Slashdot Log In
DIY Mac mini Overclocking
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:00 AM
from the violating-warranties dept.
from the violating-warranties dept.
mirko writes "So, you wanted a 1,42GHz Mac mini but either because of some distribution woes or because of your tight budget you could just get a 1,25GHz ?
Don't worry : Leo Bodnar just found out how to overclock your machine. Of course, you'll have to open it prior to anything else but you already know how to do this."
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
uhhh (Score:5, Insightful)
No, not really. 1.42 GHz isn't really so much faster than 1.25 to justify voiding the warranty.
Re:uhhh (Score:5, Interesting)
Where the low end PCs really suck is with their onboard integrated chipset graphics. "Intel Extreme Graphics", "VIA DeltaChome Graphics", etc are major performance killers. They zap CPU and RAM bus performance and are overall ickky. If you want a fun experiment, try some benchmarks with a PC with such integrated graphics. Then install a PCI Radeon 7000 (very low end GPU) and disable the integrated graphics. BOOM, instant huge performance boost. Basiclly, any GPU is better than no GPU. Or perhaps more correctly, real dedicated gfx RAM is better than sharing system RAM.
Parent
Re:uhhh (Score:5, Informative)
Intel claims all their busses are "quad-pumped". Those 533mhz busses are really 133mhz.
But they still send 4 instructions per clock, versus one instruction per clock. You're not really comparing apples to apples here. If you wanted to apply the same logic, PC3200 DDR memory really only runs at 200 MHz. (Except for the fact that the 2 signals per clock make it run at a functional equivalent of 400 MHz.) Same concept.
The P4 architecture definitely has its problems, but this isn't one of them. -- Paul
Parent
Mods are missing something today (Score:4, Insightful)
To find out, get an $725 Dell, download a 2 hour movie from your digital camcoder, add some music, watermark captions and video transitions and burn it to DVD. Report your experience here.
Parent
Didn't buy the Mac Mini for speed (Score:5, Insightful)
I like more speed as much as the next guy but the next guy didn't buy the Mac Mini for speed.
I second that... (plus my Mac Mini experiences) (Score:5, Informative)
I bought a 512 MB 1.25 GHz Mac Mini last week. It's been a pretty sweet little machine. iMovie works great with MiniDV video, I don't have a HDV camcorder to try HD though.
Garage Band ROCKS! 18 tracks of audio of different formats and it keeps on trucking!
I haven't tried anything harder than Warcraft 3 or Sim City 4 on it yet though.
Parent
Mini (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Mini (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Mini (Score:5, Interesting)
Kudos to the guy photographing this stuff.. He took some pretty good shots!
Parent
Burn baby burn! (Score:4, Funny)
The point of the hack (Score:5, Insightful)
Overclocking the BMW Mini (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Overclocking the BMW Mini (Score:5, Funny)
Funnily enough, the BMW Mini One can be 'overclocked' too. Like the CPU in the two Mac Mini models, both the One and the Cooper have the same 1.6 litre engine, the only difference being the engine management software.
We don't get the Mini One in the US; I had to look it up. 90 horsepower? You poor bastards.
Parent
Get used to using Unix (Score:5, Informative)
The MacMini will NOT make a good Doom3 machine. For interactive stuff (even, gasp, light video editing!) it's fine the way it is. For long term stuff (DVD encoding), background the app and do something else (even at the same time!) Who cares if it takes 25 minutes instead of 20 minutes?
Generally, 'make DVD' is the last thing I do befor e I go to bed...it's always done by morning.
If you wanted the last oomph of power, you shouldn't have bought apple's cheapest box!
UNDERclocking (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually, this might be interesting to use for underclocking. Take your Mac Mini 1.42, underclock it a bit to 1.25, and it's even less likely that the included fan will turn on. Makes it all the more of a silent computing solution.
They do this type of thing all the time at silentpcreview [silentpcreview.com], although they gain a bit more (by way of silence) because they can also adjust the CPU voltage down once the clockspeed is reduced. Just a thought. -- Paul
Overclocking a PowerBook? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Overclocking a PowerBook? (Score:4, Funny)
Bad: You could kill it.
