|
This is the megathread for discussion relating to Mac hardware, including announcements and questions about purchasing/recommendations. If your post is unique or interesting enough to warrant its own topic or begins to derail the thread too much, by all means please feel free to make a dedicated thread in SH/SC. This megathread is generally maintained as a resource to consolidate small and frequently-asked questions. Rules:
Star War Sex Parrot fucked around with this message at Jan 30, 2013 around 06:56 |
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:10 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 19, 2013 06:49 |
|
|
Frequently Asked Questions: Where should I buy my Mac?
When will the new Mini and Air be available in Apple Stores?
Does Lion support TRIM on third-party SSDs?
Know anyplace that has benchmarks of the new 2011 MacBook Pros versus last year's models? Here's one place. Try BareFeats as well. Hey, my Mac is messed up. How do I check my warranty status? Plug your Mac's serial number into this: https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do Hey, could YOU guys give me some help? If you would like some help, first drop the attitude that all of SHSC is indebted to you for the  you ponied up to sign on here. Any help other goons may deign to give you is voluntary, and while it is not the Goon's Gospel, you should consider that some of these goons have been at this for a pretty long time.With that in mind, it's suggested that you please do this first: Go to the Apple menu Select About This Mac Click on More Info Write down the stuff next to Model Name and Model Identifier Example: MacBookPro1,1 Please tell us those two things in your request for help or we'll spend about two pages Hey, what kind of RAM should I buy? MacBook Pro (all 2011 models, 13-inch, 15-inch, 17-inch): These all have two RAM slots, can be upgraded to 8 GB maximum, 2 X 4 GB DDR3 PC3-10600 (1333 MHz) SO-DIMMs. MacBook Pro (all late 2009/2010 models, 13-inch, 15-inch, 17-inch): These all have two RAM slots, can be upgraded to 8 GB maximum, 2 X 4 GB DDR3 PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) SO-DIMMs. MacBook, MacBook Pro (aluminum unibody 2008 models): Both have two RAM slots, can be upgraded to 4 GB maximum, 2 X 2 GB DDR3 PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) SO-DIMMs. MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac, bought before the new Aluminum MBs and MBPs introduced back on Oct. 14th, 2008: all have two RAM slots, can be upgraded to 4 GB maximum, 2 X 2 GB 200-pin PC2-5300 (667MHz) SO-DIMMs. All these machines have memory interleaving support, so using identical chips will result in slightly faster operation than mismatched chips (i.e. one 1 GB chip mixed with a 512 MB chip.) MacBooks bought before November 2007 can only take up to 3 GB of RAM. If you put in 4 GB, only 3.3 GB will be available to the OS due to limitations of the logic board's chipset. MacBook Pros bought before June 2007: same as above. MacBook and MacBook Pros bought before October 2006: The maximum RAM is 2 GB, period. MacPro current model: has 8 RAM slots, can be upgraded to 16 GB (quad-core) / 32 GB (octo-core) maximum, 240-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 ECC SDRAMs in matched pairs. Or, you could just go download Mactracker, then go here and enter your serial number, make note of your machine's model name (printed on the left side of the result window under the picture of your machine) and look it up in Mactracker if you don't believe us. The Mac SHSC community doesn't endorse any particular brand, but G.SKILL and Crucial have been touted as smartly priced and reliable.  The age-old always asked question: Should I get a Mac now or should I wait? Huh? Please? Tell me! You guys must know something?!pokeyman posted:
What should I get, a MacBook, a MacBook Pro, or a MacBook Air? For the 16,777,216th time: MacBooks are intended for general purpose users who want a decent machine capable of web surfing, word processing, and perhaps a simple game or two. MacBook Pros are intended for power users/professionals who need more CPU and graphics power for specific purposes, such as high-end desktop publishing, hi-resolution video editing, or number crunching for science/engineering/math purposes. MacBook Airs are intended for people who travel a lot and want a very lightweight laptop that: gives them the Mac experience (see MacBook above) doesn't have to carry vast amounts of data or files (although a 128 GB SSD can be roomy enough) for a premium, lets them use bleeding-edge SSD technology OOTB. don't creak. If you're still hopelessly confused, try looking here for a detailed comparison: http://guides.macrumors.com/Which_A...should_I_buy%3F Should I buy AppleCare? The consensus among most Mac goons here is most definitely yes. Especially if you have a laptop and tote it around