Mac Mini CPU upgrade

there is no upgrade path currently for the new mini in terms of CPU...you can upgrade the HD and the ram and get decent results.

I'm pretty sure it's not upgradable. Apparently their intel core 2 duo processor is soldered in. The lower cpu isn't going to show any considerable difference in speed, so going for the 2ghz seems fine.

I've been looking around on some other forums and it seems like it may be possible, but so difficult, costly and time consuming that it isn't worth it.

The guy in the forum wanted to replace the Core 2 Duo with a Core 2 Quad, which is pretty much impossible. Anyways, he opened it up and found out that it is actually epoxied in rather than soldered in.

You could do it if you had the robot that put the thing together or some really really accurate hands, but it would be really difficult.

BUY THE 2.26ghz cpu. If you can get a student discount it is 684 plus tax. If you live in a no tax state and can get the student discount. it is 684 flat. delaware is a not tax state. If you have a discover card. you can get 5 % back.
You can add ram later you can add a good drive later. you are not going to be able to add a cpu later.

I modded ten of the new minis for friends and families.
The best 7200rpm drive is western digital black scorpio. they score the best by far over any other drive when it comes to speed.
they come as big as 320gb. they are far faster they the stock apple 320gb drive. the quietest is the western digital 500gb scorpio blue. If you have deep pockets the Intel x-25m 80gb ssd is the greatest fastest improvement I have ever seen in a mini. It costs too much 360 to 400. As for memory max it to 4gb you can DIY it for about 60 bucks. If you are handy the total cost is 684 to 750 for the 2.26 model stripped 60 for memory and 90 for a western digital 320gb scorpio black. total is 835 to 900 for a really fast quiet machine. You can do it piecemeal. Just buy the mini for now and do the upgrades 1 at a time. But get the bigger cpu.

Unfortunately, you can not upgrade the CPU on the new Mac Mini. The CPU is soldered to the motherboard, rather than inserted into a holder.

Quote:
"Unfortunately, you can not upgrade the CPU on the new Mac Mini. The CPU is soldered to the motherboard, rather than inserted into a holder."

The processor is epoxied, not soldered in. You're correct that it isn't in a socket though.