The Official Mac Thread (Docs, Themes, Apps, Etc.)

[wrightone86]

I put them on my case when I decided to sticker bomb it. I didn't want to mess up the actual laptop and if/when I sold it I could just take the case off and be good to go.

 

[MakeNTGreatAgain]

???

I put a ton on the actual laptop. Hate using cases. #yolo

 

[foamtothedome]

Any updates on the OS, worth it?

 

[jewelknows]

^if you have an SSD absolutely worth it. Even without, my mac mini is running smoother and cooler. A lot of background stuff that changed in the OS to help it run better. Mainly the file system.

 

[a55a5in11]

Do you guys do a restore after you do an update? and if so what do you use to back up?

 

[PRIME]

So don't update?

Too late. Already bricked and can’t recover from any backups.

Took it to Apple and my hdd died. MID UPDATE

Had to cop a SSD for the time being. It’s a 5 year old HDD so I’m not too surprised just got some really important stuff that I have to try to recover

 

[QU!K]

Too late. Already bricked and can’t recover from any backups.

Took it to Apple and my hdd died. MID UPDATE

Had to cop a SSD for the time being. It’s a 5 year old HDD so I’m not too surprised just got some really important stuff that I have to try to recover

Sucks bro. Need da solid state in 2017 tho

 

[PRIME]

Sucks bro. Need da solid state in 2017 tho

FACTS. I don't know why I've waited so long. I thought upgrading my ram a couple years back was the answer to my issues, but this SSD is lightning fast.

I installed the SSD last night, fixed the issue and this thing is running like a brand new machine. If only the battery life could hang. I might upgrade the battery as well.


Going to cop a sata cable today and try to get my important files back

 

[wj4]

My 2012 MBP is still going strong. (Had SSD and maxed out ram installed in December of last year). The concern I have now is that the mousepad acts glitchy sometimes. I'll have to close the screen down when it doesn't work. That and the weight of it is heavier than the Surface Pro I use for work

With that said, I have no problems buying a new MBP, but I use the USB and SD card drives a lot. Those who made the transition and can relate, how did you make the adaptation?

Are there still new MBP's from last generation to be had at great prices?

 

[a55a5in11]

My 2012 MBP is still going strong. (Had SSD and maxed out ram installed in December of last year). The concern I have now is that the mousepad acts glitchy sometimes. I'll have to close the screen down when it doesn't work. That and the weight of it is heavier than the Surface Pro I use for work

With that said, I have no problems buying a new MBP, but I use the USB and SD card drives a lot. Those who made the transition and can relate, how did you make the adaptation?

Are there still new MBP's from last generation to be had at great prices?

did you put a replace the HD and leave the CD drive? I'm thinking about putting an SSD in my late 2011 pro and can't decide if i want to replace the CD drive with and SSD or replace the HD with an SSD and leave the CD drive

 

[PRIME]

Anyone ever purchased from a third party dealer on Walmart.com?

I'm eying a 12" MacBook space grey for $800. Thinking about pulling the trigger. But I don't know how legit Walmart marketplace sellers are.

 

[bowflex]

did you put a replace the HD and leave the CD drive? I'm thinking about putting an SSD in my late 2011 pro and can't decide if i want to replace the CD drive with and SSD or replace the HD with an SSD and leave the CD drive

The SSD and HD adapter killed my battery life. I took it out after like a week or 2. It would be good if you don't take your laptop anywhere tho. Prices of SSDs have dropped since I installed mine. A 240gig was over $200.

 

[stick]

I'm almost positive that to get the full benefit of SSD speeds you need to remove the original hard drive and install the SSD there. Putting it in the disc drive bay doesn't support the full speed.

 

[PRIME]

I'm almost positive that to get the full benefit of SSD speeds you need to remove the original hard drive and install the SSD there. Putting it in the disc drive bay doesn't support the full speed.

To benefit from the speeds of an SSD you need to install the OS onto the SSD. Not use it as secondary storage.

Even if you install your apps on the SSD, if the OS is running off the HDD still, you won't notice a difference in performance.

The cheapest alternative these days is to cop a cheap SSD (120-128gb) for around $50, install your OS on that and use it as your primary boot drive. Cop a 1TB+ HDD as your 2ndary storage. Read Write speeds will be slower than having 2 SSD's or just one large SSD, but you can get maximum performance from the OS and have tons of storage while saving money.

I really wish MBP's were still self upgradeable. I really want a retina screen but I love the fact that I fixed my own laptop and all the upgrades I've done has been me and not paying for labor/markup on price when buying the laptop initially.