a lot. You'll save a lot if you are eligible for educational pricing, a little less if you get it from Amazon. AppleCare can be purchased and registered for your Mac for up to one year past original purchase date. After that, you can't get AppleCare coverage no matter how hard you whine. If you travel a lot, and your Mac laptop acts up for no good reason, you can be comforted by the fact that AppleCare is honored globally, so long as you can find an Apple Authorized Service Provider in the country you're in. As far as is known there are no AASPs in Antarctica. Here's a link to find one if you're traveling. ABOUT APPLECARE PRICES THAT SEEM TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE Any price for AppleCare that seems too heavily discounted (like less than half price) is very likely to be a scam; and while an AppleCare code that someone sells you through email, with no paperwork at all from Apple might work initially, it will very likely get pulled out from under you like a cheap rug at some point. It's less likely to be a ripoff if the place you're buying from is an Apple Authorized Service Center. ABOUT EBAY APPLECARE PURCHASES ONLY - Read this guide from eBay BEFORE you decide to buy a really cheap AppleCare code from eBay; if you still want to piss your money away, go right ahead. Should I trust refurbished Macs direct from Apple? Many goons here in the Hardware thread have bought them and swear by them. Apple rigorously tests most refurbished Macs and 'refresh' them before they're placed back for sale; you get a cheaper machine that's already been serviced and comes with all the benefits (warranty period reset, AppleCare eligibility) of a new Mac. Here is what Apple says about their refurbishment process: Apple posted:Apple Certified Refurbished Products I want to sell my Mac laptop / desktop. What should I charge? Star Wars Sex Parrot posted:There's no rule. Check eBay. Check Craigslist. Check SA-Mart. Check how much refurbs go for. Some refreshes are more significant than others. Put some research into it if you want to get any value out of your used goods, otherwise you're gonna get fleeced. One good place to check selling prices would be the Apple Store, specifically the refurbished section. People would probably not buy your stuff if you're charging more than Apple does for the same / equivalent hardware. How do I take care of my battery? See here: http://www.apple.com/batteries/ Is it true that my MacBook / MacBook Pro will run slower on AC power with the battery removed / or with a dead battery? Yes. There's an Apple technote that confirms this, plus Tom's Hardware indepedently verified it a while back. They'll run at 50% speed without a good battery. How can I use my MacBook / MacBook Pro / PowerBook G4 while the lid is closed? http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3131 You need an external DVI/VGA display and a keyboard/mouse for this to work. Hey, I keep getting a 'not enough power' message when I plug in (x) USB device, help Current MacBooks/Pros will only provide 500 mA to one port at a time, usually to the port where a full power USB device is first plugged in. The exception is the MacBook Air SuperDrive which can use and receive up to 1000 mA through its own special firmware, but only when hooked into a MacBook Air's USB port. What is a good graph of the level of satisfaction a PC switcher can expect when they buy a Mac?  Your mileage may vary. USB 3.0 Binary Badger posted:Apple has been shipping laptops and desktops with USB 3.0 installed as an integral feature since June 2012. The models that ship with USB 3.0 include the following: How do I display?  Mini-DP / Thunderbolt to VGA Mini-DP / Thunderbolt to DVI Mini-DP / Thunderbolt to HDMI Mini-DP / Thunderbolt to DP How do I dock? HengeDock makes a line of stations for the entirety of the MBP lineup. I'll post my photos of this later. 3rd Party Power Apple has a deathgrip on the MagSafe patent. A brand-new, official Apple MagSafe of the appropriate wattage is your best bet if you need a second adapter for the office. These are a-ok to buy from Amazon or other reputable retailers. Virtualization Free - VirtualBox - cannot mount Boot Camp Partitions Paid - VMWare Fusion - very solid USB peripheral handling, 3D graphics support and it can boot Boot Camp partitions as a VM. Free 30-day trial. Paid - Parallels Desktop competitor to VMWare Fusion. Can also run Boot Camp partitions as a VM. Matte vs. Glossy This is entirely personal preference. Matte screens excel even in areas with very bright ambient lighting, but at the expense of looking rather "dull", especially when next to a glossy display. Glossy displays have vivid colors that pop, but are easily washed out by ambient light. Expect to see reflections of yourself in a glossy screen. If you work in an area where ambient lighting (fluoroscents, sunlight, etc) aren't