Inside the new MacBooks: LSI, Battery, HD, and RAM

2

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ...Also hidden behind the lockable panel is the hard drive and RAM. The hard drive is held in place under the removable panel with a simple bracket attached with a single screw. Unscrew the strip and the drive pulls out for easy access and replacement...



    Hallelujah!



    It's about time a laptop have a drive as easy to remove as from a Dell!

    Corporate America has needed this for discoveries and Sarbanes-Oxley.

    Thank you Apple!
  • Reply 22 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    That's good service. Though a big disappointment.



    Apple should make the backlit keyboard an option for the $1,299 model. It's such a great feature I wish they'd make it standard across the board. Maybe it's another fix in the works for the store website ?



    And how about a full size backlit USB keyboard for my iMac ? I'd give up my full sized wireless keyboard for that and pay nicely for it too.



    eliotw
  • Reply 23 of 52
    Today I purchased two Macbook 2.4Ghz machines with backlighting. Overall I am impressed with these machines but was surprised to find a remote was not included. My iMac remote works fine with the MacBook.
  • Reply 24 of 52
    The stuff about the memory is totally information free. Yes we know that they say that Apple say 4GB max for both MB and MBP. The question is does the hardware support it? I would think there is no OS limitation because MacPros already support greater than 4GBs memory.



    Does anyone have any solid information. Put aside the fact that there are no 4G SIMMs, they will come.
  • Reply 25 of 52
    dcj001dcj001 Posts: 301member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by djsincla View Post


    Today I purchased two Macbook 2.4Ghz machines with backlighting. Overall I am impressed with these machines but was surprised to find a remote was not included. My iMac remote works fine with the MacBook.



    Apple stopped including remotes with MacBooks at the last MacBook product update. They're listed as an option when a MacBook is bought online at the Apple Store for only $19 more.



    Not including them makes sense to me. If someone has more than one Mac, why would they need more than one remote? If another one is needed, it can be purchased. Plus, not including them with new MacBooks reduces costs - increases profits somewhat.
  • Reply 26 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Liquid submersion indicators



    would've been cool if they somehow utilized these indicators to protect the computer.
  • Reply 27 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by merdhead View Post


    The stuff about the memory is totally information free. Yes we know that they say that Apple say 4GB max for both MB and MBP. The question is does the hardware support it? I would think there is no OS limitation because MacPros already support greater than 4GBs memory.



    Does anyone have any solid information. Put aside the fact that there are no 4G SIMMs, they will come.



    They're available now. They're just not priced where the average mortal can afford them.



    http://www.crucial.com/store/partspe...=CT51264BC1067
  • Reply 28 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JimDreamworx View Post


    Hallelujah!



    It's about time a laptop have a drive as easy to remove as from a Dell!

    Corporate America has needed this for discoveries and Sarbanes-Oxley.

    Thank you Apple!



    Don't you mean a hard drive as easy to STEAL, just like a Dell? Not sure if this is such a great idea. Now the hard drive can be stolen within seconds, rather than having to remove the entire back cover and series of mounting screws. Even the prior MacBook required slightly extra effort to remove the drive. Now a system with confidential data can be compromised in seconds.
  • Reply 29 of 52
    eauviveeauvive Posts: 237member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by merdhead View Post


    The stuff about the memory is totally information free. Yes we know that they say that Apple say 4GB max for both MB and MBP. The question is does the hardware support it? I would think there is no OS limitation because MacPros already support greater than 4GBs memory.



    Does anyone have any solid information. Put aside the fact that there are no 4G SIMMs, they will come.



    There can be two limitations:



    1. The OS limits the amount of RAM accessible. This is unlikely, since Leopard is a 64-bit OS that has been purpously developed to overcome the 4GiB limit that plagues the 32-bits OS. Yet, that limitation might be enforced in the BIOS and not overcome by Leopard. In this case, an other OS might give different results.



    2. The hardware limits it, that is to say there is no spare address lines on the RAM connector. Might be. In which case there is simply nothing that can be done. A few years ago, this was simple to test with a plain ohmmeter. Now, you cannot access chipset pins with those BGA packages, so you have to put an oscilloscope or a logic analyser to capture any transition happening eg. on the A32 or A33 signal. That's the only way to be sure the pin is connected to the chipset, apart from, of course, connecting 4 GiB modules.
  • Reply 30 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post




    The two RAM slots are only accessible after removing the battery bay cover, the battery, and then taking off the back cover which is held in place by 8 screws. This is more work than the RAM slots that were accessible from inside the battery bay on the MacBooks, and slightly more complicated than removing the partial cover on the previous-generation MacBook Pro.



    And you can do this without voiding the warranty, right?
  • Reply 31 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EauVive View Post


    There can be two limitations:



    1. The OS limits the amount of RAM accessible. This is unlikely, since Leopard is a 64-bit OS that has been purpously developed to overcome the 4GiB limit that plagues the 32-bits OS. Yet, that limitation might be enforced in the BIOS and not overcome by Leopard. In this case, an other OS might give different results.



