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Brinty
Aug 4, 2012
Is the Macbook Air supposed to be getting an update any time soon?

I've been thinking of picking one up as a little machine for getting stuff done while out and about but there's more than a few factors putting me off considering what you currently get for the price.

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EB Nulshit
Apr 12, 2014

It was more disappointing (and surprising) when I found that even most of Manhattan isn't like Times Square.
I have a 2015 MacBook Pro that I want to put Windows 8.1 on via Bootcamp. I can't find a way to download an Windows 8.1 .iso, though. Does Microsoft seriously not make it available to people who have genuine CD keys as some kind gently caress-you or what?

japtor
Oct 28, 2005

Brinty posted:

Is the Macbook Air supposed to be getting an update any time soon?

I've been thinking of picking one up as a little machine for getting stuff done while out and about but there's more than a few factors putting me off considering what you currently get for the price.
The plain ol MacBook is likely the MBA for the future*. Main reason for the MBA was smaller/thinner/lighter, and the MB pushes the same things further. The MBA could get some last spec bump like the optical drive MBPs way way back, but I think that might be what this last bump was to begin with. Depending what you're looking for you might want to move up to the MBP if you were thinking about the 13" MBA, the MBP is only little heavier, a little thicker, and actually has a smaller footprint. If you wanted the 11"...well v:shobon:v

*And the most obvious update to the MB would be Skylake and Thunderbolt 3 when those come around.

BGrifter
Mar 16, 2007

Winner of Something Awful PS5 thread's Posting Excellence Award June 2022

Congratulations!
Anyone have a nice shoulder bag for the 13" MBP? Looking around at the possibilities and haven't found anything that jumps out as must have.

I like this one a lot but the reviews say it's so tight it can't even hold the power brick with the MBP.

1st AD
Dec 3, 2004

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: sometimes passing just isn't an option.
That brand has a full size messenger that is the same color/material

some kinda jackal
Feb 25, 2003

 
 

Phone posted:

My friend has a Mac Mini that is slower than slow and I think I now know why


Is it even worth it to throw an ssd and 8GB at it?

I've got a 2007 C2D Aluminum 24" iMac at work that I just bumped to 6GB and am about to pop an SSD into.

I think it all depends on what you want to use it for. If you don't want to invest in a new machine and will just be using it to browse the web and check email then you should be fine with an upgrade. If you really want to do anything serious on it then probably spend the money you would have on parts on an upgrade instead.

I'm using it to run Office 2015, Sublime Text, and I just SSH to other machines to run any of the code I write so there is literally zero point in my upgrading to anything newer. Would I like to? Sure. But I'd rather spend my budget on training or whatever.





edit: I'm actually debating not even cracking it open to run the SSD, but getting a FW800 enclosure and popping a 120GB SSD in there. Sure it won't approach SATA speeds but I think it benchmarks better than the lovely 300gb 7200RPM disk that's in there now.

Bloodplay it again
Aug 25, 2003

Oh, Dee, you card. :-*

KS posted:

Nope, it's all pictures. He's pretty much the ultimate road warrior. And yes, I have good endpoint backups.

Money's not really an object, but it sounds like he's going to have to re-think how he does things at some point in the next year.

Thanks.

Depends on the model, but some MBPs will let you take out the optical drive, throw storage in its place, and then you throw the optical drive in an external enclosure. I've put together plenty of MBPs with two 1TB drives.

Proteus Jones
Feb 28, 2013



EB Nulshit posted:

I have a 2015 MacBook Pro that I want to put Windows 8.1 on via Bootcamp. I can't find a way to download an Windows 8.1 .iso, though. Does Microsoft seriously not make it available to people who have genuine CD keys as some kind gently caress-you or what?

You have to use the media creation tool from MS. Unfortunately, it requires a Windows box to run, which creates quite the chicken and egg scenario. Fortunately, I was able to use a work computer to make mine.

Note: That if you purchased 8.1 Home and then upgraded to Professional, you need to actually install the 8.1 Home and then install the Pro upgrade in Windows. I found that out the hard way. If you bought Pro outright then you can install Pro directly.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

japtor posted:

*And the most obvious update to the MB would be Skylake and Thunderbolt 3 when those come around.

:eng101: Don't forget the obligatory $200 price drop after the first year or two!

Bob Morales
Aug 18, 2006


Just wear the fucking mask, Bob

I don't care how many people I probably infected with COVID-19 while refusing to wear a mask, my comfort is far more important than the health and safety of everyone around me!

BGrifter posted:

Anyone have a nice shoulder bag for the 13" MBP? Looking around at the possibilities and haven't found anything that jumps out as must have.

I like this one a lot but the reviews say it's so tight it can't even hold the power brick with the MBP.


