dark_prinny
Banned
I got the Mac Book pro 13" upgraded to 8GB RAM. Sexy, and wonderful laptop. Love it.
-
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
- Thread starter 3N16MA
- Start date
Now that the new Pro is out, I'm wondering what the upgrade cycle is going to be like. People gave Apple crap for not upgrading their systems yearly but the volumes of Pro buyers are so low (and I imagine a lot of sales will be happening this year since there was pent-up demand) I dunno if they'd follow up this one with a new model in December. PCIe 3 and DDR4 (especially the latter) with Broadwell
. would definitely be what I'm looking for in a substantial update.
It'll also be interesting to see what the graphics cards options will be going forwardif Apple is going to keep making the custom-sized cards with two or three specs or if there will be enough of a market for others to jump in once people are looking for upgrades in two or three years.
Not saying it isn't imprecise, but the "low", "medium", "high" measures in gaming performance usually are a mix of turning off/on features and resolution generally rather than locking everything except res and adjusting just that. You're always going to have to fiddle with your settings, that's just the joy of Mac/PC gaming...
It'll also be interesting to see what the graphics cards options will be going forwardif Apple is going to keep making the custom-sized cards with two or three specs or if there will be enough of a market for others to jump in once people are looking for upgrades in two or three years.
Not saying it isn't imprecise, but the "low", "medium", "high" measures in gaming performance usually are a mix of turning off/on features and resolution generally rather than locking everything except res and adjusting just that. You're always going to have to fiddle with your settings, that's just the joy of Mac/PC gaming...
Has anyone ran into this black screen problem with the mid 2013 macbook airs?
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5118135?start=825&tstart=0
Happened to me today. I pretty much just clicked a key on keyboard just as my mid 2013 MBA went to screen went to sleep. Had to hard restart it to get the screen to show again. Guhhh
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5118135?start=825&tstart=0
Happened to me today. I pretty much just clicked a key on keyboard just as my mid 2013 MBA went to screen went to sleep. Had to hard restart it to get the screen to show again. Guhhh
Yes that happens to mine infrequently. There will likely be a firmware update that fixes the problem. It hasn't really been a big problem since it happens rarely and the computer boots so lightening fast that you hardly notice it when you do a restart.
You'll be waiting another year for a Broadwell one (and do you mean PCIe 4.0?), that seems set for mid-late 2015. I wouldn't be too surprised if they came out with a Haswell-E model later this year, depending on Intel's timing mainly.
Wondering about the GPUs too, although mostly cause AMD just has the high end Hawaii out now while the rest is rebranded stuff.
Battersea Power Station
Member
Do you guys use Zagg invisible shield for your MBP or MBA, or any products like that?
I don't. Mac laptops are built very well already. And those things provide limited protection.
Just went to the Apple store. The MacPro is such a cute little computer. Hard to believe there is so much power in that small size!
Looks awesome. Definitely overpriced though, especially with the Cinema Display.
I would not buy a Cinema display from Apple until they are updated.
I've heard a lot of people say that about the price. I also read an article this morning that said that the two FirePro cards in it, although they are custom, the comparable cards that you can buy that are basically the same are more expensive individually than the entry MacPro is as a whole computer. There is also this:
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/31...g-versus-oem-pcs-diy-systems-more-affordable/
Not that I'm buying one.
Heh, if I were wealthy I'd buy 3 of them. But unless you're a professional in the movie/music/gaming/photography business there's really no point.
"More power than the average consumer will use" does not equal overpriced. These things are a steal, particularly given the size they're in--you literally can't build an equivalently specced machine without spending thousands more.
That said, the fact that it's only got a single processor means that it's probably not as good for some tasks right now--or rather that the upgrade pricing for the processors is good, but you're getting diminished returns compared to previous models. It remains to be seen whether the dual graphics as standard is a USB-type situation that pushes better software writing or not.
I was waiting for a new ThunderBolt display for about a year with updated IO. So I had to pull the trigger on this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009H0XQQY/?tag=neogaf0e-20 instead.
