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Anything newer than a 2016 MBP has a soldered in SSD, not upgradable, not replaceable.

https://blog.macsales.com/4461...

Problem was, when that original MacBook with the single USB-C came out, there really wasn't that spectacular, to put it mildly. Now, it is quite different! There are several inexpensive (~$50) USB-C Docks that have a typical compliment of, for example, 3 or 4 USB 3.0 Ports, an SD/MiniSD (and sometimes also a CF) slot, Gigabit Ethernet, 4k HDMI out (and sometimes VGA), and occasionally even Audio I/O, plus a pass-through USB-C charger port.

But the better ones need two USB-C ports. Also, if you are giving up your only USB-C port for a dock that doesn't provide a functional USB-C port, then what's the point of having a device with USB-C ports? It's a lot more reasonable on the Pro, where you only give up half of your USB-C ports.

The biggest problem with the MacBook is that Apple completely misunderstood its target market. Students, on average, have limited desk space, so they have a laptop sitting on their desks, and their phone is plugged into the laptop to charge. With only one port, you can't do that. They designed the thing to be more like an iPad, acting like an accessory device, failing to recognize that laptops are more typically used as the central hub for your digital life.

The only ones I have seen that eat up 2 USB-C ports are the ones that attach directly to the side of the MacBook Pro, and use the second Port merely for Stability.

I say that, because they don't have any more capability than the similar ones that only use ONE USB-C port. Like these, for example:

https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-... [amazon.com]

https://www.amazon.com/HyperDr... [amazon.com]

https://www.amazon.com/VAVA-VA... [amazon.com]

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter... [amazon.com]

And that was with about 2 min. searching on Amazon. There are many more configs., sizes, and price-points.

But, as I said, I am not a fan of the single USB-C port MacBook. I agree it took a good idea too far. But the MacBook Pro 13" has 2 USB-C/TB3 Ports, and of course the 15" has FOUR. With the 15", you can actually have a "fanout" of up to FIFTY-TWO Ports, using the OWC 13-Port ThunderBolt Dock:

https://eshop.macsales.com/sho...

Or, if you don't need FireWire, they sell a 12 Port model for $60 less:

https://eshop.macsales.com/sho...

Those are on the VERY high-side as far as cost; but they really DO demonstrate the extraordinary port-flexibility afforded by ThunderBolt 3.

Yes, USB-C does not imply Thunderbolt 3 (I don't think); but if we are talking what Apple has to offer, then this demonstrates both the low and high-ends of port-expansion.

Problem was, when that original MacBook with the single USB-C came out, there really wasn't that spectacular, to put it mildly. Now, it is quite different! There are several inexpensive (~$50) USB-C Docks that have a typical compliment of, for example, 3 or 4 USB 3.0 Ports, an SD/MiniSD (and sometimes also a CF) slot, Gigabit Ethernet, 4k HDMI out (and sometimes VGA), and occasionally even Audio I/O, plus a pass-through USB-C charger port.

But the better ones need two USB-C ports. Also, if you are giving up your only USB-C port for a dock that doesn't provide a functional USB-C port, then what's the point of having a device with USB-C ports? It's a lot more reasonable on the Pro, where you only give up half of your USB-C ports.

The biggest problem with the MacBook is that Apple completely misunderstood its target market. Students, on average, have limited desk space, so they have a laptop sitting on their desks, and their phone is plugged into the laptop to charge. With only one port, you can't do that. They designed the thing to be more like an iPad, acting like an accessory device, failing to recognize that laptops are more typically used as the central hub for your digital life.

The only ones I have seen that eat up 2 USB-C ports are the ones that attach directly to the side of the MacBook Pro, and use the second Port merely for Stability.

I say that, because they don't have any more capability than the similar ones that only use ONE USB-C port. Like these, for example:

https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-... [amazon.com]

https://www.amazon.com/HyperDr... [amazon.com]

https://www.amazon.com/VAVA-VA... [amazon.com]

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter... [amazon.com]

And that was with about 2 min. searching on Amazon. There are many more configs., sizes, and price-points.

