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japtor
Oct 28, 2005

Electric Bugaloo posted:

I normally can't give two shits about PC gaming but I can't wait to get my mitts on this stuff.
Well that's pretty much why I'm building a PC and will probably try a hackintosh partition/drive while I'm at it.

...or that's my excuse for doing so at least. Never been much of a PC gamer (but have occasionally bought stuff on Steam cause why not :shepspends:) so it's mostly just wanting faster hardware in general while not wanting anything in the current Mac lineup. Maybe a Mac Pro when Skylake Xeons (and much better GPUs) roll around in 2017 or whenever. Or probably a TB3 Mac mini until then if I end up getting too annoyed by the hackintosh :v:

Actually with TB3 Intel is approving GPU purposed PCIe enclosures so I guess that might be a viable option, at least for Windows gaming.

japtor fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Jul 3, 2015

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I said come in!
Jun 22, 2004

Electric Bugaloo posted:

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.

It helps too that Elite Dangerous is actually out and playable. :P The other games are not coming out anytime soon.

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

japtor posted:

Actually with TB3 Intel is approving GPU purposed PCIe enclosures so I guess that might be a viable option, at least for Windows gaming.

It was only ever gonna be Windows gaming. The question is whether or not you're running Windows on a Mac.

Pertplus
Nov 7, 2009

Is there something wrong with my 2015 13" MBPr? Something inside it rattles if I shake it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAmYGoB_uzA

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

Pertplus posted:

Is there something wrong with my 2015 13" MBPr? Something inside it rattles if I shake it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAmYGoB_uzA

Yeah. It's not supposed to sound like that. Maybe one of the battery packs came unglued?

Red Oktober
May 24, 2006

wiggly eyes!



Yes. I've just shaken my 2015 13" MBPr in exactly the same way, and it's total silence. Something is unstuck. Try and exchange.

Fanatic
Mar 9, 2006

:eyepop:
My early 2011 17" Macbook Pro started crashing and getting stuck on a grey screen with pink vertical stripes on bootup. So I took it to the Genius bar yesterday and they're going to replace the logic board for free, waiving the $720 fee! :woop:

Was kind of surprised they honoured the known issue thing considering it's now over four years old and has 3rd party RAM and battery. The iFixit way to replace the logic board looks like a pain in the rear end so I'm so glad I don't have to do it now. Thanks Apple. :)

Cozmosis
Feb 16, 2003

2006... YEAR OF THE BURNITZ, BITCHES
Took my 2011 MBA to the Apple Store due to it randomly shutting off on battery power. Genius thought it was a little odd so I casually mentioned maybe something was loose and was ready to spend the $$ for the battery replacement. Takes it into back, reseats some cable, and now its as good as new (-30% battery charge)!

This thing might last me until Skylake after all.

Cingulate
Oct 23, 2012

by Fluffdaddy
Is it plausible to assume Apple will put some Skylake Core M chip into the 2nd iteration of the new Macbook?

Hiowf
Jun 28, 2013

We don't do .DOC in my cave.
That and a second USB port is a reasonable bet.

Incomplete Fish
Apr 22, 2006

Grimey Drawer

Fanatic posted:

My early 2011 17" Macbook Pro started crashing and getting stuck on a grey screen with pink vertical stripes on bootup. So I took it to the Genius bar yesterday and they're going to replace the logic board for free, waiving the $720 fee! :woop:

Was kind of surprised they honoured the known issue thing considering it's now over four years old and has 3rd party RAM and battery. The iFixit way to replace the logic board looks like a pain in the rear end so I'm so glad I don't have to do it now. Thanks Apple. :)

There is a recall on that particular model. I don't know if I'm more upset that they made it seem like they are saving you money, or that they failed to let you know that your PC has a recall-extended warranty until mid February.

FTR, you wouldn't have to pay full price for a logic board, even if your system was out of warranty completely. Depot repairs fix any issue you say is wrong w/ your computer and its a flat rate of something like ~300 dollars.

I'm on my fourth logic board, fwiw. If it happens to you again write an email to "tcook@apple.com" and make it a real sob story, you'll get an Actual Person to call you back from executive support whose number and email you should hold on to.

edit to clarify: in case you care, those models get so hot that they melt the solder under the GPU (the same as the xbox360 red ring of death) causing the issues that you saw. Most people do the official support thing(myself included) but there are also 3rd party reballing services (dont really recommend these b/c you have no clue what kind of condition the replacement GPU they are using is in) combined with using proper brand and amount of thermal paste on the heat spreader (from the factory apple puts on incredible amounts of thermal paste which actually end up raising temperatures. Between 10-20 deg cooler temperatures are expected from redoing the paste yourself on these laptops)

Incomplete Fish fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Jul 5, 2015

BobHoward
Feb 13, 2012

The only thing white people deserve is a bullet to their empty skull

Incomplete Fish posted:

There is a recall on that particular model. I don't know if I'm more upset that they made it seem like they are saving you money, or that they failed to let you know that your PC has a recall-extended warranty until mid February.