No regrets.
No regrets.
I got one of those too. It is a fantastic Monitor.
I get the sense that Apple doesn't really care about the monitor market anymore unless they can do something new and exciting with 4K.
I just wanted the same old Thunderbolt Display with a USB3.0 hub. Glad I didn't wait for what has so far never come...
its just so ugly i would feel so bad
thought about picking up the H version for some time now. But dayuuuum its pure ugliness + dell doesn't give a flying shit about mac users. Why? Because hardware calibration is windows only
fuck thatYeah, the FirePros are only worth it if you need the FirePro features for professional content creation programs, otherwise they are just overpriced (in the case of the top end Mac Pro) HD 7970s (with a notable core clockspeed cut).
Maybe I'll ask here then.
My work is upgrading our 2008 Mac Pro to other a 27" i7 iMac or a new Mac Pro.
The common tasks will be hd video editing (creative cloud) and transcoding (MPEG stream clip and compressor).
Which would you pick and why? We already have monitors and would be buying an external thunderbolt raid enclosure either way.
Pricing that we can get makes the mac pro $600 more than the iMac.
My work is upgrading our 2008 Mac Pro to other a 27" i7 iMac or a new Mac Pro.
The common tasks will be hd video editing (creative cloud) and transcoding (MPEG stream clip and compressor).
Which would you pick and why? We already have monitors and would be buying an external thunderbolt raid enclosure either way.
Pricing that we can get makes the mac pro $600 more than the iMac.
Depends which Mac Pro you're getting, in part. Premiere Pro only uses dual GPUs for exporting. I assume Compressor is decently threaded, not sure about Streamclip. I'm guessing from my experience with other CC apps that Premiere is not that great at using multiple cores, although Adobe's software is patchy in that regard.
Right out of the box, I imagine the performance boost you're going to get from the Mac Pro is not that large compared to an iMac assuming you're buying a 6, 8, or 12 core Pro (since they'll have lower clock speeds, although I believe not lower turbo speeds, compared to the iMacs.). On the other hand if it's only costing $600 more I would spring for the newer hardware that has greater potential to see future performance benefits.
charlemagne
Member
I don't use any protective cover for my MBA. They're pretty solid and despite lugging it around for a year at most it's got a bit of dirt on the lid.
The D300 spec (for 1 GPU) is more or less like the 7970M, and the 780M seems a decent bit faster (although it varies):
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-780M.88993.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7970M.72675.0.html
Adobe is kind of the wild card cause they use CUDA (Nvidia only), and they've started more recently with OpenCL stuff (where AMD is better)...but I think they've also said some stuff will remain CUDA only. The iMac will probably be better for Adobe stuff, but if they continue with OpenCL stuff the Mac Pro might end up better down the line. There's also QuickSync which the Xeons don't have at all, but only matters if you're using settings that use QS.
Otherwise depending on the external drive performance you want and monitor configuration the Mac Pro could be better cause it has 3 TB controllers vs (I think) 1 in the iMac (and TB2 vs TB1). Or for any other random TB stuff you might get later on. Or 4K display support but I'm guessing that's probably getting a bit out there.
If your upgrade cycles are long (like 2008-2014 apparently?) I'd kinda lean towards the Mac Pro cause devs would hopefully optimize for it better over time (so the dual GPUs would matter), and the extra TB controllers might come in handy. And technically there's one less component to worry about (the iMac's screen). Or two if you go the Fusion route, but if you don't need all the storage of it (since you'll be using a TB RAID) you might want to get the plain 256GB SSD instead if you go the iMac route cause it'll be faster. You can split the Fusion Drive but I think the SSD there is 128GB.
On the other hand the iMac is probably going to be as fast (if not faster) and the cost savings could justify an upgrade sooner than with the Mac Pro, which is probably the safer option. You'll benefit from later Mac Pro revisions and seeing how the software landscape turns out. But the iMac might be loud under load? This post says it gets hot and loud but doesn't throttle at least.