But, as I said, I am not a fan of the single USB-C port MacBook. I agree it took a good idea too far. But the MacBook Pro 13" has 2 USB-C/TB3 Ports, and of course the 15" has FOUR. With the 15", you can actually have a "fanout" of up to FIFTY-TWO Ports, using the OWC 13-Port ThunderBolt Dock:

https://eshop.macsales.com/sho...

Or, if you don't need FireWire, they sell a 12 Port model for $60 less:

https://eshop.macsales.com/sho...

Those are on the VERY high-side as far as cost; but they really DO demonstrate the extraordinary port-flexibility afforded by ThunderBolt 3.

Yes, USB-C does not imply Thunderbolt 3 (I don't think); but if we are talking what Apple has to offer, then this demonstrates both the low and high-ends of port-expansion.

Depends on your model. My 2007 Macbook can only go up to 10.7 (Lion), while Macbook Pros sold during the same time can go up to El Capitan (10.11).

Strangely, it seems that the base Macbook from 2009 supports 10.13 (High Sierra), but not the Macbook Pro from 2009. Also the Macbook Air from 2009 does not support 10.13, but that I would expect to have a shorter lifespan than the base Macbook.

Source.

Limited Features? Like FOUR USB-C Ports on a Laptop, for an aggregate 80 Gb/s I/O bandwidth, and which can be easily and inexpensively broken-out into a MYRIAD of different configurations, up to FIFTY-TWO SIMULTANEOUS "Legacy" Ports?

Yeah, so I need a massive wodge of dongles to do anything useful.

By comparison a Thinkpad Carbon X1, has 2 USB-C, HDMI, USB-A, SD and sim. for which one doesn't need any dongles day to day.

Also 52? what? How did you come up with that number? USB supports up to 127 devides per bus.

And aparty from your previous copypasta, this is literally the only time I've seen someone spec a laptop in terms of aggregate I/O bandwidth. It's not a mainframe.

I didn't say 52 DEVICES (as in USB devices connected to a single USB bus); I said you can "break out" the 4 USB-C/TB3 Ports on a 2016/2017 MacBook Pro 15" laptop into a configuration that could encompass as many as 52 SIMULTANEOUS "Legacy" PORTS!!!

That was taken from the TB3 Dock that, AFAICT, has the most amount of "Legacy" Ports:

https://eshop.macsales.com/sho...

It has THIRTEEN Legacy Ports (including even a FireWire 800 Port!), ALL of which can be used SIMULTANEOUSLY. And notice that the FIVE USB Ports are USB 3.1, and EACH is a full-bandwidth Port, NOT part of a "HUB"; so whatever the total "fan-out" is of FIVE USB 3.1 Ports...

So, with the MacBook Pro having FOUR USB-C/TB3 Ports, that comes to FIFTY-TWO Simultaneous Legacy Ports!!!

I didn't say it was cheap; or even a configuration that most users would ever actually need; so don't even start that; but there are literally DOZENS of slightly less ambitious USB-C Docks on Amazon that have multiple USB 3.0 Ports, SD/MicroSD Card Slots, 4k HDMI (and sometimes VGA too), Gigabit Ethernet, sometimes Audio I/O, about the size of a dollar-Bill or smaller, and around $50-$80. For around $100, you can get one that has a more flexible video section, that allows dual displays, simultaneous use of HDMI and VGA, extended displays (not just mirroring) etc. Take your pick ACCORDING TO YOUR NEEDS!

And obviously, with any one of these Docks, you simply Don't need "multiple dongles"; you only have to pack ONE of these for day to day activities. These multi port USB-C Docks are small enough, and, other than the expensive OWC Thunderbolt Dock, cheap enough, so you can leave one at home, hooked up to your stuff, and throw one in your computer bag for on-the-go.

And you STILL have up to THREE UNUUSED USB-c/TB3 Ports to do whatever ELSE with!

NOW do you see why I expressed the I/O capability in aggregate bandwidth? Because of the sheer flexibility, there is really no other way to state it that comes anywhere close to reality.

Honestly, what's not to like?

It better write fast because you will NEVER be replacing it!

Since it is socketed that is exactly wrong. It's just as easy to replace as RAM if you have the right chips...

Why would you think OWC will not have an upgrade for it after a while? They have done that before with the Mac Pro, which has a custom SSD chip as well...