Good: Free birth control. (remember the story about laptops, heat and fertility?)
Parent
Um. I'm scared. (Score:5, Funny)
Here is the bottom of the board. Or whatever you call it.
Re:Warranty? (Score:5, Interesting)
The default warranty (if you don't buy the extended AppleCare) is one year.
This is a $499 electronic device.
A 1-year hardware warranty on a gadget this cheap is worth, what? Maybe $50?
So whenever you are considering doing something like this (and yes, overclocking pretty much alwasys voids warranties, even if all the early FUD about opening the mini case turned out to be false), the judgement call you need to make is: Will this mod be worth more than about $50 to me?
In the case of this mod, it's a way to turn a 1.25 GHz mini into a 1.42 GHz mini.
But for $20 more than the price of upgrading the HD from 40GB to 80GB, you can get an actual 1.42 GHz mini with an 80GB drive already installed, and keep the warranty intact.
So in this case, no. Probably not really worth it.
However, on a system this inexpensive, it's really just a matter of time before some people start coming up with interesting hacks which are more than worth it.
I doubt the mini will replace the X-Box as the hardware hacker's favorite toy anytime soon, but it will be interesting to see what happens over the next year or so.
Parent
Re:Warranty? (Score:5, Interesting)
I see a few others.
1. The mini is very quiet, the X-Box is notoriously noisy.
2. The mini video card is modest by modern PC standards, but vastly superior to the one in the X-Box.
3. The mini is ready for use as a media server with no hacking required. iTunes is a fantastic app for storing your music library. Plug an EyeTV 500 into the firewire port, and you've got a digital broadcast Tivo-alike. Install VLC (which is a free download), and you're playing full-screen videos of whatever gray-market stuff you find on the Internet. The DVI out plugs right into most modern HD televisons and projectors without the need for an adapter. Plus, all of this can be controlled with an IR remote from Keyspan, which I've seen on the web for as little as $22. The built-in bluetooth and 802.11g options are nice to have, as well.
That said, it's not perfect.
1. The CPU isn't really fast enough to give you full-frame 1080i HDTV via the EyeTV. Not the end of the world if you are using an XGA or WXGA projector, but still...
2. You need a USB break-out box to get surround sound... but at least the OS supports both Dolby 5.1 and DTS.
3. Hmmm... actually, that's the whole list.
Parent
Re:Warranty? (Score:5, Informative)
The mini-card is a ATI Radeon 9200, which isn't better than a geforce 3.
You really have no clue, do you?
The X-Box is a 733 MHz Pentium system with 64 MB of system RAM, and the video "card" which you say is "derived from a full power geforce 3" is a 300 MHz GPU designed specifically for the X-Box by Microsoft and nVidia. It's an integrated chip which shares the system bus. It supports a maximum resolution of 1920x1080. Plenty good enough for hooking up to TV sets, even some HDTV sets, but pathetic by computer card standards.
I'll take the Radeon 9200 with it's own DDR video memory, thanks.
P.S. I've got both an X-Box and a mini, and have witnessed both of them perform. There's no question that the X-Box fails to even come close to the video performance of the mini. Sorry. It just isn't as good, no matter how much you might want it to be.
Parent
Re:Warranty? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Warranty? (Score:4, Informative)
Troc
Parent
Re:Cooling? (Score:5, Informative)
I would bet the chips are the same core in both, but the default 1.42 chips are certified qualitywise to run at that speed. Overclocking the 1.25 chip to 1.42 should really be no big deal.
Parent
Re:Cooling? (Score:5, Interesting)
You can get up to a 1.7 GHz G4 processor upgrade and there was even a Dual 800 MHz G4 upgrade offered at one point. Some people have been able to put in nVidia GeForce 3 and ATI Radeon 8500, 9000 Pro and 9200 graphics cards in these things. Not to mention you can put a full-size hard drive into it.
The Cube will probably end up being a lot more upgradable than the Mini, but the Mini sure has a better price.
--
Join the Pyramid - Free Mini Mac [freeminimacs.com] | Free Flat Screens [freeflatscreens.com]
Parent
Re:Cooling? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Cooling? (Score:5, Informative)
If you bump the 1.25 to 1.42 I'm sure it's fine. I wouldn't want to bump the 1.42 any higher as it's not worth voiding the warranty for the TINY speed increase and the possibilty of the case not being able to handle the increased heat.