    2. The hardware limits it, that is to say there is no spare address lines on the RAM connector. Might be. In which case there is simply nothing that can be done. A few years ago, this was simple to test with a plain ohmmeter. Now, you cannot access chipset pins with those BGA packages, so you have to put an oscilloscope or a logic analyser to capture any transition happening eg. on the A32 or A33 signal. That's the only way to be sure the pin is connected to the chipset, apart from, of course, connecting 4 GiB modules.



    Well actually the 4GB modules are here

    http://www.crucial.com/store/partspe...=ya08&cpe=ya08



    The question is will they work. My guess is that you can install them but the chipset will only recognize 6.8GB (8GB minus chipset and graphics addresses) That is my hope. I just don't want to spend the money before I know it is true.
  • Reply 32 of 52
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rasmoose View Post


    And you can do this without voiding the warranty, right?



    Right!
  • Reply 33 of 52
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gonzo2 View Post


    Well actually the 4GB modules are here

    http://www.crucial.com/store/partspe...=ya08&cpe=ya08



    The question is will they work. My guess is that you can install them but the chipset will only recognize 6.8GB (8GB minus chipset and graphics addresses) That is my hope. I just don't want to spend the money before I know it is true.



    As has been mentioned, the lines on the sockets mat not be there.



    Apple could have limited this for the reason of power. 8 Gb will get hotter than 4 GB, and shorten the battery run time.
  • Reply 34 of 52
    eauviveeauvive Posts: 237member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    As has been mentioned, the lines on the sockets mat not be there.

    Apple could have limited this for the reason of power. 8 Gb will get hotter than 4 GB, and shorten the battery run time.



    This might be true at first, when higher capacities are achieved by stuffing more chips on the module. Now, when the next generation of RAM comes out, the capacity is multiplied by 4 without any significant increase in consumption, because the transistor size is diminished and the leakage also.



    At that, note that Apple pretends that battery life is the same regardless of the amount of RAM installed (2 or 4).
  • Reply 35 of 52
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EauVive View Post


    This might be true at first, when higher capacities are achieved by stuffing more chips on the module. Now, when the next generation of RAM comes out, the capacity is multiplied by 4 without any significant increase in consumption, because the transistor size is diminished and the leakage also.



    At that, note that Apple pretends that battery life is the same regardless of the amount of RAM installed (2 or 4).



    Regardless, going from 4 to 8 will result in more power being used, as well as more heat.
  • Reply 36 of 52
    eauviveeauvive Posts: 237member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    Regardless, going from 4 to 8 will result in more power being used, as well as more heat.



    Well, I've just checked on the Micron inc. website: they offer 2 as well as 4 GB SODIMM PC-1033. The 2 GB module sucks at most 3.2 A (3.2 A × 1.5 V is 4.8 W), whereas the 4 GB consumption is 3.6 A (3.6 A × 1.5 V is 5.4 W). The net difference is 600 mW. Twice that is 1.2 W.



    On a 5-hour use, it means 4 Ah net difference (2 × 0.4 A × 5 h). I guess it will not hamper the autonomy that much. Given that the typical figures are going to be much less than those overpessimistic estimations.
  • Reply 37 of 52
    rokkenrokken Posts: 236member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by eliotw View Post


    Apple should make the backlit keyboard an option for the $1,299 model. It's such a great feature I wish they'd make it standard across the board. Maybe it's another fix in the works for the store website ?



    And how about a full size backlit USB keyboard for my iMac ? I'd give up my full sized wireless keyboard for that and pay nicely for it too.



    eliotw



    I would love to see it being an option for the $1,299 model, too, but people will hardly go for their higher model if they do so. Speed bump etc. don't justify that $300.
  • Reply 38 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DCJ001 View Post


    Apple stopped including remotes with MacBooks at the last MacBook product update. They're listed as an option when a MacBook is bought online at the Apple Store for only $19 more.



    Not including them makes sense to me. If someone has more than one Mac, why would they need more than one remote? If another one is needed, it can be purchased. Plus, not including them with new MacBooks reduces costs - increases profits somewhat.



    Kind of like how some airlines now make you every single piece of checked luggage. You can justify it just like the airlines do, but in reality it's just plain shitty.



    Incidentally, if you've got more than one Mac, wouldn't pairing the same remote with both of them be a bad idea? Unless you like both of your computers to play music/movies simultaneously...
  • Reply 39 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hillstones View Post


    Don't you mean a hard drive as easy to STEAL, just like a Dell? Not sure if this is such a great idea. Now the hard drive can be stolen within seconds, rather than having to remove the entire back cover and series of mounting screws. Even the prior MacBook required slightly extra effort to remove the drive. Now a system with confidential data can be compromised in seconds.



    The article mentions that the entire panel can be locked, i think. A friend of mine works at an apple store, and says that 4-5 MBPro batteries would get stolen from display models every week over the past couple years. The new ones are behind a cover, which apparently will be locked somehow in the store.
  • Reply 40 of 52
    dunksdunks Posts: 1,254member
    Someone should develop a gas treatment to deactivate the liquid submersion indicators.



    I'm thinking put your laptop in a ziplock plastic bag, pop a sachet to mix two reagents in the bag, leave it overnight and shazzam the indicators will be permanently white.



    I've been a victim of the whole "sorry we're not replacing your faulty phone because the man at the factory said it got wet" (Never mind that it was partially working!!!) scam one time too many. I'm glad it was only a $79 phone!
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