I'll take your response to mean your write speeds are about 10x slower. Which is fine, but some people would like lots faster disk I/O.

Hopefully Coreboot will be more widespread by then and UEFI can just be a compatibility layer on top of Coreboot.

FYI: https://eshop.macsales.com/gui... Plue Safari /Security, URFI and major Apps back to Lion (10.7.x) 64 bit

Developer here. I do some development on my MacBooks (newest is MacBook Pro from mid 2015). My ongoing wishlist:
- Large screens (DPI matters less than actual real estate): 15-inches or more, and vertical space is valuable
- At least two large/powered USB ports (today I have two large - Type A - and one powered)
- Two HDMI ports (today I have one; I use an adapter for my second monitor)
- Docking station (I do most of my work at one workstation where my monitors/keyboard/headphones live - today I plug/unplug 6 cables when I get in for the morning or back from a meeting)

No, I don't need a headphone jack. Bluetooth/wireless is a thing these days.

Sounds like you need a 2016 MacBook Pro with a nice TB3 Dock, like this:

One cable. Done. Three MORE Ports left!

https://blog.macsales.com/3856...

You could always buy a refurbished MacBook Pro from OWC that cost less and has a warranty.

And IIRC, your 2011 MBP only supported 16 GB after APPLE released a FIRMWARE REVISION.

Huh, they must have released that firmware revision on DAY ONE, then... Oh, wait, no... Intel makes the CHIPSETS that contain the RAM CONTROLLERS that DETERMINE HOW MUCH RAM IS SUPPORTED and APPLE'S FIRMWARE NEVER PLAYS A ROLE IN THAT.

By the way, it is very ANNOYING and REALLY DESTROYS YOUR CREDIBILITY when you type in RANDOM CAPITALS like you did throughout your ENTIRE POST.

Don't believe me? Ask yourself how annoyed you are and how credible you think I am after reading the above statements.

Funny; I just upgraded the RAM in a friend's mid-2010 Mac mini, and it required an Apple Firmware Update to recognize more than 8 GB of RAM. And the threads I was reading at the time also referred to that being necessary for some MBPs around that time-period.

Ok, it appears it was on the 2008-2010 MBPs; so yours was not affected. But Apple still may not have qualified their systems with > 8 GB at the time of release.

BTW, here's the link to the firmware (EFI) Update that allows the 2008-2010 MacBook Pros (and Mac Minis) to recognize more RAM than was "allowed" when the products were launched. Note that it also requires 10.6.6 or later; so it isn't just what the RAM controller can support that makes the difference:

https://eshop.macsales.com/sho...

Oh, and as for the "random" capitals. If Slashdot would get into the 20th Century (21st is asking too much!) and put a "rich text editor" in their Comments system (Macrumors has got the best one yet!), I wouldn't feel the need to resort to the old-skool method of "capitalizing for emphasis". It's a bad habit, I know; but my brain is old and grizzled...

My dog chewed up a pair I first had, and I found that the company was great and for $100 would replace them with a new pair which worked out great for me.

Sometimes good warranty service can offset a higher price. I buy computer parts from Other World Computing. A bit more expensive than what I can get from Hong Kong but OWC-branded parts have a three-year warranty. I recently sent back a 2.5"-to-3.5" bracket because the SATA cable snapped off the connector. I got a brand new part and the broken connector removed from the SATA cable.

you can do this already.

https://eshop.macsales.com/sho... [macsales.com]

Install your pair of BEEFY cards and go.

It's been an option for 3 years now.

Interesting...maybe I need to look back into this again.

I thought I'd read, a year or so ago..that expansion boxes for GPU wouldn't really work with Resolve or other applications running on OS X..on an iMac or older Macbook Pro....

Maybe things have changed...I'll look into this.

Thanks!

You wouldn't believe how impractical it is to try to rack mount a cylindrical computer.

You can rack them — for a price.

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Sonnet%20Technologies/RACKPRO2X/

you can do this already.

https://eshop.macsales.com/sho...

Install your pair of BEEFY cards and go.

It's been an option for 3 years now.

Holy crap!

I just came across this:

http://blog.macsales.com/39345...

This. This is the thing we need.

I literally just came across this and thought it worth mentioning...

http://blog.macsales.com/39345...