I have an STM Jacket in 13" and 11"

http://www.amazon.com/STM-Jacket-Laptop-Sleeve-Large/dp/B003GTR5XC

fits the power adapter, Thunderbolt ethernet adapter, ear buds, screen wipe, a small notepad, a pen, and a couple USB drive. Love this drat bag.

Star War Sex Parrot
Oct 2, 2003

Cross-posting:

Star War Sex Parrot posted:

Supposedly trimforce is in OS X 10.10.4.

code:
sudo trimforce enable
Is all you should have to do now for TRIM on third party SSDs. I don't have a properly configured system to confirm.

some kinda jackal
Feb 25, 2003

 
 
Hmm, I used TRIMEnabler. Wonder if there's any big difference between what it does and what trimforce does. Functionally the end result should be the same, but if trimforce persists through updates then that would be cool.

I said come in!
Jun 22, 2004

I assume trimforce has the added benefit of not needing to disable super important high level security. :P

CoasterMaster
Aug 13, 2003

The Emperor of the Rides


Nap Ghost

BGrifter posted:

Anyone have a nice shoulder bag for the 13" MBP? Looking around at the possibilities and haven't found anything that jumps out as must have.

I like this one a lot but the reviews say it's so tight it can't even hold the power brick with the MBP.


I've been using a Timbuk2 messenger bag (the commute one) for years and it's been the best bag I've ever owned.

Arsenic Lupin
Apr 12, 2012

This particularly rapid💨 unintelligible 😖patter💁 isn't generally heard🧏‍♂️, and if it is🤔, it doesn't matter💁.


drat, I just got sniped (i.e. somebody else bought it first) on this:

$1,149.00

Originally released July 2014
13.3-inch (diagonal) Retina display; 2560-by-1600 resolution at 227 pixels per inch
16GB of 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
128GB Flash Storage
720p FaceTime HD Camera
Intel Iris Graphics

I never, ever run out of storage, so this would have been perfect.

enthe0s
Oct 24, 2010

In another few hours, the sun will rise!
I have a 2013 Macbook Air and I want to set up 2 external monitors. The best option I've found so far without having to spend a ton of money is getting an adapter to convert one of the USB ports (http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Mult...s=usb+3+monitor).

Is there a better way or this my best option?

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Arsenic Lupin posted:

I never, ever run out of storage, so this would have been perfect.

lol

Arsenic Lupin
Apr 12, 2012

This particularly rapid💨 unintelligible 😖patter💁 isn't generally heard🧏‍♂️, and if it is🤔, it doesn't matter💁.



I keep all my stuff in the Google cloud. I haven't even run out of local storage on my last three Android phones. I can name the apps I'm likely to install locally: Scrivener, the Google cloud and Chrome, Skype, and maybe an IDE for small-scale Web stuff. Put it this way: I've happily lived on netbooks since the first one came out, and the only reason I'm giving up on my Chromebook right now is that Chrome's runaway memory leaks make a Chromebook impossible to use.

tl;dr: Some people really do use their computers primarily for Web browsing and lightweight applications.

brap
Aug 23, 2004

Grimey Drawer
The age of digital hoarding is over for most people but 256gb is a much more comfortable place to be. You don't have to worry at that point, although dual booting will be a squeeze. Plus you get the speed benefits of having more flash chips to deliver data in parallel.

TheParadigm
Dec 10, 2009

I was told by a friend to ask here, since apparently MacBooks can range from simple to labyrinthine inside.

I've been given one as a hand me down from family model is A1278, since I'm looking for a cheap/simple/basic travel laptop.

All it needs is a hard drive replacement. How hard would this be to swap out? Will any notebook drive do, or should I be looking for specific models on eBay?
Would an ssd fit instead?

Just trying to get a sense for hassle and cost involved. The local store wanted 300 bux to fix it, and I know that ain't right.

The Ass Stooge
Nov 9, 2012

a hunger uncurbed
by nature's calling

TheParadigm posted:

I was told by a friend to ask here, since apparently MacBooks can range from simple to labyrinthine inside.

I've been given one as a hand me down from family model is A1278, since I'm looking for a cheap/simple/basic travel laptop.

All it needs is a hard drive replacement. How hard would this be to swap out? Will any notebook drive do, or should I be looking for specific models on eBay?
Would an ssd fit instead?

Just trying to get a sense for hassle and cost involved. The local store wanted 300 bux to fix it, and I know that ain't right.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Unibody+Model+A1278+Hard+Drive+Replacement/816

Any 2.5" SATA drive should work, and yes, this includes SSDs.

Arsenic Lupin
Apr 12, 2012

This particularly rapid💨 unintelligible 😖patter💁 isn't generally heard🧏‍♂️, and if it is🤔, it doesn't matter💁.


fleshweasel posted:

Plus you get the speed benefits of having more flash chips to deliver data in parallel.
Aha! Thank you, I didn't know that.

