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New iMac disassembled

wild_berry writes "Found, via Ars Technica's Apple journal, Infinite Loop, a Japanese site disassembling Intel Core Duo iMac. Clint, from the Ars blog, points out that the Core Duo processor is socket-mounted, allowing for possible upgrades, unlike the IBM chips which were soldered to the PCB's. Please use the - cached pages."

28 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. Arts and Crafts time by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 2, Informative


    Clint, from the Ars blog, points out that the Core Duo processor is socket-mounted, allowing for possible upgrades, unlike the IBM chips which were soldered to the PCB's.

    I's possible to upgrade a soldered chip...just takes a soldering iron, a little skill, and a lot of paitence.

    (A commercial-grade desoldering tool is also useful.)

    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:Arts and Crafts time by vidarlo · · Score: 2, Informative

      AFAIK, 386 chips seldomly where BPGA. They had lines connecting along the lines of the chip, which is a big difference. A modern P4 has 776 pins, in 4x4cm, or 16cm^2. Thats far more dense than a 386 either was. And how was you gonna heat the points (which is under a neat layer of delicate electronics)? Especially when resoldering the new one? Infrared oven?

    2. Re:Arts and Crafts time by tzanger · · Score: 2, Informative

      I's possible to upgrade a soldered chip...just takes a soldering iron, a little skill, and a lot of paitence.

      As someone who does this as part of his job -- you're full of shit. I would love to see you desolder a 900-and-some-odd pin chip (or are these uBGA?) without causing damage to the board, even with professional equipment. It's simply not worth the time or energy. If this thing is an actual pinned chip it's even more difficult than with a uBGA. And let's not forget the x-ray equipment required to verify that your soldering was done properly.

      Not to mention that once you've got the chip off, you now have to solder another one on. High-density SMT rework is possible, but it's prohibitively expensive and done only out of necessity.

  2. socketed chips by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 5, Informative

    Something to remember about the last few batches of socketed processors in Macs (G3s and G4s): the FSB, voltages, and processor frequency settings were controlled via a series of unlabeled jumpers on the motherboard, which had a prefabbed jumper block taped onto them (warranty void if removed blah blah blah). I'm sure if they're using a similar mechanism that it will only be a matter of time before someone figures out the jumper scheme and posts them. Then again, maybe EFI handles all of this now. Anybody familiar enough with EFI to know?

    --
    This guy's the limit!
  3. Coral Cache of the actual article by m0RpHeus · · Score: 3, Informative
    --
    Take-off every .sig! For Great Justice!
  4. Re:but, where is the socket? by pimpimpim · · Score: 2, Informative
    --
    molmod.com - computing tips from a molecular modeling
  5. Re:Noise? by baryon351 · · Score: 5, Informative

    People seem to have the impression that these Intel machines have been designed haphazardly, and the lack of aesthetics inside have made for many comments online that the insides must have been designed by Intel themselves to look so different to the G5s. A friend of mine has put together a picture of various models to show that they are almost identical inside to the previous model G5 iMacs. It's those G5 iMacs with iSights that introduced the messier interior, not the Intel ones.

    Just so people know.

  6. Say what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    I study Operating Systems at a top CS school here in the United States - Rockhurst College in Kansas City. I don't understand why people go so ga-ga over OSX - it isn't even a pre-emptive multitasking OS, people!

    I guess the top schools aren't taking very many bright students these days, sigh. OSX is absolutely a preemtive multitasking OS. It's built atop the Mach kernel which is preemptive.

    Perhaps you're thinking of MacOS 9 and below which were cooperative. Either way, get your facts straight, esp if you're gonna start your post all puffy chested.

    1. Re:Say what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      It's a Jesuit school, and is about as much of a "top CS school" as Eastern Michigan University is. It's obvious that they think that beliving the received dogma is more important than understanding reality.

  7. Re:Easy disassembly = cool by Neoprofin · · Score: 2, Informative

    The easiest way to deal with the high voltage CRT is to just leave it unplugged for a couple of days. I work with litterally hundreds of CRTs a day and two days is more than enough time for any dangerous shock potential to dissipate fromt he capacitors.