Parent
Re:Cooling? (Score:5, Informative)
Even then, the aluminum case remains room temperature (feels cool). The fan itself is very quiet. During light use (Internet, word processing) the Mini is absolutely silent and operates cool to the touch.
The Powerbook on the other hand gets almost too hot to touch when the CPU hits 55C, and the internal fan is rather noisy in comparison.
Parent
Re:Why I don't own an apple (Score:5, Interesting)
The componets are similiar to new PC's.
Your case is about 12 times the size of the mini. Heck even mini-itx systems end up being nearly twice the size.
So you spent $300 for a motherboard and CPU, because you already had everything else, and you can 'build' a mini for cheaper?
Yep you are officially not the target audeince.
Parent
Apples aren't cheapest but compare like machines (Score:4, Insightful)
But the 199$ pc you point to has some real difference to the mini. I think they have significant differences in there target markets.
The PC--
No Dvd player.
No CD burner.
only 128 megs of ram (what century is this?)
Linshpere which is fine, but if you wanted windows add $$ (I think about 200$ if bought retail).
With mac your also paying for the applications they through in and OS X os and support.
Parent
Re:Why I don't own an apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Assuming you can live with integrated video, no DVD, 128M RAM, Lindows OS, no FireWire, no DVI, no iLife, ugly box, etc.
Come on, you're not really suggesting that that computer would be a good purchase are you?
Parent
Re:Why I don't own an apple (Score:4, Informative)
If you can build a machine on practically a single PCB, that small, with DVD-reading and CD-RW capabilities, and sell it for under $500...
If you want the same specs as a Mac mini for less, go look on eBay or a second-hand reseller (try 2ndchancepc.co.uk [2ndchancepc.co.uk]). The point of the Mac mini isn't to have top-of-the-line components - it's to be a usable, cheap box for your Mum or Dad to just pick up and plug in.
Parent
Re:Why I don't own an apple (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, it's not just an OS. There's word processing, presentation, photo, video editing, and music creation applications provided as well. And I hear that they even throw in a cute little computer as a bonus.
Parent
Re:Why I don't own an apple (Score:4, Informative)
Darwin on an Athlon 64..... sooooo sexy.
I've got good news. It's already happened/happening.
From the Darwin FAQ [apple.com]:
Q. What is Darwin?
A. Darwin is a version of the BSD UNIX operating system that offers advanced networking, services such as the Apache web server, and support for both Macintosh and UNIX file systems. It was originally released in March 1999. Darwin currently runs on PowerPC-based Macintosh computers, and is being ported to Intel processor-based computers and compatible systems by the Darwin community.
Parent
Re:Just Trust What Apple Gave You... (Score:5, Insightful)
Although the Mac mini is said to be extremely quiet, it does have a fan. considering that Apple does produce a 1.42 MHz model, speeding up the 1.25 is probably not going to produce more heat than the system can handle.
Parent
Re:Just Trust What Apple Gave You... (Score:4, Informative)
It's extremely quiet because the fan is on-demand. Mine only kicks in if I'm doing heavy computation or accessing the drives extensively. And when it does kick in, it slowly ramps up to speed. When the "heat event" is over, the fan slowly fades away. My SparcStation 5 worked similarly.
Parent
Re:Just Trust What Apple Gave You... (Score:5, Informative)
-- Matthew Schiller
Electrical Engineer
Previous Apple Intern [Flat Panel iMac]
Parent
Re:Just Trust What Apple Gave You... (Score:4, Informative)
For Dell's $499 home system:
90 Day Warranty3, 90 Day At-Home Service4, and 1Yr Technical Support, an extra $90 for two year service.
Gateway charges $60 to get the full year, their base warranty is buried in a PDF.
HPaq does provide a full year though.
Parent
Re:Why blue? (Score:4, Funny)
Why is the MoBo blue? Is there a signifigance to the color of the board? Or did Apple just pick it because on the order sheet it was "aqua"?