That new trackpad is enough to make me switch tho

 

[stick]

^ All of that too, but my point still stands. Installing the OS onto the SSD and then putting the SSD into the optical drive bay will be slower than if it was in the original hard drive bay. Not sure if it's even perceptible, but theoretically the bus speeds would be different so it would in turn be slower.

Are the new MacBook Pros using M.2 SSDs? That makes them semi-upgradeable but still ridiculously expensive . And upgradeable RAM would be the preferred upgrade anyway.

 

[PRIME]

^ All of that too, but my point still stands. Installing the OS onto the SSD and then putting the SSD into the optical drive bay will be slower than if it was in the original hard drive bay. Not sure if it's even perceptible, but theoretically the bus speeds would be different so it would in turn be slower.

Are the new MacBook Pros using M.2 SSDs? That makes them semi-upgradeable but still ridiculously expensive . And upgradeable RAM would be the preferred upgrade anyway.

Is it because of the connection? I haven't done the 2nd drive upgrade yet, but I'm thinking about it.

But that makes sense, the optical connection wasn't intended for a 2nd drive. And these weren't intended to run 2 drives, so the battery life/slow performance make sense adding the 2nd drive.

I guess my post was mores a hack to try to save some money/performance when running 2 drives.

Just looked up the m.2 SSD's for the new MBP. Looks like the Retina 2012-16's are m.2 upgradeable, but the new MBP with Touch Bar has everything soldered together

https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/409612/Is+the+SSD+upgradeable+in+the+2017+version

They really don't want us to have any freedom

 

[jewelknows]

^ Yea the Optical Disc drive is just a much slower connection. I've one the upgrade, and moved the SSD over then used the optical for the spinning drive. I did however create a fusion drive to speed things up overall.

For the newer MBP, imo 256 should be good. With USB-C you can get an external SSD for a decent price, with full benefits of the speed. IMO at least. Then again I lie to use iCloud, as well as other cloud storage options. The RAM upgrade-ability irritates me more.

PRIME did you end up copping the MacBook? I am still on the fence on which I need between the MacBook and MBP. Most I will use is Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo, with occasional video edits on Final Cut. I have seen that the MacBook can handle short videos due to Final Cuts optimization.

 

[PRIME]

I haven't copped yet. I'm still on the fence, I went to best buy today to take a look at both, and I really like the size of the regular MB. But the MBP isn't much thicker when closed and you get upgraded stats.

I just don't feel like the 12inch is future proof. Even when a MBP falls behind in age, they hold up really well. But for $800, I might just go ahead and do it. I'm planning on just keeping this tank as well.

I use a lot of photoshop/sketch so I'm going to look into some more reviews on how it keeps up

 

[bowflex]

Just looked up the m.2 SSD's for the new MBP. Looks like the Retina 2012-16's are m.2 upgradeable, but the new MBP with Touch Bar has everything soldered together

https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/409612/Is+the+SSD+upgradeable+in+the+2017+version

They really don't want us to have any freedom

Part of the reason I didn't upgrade yet. I'm about to be going on my third Macbook charger, battery needs service, but I never take it out of my house since I graduated college. Maxed out the specs, so I should be able to get another 2 years out of it.

 

[foamtothedome]

Part of the reason I didn't upgrade yet. I'm about to be going on my third Macbook charger, battery needs service, but I never take it out of my house since I graduated college. Maxed out the specs, so I should be able to get another 2 years out of it.

Im in the same boat, i replaced my battery myself and its not terrible lasts about 4 hours using internet, videos etc.

Might grab a new mac after next February while i still have my grad school discount

 

[QU!K]

I'm really happy with my Apple refurb mbp so far

Need a usb c hub tho

 

[spraised]

Does anybody stream from their Mac to a chrome cast ? if so what App do you use ?

 

[HankHill]

I ended up copping a 2015 MBP 15" 2.5GHz from eBay. Under $1400, no dents or scratches, a year left of Apple care, and an additional 128GB drive.

Making this last for the next 5-8 years.

 

[Fozz]

I'm really happy with my Apple refurb mbp so far

Need a usb c hub tho

I recommend checking out the hub from Monoprice. Great price and works great.

 

[Fozz]

I ended up copping a 2015 MBP 15" 2.5GHz from eBay. Under $1400, no dents or scratches, a year left of Apple care, and an additional 128GB drive.

Making this last for the next 5-8 years.

That's a great pick up! It will definitely can last that long.