In my experience they print the dollar amount of the repair on the invoice even when you're getting plain old non extended warranty service. I don't think the intent is to make you think "holy poo poo I just saved $N", I've seen that on car warranty repair too.

quote:

in case you care, those models get so hot that they melt the solder under the GPU (the same as the xbox360 red ring of death)

Despite internet legend, solder melting during normal operation is not a thing which actually happens. If things did get that toasty inside a laptop or 360, the real problem (cracked solder joints due to metal fatigue from thermal expansion and contraction) might actually solve itself, but you'd have other far more serious problems. (Like fire)

JHVH-1
Jun 28, 2002
For my 2011 15" MBP they said I was out of luck for the GPU warranty extension and I had to pay for the logic board replacement, so I ended up just saying OK. It was only around $300 and the laptop was still decent so I figured I might as well. They sent it out to be repaired and it came back with new ram, replaced display because it didn't meet spec, and a new logic board. They basically ran all their tests and fix anything that doesn't meet spec, but then they ended up not billing me anyway. I don't know, it was all weird but even if I had to pay out of pocket it was better than having the machine go to waste.

japtor
Oct 28, 2005

Skuto posted:

That and a second USB port is a reasonable bet.
Or just replace the existing one with a TB3 port.

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

Cingulate posted:

Is it plausible to assume Apple will put some Skylake Core M chip into the 2nd iteration of the new Macbook?

My big question is how fast they'll move (or deliberately not move) on Thunderbolt 3-as-USB-C.

On the one hand, anything that could potentially help further standardize Thunderbolt (like the new chipless capabilities that will make certain cables super cheap) and fit into their "USB-C is the future, full speed ahead" idea should appeal to them enough to make it into production ASAP.

At the same time, Apple also have a long history of doing whatever the hell they want vis-a-vis incorporating tech/capabilities. They might also want to preserve continuity with existing Thunderbolt products and workflows. Pros are basically the only people really buying into Thunderbolt and there's an argument to be made about not switching the form-factor on them so soon- especially if they just bought computers for the sake of keeping up with Apple's movements. That said, the first sentence of this paragraph still applies.

It might also be a cost issue. I can't imagine that it would be that much more expensive to produce a MacBook motherboard with Thunderbolt capability but I dunno.

veni veni veni
Jun 5, 2005


fleshweasel posted:

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.

Yeah. My ancient Macbook has 160gb and I try to keep very little on it (got rid of all my MP3's years ago in favor of spotify etc.) and I find that just the few apps I have and random bullshit manage to fill it up every few months and I have to back and cull poo poo. 256 would be ideal.

Same with my iPhone 6. I just keep a few apps on it so i figured I'd be fine with a 16gb model but 16gb is loving worthless in tyool 2015.

BobHoward
Feb 13, 2012

The only thing white people deserve is a bullet to their empty skull

Electric Bugaloo posted:

My big question is how fast they'll move (or deliberately not move) on Thunderbolt 3-as-USB-C.

On the one hand, anything that could potentially help further standardize Thunderbolt (like the new chipless capabilities that will make certain cables super cheap) and fit into their "USB-C is the future, full speed ahead" idea should appeal to them enough to make it into production ASAP.

At the same time, Apple also have a long history of doing whatever the hell they want vis-a-vis incorporating tech/capabilities. They might also want to preserve continuity with existing Thunderbolt products and workflows. Pros are basically the only people really buying into Thunderbolt and there's an argument to be made about not switching the form-factor on them so soon- especially if they just bought computers for the sake of keeping up with Apple's movements. That said, the first sentence of this paragraph still applies.

It might also be a cost issue. I can't imagine that it would be that much more expensive to produce a MacBook motherboard with Thunderbolt capability but I dunno.

Here is my prediction, which I firmly believe is a safe one: the retina MacBook gets Thunderbolt 3 if and when Intel integrates Thunderbolt into Core M.

Historically Apple just waited on USB 3 until Intel integrated it into chipsets, even though they easily could've shipped USB 3 a year or two earlier if they'd plowed a buck or two per unit into a third party USB3 host controller chip. So there's that.