Because Red mobos run the fastest, and Apple didn't want to make the Mac Mini too fast otherwise it would have killed G5 sales.
Parent
Re:Why blue? (Score:4, Insightful)
No wires.
Not one.
Parent
Re:Why blue? (Score:5, Funny)
They come in all colors depending on the shop that makes them.
If you would like, you can call this Steve's "blue period."
Parent
Re:Why blue? (Score:5, Informative)
Solder mask is basically a paint that isolates the various 'pads', or landing areas for component pins, physically in space, so that the solder has much less tendency to bridge gaps and cause shorts. Usually, it is green, but it can be made in any color. Myself, I've made boards with black, red or transparent solder mask. Green is the traditional color, and afaik, there is no performance difference electrically or physically between the colors.
Just for completeness' sake, the lettering you sometimes see on a PCB is called silkscreen, and is usually white, but again can come in a variety of colors like yellow or black. Again, tradition says it should be white.
PS: I'm not an electrical engineer, and I never will be.
Parent
Re:Mac Mini DVD Playback/Video Editing (Score:5, Informative)
You can't get one for less than $480, and that's for the 256 MB combodrive version.
I bought a 512 MB superdrive Mac Mini last week. It works great for video editing, it's actually a pretty fast little machine.
BUT... transcoding from DV to MPEG2 takes awhile. Editing and even designing the buttons and menus for the DVD image is fast as can be, but be prepared to wait *at least* an hour before the finished DVD pops out after you click the burn button.
Parent
Re:Mac Mini DVD Playback/Video Editing (Score:5, Informative)
While a faster hard drive will give you better scrubbing performance, you don't really *need* to have a fast drive for editing DV.
The DV codec that most of us use with our camcorders is DV25, which is 25 Mbits/sec = 3.125 MB/sec.
DV editing was fine on notebooks even 4 years ago on the original "toilet seat" iBook.
Parent
Bundled software (Score:4, Insightful)
Mac OS X (Windows XP OEM costs at least $50)
iMovie - editing software, better than Avid FreeDV or Microsoft Movie Maker 2.0
iDVD - DVD mastering software for making menus, etc, and burning to DVD
Garage Band - compose, edit, and mix music
Also included, but not too useful for schools:
iPhoto - sort, edit, and print digital photos
iTunes
Xcode - software development suite for C/C++/Java
Quicken 2005
Nanosaur 2
Parent
Re:Why are there so many Apple stories on here? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Why are there so many Apple stories on here? (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, same with all these Linux and Firefox stories!
Parent
Is this proof Windows users are insecure? (Score:4, Funny)
Actually, I think this is the result of Windows users who are emotionally insecure, and willing to clutch at any straws they can to reassure themselves their rig is "better" than a Mac.
Parent
Re:Is this proof that PC is better? (Score:4, Funny)
Surely geeks must make up some non-zero percentage of the computing population.
Parent
Re:Pee Cee price comparison weenies don't get it (Score:5, Insightful)
Pee Cee price comparison weenies
While you do have a point, and I happen to agree with your underlying point, you're never going to convince anyone like that. Because starting off by calling the people you're trying to convince "weenies" just attacks and aggravates them and puts them on the defensive. Once you've put someone on the defensive, any hope of having a rational, constructive argument is gone, as well as any hope of convincing them to see your viewpoint. The question is do you want to just insult people who are wrong about something, or do you actually want to help those people see that they are wrong and introduce positive change? (That's not easy.) If the latter, you'll have to change your strategy. Calling people "weenies" and telling them they're "living in the wrong world" is no way to convince anyone of anything, except for people who already agree with you (perhaps you just want the affirmation from that group?). Anyway, a better strategy is to open by "giving" something to the listener that they would like to hear, a concession that doesn't make them feel stupid, e.g. start out by pointing out the perceived merits of their argument are not baseless, e.g. you could say "it's true that a Dell PC with similar performance can be obtained slightly cheaper", but then (rationally) add valid (backed up) counter-arguments for why that little saving is not worth it, in a non-offensive way that doesn't make you sound like a zealot, which results in having the opposite of the desired effect, because most people instinctively do the opposite of what zealots do even if the zealot happens (by coincidence) to be doing the right thing.
Parent