iMac's with Quad Core

stealthrtstealthrt
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hey all, first post, wahoo!



Anyways, i was looking over the new iMacs today. I've been waiting since last year to get my first Mac and i was hearing that the new iMac's may come with a Quad core. However, that doesn't seem the case now. My question is: Is it possible to drop in a Quad core in place of the Duo? I know its a socket and i know Intel makes Quads in mobile form. Just seeing from a more experienced Mac head if it would run on the current hardware or if it would need a BIOS hack or something other.



I really am looking to get the iMac but i do not wish to wait any longer. I'm even considering getting the Psystar type PC. However, i really do not want to go that route since they could be shut down any day.



So I'm open to hearing your comments/suggestions on my post, thanks!



David

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,423member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by StealthRT View Post


    Hey all, first post, wahoo!



    Anyways, i was looking over the new iMacs today. I've been waiting since last year to get my first Mac and i was hearing that the new iMac's may come with a Quad core. However, that doesn't seem the case now. My question is: Is it possible to drop in a Quad core in place of the Duo? I know its a socket and i know Intel makes Quads in mobile form. Just seeing from a more experienced Mac head if it would run on the current hardware or if it would need a BIOS hack or something other.



    I really am looking to get the iMac but i do not wish to wait any longer. I'm even considering getting the Psystar type PC. However, i really do not want to go that route since they could be shut down any day.



    So I'm open to hearing your comments/suggestions on my post, thanks!



    David





    It's feasible but it'd be a little hot. Intel has 45W Core2 Quad procs but that's at the upper end of what the iMac likes as far as heat.



    I think we need a redesign on the iMac chassis to handle higher wattage procs. Apple may not go quad in the iMac until 2010.
  • Reply 2 of 6
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post


    It's feasible but it'd be a little hot. Intel has 45W Core2 Quad procs but that's at the upper end of what the iMac likes as far as heat.



    I think we need a redesign on the iMac chassis to handle higher wattage procs. Apple may not go quad in the iMac until 2010.







    I would love to see someone replace their C2D with the highest speed C2Q with a heat pump that leads out the back to huge cooler.
  • Reply 3 of 6
    stealthrtstealthrt Posts: 3member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post


    It's feasible but it'd be a little hot. Intel has 45W Core2 Quad procs but that's at the upper end of what the iMac likes as far as heat.



    I think we need a redesign on the iMac chassis to handle higher wattage procs. Apple may not go quad in the iMac until 2010.



    Hey thanks for replying, hmurchison.



    It's fine about the heat. If needed i would just install a fan over the heat sinks. Even if it does stick out the back of the shell. I'm just going for what i need. If I'm going to spend 1,200+ for a 2-year+ CPU then i want to find a way to upgrade it to a quad Heck, if worst comes to worst, i would just slap on a water cpu cooler.



    If the only thing stopping me is the heat issue and nothing more than I'll just go ahead and order the 24" and dissembling it i go



    I was also looking at the specs on the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M. Seems to me (and correct me if i am wrong) that it only supports Core 2 Extreme & Core 2 Duo CPU's?



    BUTttt... before i go and spend my hard earned money, I'd like more feedback/thoughts



    David
  • Reply 4 of 6
    futurepastnowfuturepastnow Posts: 1,772member
    I'm sure it would work. The desktop version of the 9400 IGP certainly supports quad-cores, I see no reason the mobile version would not. As for heat, 10C is very little difference, especially if Apple's OEM did their usual craptacular job of applying thermal paste to the CPU it comes with. If anything, it would just ramp up the fan speed a little.
  • Reply 5 of 6
    stealthrtstealthrt Posts: 3member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FuturePastNow View Post


    I'm sure it would work. The desktop version of the 9400 IGP certainly supports quad-cores, I see no reason the mobile version would not. As for heat, 10C is very little difference, especially if Apple's OEM did their usual craptacular job of applying thermal paste to the CPU it comes with. If anything, it would just ramp up the fan speed a little.



    Thanks for the reply, FuturePastNow.



    Anyone else wish to chime in on this?



    David
  • Reply 6 of 6
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by StealthRT View Post


    Thanks for the reply, FuturePastNow.



    Anyone else wish to chime in on this?



    David



    You're crazy. Brave, but crazy to hack/mod the iMac this way.
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