When this was new, we called the Core Solo Mac mini a Compromised Mac. Performance of the Core Solo model was so sluggish that most buyers who have written us express regret at their purchase. Fortunately these are relatively inexpensive to purchase anymore, are relatively easy to pry open and upgrade – making it an excellent candidate for a CPU transplant. This day and age, a maximum-upgrade Core 2 Duo T7600 is a cheap and abundant upgrade easily found online. Pair it up with a cheap Sata-based SSD, and you’re all set!

The Mac mini was the third Mac to make the switch to Intel CPUs – and the entry-level 1.5 GHz model was the only Mac ever to use Intel’s single-core Core Solo 32-Bit CPU. Both versions of the Intel-based mini shipped with AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0, Apple’s remote control, gigabit ethernet, and Front Row with Bonjour. Front Row with Bonjour allows users to share music, photos, and video over a local network, and the Mac mini can be connected to a television set, making it more of a digital hub than ever.

The Intel-based mini has a 667 MHz memory bus, four times as fast as the G4-based mini. The Early 2006 Mac mini supports two memory modules for up to 2 GB of RAM with their original CPUs. There is one bank with two memory slots.

Apple says that memory upgrades should always be done in matched pairs, but Other World Computing has discovered that you can use “mismatched” memory in the Mac mini (and some other Intel-based Macs where Apple specifies that upgrades should only be done with matched pairs). Their test results show that in general there is more benefit from having more RAM – even mismatched – than there is from having less RAM that is matched.

This Mac retailed back in 2006 for USD $599 – $100 more than the entry-level G4 Mac mini did in 2005. Apple claimed the Intel-based Mac mini was “up to four times faster” than the old G4 Mac mini, but that only applies to the Core Duo model.

Intel GMA Graphics

The 2006 Mac mini was Apple’s first computer to use Intel graphics and the first Mac in a long, long time to use “vampire video” (that’s where the video bites into system memory). The Intel GMA950 graphics processor starts off with 80 MB of system memory, so increasing memory beyond 512 MB is a good idea. The graphical memory is dynamically allocated and supports a maximum of 224 MB. The GMA supports few hardware functions and relied on the CPU to handle some of the graphics pipeline which hampers performance. Upgrading CPU means getting better GPU performance even if this means you aren’t exactly replacing your GPU chip.

Looks

The Intel-based Mac mini looks just like the G4-based one from the front, but the rear panel is different. The Intel-based mini has four USB 2.0 ports and no internal modem.

The tiny Mac mini (6.5″ square, 2″ high, 2.9 lb.) has a minimalist design. On the front, there’s just a slot-loading optical drive and a power light. On the rear, just enough ports to do everything important.

The Mac mini doesn’t include a keyboard or mouse. Apple says buyers can plug in their favorite USB keyboard and mouse – or buy Apple’s offerings. Mac OS X 10.4 and later includes support for remapping the Windows alt and option keys to option and cmd.

Apple offered several Build-to-Order options, such as 80, 100, or 120 GB hard drives; a dual-layer SuperDrive; Mighty Mouse and a keyboard, or a wireless mouse and keyboard. And with a $19 DVI to Video Adapter, you can connect the Mac mini to most modern TVs using S-video or composite video.

What You Need To Know

• By shipping with 32-bit Core Solo/Duos, it allowed Apple to introduce Intel-based Macs before the Core 2 Duos came to market. Because OS X 10.7 Lion is a 64-bit only operating system, Core Duo Macs do not support it without a CPU transplant, so OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is the end of the Mac OS road for the earliest Intel Macs.
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• One of the better things you can do is upgrade to a faster Core 2 Duo Socket M CPU. The 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo T7600 is a popular upgrade option, as low as ~$19+ (Early 2025) on eBay. The 2 GHz T7200 Core 2 Duo is a pinch slower but more economical at ~$4+ (Early 2025) and still a huge improvement over this model’s single-core T1200 1.5 GHz CPU. Once you pop in the 64-Bit Core 2 Duo, you get 64-Bit operation – you can even put this to the test by loading a 64-Bit OS. (See how to upgrade your CPU as well as all compatible CPUs). Unless you’re buying as a collector or for a specific purpose, there’s no sense in even keeping the original CPU in here.
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• These Mac minis have a 2 GB RAM ceiling but can be increased with the use of the Mac mini firmware upgrade tool. You cannot and should not use this until you actually upgrade your CPU to a Core 2 Duo.
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• If your Early 2006 Mac mini has 512 MB, upgrade immediately. You really need 1 GB to get okay performance from OS X 10.4 Tiger or 10.5 Leopard. As of January 2025, you can upgrade to 2 GB for $9 from Other World Computing, and 4 GB for $20 if you already have the Core 2 Duo CPU upgrade.
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• These Minis shipped with 5400 rpm 60 GB notebook hard drives, which is not at all practical these days. For effective performance – Other World Computing offers a 120 GB solid state drive (SSD) for just $22 (Jan 2025), while Micro Center has a 256 GB 3D NAND SSD for just $20.
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• Intel-based Macs use a partitioning scheme known as GUID Partition Map, which only Intel Macs can boot off of. Both PowerPC and Intel Macs can boot from Apple Partition Map (Apple’s old partitioning scheme) drives, which is the format you must use to create a universal boot drive in Leopard. PowerPC Macs running any version of the Mac OS prior to 10.4.2 cannot mount GPT volumes, and none can boot off of them. Using a GUID partition map, however, is what allows for a PowerPC Mac to exceed the 2.19 TB storage limitation on the APM scheme.
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• OpenCL is not supported with the Intel GMA 950 GPU.

