killermike2178

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killermike2178
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  • Seven new MacBook & MacBook Pro models on the way

    What Apple needs to do with their MacBook lineup:

    1. Kill off the Retina 12" MacBook. In a world where a faster MacBook Air with a 13.3" inch screen exists, there is no reason for this thing to still be in the ecosystem, especially considering it hasn't been updated in 2 years. 

    2. Rebrand the 13" MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar as the MacBook. When I see the word MacBook without a trailing Air or Pro, I think of something that's slightly heavier and more powerful than the Air, but not quite as powerful as the Pro with Touch Bar, which is exactly what it is as of right now, though it could use some soec bumps to remain relevant, since it also hasn't been updated in 2 years.

    3. Everybody keeps talking about Apple bringing a 16-16.5" MacBook Pro with a nearly bezel-less design sometime next year, and I'm here thinking "Y'all do remember that Apple used to have a 17" MacBook Pro, right?" I say bring *that* back with a Retina 4K screen, and with a slightly larger battery, so they can double or even quadruple the memory capacity, especially if the current 15" model has two SODIMM slots with soldered modules. Samsung has 32 GB ECC SODIMM modules in the works, so if they can double that to 4 slots in a larger Logicboard, then they could easily give us a mobile i9 with 128 GB of RAM or better yet,  a mobile Xeon with 128 GB of ECC RAM. Maybe bump up that Vega 20 to something better with 8 or even 16 GB of HBM2 VRAM. Other laptop manfacturers (Dell and Lenovo come to mind) have 17" pro notebooks that are beefier than their 15" counterparts, it's time Apple did the same. 
    Jake Dansarge
  • OWC offering higher capacity and more affordable RAM options for 2019 iMac 5K

    Fatman said:
    Can anyone confirm if the internal SSD can be user upgraded with a 1TB or 2TB Samsung drive?
    If you're referring to an NVMe drive, you're out of luck, as Apple uses proprietary NVMe drives with their iMacs that have different pin layouts than standard NVMe drives.
    watto_cobra
  • The only way to get 256GB RAM in an iMac Pro is to buy a custom configuration from Apple

    sdw2001 said:
    I personally wouldn't buy an iMac for tasks that a Mac Pro should be used for.  The iMac is an appliance which is defined as much by its limitations as its strengths. 

    Why, because of the name?  The iMac Pro blows the current (6 year old) Mac Pro away.  Right now, there is literally no reason to buy a Mac Pro over an iMac Pro.  In fact, there is no reason to buy it all.  It's a mess.  Apple will need a new form factor and specs that are truly workstation class to have people buy it.  If I was in the market, I'd buy an iMac pro in a second.  
    You mean to tell me that a computer line launched in 2017 that has newer CPU, GPU, memory, SSD, and peripheral ports performs better than a computer line that launched 4 years earlier?! I'm shocked, I tell you! Shocked!
    neilm
  • Benchmarks for high-end iMac 5K show 75 percent speed gain over 2017 model

    frank777 said:
    OWC sells a 2.0TB SSD for $449.99, while Apple charges $1,100.00 to step up to a 2TB SSD from the 'Best' config of the iMac.
    And in modern Apple fashion, there's no way to upgrade the SSD yourself. 

    Given that I am working with a pure 1TB SSD in my current 2009 iMac, I'm unwilling to 'step down' to a Fusion Drive for my next-gen machine.
    Even if the actual working difference is small. I may end up keeping my next machine for another decade.

    Everything else looks fine. It's powerful, the RAM is upgradable and even if the graphics card is soldered in, 8GB should be fine for awhile.

    The only real problem here for me is the lack of a replaceable SSD, so I wait to see what the Mac Pro brings.
    Not trying to defend Apple here, but if you'll forgive the expression, it's not an apples to apples comparison. That 2 TB SSD option from Apple is an NVMe drive, while the OWC 2TB SSD is a SATA III drive. NVMe is significantly faster than SATA III, so Apple's SSD actually is better than the OWC SSD, though I don't know if it's "more than twice the price" better, but it is better. Apple is also using a proprietary NVMe drive with special connector, so you can't buy an NVMe drive of your own to put it in, only Apple can do it. The price is evil, but it's a necessary evil if you want the most speed out of your iMac.
    frank777watto_cobraescargot
  • Benchmarks for high-end iMac 5K show 75 percent speed gain over 2017 model

    According to Wikipedia's info regarding the current iMac line, the iMac 19,1 is the 21.5" 4K model and the iMac 19,2 is the 27" 5K model. Yup, it looks like these are Hackintosh's...
    watto_cobra