• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Mac Hardware and Software |OT| - All things Macintosh

K

killertofu

Member
Hmmm so the used MacBook Pro's display I bought a few months ago blinks off for like a millisecond.

I've only noticed it twice but...

am I already ded?

*edit*

just noticed it again...shiiiit now im scared
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
killertofu said:
Hmmm so the used MacBook Pro's display I bought a few months ago blinks off for like a millisecond.

I've only noticed it twice but...

am I already ded?

*edit*

just noticed it again...shiiiit now im scared
Click to expand...

Don't worry, it could just be signs of a brain aneurysm instead!

If it's still under warranty, there's no reason not to bring it in to an Apple Store and get it checked out.
 
NOLA_Gaffer

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
Man USB 2.0 freaking sucks in 2017.

I have a 2TB HDD I'm using for Time Machine and I just bought a 4TB HDD that I'd like to set up with my Airport for wireless backups--as it turns out my 2TB drive didn't have space for the Airport to start making fresh backups.

I'm trying to transfer my existing Time Machine folder to the 4TB HDD so I still have my old backups available to me in case something were to go awry with the new backup but the old drive is USB 2.0 and FW800...and since I don't have a Firewire port on my 2016 Macbook Pro I'm stuck with using USB 2.0 to move the files off the old drive.

Bleh. I actually finished it once after about 72 hours of transferring, but I made the mistake of Switching Time Machine back on for the new drive and it started trying to backup 400GB worth of data...I was afraid of it mucking up the copied backup files so I decided to delete the copied data and redo the whole process.

Of course now I can't empty the trash (and reclaim the drive space) because of some sort of system integrity protection nonsense, so I really don't know what to do.

Fuuuuuuck.
 
A

Autumn Wind

Member
So no Mac mini at WWDC but I actually like the top-level iMac with the Radeon Pro 580.

I plan on getting the 512 GB SSD though I want to know two things.

1. Do I really NEED the i7-7700K?

2. Who should I buy from my RAM from? Crucial or Mac Sales?
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
Autumn Wind said:
So no Mac mini at WWDC but I actually like the top-level iMac with the Radeon Pro 580.

I plan on getting the 512 GB SSD though I want to know two things.

1. Do I really NEED the i7-7700K?

2. Who should I buy from my RAM from? Crucial or Mac Sales?
Click to expand...

1) No, unless you're going to be doing a lot of gaming or video production.

2) Doesn't matter, go with whoever has a better deal. Mac Sales has been a lot faster with replacing bad RAM than Crucial in my experience, but I've still only have three or four bad sticks of RAM in a lifetime of owning or operating some 15-odd Macs.
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
Autumn Wind said:
So no Mac mini at WWDC but I actually like the top-level iMac with the Radeon Pro 580.

I plan on getting the 512 GB SSD though I want to know two things.

1. Do I really NEED the i7-7700K?

2. Who should I buy from my RAM from? Crucial or Mac Sales?
Click to expand...

Gaming On The Fully Loaded $5300 27" iMac!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0ZOqg8JjsE

Screen_Shot_2017-06-16_at_9.47.41_AM.png
 
A

Autumn Wind

Member
Thank you. I do want to game somewhat because the only Macs I have owned have had integrated graphics and even my previous PCs weren't too spectacular in the graphics department.

I see the 2 TB SSD is extremely fast. Is the 1 TB and 512 GB similar?
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
Autumn Wind said:
Thank you. I do want to game somewhat because the only Macs I have owned have had integrated graphics and even my previous PCs weren't too spectacular in the graphics department.

I see the 2 TB SSD is extremely fast. Is the 1 TB and 512 GB similar?
Click to expand...

Not as fast, but pretty damn close.

As the guy in the video obliquely points out, assuming you don't need a 2TB pure SSD and buy your RAM elsewhere, basically the exact same config is under $3000, so the $5.2K figure is a bit ridiculous (and even at the price with Mac pricing, when you factor in the panel it's actually a remarkably good price for an AIO. Sure you can make your own rigs for cheaper, but that's always been the case and if you're making your own PC why are you in the market for a Mac?)
 