a concern, feel free to go for the glossy. The only way to be sure is to go to the Fruit Stand and compare them side-by-side. As of 2011, matte MBPs sport a silver bezel whilst glossy MBPs sport a glossy black bezel as well as a glass screen. Only the 15" and 17" have anti-glare options. High-Res Upgrade I'm a bit biased when it comes to monitor upgrades, but I'll just say it: Apple's stock screens on the MBP series can be pretty poo poo. This upgrade is only offered on the 15" model, and can give you a 1680x1050 screen instead of a 1440x900 screen. On the 13" you are stuck with a 1280x800 glossy :puke:, and on the 17" you get a nice 1920x1200 glossy or matte display. Again, go to the Fruit Stand and ask an employee to see the models side-by-side (they're usually placed next to each other) to see if the higher-resolution pays off for you. If you're a programmer or enthusiast, it probably will. movax posted:What are Optibays / SSDs all about? Read This About SSDs and your (older) Mac Binary Badger posted:Reposting for new page since this is a pretty serious issue for older Macs and people who want to upgrade them to SSDs: --- Thanks to Bob Morales, movax, the bmw, Binary Badger, crackpipe, CDOR Gemini, and lord funk. Somebody fucked around with this message at Jan 7, 2013 around 16:23 |
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:10 |
|
|
Hello new thread, and hello new MacBook Air. Sweet looking machines, going to be saving all my pennies until I can pounce on one of those. Just need to nurse my battered 2007 MacBook for a few weeks longer.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:25 |
|
|
13 inch 128gb macbook air here i come  , i've been waiting too long for sandy bridge airs.(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:33 |
|
|
If you're coming here to ask questions about the old Mac you found at a garage sale or your grandma's basement, check out Low End Mac. It's a great site with articles about older Macs and they even have profiles of older models. And no, that old Mac isn't worth anything except scrap. G4/G5 models can be useful to people running audio production but even the G5's are slower than almost any Intel-based machine, suck a ton of power, and PowerPC OS support and software is basically non-existent. Which Mac should I buy? *will add later* What are optibays and SSD's all about? *later* Who sells Macs cheaper than Apple? Microcenter often sells the current model 13" MBP for $999, and MacMall discounts almost every model anywhere from $30-$100 of MSRP. They both also sell open-box items for further discounts! Bob Morales fucked around with this message at Jul 20, 2011 around 20:39 |
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:34 |
|
|
Yeah just PM me if you have any additions that way it's not posted multiple times on the first page. Thanks!
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:35 |
|
|
Stolen for OP! Thanks movax! Love, The management Somebody fucked around with this message at Jul 20, 2011 around 21:40 |
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:38 |
|
|
The new MBAs optional 1.8 Ghz i7 turbo boosts up to 2.9 Ghz on a single core and 2.6 Ghz when both cores are utilized. First benchmarks are popping up and they are impressive.  (picture by macrumors, reposted) //edit: ok, those scores look just plain wrong. I assume they are using a test that factors in SSD performance and the 2010 17" MBP is running a 7200 rpm HDD. eames fucked around with this message at Jul 20, 2011 around 20:51 |
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:48 |
|
|
japtor posted:Anyway to clear some stuff up, or perhaps confuse, I went through the CPU pages and used the comparison thingy for these: Interesting...I guess there's really not that much of a difference between the i5 and i7 in the Mini. Both have VT extensions, both have hyperthreading. I run into processor issues often on my 2.26 C2D Macbook Pro, but I guess the difference between the i5 and i7 compared to what I have really isn't going to be that big of a deal. eames posted:The new MBAs optional 1.8 Ghz i7 turbo boosts up to 2.9 Ghz on a single core and 2.6 Ghz when both cores are utilized. I wonder how much of that is on disk speed, and what it'd look like if the MBP also had an SSD.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:49 |
|
|
Fresh new OS, hardware, and new discussion threads to boot. Today is a good day.  Those new 11" Airs are sexy as hell. I wonder how well Lion would run on 2 GBs, though.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:49 |
|
|
I bought my iMac with 12 months interest free financing on the Barclay card, paid it off in 11 months and never paid any interest. Now I have a card with a $3,000 limit but at something like 25% APR. Does Apple do any interest free promos for people that already have a Barclay card or is it a one time deal?