There's also the technical side. Unlike USB3, where I'm pretty sure they could have found space for a separate chip across the entire Mac product line of the time, there is no room for another significant chip on that teeny, tiny logic board. There's also no way that, in a computer with a tablet-like energy budget, Apple wants to pay the power required by a PCIe link between Core M and a separate Thunderbolt host controller. Integration would eliminate that power, the controller's going to be integrated or it simply won't be there at all.

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

BobHoward posted:

Here is my prediction, which I firmly believe is a safe one: the retina MacBook gets Thunderbolt 3 if and when Intel integrates Thunderbolt into Core M.

Historically Apple just waited on USB 3 until Intel integrated it into chipsets, even though they easily could've shipped USB 3 a year or two earlier if they'd plowed a buck or two per unit into a third party USB3 host controller chip. So there's that.

There's also the technical side. Unlike USB3, where I'm pretty sure they could have found space for a separate chip across the entire Mac product line of the time, there is no room for another significant chip on that teeny, tiny logic board. There's also no way that, in a computer with a tablet-like energy budget, Apple wants to pay the power required by a PCIe link between Core M and a separate Thunderbolt host controller. Integration would eliminate that power, the controller's going to be integrated or it simply won't be there at all.

Yeah, I would never expect them to bring Thunderbolt to the MacBook if it meant having to go through third party controller hardware. But if Intel's committing to this new form-factor then it goes without saying that there are gonna be Intel-made systems that integrate USB C and Thunderbolt. The question is whether or not Apple will go for those options.

It makes complete sense from a hardware ecosystem perspective though. Thunderbolt-as-USB C solves the problem of making a single display/hub that can work across the Mac range. The Skylake refresh will bring Displayport 1.3, making 5k resolution output possible and substantially improving 4k output.

Apple have been Intel's biggest partner in developing Thunderbolt from the days when it was still Light Peak. They just launched a computer that had been floating around the rumor mill for like 2 years with USB-C but no onboard Thunderbolt (suggesting that the design had been ready to go for a while). Maybe this is what they've been waiting for all along?

Fanatic
Mar 9, 2006

:eyepop:

Incomplete Fish posted:

There is a recall on that particular model. I don't know if I'm more upset that they made it seem like they are saving you money, or that they failed to let you know that your PC has a recall-extended warranty until mid February.

FTR, you wouldn't have to pay full price for a logic board, even if your system was out of warranty completely. Depot repairs fix any issue you say is wrong w/ your computer and its a flat rate of something like ~300 dollars.
I was aware of the recall, but I didn't think it would still apply to my old system. But that's good to know. Found the release on it: https://www.apple.com/au/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

I'm in Australia so everything costs like double compared to the US in regards to Apple products which is why it had $720-something on the work order. But you're right though, the genius didn't say it was a recall, only that I wouldn't be charged anything.

So far I've never bothered getting an extended warranty on either of my MBP's because the only things that seem to break on them end up being known issues that get repaired for free anyway (from memory my 2008 one broke down with a known motherboard issue or something). :v:

Fanatic fucked around with this message at 07:36 on Jul 6, 2015

japtor
Oct 28, 2005
Re: TB3 stuff,
I don't think form factor is a big deal cause at least there'll be adapters, and ultimately there's not that many users out there. You might be pissing off higher end folks, but it's easier than what they already did by moving to USB-C on the MB and pissing off everyone. Apple pisses off niches all the time. Plus ultimately it's what the standard is, it's not like they can move to TB3 without adopting the new port. I think the bigger deal might be for the non high end people, cause if they use external video adapters it'll be the first change for them in like 6-7 years. MDP had a good run...at least compared to Apple's mini VGA, mini DVI, and micro DVI (along with the old Apple video adapters from way back).

Power wise Intel said something like targeting down to premium tablets (presumably also Core M), so it should be fine in that sense. But even then it's still a matter of taking some non zero amount of power, and particularly taking up physical space. On the other hand if Apple happens to want USB 3.1g2 the TB controller is Intel's solution for that afaik. Then there's the wild speculation part of it all, like ditching TB completely makes a lot more sense if you know the next version of TB will happen to fit right back in.

As for DP 1.3, I think TB would have to be updated again to support it, and it's somewhat of a moot point for 5K for Apple. They can just release their own TB3 5K display (using 2 DP channels), others can either go through dual DP connections...or maybe USB-C (DP 1.3 alt mode)? Kinda amusing if that's the case, like DP over USB would be 1.3, but DP in TB over USB would be 1.2.

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!

They can move to USB-C, I don't give a gently caress.

The only thing I bought that uses Thunderbolt is the gigabit ethernet adapter and of course my Mini-DP video adapters

noirstronaut
Aug 10, 2012

by Cowcaster
Best SSD to buy for its price? Would like to get at least 256, 500+ if possible/cheap. I have a 500GB HDD in my MBP now and I may just remove it altogether since it's a secondary unit.