A

Autumn Wind

Member
Fuchsdh said:
Not as fast, but pretty damn close.

As the guy in the video obliquely points out, assuming you don't need a 2TB pure SSD and buy your RAM elsewhere, basically the exact same config is under $3000, so the $5.2K figure is a bit ridiculous (and even at the price with Mac pricing, when you factor in the panel it's actually a remarkably good price for an AIO. Sure you can make your own rigs for cheaper, but that's always been the case and if you're making your own PC why are you in the market for a Mac?)
Click to expand...

I did fine with a 128 GB SSD. When I got my Mac mini this past Christmas (as a holdover machine), I got a 256 GB SSD. I can do just fine on a 512 GB SSD.
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
Is it hard to build a gaming PC with something like an i7-7700 and a 1080 it that can also be a hackintosh that has a partition that also runs OSX? Or do you have to stick to the same exact processors and video cards that Apple puts in their machines? Any guides? Honestly just curious.
 
A

Anion

Member
That moment of regret after I tipped my new iPad Pro onto my new MacBook Pro 😭

I swear this new metal must be softer than the Retina and earlier macs.
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
Deku Tree said:
Is it hard to build a gaming PC with something like an i7-7700 and a 1080 it that can also be a hackintosh that has a partition that also runs OSX? Or do you have to stick to the same east processors and video cards that Apple puts in their machines? Any guides? Honestly just curious.
Click to expand...

You don't have to stick to exact Apple processors and the like, but the more you deviate from just constructing a PC BTO version of a Mac SKU the more difficulty you have. And you can't do something as extreme as using Kaby Lake before any Macs shipped with support, for example.
 
C

CrudeDiatribe

Member
Find someone's detailed build thread on one of Hackintosh forums/Reddit, especially with a bunch of 'me too' replies and copy it. Being clever with a part swap isn't all that clever if you accidentally deviate from something functional.

You can pretty much use any PC Nvidia GPU and have success, so that's the easy part. Mobo/wifi/audio/Ethernet are bigger pain points.
 
T

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
DrKelpo said:
is is possible to include system files into "all my files"?

I'm using El Capitan.
Click to expand...
Yes.

Open the All My Files window in Finder and under the Gear toolbar icon choose "Show Search Criteria". Then press one of the + buttons and add the "System Files" option and set it to "Are included". If you don't have the "System Files" option, it'll be in the list of things you can choose in the "Other..." menu under that popup. (Check its box and it becomes permanently in that list.)

From what I can tell, you can even save it if you want to.
 
K

kennah

Member
Deku Tree said:
Is it hard to build a gaming PC with something like an i7-7700 and a 1080 it that can also be a hackintosh that has a partition that also runs OSX? Or do you have to stick to the same exact processors and video cards that Apple puts in their machines? Any guides? Honestly just curious.
Click to expand...

https://www.tonymacx86.com

Lots of fantastic advice on that site. Even has a buyer's guide so you can make sure you get the right stuff.
 
D

DrKelpo

Banned
The Real Abed said:
System Files should include all files in all Libraries. From what I can see. I just did a test and found files in my user Library.
Click to expand...

Thanks dude, but for some reason that doesn't work for me. There are some big dmg files in one directory in the library, but if I search for all files included system files the just don't show up.
 
T

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
DrKelpo said:
Thanks dude, but for some reason that doesn't work for me. There are some big dmg files in one directory in the library, but if I search for all files included system files the just don't show up.
Click to expand...
What if you do a normal search from the Finder itself. Browse to the Library itself and Command+F and try it.

Also, before you do that, make sure your Library isn't in the exclusions list in Spotlight System Preferences. Spotlight won't search folders that it can't index.
 
D

DrKelpo

Banned
If I search the library itself, the files are found, but they don't show up in the "regular" finder searches or in "all my files". The folder also isn't on the exclusion list.

But I found what I was looking for another way. Thanks for you help!
 