    That is assuming of course you can go without the system for two days. You could always do it in less and just be careful.

  8. Intel Motherboard by texspeed · · Score: 2, Informative

    If, as has been reported, the new Intel-based Macs are based on an Intel motherboard, it is not too surprising that the processor would be placed in a socket. However, the initial post is at least partly incorrect in that many prior Macintosh systems had socketed processors, hence the existence of an upgrade market, maybe just not the recent iMacs.

  9. Re:Which Intel CPU is it, exactly? by Venlaw · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.apple.com/imac/intelcoreduo.html It's a Core Duo "Yonah". Prety sure.

  10. Re:Noise? by tigersha · · Score: 4, Informative

    Bingo. You just nailed the thermal management system of the Powermac right on the head. The thing has 10 (ten) fans but is quiet as heck because the machine is split up in thermal zones and each fan only runs when necessary.

    Instead of the PC horror of one fan that has to suck out a large volume the whole time and runs at full blast no matter what.

    --
    The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
  11. Re:There's also the "form" factor by wootest · · Score: 4, Informative

    As an owner of a PowerBook G4 1.5GHz (which amazingly is not only, predictably, obsolete at a year and three weeks, but was in fact more or less obsolete when it shipped; that the MacBook Pro is reportedly only 4-5x faster in benchmarks is surprising) I'll have to disagree.

    I'm a programmer. OS X has some of the best tools I've ever used, and it gives me access to both tools I used before (most of the unixy goodness like the scripting languages and simple, focused command line tools) and now continue to use, and to some completely awesome new tools (Cocoa). This isn't me being a zealot (I'm presumably much more annoying when I'm a zealot), it's just facts.

    It's true that lots of people who are 'in an artistic field' appreciate Macs too, because it's what they've been using all these years. But I, as a programmer, find that I write apps much easier and that the other tools in my toolbox are plenty and good. I like the industrial design (swap out with 'pwetty boxes' if you seriously think they're the same thing) as much as anyone, but aside from a fleeting fascination with it, it's not why I bought it - I bought it because of an awesome OS and some very good tools. And so far, I have not been let down.

  12. Re:Pics are nice, but what about battery life? by jcupitt65 · · Score: 2, Informative
    Someone (sorry, forgotten who) said they'd played with one at the show and if you moused over the battery thing the popup said "3:03 minutes".

    Of course that could change for the final production models.

  13. Re:Which Intel CPU is it, exactly? by thesman · · Score: 2, Informative

    Its the Intel Core Duo, also known as Yonah.

    Its not Apple exclusive.

    Can't tell you about the speed because I don't have one (yet :-)).

  14. I HAVE ONE. SILENT! by Eric_Cartman_South_P · · Score: 5, Informative

    I just got a 20 inch Dual Core iMac yesterday. Screen is a monster. The mac, for everything except games (cal of duty, battlefield, etc) is DEAD QUIET. I can't hear ANYTHING. I love it.

    \ Dual Core 2 ghz iMac is do damn fast it's not funny. Editing home movies while 10 apps run in background is nothing short of a delight. I'll exit fanboy mode now, but if you are thinking of Dual Core, go for it.

  15. Supports Apple Boot Features by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    MacWorld covered many of these questions.

    See http://www.macworld.com/2006/01/features/intelfaq2 006/index.php

    (particularly the bottom of the page "Does this mean that Open Firmware is dead?")

  16. Re:Which Intel CPU is it, exactly? by wild_berry · · Score: 2, Informative

    It uses the new Core Duo processor, which is the product name of the Yonah chip. This is a tweaked Pentium M, puts two their cores on one piece of silicon. They say each core is comparable to an Athlon64 -- but they only have 32-bit x86 capabilities (albeit with the SSE3 instructions).

