Installing a Core 2 Duo in a Mac mini
2007-02-08par Lionel
Which Core 2 Duo model to choose - Best performance/price ratio
What about the temperature?
During our tests, we made a strange observation. Our Mac mini's fan speed did not vary depending on the temperature of the processor. It remained constant, at 1500 rpm. We tried everything to fix this problem, resetting the PRAM and resetting the SMC, but nothing would do it. We are also unaware whether the problem is only a defect in our machine, a more widespread problem, or even if it only happens with the Core 2 Duos. Even so, both the Core Solo and the Core Duo did not exceed a normal operating temperature of 68 degrees, a temperature insufficient for accelerating the fans.
In spite of this problem and even more so just to see what would happen, we decided to test how high of a temperature the Core 2 Duo would reach.
To push them to their limits we ran Power Fractal for one hour for each processor. This software does what no other one manages to do: keeping both cores pegged at 100% usage. Other than this task, it is practically impossible to reproduce such an effort in this duration. Thus it is excellent for testing the stability of a machine.
To measure the temperature of the cores and other parameters, we used the excellent Hardware monitor which provided us with tons of information.
During these tests:
- The Core Solo did not surpass 59 degrees and dissipated a maximum of 12.8W.
- The Core Duo did not surpass 70 degrees and dissipated a maximum of 16.2W.
- The Two Core 2 Duos attained the same maximum temperature, 92 degrees, and both of them consumed a little less than 30W.
This requires an explanation as the consumption of the two Core 2 was identical even though one of them is 500 MHz faster. The T7600 was manufactured more recently. Intel probably improved the manufacturing processes in the meantime, making the faster one more effective with identical dissipation.
Admittedly, the Mac mini functioned without failure even at 90 degrees and none of the other components saw their temperatures rise, but even so, the temperature is getting too close to the 100 degree limit where the machine would have been likely to abruptly shutdown.
So we launched the SMC Fan Control application. After some tweaking and tests, we found that setting the fan speed to 2400 rpm, which was only a slight increase in noise, resulted in the processor's temperature not exceeding more than 80 degrees, which ensures plenty of room for comfort.
It will be necessary to rerun these tests in a couple days, when the thermal paste reaches its maximum effectiveness.
During our tests, we made a strange observation. Our Mac mini's fan speed did not vary depending on the temperature of the processor. It remained constant, at 1500 rpm. We tried everything to fix this problem, resetting the PRAM and resetting the SMC, but nothing would do it. We are also unaware whether the problem is only a defect in our machine, a more widespread problem, or even if it only happens with the Core 2 Duos. Even so, both the Core Solo and the Core Duo did not exceed a normal operating temperature of 68 degrees, a temperature insufficient for accelerating the fans.
In spite of this problem and even more so just to see what would happen, we decided to test how high of a temperature the Core 2 Duo would reach.
To push them to their limits we ran Power Fractal for one hour for each processor. This software does what no other one manages to do: keeping both cores pegged at 100% usage. Other than this task, it is practically impossible to reproduce such an effort in this duration. Thus it is excellent for testing the stability of a machine.
To measure the temperature of the cores and other parameters, we used the excellent Hardware monitor which provided us with tons of information.
During these tests:
- The Core Solo did not surpass 59 degrees and dissipated a maximum of 12.8W.
- The Core Duo did not surpass 70 degrees and dissipated a maximum of 16.2W.
- The Two Core 2 Duos attained the same maximum temperature, 92 degrees, and both of them consumed a little less than 30W.
This requires an explanation as the consumption of the two Core 2 was identical even though one of them is 500 MHz faster. The T7600 was manufactured more recently. Intel probably improved the manufacturing processes in the meantime, making the faster one more effective with identical dissipation.
Admittedly, the Mac mini functioned without failure even at 90 degrees and none of the other components saw their temperatures rise, but even so, the temperature is getting too close to the 100 degree limit where the machine would have been likely to abruptly shutdown.
So we launched the SMC Fan Control application. After some tweaking and tests, we found that setting the fan speed to 2400 rpm, which was only a slight increase in noise, resulted in the processor's temperature not exceeding more than 80 degrees, which ensures plenty of room for comfort.
It will be necessary to rerun these tests in a couple days, when the thermal paste reaches its maximum effectiveness.
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