T

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
DrKelpo said:
If I search the library itself, the files are found, but they don't show up in the "regular" finder searches or in "all my files". The folder also isn't on the exclusion list.

But I found what I was looking for another way. Thanks for you help!
Click to expand...
That's very strange but at least you got it.
 
H

hairygreenpeas

Neo Member
Just got my Macbook Pro 15" (2017 model) a couple of days ago, and I'm absolutely loving the crap out of it so far. The software experience has been unmatched and everything just flows extremely well together. I've already compiled list of apps to download for productivity and creative work, so I'm super pumped about that. But one thing I could definitely do without is the terribad battery life lol. Is it normal for the laptop to lose about 3 - 8% of battery during sleep? I already disabled Power Nap, and also just recently turned off Bluetooth (which is on by default, in case anyone else is unaware!). I don't know if I'm just being paranoid since I dropped a hefty cash on this thing, but I honestly expected at least a decent battery life.

Maybe I've just gotten used to low-powered laptops that have primarily been used for media consumption and Microsoft Office?
 
Z

Zeyphersan

Banned
hairygreenpeas said:
Just got my Macbook Pro 15" (2017 model) a couple of days ago, and I'm absolutely loving the crap out of it so far. The software experience has been unmatched and everything just flows extremely well together. I've already compiled list of apps to download for productivity and creative work, so I'm super pumped about that. But one thing I could definitely do without is the terribad battery life lol. Is it normal for the laptop to lose about 3 - 8% of battery during sleep? I already disabled Power Nap, and also just recently turned off Bluetooth (which is on by default, in case anyone else is unaware!). I don't know if I'm just being paranoid since I dropped a hefty cash on this thing, but I honestly expected at least a decent battery life.

Maybe I've just gotten used to low-powered laptops that have primarily been used for media consumption and Microsoft Office?
Click to expand...

Power Nap by default is only active when plugged in and modern Bluetooth chips don’t drain anything when turned on and idle. Not saying you’re not having an issue but those two things won’t make a lick of difference
 
S

Skel1ingt0n

I can't *believe* these lazy developers keep making file sizes so damn large. Btw, how does technology work?
I'm loving my new 15" 2017 rMBP. Came from a 2016 12" rMB after selling my 2013 15". And man it's good to "be back." This is the machine I should be on.

That said, I really want to pick up the LG 5K, but I feel like a dumbass for not snagging it at $999 during their discounts earlier this year. I feel foolish spending more than that now. Too bad so sad, or is there a way to get this thing cheaper somewhere?
 
G

golem

Member
Agent AA1 said:
That moment of regret after I tipped my new iPad Pro onto my new MacBook Pro 😭

I swear this new metal must be softer than the Retina and earlier macs.
Click to expand...

Yeah mine scratched really easy too. Meanwhile my old Air went years and is still in pristine condition. Quite annoying
 
R

Returners

Member
Does anyone have a recommendation on an one cable solution through USB-C external monitor for the MacBook Pro? The Apple LG display is too much for me budget wise.
 
T

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
I'm pretty close to buying a new TV. It'll probably be 4K. I will be connecting my two Macs to it from time to time, possibly even having one always hooked up. My question is how my Macs will deal with the resolution. Will my iMac, which is a 27" NON-Retina model from 2013, (It's on Apple's list of Macs that support 4K TVs) see it as a Retina display that will display at 1080p Retina? Or will it try and output at the exact resolution thus making everything a bit tiny?

If I connect my iMac to it, which is 1440p, and I connect to it and set it to mirror, will I be able to output to it at the 1440p if I need to so I can mirror without making my iMac have a lower resolution?
 
S

StopMakingSense

Member
The Real Abed said:
I'm pretty close to buying a new TV. It'll probably be 4K. I will be connecting my two Macs to it from time to time, possibly even having one always hooked up. My question is how my Macs will deal with the resolution. Will my iMac, which is a 27" NON-Retina model from 2013, (It's on Apple's list of Macs that support 4K TVs) see it as a Retina display that will display at 1080p Retina? Or will it try and output at the exact resolution thus making everything a bit tiny?