Bloodplay it again
Aug 25, 2003

Oh, Dee, you card. :-*
Were there any Mac edition cards released post Sapphire's 7950 that could go into a Mac Pro 4,1 or 5,1? I have an early 2009 and mid 2010 to upgrade and I'd like to throw something a little beefier than that into them. The 7950 Mac edition might suffice for the 4,1, but I might just throw the non Mac edition in and deal with firmware fuckery over paying $500 ( :v: ) at OWC. I was thinking about a GTX 970 in the 5,1 for CUDA-based applications, but I really would have to flash the card's firmware because I need video during bootup on this machine. I've only dabbled with GPU-related firmware rigging. Is this becoming more common or is it still a super niche secret traded between like four people who charge 3x for a video card?

Yeast
Dec 25, 2006

$1900 Grande Latte
Re: the whole new Thunderbolt deal, the next 15" MacBook Pro with the new chipset, would that be the right generation for Thunderbolt 3?

And, totally stupid question, will TB 3 be backwards compatible with TB2? I only ask because I use a Pegasus Raid Thunderbolt 2 system, and it's years away from earning its ROI.

1st AD
Dec 3, 2004

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: sometimes passing just isn't an option.
I believe Thunderbolt 3 will be backwards compatible BUT they're using a new connector.

Binary Badger
Oct 11, 2005

Trolling Link for a decade


Bloodplay it again posted:

Were there any Mac edition cards released post Sapphire's 7950 that could go into a Mac Pro 4,1 or 5,1? I have an early 2009 and mid 2010 to upgrade and I'd like to throw something a little beefier than that into them. The 7950 Mac edition might suffice for the 4,1, but I might just throw the non Mac edition in and deal with firmware fuckery over paying $500 ( :v: ) at OWC. I was thinking about a GTX 970 in the 5,1 for CUDA-based applications, but I really would have to flash the card's firmware because I need video during bootup on this machine. I've only dabbled with GPU-related firmware rigging. Is this becoming more common or is it still a super niche secret traded between like four people who charge 3x for a video card?

Go to MacRumors forums, specifically the Mac Pro thread, and look for a subthread entitled "Flashing R9 280X for boot screens/PCI System Information" and a lot of your questions will already be answered. Long story short, there's certain models of R9 280X/280 cards you can flash yourself, with pre-modded ROM images that will give you EFI boot screens that will be more powerful than the 7950s. And those cards can cost less than $250 or so depending on who has availability.

Caveats include certain ports not working, incompatibility with some Adobe apps that supposedly use OpenCL, misidentified cards in System Profiler, but as long as you have enough resources to create a BootCamp Windows 7+ partition with which to run the flash utilities it's pretty simple.

I already have modded several R9 280X cards that work perfectly with Mavericks-Yosemite and am testing their Metal compatibility in El Capitan. Running on a 1,1.

japtor
Oct 28, 2005

Yeast posted:

Re: the whole new Thunderbolt deal, the next 15" MacBook Pro with the new chipset, would that be the right generation for Thunderbolt 3?

And, totally stupid question, will TB 3 be backwards compatible with TB2? I only ask because I use a Pegasus Raid Thunderbolt 2 system, and it's years away from earning its ROI.
It sounds like it’ll work with whatever generation, TB uses its own controller (Alpine Ridge) to hook up to whatever is there. So it’ll be more a matter of timing but I think it’ll line up closely enough.

And yeah, compatible but different form factor. Intel showed off a dongle for TB1/2<->TB3, for forwards and backwards compatible connections.

Bloodplay it again
Aug 25, 2003

Oh, Dee, you card. :-*

Binary Badger posted:

Go to MacRumors forums, specifically the Mac Pro thread, and look for a subthread entitled "Flashing R9 280X for boot screens/PCI System Information" and a lot of your questions will already be answered. Long story short, there's certain models of R9 280X/280 cards you can flash yourself, with pre-modded ROM images that will give you EFI boot screens that will be more powerful than the 7950s. And those cards can cost less than $250 or so depending on who has availability.

Caveats include certain ports not working, incompatibility with some Adobe apps that supposedly use OpenCL, misidentified cards in System Profiler, but as long as you have enough resources to create a BootCamp Windows 7+ partition with which to run the flash utilities it's pretty simple.

I already have modded several R9 280X cards that work perfectly with Mavericks-Yosemite and am testing their Metal compatibility in El Capitan. Running on a 1,1.