TheParadigm
Dec 10, 2009

Whoa, that was fast. Thank you.

What kind of drive space does osx take? Totally unfamiliar. I wouldnt put a tiny ssd on Windows for example.

I was told this machine was from 08 or 09. I remember dual boots being a thing around then. Can this model take Linux or Windows?

Edit: judging by the 160gb hd, this is the 2gb ram model. Any advice regarding putting bigger sticks in there?

TheParadigm fucked around with this message at 20:38 on Jul 2, 2015

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Arsenic Lupin posted:

Aha! Thank you, I didn't know that.

The big thing for me is that the OS alone takes up like 25gb of memory and you want to save another 5-10 as a swap buffer.

So now it's like 90gb instead of 128. And you lose another 30 if you ever decide to dual-boot.

But I respect that you'd know your needs best.

Binary Badger
Oct 11, 2005

Trolling Link for a decade


TheParadigm posted:

What kind of drive space does osx take? Totally unfamiliar. I wouldnt put a tiny ssd on Windows for example.

Yosemite, Mac OS X 10.10.x, takes up about 8-10 GB by itself in my experience.

quote:

I was told this machine was from 08 or 09. I remember dual boots being a thing around then. Can this model take Linux or Windows?

Boot Camp should support Windows 7 on this model. It can take Linux, depends on the flavor in terms of support.

quote:

Edit: judging by the 160gb hd, this is the 2gb ram model. Any advice regarding putting bigger sticks in there?

According to the model number you gave, A1278 is the 13-inch aluminum MacBook Late 2008 model which can take up to 8 GB, you must use 204 pin DDR3 PC-8500 RAM in SO-DIMM format, which is cheap these days. Two 4 GB SO-DIMMs of G.Skill will cost less than $50.

japtor
Oct 28, 2005

enthe0s posted:

I have a 2013 Macbook Air and I want to set up 2 external monitors. The best option I've found so far without having to spend a ton of money is getting an adapter to convert one of the USB ports (http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Mult...s=usb+3+monitor).

Is there a better way or this my best option?
DisplayPort hubs would be the best but afaik OS X still doesn't support them properly. Other options would be AirPlay (laggy, lower quality) and that dual head video adapter thing. That one simulates a double wide display to the computer then spits it out to two displays.

TheParadigm posted:

Whoa, that was fast. Thank you.

What kind of drive space does osx take? Totally unfamiliar. I wouldnt put a tiny ssd on Windows for example.

I was told this machine was from 08 or 09. I remember dual boots being a thing around then. Can this model take Linux or Windows?

Edit: judging by the 160gb hd, this is the 2gb ram model. Any advice regarding putting bigger sticks in there?
General advice works for the SSD, 128 is usable, but 256 (or more) is preferable, particularly if you dual/triple boot. And yeah pretty much any x86 OS should be ok, and you'll be able to keep up with OS X at least through the upcoming version.

RAM wise it supported 8GB (2x4GB) after a firmware update way back, according to EveryMac it used DDR3 1066. It might've been picky with faster speeds but I forget. In any case definitely upgrade that too.

Well e;fb on all that, but one tip if you use Yosemite, turn on increase contrast in prefs-accessibility, it boosts UI performance a bunch.

TheParadigm
Dec 10, 2009

Sincerely, Thanks for the tips.

I have a bud with an extra 60ish gb ssd, and I've got an external enclosure for actual storage. Priority right now is cost, due to moving and other expenses. It's not ideal, but if it works it works.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Electric Bugaloo posted:

The big thing for me is that the OS alone takes up like 25gb of memory and you want to save another 5-10 as a swap buffer.

Binary Badger posted:

Yosemite, Mac OS X 10.10.x, takes up about 8-10 GB by itself in my experience.

I forgot that they actually did a pretty decent job of slimming the OS down over the last year or 2.

My computer tells me I've got about 499gb usable from a 512gb drive. Add 5-10gb for swap buffering to that then.

brap
Aug 23, 2004

Grimey Drawer
A great deal of that slimming happened between Leopard and Snow Leopard if I recall right.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

fleshweasel posted:

A great deal of that slimming happened between Leopard and Snow Leopard if I recall right.

A lot of slimming did happen then.

But I was referring to slimming post-Mountain Lion/Mavericks. Maybe I'm just totes wrong...

japtor
Oct 28, 2005
Yeah I thought they did another round or two of slimming with Mountain Lion and/or Mavericks too. I vaguely recall posts about regaining a few gigs of space upon updating.