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:49 |
|
|
DEUCE SLUICE posted:Interesting...I guess there's really not that much of a difference between the i5 and i7 in the Mini. Both have VT extensions, both have hyperthreading. I run into processor issues often on my 2.26 C2D Macbook Pro, but I guess the difference between the i5 and i7 compared to what I have really isn't going to be that big of a deal. Yeah, I just realized that. For a second I thought its a pure CPU benchmark but that wouldnt make any sense at all looking at the scores and CPUs.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:52 |
|
|
eames posted:Yeah, I just realized that. For a second I thought its a pure CPU benchmark but that wouldnt make any sense at all looking at the scores and CPUs. If those MBAs were plugged in, then they were probably turboing at an operating frequency much closer to the i7 in the MBP on the right. Also, the 2.67 GHz first-gen Core i7 mobile CPU has lower performance per clock and is a dual-core chip with a less-awesome Turbo Boost function and lower performance per clock.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 20:58 |
|
|
Space Racist posted:Fresh new OS, hardware, and new discussion threads to boot. Today is a good day. I wouldn't do it...as you have a few tabs open in Safari with Flash in action, you're going to start swapping. Granted, it's a SSD that has swap but I think everyone should get 4GB if possible. It's worth it. Re: i5 and i7, the only differences for the MBAs are clock speed and L2 cache. I don't think you would notice the difference outside of synthetic benchmarks, or if you pay very close attention to the duration of MATLAB / video encoding operations. It's not like the desktop differentiation where some i5s do not have HT; both the ULV i5s and i7s have HT. Of course, since it is HT, it'll only really come in handy for floating-point heavy ops. e: ^^ it's true, my 2010 has the 2.67 i7 w/ HT and Nehalem just gets owned by Sandy Bridge. Technology! 
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:01 |
|
|
Thanks for the PMs, folks. I'm still getting stuff organized but I'll get the additions in the OP as soon as possible. Thanks again!
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:14 |
|
|
Thank goodness someone else will tend to the OP, gives me more free time to find out what doesn't work in Lion Edit: I see the expired in-joke about timb's creaky Macs is intact  Binary Badger fucked around with this message at Jul 20, 2011 around 21:19 |
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:16 |
|
|
Re: that MBA benchmark, Geekbench is CPU and memory/other main hardware voodoo, it doesn't take into account the HD or GPU. And as mentioned it's comparing to a 2010 MBP, the Sandy Bridge stuff is just that much awesomer.Star War Sex Parrot posted:Yeah just PM me if you have any additions that way it's not posted multiple times on the first page. Thanks!  . I posted these in the last thread and figure it's mostly relevant just for the immediate future (cause many were asking about them):MacBook Air CPUs Mac mini CPUs For the OP it'd probably be better if all the Macs' CPUs were listed. Edit- or just ark.intel.com for the  guys can look themselves.
japtor fucked around with this message at Jul 20, 2011 around 21:29 |
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:20 |
|
|
Carrying over discussion from the other thread about the new Cinema Display. So if I wanted to hook up my 2008 Mac Pro to it, I would just need to get a Thunderbolt to DVI connector, correct? I find it weird that if there are currently no Mac Pros out there that support the Thunderbolt Cinema Display that they show it next to a Mac Pro on the product page: http://store.apple.com/us/product/M...jc&s=topSellers Click Enlarge Image, then there are photos of the display next to all the Macs.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:20 |
|
|
Binary Badger posted:Edit: I see the expired in-joke about timb's creaky Macs is intact It should be "doesn't creak".
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:21 |
|
|
Binary Badger posted:Edit: I see the expired in-joke about timb's creaky Macs is intact There's still a lot of editing to be done.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:23 |
|
|
Regarding SSDs, I admittedly haven't done too much research in this regard when it comes to OS X, but is it possible to buy the TRIM-capable SSDs that Apple uses/provides support for in Lion, commercially? Or can we get a list going or link perhaps to a list of SSDs that are TRIM supported in Lion, since I'm guessing SSD usage will only increase with time.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:29 |
|
|
SourKraut posted:Regarding SSDs, I admittedly haven't done too much research in this regard when it comes to OS X, but is it possible to buy the TRIM-capable SSDs that Apple uses/provides support for in Lion, commercially?
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:31 |
|
|
SourKraut posted:Regarding SSDs, I admittedly haven't done too much research in this regard when it comes to OS X, but is it possible to buy the TRIM-capable SSDs that Apple uses/provides support for in Lion, commercially? pipebomb was selling one in SA-Mart a couple weeks ago though! 
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:31 |
|
|
Astro7x posted:Carrying over discussion from the other thread about the new Cinema Display. Any MiniDisplayPort to DVI adapter should work. Or buy this card and just use a regular MiniDisplayPort cable.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:35 |
|
|
Binary Badger posted:Any MiniDisplayPort to DVI adapter should work.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:38 |
|
|
Do you guys think the 11" MBA screen is sufficient for coding?