It's literally a base that attaches to a 2016 MBP that gives you everything that the MBP should have included in the first place.

The iPhone 7 contains no technology at all that didn't already exist in Samsung, Asus, and LG phones.

The 2016 Macbook pro is no different than any other Intel based laptop of the same class and half the price.

Face it, it's just sparkle you're paying for with the apple tax these days. Fabulous looks and specs, nothing innovative underneath.

Depends on the definition of the nebulous term "technology", now doesn't it? If you mean "It didn't have a built-in Transporter", then no. But having the world's fastest CPU and GPU and the best Security is certainly "Technology that doesn't exist" in other brands. As I said, it all hinges on the definition of "Technology". Too bad you had to resort to a bullshit catch-all term to try and prove your sad little point.

As for the MacBook Pros: Name me one other laptop of ANY brand and at ANY price that has 80 Gbps of available orthagonal, multifunction I/O bandwidth. Name me one other laptop of ANY brand and at ANY price that can potentially break-out its four Ports of I/O into up to FIFTY-TWO "legacy" I/O Ports (yes, I realize that is ridiculous; but it is theoretically possible). Name me one other laptop of ANY brand and at ANY price that can drive TWO external 5k Displays (in addition to its internal 5k), or FOUR external 4k Displays (in addition to its internal 5k). Name me one other laptop of ANY brand and at ANY price that has the Touch Bar (regardless of whether you think it is worthwhile or not).

I'm waiting...

A modular bottom panel is a pretty good idea. I suppose ideally the entire case would be designed around the bottom panel being swappable for a thicker one which included supplemental battery power and extra ports.

If they had a docking port on the bottom, this could almost be something a third party could deliver.

Your wish is OWC's command. They even put up to 4 TB of storage into it... I'm not sure about a bigger battery, though, but they're still finalizing specs. Probably are worried that another battery would make the whole thing too heavy and expensive.

On the front page, and only on the front page is a picture that shows a little bridge joining one of the Mac's ports with the DEC. Every other picture that I've seen omits that little detail.

No I haven't, because it's not designed for the real world. You know, the one where Ethernet cables, and USB 2/3.0 devices, HDMI, and SD Cards still exist and won't be going away for at least a decade. This isn't like parallel, serial or SCSI ports whose days were very clearly numbered when Apple cut them off. Losing access to floppies was annoying but still grudgingly inevitable. But USB? There is no excuse for removing those. HDMI? It's still being actively developed! Their new MBP will be obsolete long before HDMI is.

You're an idiot.

Every single argument you now make was made regarding serial and parallel ports (SCSI never caught on in the PC desktop world like it did on Macs) when the original iMac threw them away in favor of USB.

Every. Single. One.

People who buy Mac laptops are very much used to using an adapter to suit whatever display they are hooking to. Not many displays, even now, are DisplayPort; so, Adapter. Yet no one (or nearly so) whines about that. They just purchase an adapter or two and get on with their lives.

And with USB-C to USB-A, there's even FAR LESS of an excuse, since the Adapters are readily available for a pittance (sub $10).

Let's look at it this way: No single collection of Ports on a Laptop can serve everyone; but with the USB-C/TB3 that's available through inexpensive (for the most part) adapters, almost any I/O configuration can be attained. That is simply not true with other ports. USB-C/TB3 truly is One Port to Rule Them All...

People are whining and whining about how the new MBPs are not "Pro" because they don't have USB-A Ports or SD Slots? Are they retarded???

When you can get:

(2) Thunderbolt 3, Daisy chain and power up to 5 Thunderbolt 3 devices

Two USB-C ports

(5) USB 3.1 Gen 1, Including two high-power USB Type-A ports for fast mobile device charging

FireWire 800

Gigabit Ethernet

mini DisplayPort

SD Card reader

Audio combo port For headphones or microphones

S/PDIF digital audio

Out of Just ONE of FOUR USB-C/TB3 Ports on the new MBP, what's not to like? What's not "Pro" about THAT I/O capability?

Oh, and the TB2 version is not only $60 cheaper (for one less port), but the graphic demonstrates just HOW much I/O this is... NO laptop is going to have all these ports. None. And if they do, that's IT; whereas the MBP still has THREE MORE USB-C/TB3 Ports left that you can "break out" to even MORE I/O!!!