  17. Re:Noise? by daveschroeder · · Score: 4, Informative

    First, the few G5 iMacs that sounded like a "jet taking off" were iMacs with specific, acknowledged motherboard problems that resulted in their fans ramping up to full speed. This was fixed on-demand in any iMac with that issue, and it was indeed addressed completely in later revisions. This issue never affected more than a small percentage of machines.

    Further, Apple's design is to use *more* fans such that they don't need to be running at full speed (you did know that those are all variable speed blowers, right?). For example, the G5 towers that use 9 fans. None of them are running at too high a speed, keeping the entire machine quiet. Aside from a few models of machines with more audible airflow, Apple's goal is to have machines that run very quietly and are audibly unobtrusive.

    I don't think you'll be disappointed.

  18. Re:Faked? by wvitXpert · · Score: 2, Informative

    Nope, not fake. This is the way iMacs have looked since they added the iSight. I'm disapointed (mainly because it is supposedly VERY difficult to open the machine up), but that didn't stop me from ordering one anyway.

  19. Re:Noise? by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 3, Informative

    The big difference is that the original G5 iMacs were designed to be user-serviceable. The iSight models (G5 or Intel) are not -- nobody's supposed to be looking in there except Apple techs.

    (Now why you aren't supposed to be able to upgrade RAM or disk in 2006 is another question.)

    --
    Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
  20. Trusted Platform Module by hfollmann · · Score: 4, Informative

    On one of the pictures you can see a Infinion-TPM module. Is that activated on the Mac?

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    hfoo
  21. Re:Noise? by baryon351 · · Score: 2, Informative

    RAM is still upgradable. Look down the bottom of the 4 rightmost images, and you can see latches/pull catches that unfold so the RAM slots are accessible from the outside, through a small hole in the case.

    Doesn't explain the non-user upgradeable disk - though non-user upgradeable only means "officially".

  22. Incorrect for RAM. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    The new iSight model of iMacs allows for an extremely easy RAM upgrade. There's even instructions on the back of the stand. There is simply a slot that you open on the bottom of the monitor and there's your RAM slot right there.

  23. Re:I HAVE ONE. SILENT! by Eric_Cartman_South_P · · Score: 3, Informative

    I never see the "beachball" mouse curser (the Windows equiv. is the hourglass mouse cursor, indicates OS is busy). I can have iDVD, iMovie, Call of Duty, iTunes playing, 10 Tabs open in Safari, FTP serving files to active connection, and no beach ball in Windows, game still plays nice, and iTunes "skipped" once in three hours of all this crap running while playing Call of duty.

    And to the anti-fanboy like-dells-balls people out there, the above is simply a subjective review of my experience. Simple real world usage. And remember, it takes almost NO desk space and I plugged in electric, mouse and keyboard usb, and was using this thing, including registration, in 4 minutes. Have fun loading spybot/adaware/ms antispyware/clam av/avg/zonealarm just before you can even use your box. ha. the only windows I have in my life is now Virtual PC, and as I find good mac replacesments, eventually that app will go the way of the DoDo bird.

  24. Re:Noise? by aonaran · · Score: 2, Informative

    Generally Apple machines, like Dell machines have more and bigger fans than necessary so they can turn them more sowly and produce LESS noise than a standard PC.

  25. Re:Noise? by MojoStan · · Score: 2, Informative
    Instead of the PC horror of one fan that has to suck out a large volume the whole time and runs at full blast no matter what.

    As others have pointed out, this is incorrect and sounds suspiciously like FUD. Intel chipsets have had temperature-controlled fans since at least the 845 chipset, which was released in 2001. From that link to Intel's site:

    With Intel® Precision Cooling Technology, your system fans will automatically adjust their speeds according to the internal chassis temperature. If your system temperature is within normal operating specifications, your fans will operate at reduced speeds, thereby reducing noise and power consumption.
    ...
    • Fan speeds adjust real time according to system temperatures
    • Reduces unnecessary noise & energy consumption
    • OS-independent - not affected by a software failure or virus
    • Separate thermal zones for CPU & system temperature
    --
    TO START
    PRESS ANY KEY

    Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...