the Intel Macs, too.
Faster CPUs
If the processor in my PC is way too slow, I can generally exchange it with a faster one. This was possible with the daughtercards used in many of the PCI Power Macs and Mac clones sold in the mid to late 90s, as well as with the ZIF sockets in G3-based and G4-based Power Macs.
The Power Mac G5 essentially eliminated the possibiity of processor upgrades, but the use of Intel processors in the 2006 Macs brings it back. For instance, the Mac mini can be upgraded to a Core 2 Duo processor relatively easily. This is excellent news, as a seemingly un-upgradeable, "cheap" desktop computer is in some ways more expandable than some higher-end systems. It also helps to remove some of the old stigma left from the CRT iMacs that Macs are generally not upgradeable.
In my IBM ThinkPad 600E, the slow 200-300 MHz processor that came can easily be swapped out for a faster CPU. Since the machine runs very cool as it is with a 300 MHz processor, upgrading to a 500-600 MHz chip isn't something that will cause the computer to have problems.
Unfortunately my 12" PowerBook G4 runs too hot to be able to upgrade the processor with something faster, although there may be hope for the MacBooks. My sister's 2 GHz black MacBook runs fairly cool, with the fan only coming on occasionally. If the processor isn't permanently soldered in place, it may be able to be upgraded as faster ones become available.
Upgrade Value
Given that the Intel processors are used in both PCs and Macs, the price of upgrades for Intel Macs should be very reasonable, increasing the value-for-money ratio for Mac users looking to upgrade to something faster.
That said, as of now the Intel Macs are new enough and fast
enough that upgrading them shouldn't matter for most users - at
least for the next year or two.
Recent Apple Archive articles
- iPods, notebooks, and other modern electronics more readily replaced than repaired, 12.07. Whether it's an intermittent failure or a broken display cable, more often than not it's cheaper to replace a broken electronics device than repair it.
- Options for replacing your older iPod, 11.19. Whether you've run out of space on your old iPod or want features it doesn't have, here are your options in new and used iPods.
- Could the $200 'green' PC with gOS Linux become a threat to Apple?, 11.14. The low cost, low power Everex desktop comes with a customized version of Ubuntu Linux, has a Mac-like Dock, and sells for $400 less than the Mac mini.
- Leopard different, a bit buggy, but worth the upgrade, 11.02. Leopard on a Power Mac G4 and a MacBook Pro: It runs well on both computers, but each has some odd bugs, and some of the changes are a step backwards.
- More in the Apple Archive index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
- Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
- November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Quad-Core CPU Makes Sense in MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6 Causing Overheating, Overseas Power, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.06. Also Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, how to add RAM to new MacBook, 18.4in Acer notebook used Intel i7, and SanDisk SSD chosen for Sony VAIO X.
- Dumping Macs for Google Apps, SSD in iMac, Late 2009 iMac Performance Problems, and More, Mac News Review, 11.06. /newsrev/09mnr/1106.html
- WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
- IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.04. SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
- QuickTime X in Snow Leopard Imports, Trims, and Publishes Video Quickly and Easily, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 11.04. The long, slow process of importing video into iMovie to edit it, then render it to another format, is history as QuickTime X does that much more quickly.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
- Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
- Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
- More deals in our archive.
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