And the simple fact is the USB-C/TB3 ports on the new MBP are actually more, not less "Future Proof"; because there will be adapters and docks available from a wide variety of sources for a very long time to come. So, long after the last VGA port disappears off the same laptop, you'll still be able to buy an Adapter that will nicely extract/recreate those signals and have the proper connector to hook-up to your wax-cylinder player...

No I haven't, because it's not designed for the real world. You know, the one where Ethernet cables, and USB 2/3.0 devices, HDMI, and SD Cards still exist and won't be going away for at least a decade. This isn't like parallel, serial or SCSI ports whose days were very clearly numbered when Apple cut them off. Losing access to floppies was annoying but still grudgingly inevitable. But USB? There is no excuse for removing those. HDMI? It's still being actively developed! Their new MBP will be obsolete long before HDMI is.

You're an idiot.

Every single argument you now make was made regarding serial and parallel ports (SCSI never caught on in the PC desktop world like it did on Macs) when the original iMac threw them away in favor of USB.

Every. Single. One.

People who buy Mac laptops are very much used to using an adapter to suit whatever display they are hooking to. Not many displays, even now, are DisplayPort; so, Adapter. Yet no one (or nearly so) whines about that. They just purchase an adapter or two and get on with their lives.

And with USB-C to USB-A, there's even FAR LESS of an excuse, since the Adapters are readily available for a pittance (sub $10).

Let's look at it this way: No single collection of Ports on a Laptop can serve everyone; but with the USB-C/TB3 that's available through inexpensive (for the most part) adapters, almost any I/O configuration can be attained. That is simply not true with other ports. USB-C/TB3 truly is One Port to Rule Them All...

People are whining and whining about how the new MBPs are not "Pro" because they don't have USB-A Ports or SD Slots? Are they retarded???

When you can get:

(2) Thunderbolt 3, Daisy chain and power up to 5 Thunderbolt 3 devices

Two USB-C ports

(5) USB 3.1 Gen 1, Including two high-power USB Type-A ports for fast mobile device charging

FireWire 800

Gigabit Ethernet

mini DisplayPort

SD Card reader

Audio combo port For headphones or microphones

S/PDIF digital audio

Out of Just ONE of FOUR USB-C/TB3 Ports on the new MBP, what's not to like? What's not "Pro" about THAT I/O capability?

Oh, and the TB2 version is not only $60 cheaper (for one less port), but the graphic demonstrates just HOW much I/O this is... NO laptop is going to have all these ports. None. And if they do, that's IT; whereas the MBP still has THREE MORE USB-C/TB3 Ports left that you can "break out" to even MORE I/O!!!

And the simple fact is the USB-C/TB3 ports on the new MBP are actually more, not less "Future Proof"; because there will be adapters and docks available from a wide variety of sources for a very long time to come. So, long after the last VGA port disappears off the same laptop, you'll still be able to buy an Adapter that will nicely extract/recreate those signals and have the proper connector to hook-up to your wax-cylinder player...

Airs always rate low on repairability, 90% of the 11in form were sold with only 4gigs and usually a small ssd, which has a proprietary connector, newer models even use Apple's pentalobe screws (which are ridiculously small and easy to strip).

Yes, the pentalobes are a pain in the ass, but only when you first encounter them. Anyone who regularly goes inside computers has a multi-driver set with Phillips, Allen (hex), Torx, pentalobe, trilobe, square, security Torx, and flat. (Did I miss any?)

I fixed-up my girl's MacBook Air with a bigger SSD. Easy-peasy. Also stuck in a micro-CF card with a case-flush outer bezel for a scratch HD.

RE RAM, many Macs have been found to support more than in the official specs. Go to Other World Computing*, and you might discover your Mac supports 2x the RAM you thought it could! My MacBook Pro 8,2 (early 2011) was listed to max out at 8 GB RAM, but in fact supports 16 GB.

* I'm only plugging them because they keep track of what models can handle more RAM than spec'd for. Plus, I'm a lo-o-ong time satisfied customer.

It would be nice to be able to buy real reputable chargers and batteries for laptops/phones on Amazon but, as Apple is now proving, thats essentially impossible.