If I connect my iMac to it, which is 1440p, and I connect to it and set it to mirror, will I be able to output to it at the 1440p if I need to so I can mirror without making my iMac have a lower resolution?
Click to expand...

You will have options for scaled or native resolution on the TV.

Mirroring will be stuck at 1440p though. Think about how that would even work otherwise.
 
S

Shadowhelper

Banned
StopMakingSense said:
You will have options for scaled or native resolution on the TV.

Mirroring will be stuck at 1440p though. Think about how that would even work otherwise.
Click to expand...

But the mac doesn't say what the resolution is, or give you an option to choose. I am driving my 4k tv with my Mac as well, and the TV says it's only detecting 1080p. It's best scaled for Samsung so it should theoretically be 2k or 4k like when I am driving to a 2k monitor, with options to lower the resolution.

I've never ever plugged my MPB into a tv and it gave me an option to choose the resolution, like with a monitor. Don't think the latest version of Sierra allow for MBP to drive 2k or 4k tvs, should look into that more though.
 
T

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
StopMakingSense said:
You will have options for scaled or native resolution on the TV.

Mirroring will be stuck at 1440p though. Think about how that would even work otherwise.
Click to expand...

Shadowhelper said:
But the mac doesn't say what the resolution is, or give you an option to choose. I am driving my 4k tv with my Mac as well, and the TV says it's only detecting 1080p. It's best scaled for Samsung so it should theoretically be 2k or 4k like when I am driving to a 2k monitor, with options to lower the resolution.

I've never ever plugged my MPB into a tv and it gave me an option to choose the resolution, like with a monitor. Don't think the latest version of Sierra allow for MBP to drive 2k or 4k tvs, should look into that more though.
Click to expand...
Yeah, my current TV doesn't let me even set the resolution to the TVs native resolution of 768p. It only lets me do the two that it supports for TV content, 720p and 1080i. Which is either stretched to fit or shrunk to fit. I think over VGA it does, but come on, that's VGA. It's also an 11 year old TV. I would hope current TVs would be better. I don't mind if it mirrors at 1440p. I'd rather it not affect my iMac resolution and I could just pick up my keyboard and trackpad and go over to the couch if I wanted to.

How would older game consoles like the Wii U/Wii or even GameCube (Which I have Component cables for all three, but would be connecting the Wii U via HDMI if I needed to since it appears a lot of TVs only have one component these days.) look on a 4K TV? Would the extra resolution make them look better or worse? Most of my content, actually all of my content, will not even be 4K at all. It'll be 1080p at most unless I get a gaming PC that can render well enough at 4K to not have to be set to 1080p. But people say 4K still makes 1080p content look better. I'd just get a 1080p TV but it seems a waste and I would either have to A) lower my iMac resolution to mirror, B) have it set as an external display which would be hard to use when the iMac is in another location (I'd use a 10' HDMI cable) or C) only connect the HDMI to my iMac when I am using the TV, which I'd do if there were a way to set it up so the HDMI turns off and makes the iMac think there's nothing connected when the TV is off or on another input.

Of course it could all be moot if and when I just get a Roku, or if the TV has ChromeCast built-in. (Which I believe YouTube will let me stream to from both my iMac browser and my iPhone.)
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
brian577 said:
How do the early 2015 Macbooks hold up? Looking to upgrade but I don't want to deal with the mess that is USB-C.
Click to expand...

If you aren't looking for graphics horsepower they're pretty close in most metrics to the new generations (only minor upgrades to memory, processor, and of course connectivity.)
 
G

Grim Patron

Member
Got the 2016 MacBook Air 13" with 8GB ram as a stop gap upgrade from the 2011 one I was using until there's a 32GB option for Pro 15". Man the battery literally lasts all day. I don't need to carry a charger outside the house at all lol.

Also can use chrome,safari,photoshop,line,tweetbot,slack without spinning wheels!
 