Bodhi Tea fucked around with this message at Jul 20, 2011 around 22:23 |
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:41 |
|
|
I just ordered a iMac the other day, which will ship to me sometime on Monday or later. I don't know if it will include Mac OSX Lion preinstalled or not, but for the sake of this post, let's assume it doesn't I don't want to upgrade to Lion. Rather, I'd like to have a clean install of Lion. While reading AnandTech today, I came across this: "AnandTech posted:For those of you who are attached to an install disk for one reason or another, accessing the .DMG file within the Lion installer and burning your own DVD is fairly trivial for even a moderately technical user. The installer, like other App Store downloads, is dropped in your Applications folder. Right-click (or CTRL-clicking, depending on your setup) the installer, click Show Package Contents, go into the Contents folder, then the SharedSupport folder, and burn the .dmg file you find here to a DVD (or copy it to a USB stick) with Disk Utility. So my understanding is: 1. Download the Lion upgrade file. 2. Burn the .dmg file to either a DVD or USB stick. 3. Boot the Mac using the DVD or USB stick from step 2 --> Perform fresh installation Is this correct, or is there something more complicated that I'm missing? Am I to assume that the installer will automatically know how to partition my drives, whether to install directly to the SSD vs. HDD, etc.?
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:42 |
|
|
Bodhi Tea posted:Do you guys think the 11" MBA screen sufficient for coding?
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:44 |
|
|
Jeratain posted:Is this correct, or is there something more complicated that I'm missing? Am I to assume that the installer will automatically know how to partition my drives, whether to install directly to the SSD vs. HDD, etc.?
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:46 |
|
|
SourKraut posted:Or can we get a list going or link perhaps to a list of SSDs that are TRIM supported in Lion, since I'm guessing SSD usage will only increase with time. Im guessing SSD Trim enabler will be updated soon which should make the whole third-party TRIM SSD drama around Lion a non-issue. Hopefully.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:50 |
|
|
japtor posted:The only ones that I know of are the OEM Apple drives. To get it working with others there was some hack (I think it essentially added your drive to a whitelist, or just opened up the whitelist completely) but there's no official support afaik. Star War Sex Parrot posted:The only one that Apple sells aftermarket is the 500GB SSD for the Mac Pro. It's $1300. Bah, that sucks. Well hopefully compatibility improves, as long-term I would like to simply throw a SSD into the MBP and have TRIM supported.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 21:54 |
|
|
Bodhi Tea posted:Do you guys think the 11" MBA screen sufficient for coding? I just bought the new MBA 11" and I've been coding on it for the past hour for my CSE class. I'm at the library and it currently does not bother me. It's fine for when you're on the go but it's not as awesome as my T420 (1600x900) screen for those huge IDEs. I recommend getting an external monitor for when you're home, I have a Dell U2311H to use with mine.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 22:16 |
|
|
Bodhi Tea posted:Do you guys think the 11" MBA screen sufficient for coding? Depends on the IDE, IMHO. TextMate/Fraise + Terminal doing some scripting, no problem. Running Visual Studio or XCode or Eclipse or someshit, 
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 22:19 |
|
|
eames posted:Im guessing SSD Trim enabler will be updated soon which should make the whole third-party TRIM SSD drama around Lion a non-issue. Hopefully. I tried this out on my MBP (mid-2010, with an Intel X-25M) that I updated to Lion this morning. I had used the TRIM enabler on Snow Leopard and it worked fine there. After upgrading to Lion, checked System Report, TRIM support = no Re-ran TRIM enabler, checked System Report, TRIM support now says yes. Take what you will from that.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 22:45 |
|
|
eames posted:Im guessing SSD Trim enabler will be updated soon which should make the whole third-party TRIM SSD drama around Lion a non-issue. Hopefully. I too have used this without issues in Lion. 
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 22:52 |
|
|
You might also mention that a lot of the GENUINE APPLE MAGSAFE BLAH BLAH adapaters on Amazon and such for half of normal retail are lovely rebuilds of failed ones.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 22:58 |
|
|
I'm not sure if this is a software question or a hardware one, but here goes: At some point, are refurbished MBPs going to start coming with Lion pre-installed? I know you get a download toke, but that's not practical for my sister, who is looking into getting one soon.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 23:18 |
|
|
SourKraut posted:Bah, that sucks. Well hopefully compatibility improves, as long-term I would like to simply throw a SSD into the MBP and have TRIM supported.
|
| # ? Jul 20, 2011 23:26 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 19, 2013 06:49 |
|
|
Holy crap, the Lion OSX install is like the smoothest upgrade to an Operating System I've ever seen, drat. Anyone found any problems with it? This is ridiculously easy.
|
| # ? Jul 21, 2011 00:09 |
|