Buy from Other World Computing for Apple products. They also provide great warranty service for their own OWC products.

http://www.macsales.com/

What about them?

https://eshop.macsales.com/sho...

How the fuck am I supposed to click that? I have big, dumb, sausage fingers!

Get you mum to do it after she has finished soldering on the new memory chips which is what is required to upgrade an iMac's memory unless it is old or top of the line.

You have inordinately cheap disk

Because of Apple's tendency to solder the SSD to the mainboard in the Mac Pro and all current MacBook laptops other than the non-Retina MBP, an upgrade requires replacing the whole computer at a substantial cost. Only external storage is "inordinately cheap" on a Mac, and not all laptop use cases make external spinning rust practical.

I don't know what Mac Pro you're looking at that has the SSD soldered to the mainboard, but in the one on my desk, the SSD is a PCIe interface that's plugged into a socket on the back of one of the graphics cards. There are even third party replacements for them: https://eshop.macsales.com/sho...

Sure, you could find lots of value in compression.... and you can get it with file compression utilities.

That's fine, so long as these utilities can let the user mount an archive read-only as a folder and thereby let other applications see the archive's contents as files in as a folder. Does macOS Sierra introduce anything that interferes with OSXFUSE?

You mean like creating a compressed .dmg disk image (a capability that's existed all the way back to 10.0.0) that (by default) is mounted in /Volumes/[disk name] but from the Terminal can be mounted anywhere you like?

I was almost sold on a Mac Mini until I found out that you cannot upgrade the RAM in the newer models.

Buy and upgrade an older model from OWC.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Apple_Systems/Used/Macs_and_Tablets

The Mactard over-valuation of used Apple gear with old, generic components.

Other World Computing has great prices for used Macs.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Apple_Systems/Used/Macs_and_Tablets/

I know it's a crazy idea, but maybe if Apple built their own servers, they wouldn't have to worry about that.

Or they can buy a rack-mountable chassis for Mac Minis and Mac Pros from Other World Computing.

http://eshop.macsales.com/search/mac+rack

If you are seeing and understanding the issue from the point I stated, you will understand why QUALITY is IRRELEVANT and is NOT a concerned when one is buying a product.

When I worked for Dell on PC refresh projects, the number one request from the programmers was that they wanted a Mac instead of a Dell. Needless to say, that drove the Dell project manager up the wall. The Fortune 500 company spent a million bucks on Dells, but the programmers wanted Macs. Go figure.

For example, a person can afford only $200 right now. A PC (3-5 years lifetime product) costs $200 and a Mac (10-12 years lifetime product) costs $500.

If a person has $200, they're not going to buy a brand new Mac because doesn't Apple doesn't compete at that price point. If you do an apple to apple comparison (pun intended), most Macs are price competitive with similar hardware from other vendors. If someone wants to buy a used Mac, OWC has them for $350+.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Apple_Systems/Used/Macs_and_Tablets?_ga=1.141130353.2131978726.1453008213

In theory, yes Mac would be worth more for money (per your statement), but that has NOTHING to do with AFFORDABILITY.

I had $1,300 to buy a 2006 MacBook because I COULD AFFORD IT. Yes, I did paid the $200 premium for a black MacBook because it was cooler than white. When I took it into the Apple Store for repair in 2012, every employee stopped by to look at it because very few of them have ever seen a legendary black MacBook. Some even wept because they never got one at the time. Ten years later, thanks to this thread, I'm dusting it off, ordering a new battery and a tool kit to fix the fan, and installing Mac OS X Snow Leopard (the finest version of the OS ever). I just might get another ten years out of it.

$377, and that's from OWC, not exactly the cheapest outfit out there. The cheapest 1TB SSD currently runs for $323...

You'll have to try harder than that for an example, because that's already been defeated very handily.

Oh, and these guys will happily sell you shiny new SSD's with native OSX TRIM support.

(...besides, even without TRIM support there's no real difference for the average user in longevity or performance on an SSD. I've gone without it the whole time I've had mine; by the time the SSD wears out, I'll just go out and buy one twice the size - probably for the same price I paid for the 512GB Crucial SSD that I have shoved into my MBP right now.)