C

CraigMcD

Member
Fuchsdh said:
If you aren't looking for graphics horsepower they're pretty close in most metrics to the new generations (only minor upgrades to memory, processor, and of course connectivity.)
Click to expand...

Most people are saying that the 2017 MacBook is a massive upgrade in performance.
 
M

Meh3D

Member
brian577 said:
Yeah, I'm looking for a Pro. Any recommended sites? Trying to find a refurbished one with 16GB RAM and at least half a TB SSD.
Click to expand...


They hold up very well. I have a 2015 13" with 16GB and 512 SSD (maxed i7.) Quite frankly, I don't get the fears of any machine from 2012 onward being slow. My work 2012 15" MBP/r was the top tier base model ( 512 SSD, 16GB, base i7 Quad Core with 650 GPU) and it's not slow at all. It's quite fast.


I am thinking of selling my MacBook Pro seeing if I can pick up a cheap MBA and pocket some cash. I'll need it since I'm leaving my current job and moving to SF in hopes of better opportunities.
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
So Is it possible to have a strongly encrypted file that is easily openable on both iOS and macOS? If so how would you do it? My use is for a small file like a password locker.

I am not looking for advice about how to use 1password. Just trying to find out if you can securely strongly encrypt a file that can be easily opened on both iOS and macOS.
 
A

anonymous_abc

Member
Deku Tree said:
So Is it possible to have a strongly encrypted file that is easily openable on both iOS and macOS? If so how would you do it? My use is for a small file like a password locker.

I am not looking for advice about how to use 1password. Just trying to find out if you can securely strongly encrypt a file that can be easily opened on both iOS and macOS.
Click to expand...
Till a few days ago I would have recommended Viivo, but they recently announce they would shut down their service.
Basically it encrypted your files locally before syncing them with your dropbox, so nothing unencrypted is uploaded and there is an app for iOS to look at the files.
 
M

MadraptorMan

Member
I just bought a base model 2017 15" MacBook Pro with the GPU upgrade to a Radeon 560. So far the machine is awesome but I decided to try out L4D2 at native res and it really couldn't keep up at an acceptable FPS...is this to be expected or is the GPU not switching over to the dedicated card or something? My late 2013 iMac can run the game much better atm.
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
FliXFantatier said:
Till a few days ago I would have recommended Viivo, but they recently announce they would shut down their service.
Basically it encrypted your files locally before syncing them with your dropbox, so nothing unencrypted is uploaded and there is an app for iOS to look at the files.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

What is the App for iOS?

I know that goodreader (which I own) can encrypt your files (but it hasn't been updated in a year although they say a big update is in the works) but I don't know what level encryption GoodReader can use and I don't know if GoodReader can unencrypt a file that was encrypted on macOS.
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
MadraptorMan said:
I just bought a base model 2017 15" MacBook Pro with the GPU upgrade to a Radeon 560. So far the machine is awesome but I decided to try out L4D2 at native res and it really couldn't keep up at an acceptable FPS...is this to be expected or is the GPU not switching over to the dedicated card or something? My late 2013 iMac can run the game much better atm.
Click to expand...

It's possible it's not switching graphics, but "native res" on the MacBook Pro is 2880 x 1800. Chances are a midrange laptop GPU isn't going to give you good frame rates at >1440p in any game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

INSIDE APPLE'S MASSIVE PUSH TO TRANSFORM THE MAC INTO A GAMING PARADISE
2 3 4
151
14K
RoboFu replied
Apple Sued by DOJ for Illegal Monopoly over Smartphones
2 3 4 5 6
270
12K
PaintTinJr replied
Former Apple XR manager Bertrand Nepveu, says Apple headset will be “Macintosh moment”
2
80
6K
Eddie-Griffin replied
Bloomberg: Apple Pushes Back Mixed-Reality Headset Debut Two Months, to June at WWDC
5
1K
ZehDon replied
Apple's new operating system for VR/AR headset referenced in code on GitHub (realityOS)
0
688
Eddie-Griffin replied
Top Bottom