~Coxy
Dec 9, 2003

R.I.P. Inter-OS Sass - b.2000AD d.2003AD
Don't forget that hibernate is going to steal a bunch on top of that.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!
I just had a thought- could Apple's current partnership with AMD have actually been a good move beyond their dogged commitment to OpenGL?

I mean insomuch as it gives them access to AMD's new HBM tech.

It just debuted with the recent launch of the Fury line and honestly looks like it holds a really promising future for GPU size/heat output/energy usage vs. capability. Particularly since AMD tipped their hand as to the relative importance of having gobs of VRAM when they launched their newest flagship card (until the promised 2xGPU card comes out) with "only" 4gb. As they put it, a lot of what precipitated the VRAM race could be fixed without adding hardware/by incorporating HBM construction.

Even if AMD loses out in a general tier-for-tier comparison with Nvidia, Apple only cares about the small form-factor, power/heat efficient chips that can play with their chassis/battery designs. It's why Macs are always only 'decent enough,' at best, where discrete GPUs are concerned.

So a late-2015/2016 retina iMac with an AMD HBM mobile GPU and 4gb of VRAM might actually be substantially more capable than it would've otherwise been had this tech not matured in time.

Edit: I half take that back. I forgot that Nvidia's got Pascal coming up, which should have basically the same tech. Still, this is already out on the market and Nvidia's isn't so maybe that gives Apple a year's edge on getting the best GPUs for their very specific needs.

trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Jul 3, 2015

I said come in!
Jun 22, 2004

Apple going with AMD kinda sucks for gaming on Mac, but for everything else it's fine. AMD GPU's are cheaper and what's natively supported on Mac will run just fine on whatever future AMD GPU's are included in Macs.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

I said come in! posted:

Apple going with AMD kinda sucks for gaming on Mac, but for everything else it's fine. AMD GPU's are cheaper and what's natively supported on Mac will run just fine on whatever future AMD GPU's are included in Macs.

Dammit, I wanna Oculus Rift!

I said come in!
Jun 22, 2004

Electric Bugaloo posted:

Dammit, I wanna Oculus Rift!

It should still work as long as you have Windows boot camp shouldnt it? You're probably joking, but I know you secretly want oculus rift porn, don't lie. We all do.

japtor
Oct 28, 2005
Of the new stuff the Fury Nano is the most interesting for them just cause it's supposedly most of the performance of the normal Fiji but w/175W TDP vs 275 or whatever for the usual desktop parts. Besides that there's the M295X already in the iMac, which is interesting cause apparently it's Tonga XT, or what the 285X would be if it existed in retail.

And yeah Nvidia has HBM2 planned next year along with AMD. The big thing for both is a smaller process node finally getting going for them, they've been stuck at 28mm for a while and are pushing huge rear end dies at this point.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

I said come in! posted:

It should still work as long as you have Windows boot camp shouldnt it? You're probably joking, but I know you secretly want oculus rift porn, don't lie. We all do.

Yeah, but I want it to look decent and fall within the company's required range so as to not get horribly motion sick/miss out on some important aspect of relative realism. The minimum requirements aren't huge but they're sorta beyond the current capabilities of this existing crop of Macs. And GPU performance/playing on higher settings matters a lot more to VR than it does to traditional PC games so it's not like there isn't a strong incentive to get the best card possible.

I wanna buy a $400 HOTAS system and just fly around space for days. I wanna get all the space games. Every single one that's been advertised.

I think VR porn would make me horribly motion sick.

I said come in!
Jun 22, 2004

Electric Bugaloo posted:

Yeah, but I want it to look decent and fall within the company's required range so as to not get horribly motion sick/miss out on some important aspect of relative realism. The minimum requirements aren't huge but they're sorta beyond the current capabilities of this existing crop of Macs. And GPU performance/playing on higher settings matters a lot more to VR than it does to traditional PC games so it's not like there isn't a strong incentive to get the best card possible.

I wanna buy a $400 HOTAS system and just fly around space for days. I wanna get all the space games. Every single one that's been advertised.

I think VR porn would make me horribly motion sick.

I'm in the same boat. I'm hoping Sony's Morpheus is good, but after seeing Oculus Rift on Xbox One i'm not feeling confident anymore. So you're probably pretty excited for Eve: Valkyrie? That's the one VR game I really want to play.

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trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

I said come in! posted:

I'm in the same boat. I'm hoping Sony's Morpheus is good, but after seeing Oculus Rift on Xbox One i'm not feeling confident anymore. So you're probably pretty excited for Eve: Valkyrie? That's the one VR game I really want to play.

EVE: Valkyrie
Elite: Dangerous
No Man's Sky
Star Citizen

The biggie for me is Elite, but that likely has more to do with the fact that it's the one I've read up on the most. Ideally I'd like to try them all out.

I normally can't give two shits about PC gaming but I can't wait to get my mitts on this stuff.

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