Strictly speaking, Apple shipped 4-lane PCIe2 SSDs in the Mac Pro. The Macbooks' motherboards are wired for it, in the name of future proofing perhaps, so the switch to 3x4 is only a single doubling over the state of the art, even if most people didn't realize what the state of the art was.

OWC provides proof!

According to this: http://blog.macsales.com/25878... OWC put a 4x PCIE SSD from a mac pro into a 2014 MBP and got the extra performance gain. i.e. the 2014 MBP has 4x PCIE wired to the connector, but by default ships with a 2x PCIE SSD. They expect to ship SSD upgrades for MBP "soon", so you're not out of luck if you have the previous model.

I like Macs but I would be concerned about they're being so ``closed''. Need more onboard disk space? You need to buy another Mac. (I'm talking about the ``Airs''; not sure about the bigger, more expensive models.)

They're (almost) all SSD now, but OWC has upgrades, including for the Air. I don't know what the upgrade would do for your warranty, however, but suspect "void it" might be the answer.

Used Macs are affordable at OWC.

About TRIM: I upgraded my MacBook with a 480Gb OCW SSD module myself. In the two years since I did that I have not given TRIM a second thought and I have not noticed the SSD performance taking a nosedive either. According to OCW the built in garbage collector on their drives is so efficient that there is no marked improvement in running TRIM on the drive and from what I have been able to find out this built in garbage collector actually seems to work pretty well. I suppose I lucked out when I bought that drive.

that means you are not writing enough to make a difference. Or they are massively overprovisioning.

For small erase sizes, writing zeros would be much, much faster if only the SSD spec specifically stated that writing zeros would have a TRIM effect. But it doesn't.

Some SSD makers' specs do state as such. See this description of how the controller in an OWC SSD works, which I found via this comment to the present story. The DuraWrite feature of SandForce SSD controllers stores trailing zeroes in a sector with a more efficient compressed encoding, which reduces write amplification in the same way that TRIM does.

In my experience, mac laptops cost 20% more and last twice as long as alternative PC laptop manufacturers. That doesn't seem like a bad deal to me.

That is an interesting point, however I have owned 5 Mac laptops over the years. A G3 PowerBook, A G4, PowerBook, 2 Core Duos and 1 Core 2 Duo. I have owned about the same number of PC laptops. I have not seen any improvement in reliability over the macs except in the case of ultra cheap netbooks that Apple doesn't directly compete with anyway. Neither of our points matter much as they are totally anecdotal. Also, the 20% figure you list is arbitrary and varies over the years. The point I was trying to make you ignore. Why pay more for Apple to preinstall an SSD for you when you can buy the SAME BRAND if not identical model number they use and install it for usually HALF the cost or less than what they charge for the upgrade? Answer THAT. That is what the article is about after all.

About TRIM: I upgraded my MacBook with a 480Gb OCW SSD module myself. In the two years since I did that I have not given TRIM a second thought and I have not noticed the SSD performance taking a nosedive either. According to OCW the built in garbage collector on their drives is so efficient that there is no marked improvement in running TRIM on the drive and from what I have been able to find out this built in garbage collector actually seems to work pretty well. I suppose I lucked out when I bought that drive.

About the cost of storage: The price of preinstalled Apple SSDs is pretty outrageous although I'm not sure that your claim of equivalent PC drives costing half or less is quite accurate. Do you have any accurate information on what the spare parts prices of Apple brand SSDs are? I'd be interested to know. While I draw the line at paying for an Apple brand SSD a price that is 2-3 times that of an equivalent PC SSD like you are suggesting I'm still not going to skimp on storage. My MSc project advisor wrote a paper on the efficiency of SSD controllers and one of the things that came out of that research was that in many cases the onboard memory management system on these SSD drives is crap but generally you also get what you pay for which only confirmed what experience had taught me. Buying a budget SSD is like buying budget brake pads for your car on Alibaba, direct from China...

And that concludes my rant.

See http://blog.macsales.com/21641... for an example of a properly designed SSD.

Some would argue that a "properly designed" SSD is one which permits me to control the amount of over-provisioning, which is the primary reason you don't need to TRIM one of those drives. Other drives have controllers which do the same job.