Thanks for the info. I haven't looked since the GTX 970 was released, so it's nice to see there are some AMD cards that work with relatively little headache. Since the 300 series came out last month, I may hold off for just a bit to see if the 380 or 380x are supported soon. Most of my suppliers don't have any 280Xs left. From what I gathered, it seems like the multiple ports not working issue may be because people are using non-powered mdp adapters.

1st AD
Dec 3, 2004

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: sometimes passing just isn't an option.
I'm pretty sure the r9 290x and 295x2 work in Yosemite without kext fuckery, do as long as you can get those cards enough power they'll work.

Yeast
Dec 25, 2006

$1900 Grande Latte

japtor posted:

It sounds like it’ll work with whatever generation, TB uses its own controller (Alpine Ridge) to hook up to whatever is there. So it’ll be more a matter of timing but I think it’ll line up closely enough.

And yeah, compatible but different form factor. Intel showed off a dongle for TB1/2<->TB3, for forwards and backwards compatible connections.

That's super helpful, thanks!

enojy
Sep 11, 2001

bass rattle
stars out
the sky

Essentially all of the March 2015 MacBook Pros say "not available" for in-store purchase on Apple's web store. Is this really the case? I wanted to venture over to the store to get some hands on time and possibly purchase with the student discount, but it's a long drive to waste if they don't actually stock any of their preconfigured models.

Mu Zeta
Oct 17, 2002

Me crush ass to dust

Why don't you just call the store?

enojy
Sep 11, 2001

bass rattle
stars out
the sky

Mu Zeta posted:

Why don't you just call the store?

Oh god, good point. I'm getting to that point in tech dependency/familiarity that the idea of simply calling them didn't even occur to me.

Binary Badger
Oct 11, 2005

Trolling Link for a decade


MacNN is testing Samsung 840/850 Non-Pros/Pros SSDs to see if TRIM holds up in a new Mac Mini running 10.10.4.

So far, they've gotten some cell failures but no TRIM-related corruption.

Peteyfoot
Nov 24, 2007
I have a 2015 13" MacBook Pro, and am considering buying a 3840x2160
Dell P2415Q
as an external display in clamshell mode. Apple states the laptop supports that resolution, but I'm apprehensive about the Intel Iris Graphics 6100 smoothly pushing 8.2 million pixels. I don't do anything video intensive on my MacBook, unless you count playing Hearthstone. Should I be okay or is it more realistic to buy a 2560x1440 monitor instead?

enojy
Sep 11, 2001

bass rattle
stars out
the sky

Well, the institution that handles financing for Apple rejected me for reasons unknown (hilariously in a packed Apple store, no less,) so I had to go the Best Buy route. It actually worked out; they were having a sale that put the new MBPs about $15 more expensive than Apple's education discount, but I was able to take an extra $100 off via a BB student coupon. Success!

I'd like to get a silicone/rubberized skin just to preserve the finish (CATS) but there are tons of cheap ones on Amazon, and then the $40-50 Speck one sold in stores. Are there any that are generally recommended?

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

enojy posted:

Well, the institution that handles financing for Apple rejected me for reasons unknown (hilariously in a packed Apple store, no less,) so I had to go the Best Buy route. It actually worked out; they were having a sale that put the new MBPs about $15 more expensive than Apple's education discount, but I was able to take an extra $100 off via a BB student coupon. Success!

I'd like to get a silicone/rubberized skin just to preserve the finish (CATS) but there are tons of cheap ones on Amazon, and then the $40-50 Speck one sold in stores. Are there any that are generally recommended?

Get a sleeve/zipper case instead and just make a habit of putting it away when not in use. Those silicone skins get mad grody in my experience.

Butt Savage
Aug 23, 2007
Those silicone skins really do get loving disgusting after a while. Follow Electric Bugaloo's advice and enjoy that wonderful machine in all its naked glory.

1st AD
Dec 3, 2004

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: sometimes passing just isn't an option.
Silicone gets gross, but a hard plastic case is all right.

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

Butt Savage posted:

Those silicone skins really do get loving disgusting after a while. Follow Electric Bugaloo's advice and enjoy that wonderful machine in all its naked glory.

I started doing it with my iPad 7-8 months ago. It stays zipped up in an inexpensive (and actually really nice) Herschel sleeve when I'm not using it. I was initially scared that I'd drop it or ruin it in some other way for the first couple of weeks but that wore off once the habit crystallized.

No case, no skin, and nary a scratch.

If I moved my rMBP or had cats I'd probably keep it in a sleeve all the time too.

1st AD posted:

Silicone gets gross, but a hard plastic case is all right.

This too.

I just can't imagine a scenario involving anything made out of silicone and cats in close proximity without that object becoming a gross hairy mess.

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