Details

• Announced February 28th, 2006 (Press Release)
• Apple model number: A1176 (EMC 2108)
• Model ID: Macmini1,1
• Order Number: MA205LL/A
• Discontinued on September 6th, 2006

How it stacks up in Geekbench 2.4.3

• 842 (1.6 17″ iMac G5) / 1387 (Core Solo T1200 1.5 Mini) / 918 (1.6 SP Power Mac G5)

Unsupported Mac OS X

• Although it is not officially supported, this Core solo Mac mini can run a variety of Mac OS X versions depending on it’s configuration.
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• You can run up to Mac OS X 10.7.2 Lion if you retain the Core Solo CPU using a hack.
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• If you upgrade to a Core 2 Duo: You can run all the way up to OS X 10.11 El Capitan using either the Piker Alpha Boot.EFI mod or by using this alternative method, however, there is most likely no hardware acceleration past OS X 10.9 Mavericks or 10.10 Yosemite even with modifications. You may get around the hardware acceleration issue by installing an eGPU.

Mac OS X

• Requires Mac OS X 10.4.5 (Build 8H1619) though Mac OS X 10.6.8 (Build 10K549) Snow Leopard

Core System

Legend: L1i = L1 Instruction Cache, L1d = L1 Data cache

• Intel Core Solo T1200 ($599): 1.5 Ghz, 1 Core, 1 Thread, 1 CPU, No Turbo, 32-Bit
  27W TDP, 65nm, Per-Core: 32KB L1i/32KB L1d, 2MB L2, Yonah Architecture
  Comes with: MMX, SSE, SSE 2, SSE 3, VT-x, NX Bit,

Memory

•  512 MB 667 MHz PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM ~5.333 GB/s
  • Configurable Up to 2 GB at time of purchase.

Video

DVI to VGA adapter included, S-video with optional adapter

• All models shipped standard with Intel GMA 950 GPU, 250 MHz Base, 400 MHz Boost
  • 80 MB PC2-5300 667 MHz DDR2 Dynamically allocated up to 224 MB
  • Dynamic allocation is contingent on amount of system RAM installed
  • 90 nm process, 7W TDP, DX 9, OpenGL 2, Shader Model 2.0
  • Pixel Shaders: 4, Vertex Shaders: 1, 4 TMUs, 1 ROP(s).
  • Supports a resolution up to 1920 x 1200 on the Mac mini

Drives

• 60 GB 2.5″ Serial-ATA 1.0 (1.5 Gb/s) Rotational Hard Disk Drive
  •  Configurable to: 80, 100, 120 GB available as build-to-order options
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• 8x Combo Drive (Read: 8x DVD, 24x DVD) (Write: 24x CD-R, 16x CR-RW)
  • Configurable to a SuperDrive

Expansion/Misc

• 4x USB-A style USB 2.0 ports (~480 Mb/s)
• 1x FireWire 400
• 1x DVI-I (Digital Video Input) port
• Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 style connector)
  • Optional (+$49): USB-A to 56k v.92 Modem (RJ-11 style connector)
• IEEE 802.11g AirPort Extreme (Wifi 3, 54 Mb/s)
• Bluetooth 2.0
• 3.5 mm Headphone Jack
• 3.5 mm Microphone Jack
• Single Internal Speaker
• IR receiver
  • Supports Apple Remote (included)
• Kensington Security Lock
• PRAM battery: 3V CR2032 lithium
• 85W external power supply

Physical

• H x W x D : 2.0 x 6.5 x 6.5 in/5.1 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm
• Weight: 2.9 lb./1.3 kg

Included In Box

• Mac Mini
• DVI to VGA adapter
• A 85W external Power Brick, rectangular with Apple logo pressed in
• “Mickey Mouse” style 3-prong IEC 320-C5 Power Connector for power brick
• Mac mini User’s Guide
• Apple Computer, Inc Software License Agreement for Mac OS X (Single Use License)
• Product registration
• Apple Computer, Inc 1 year limited warranty pamphlet
• Mac mini “Mac OS X Install discs” with Apple Hardware Test (2 discs)

Online Resources

• Full list of online resources for the Early 2006 Core Solo Mac mini on a separate page.

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