Users that don't want to have kext protection CAN turn it off see

The problem there is that disabling kext signing is global. Apple should provide a facility to disable it for a single kext.

My comment was in regard to "3rd Party SSDs in OSX." and is thus true. Apple has always disabled TRIM on those. You can even see Other World Computer (a primarily Mac related retailer) reference it in a blog post on their SSDs back in 2013. It's not a new thing with Yosemite. Only the stricter driver signing checking is new.

See http://blog.macsales.com/21641... for an example of a properly designed SSD.

kext signing is a GoodThing for security. Making the system less secure so that lazy implementors are protected isn't a good trade off.

Apple *should* have provided a better upgrade experience so that users wouldn't be surprised, or end up with unbootable systems. Users that don't want to have kext protection CAN turn it off see http://www.cindori.org/trim-en...

To me this is akin to Apple's desupport of WPS ages ago. It took everyone else a while to figure out that WPS was a major security hole (indeed, its still there for most consumers).

According to OWC, 2009 White MacBooks maxes out at 8GB and 2010 White MacBooks maxes out at 16GB. Plus the offer a trade-in rebate for your old memory.

If you have a Mac, you can't go wrong with OWC. I almost bought a Samsung SSD but went with a OWC SSD.

If you can't afford brand new Apple prices, check out the used Apple products at OWC.

you have to be loaded or have really poor financial decisionmaking to drop an extra grand on a piece of hardware

You need $300 for a used "late 2009" Mac to run the current OS X version. Considering that I spent $1,200 on a brand new Black MacBook (yes, I paid the extra $200 premium to get it in black) in 2006 that lasted eight years (or $150 per year), it was a good investment. Apple computers are quite durable.

Let's do the math. Spend $130 to get the CPU fan replaced at the Apple Store (which was what it cost two years ago), and another $130 for a Windows 10 CD. That's $230. For about $300, I could get a used Mac that could run the current version of Mac OS X. I think the answer is obvious.

What PCIe cards are you plugging in again? Graphics cards? You still have yet to demonstrate that it is not a novelty. I have never seen a CAD setup like that. Nor have I heard of a gaming rig that uses a laptop CPU but has an external graphics box. Maybe you're right and it will be all the rage in CAD houses.

What devices are these? Still graphics cards?

http://www.red.com/store/produ...
http://www.blackmagicdesign.co...
http://www.nvidia.com/object/q...
http://eshop.macsales.com/item...
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Du...

I could go on but really the answer is "Every single PCI-E card that exists." Or "Every single PCI-E card that is important to professional users that just because you don't know about doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

Annoyingly, you'd be able to use discrete graphics cards with any modern Mac if Apple would stop refusing to license thunderbolt PCIe bays.

Eh hoser?

"The OWC Mercury Helios PCIe Expansion Chassis gives users of Thunderboltâ port equipped computers including the Apple Mac mini, iMac, and MacBook the ability to tap into a wide variety of professional-level performance PCIe adapters that were once the sole domain of desktop workstations. Helios utilizes any half-length PCIe 2.0 card (up to 6.5") to provide a massive boost to your workflow."

You can't assure me jack shit. This is an appeal to emotion. Try getting help from apple when your machine is out of its expensive applecare warranty. Good luck. At least with a home built, it'll last as long as you want it to as parts are always readily available, and at no worse reliability than the crappy refurbs apple sticks into supposedly 'new' computers when they fail. They're usually cheaper too.

A whole pile of PC computer vendors can be accused of the fact that it is impossible to get support after the warranty runs out. As for Macs it is not as if they are somehow welded shut and impossible to repair. Some of the later model Macs can be hard to strip down but that's only what anybody with even a basic knowledge of computer repairs would expect from a super compact machine and the Macs are not that much different in this respect from what you get in super compact Windows/PC machines. While I haven't taken apart too many Mac Pros I have lost count of the number of out-of-warranty MacBooks and Mac Minis that I have stripped down, repaired, upgraded and restored to life. Spares are perhaps not quite as easy to come by as they are for home-build PCs (which is not surprising since that market is way bigger) and Mac parts are not as cheap as they are for home-builds (especially the lower end models) but there is a whole pile of parts vendors that specialise in Apple computers starting with Other World Computing.