Remember that the DX00 graphics cards in the new Pros are workstation cards--they're going to be lower-specced than the gaming cards in the iMacs but better over the long run for pro needs--they run cooler, longer, and use less power. Especially if you're going to be putting the card under load for sustained periods you should get a workstation card since it's got a much lower chance of dying on you.
As for CUDA, the only thing I'm aware that Adobe has specifically said is going to be CUDA only is raytracing using the GPU in After Effects, but that's because they've specifically licensed out Nvidia's libraries. Frankly it's so crappy to use that it's not a major loss. Still, it's true that at this moment all other things being equal a Nividia card is better for Adobe apps, but like you say that might change. If it were a Final Cut or Logic production house Apple's made the choice pretty easy, but that's why I'm waiting another year to grab mine--see if I can tell how the aftermarket and upgrade paths shake out.
Hey guys, I was hoping you might be able to help me out. I'm planning on getting a macbook sometime later this month, probably not to the end of the month, but I want to plan accordingly.
It's mainly going to be used for school, so word processing, and battery life is probably the most important. Plus I kinda would like something light and easy to carry, so I was thinking of going with the Macbook Air. However knowing me, and the big gamer I am...I know I might wanna mess around with some of the PC games I currently own on it that are also compatible. Stuff like Diablo 3, Starcraft, and maybe some steam games I own. It wouldn't be the primary use for any of those, but it'd be nice to have the option sometimes.
What version/specs of a Macbook would you guys recommend the most? I'm trying to be cost efficient too, so I don't want to go too overboard.
It's mainly going to be used for school, so word processing, and battery life is probably the most important. Plus I kinda would like something light and easy to carry, so I was thinking of going with the Macbook Air. However knowing me, and the big gamer I am...I know I might wanna mess around with some of the PC games I currently own on it that are also compatible. Stuff like Diablo 3, Starcraft, and maybe some steam games I own. It wouldn't be the primary use for any of those, but it'd be nice to have the option sometimes.
What version/specs of a Macbook would you guys recommend the most? I'm trying to be cost efficient too, so I don't want to go too overboard.
macs are not for gaming, period. Even the bigger 13" models or the entry 15" are not gaming machines. You want something light, "cheap", with good battery life? That screams macbook air. Just make sure to get a big enough ssd. I thought "yeah 128 gb will do" but nope nope i sold it later and bought an pro with 500 gb instead. But i really need an pro more than an air because of the work i do with it. I miss the battery life of the air though.
BUT if you don´t need the air right now maybe wait a bit until later this year - they might refresh it with a better screen. The current panel on the air is a bit "mhew" if you ask me.
If you need it now however just head out and get it (i would recommend 13" 1,3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, 8 GB 1600 MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM , 256 GB Flash at least).
If you are a student check if your university is on apple@campus - you can save a nice amount then.
Yup. I won't be running anything more than adventure games on the Air even if it technically could run a bit more; even playing some leisurely 2D indie games like Gunpoint or Skulls of the Shogun pegs my Air's fan to full speed and heats it up in a way that can't possibly be healthy. The low end 15" Pro should be tolerable for a very low-end gaming experience, but the top 15" Pro is the only machine in the range with actual capability.
Agreed. I bought that exact configuration myself. That said, many people will get by just fine with 128GB SSD if they aren't doing anything special. I even have 60GB sliced off for a Windows partition, and am planning to resize it to ~80GB leaving ~150GB for my main OS X partition.
weekend_warrior
Banned
I've seen the Giantbomb guys play Diablo 3 on an older Air before, the newer one should be even better. That being said, you're really getting a lot for your extra money when you move up to the retina MBP. It's only $200 more, it's got a better display, better hardware, an HDMI port, and the battery life is still crazy long, plus it only weighs 3.5lbs vs the Air at just under 3lbs. That's the one I'd get.
Soyongdori
Member
So damn sick of youtube ads on safari. I would go for other browsers like Chrome, but I heard safari saves laptop's battery more than other browsers.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Then head on over to the Mavericks thread where they literally just talked about this today.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=691833
Don't leave Safari. Chrome is terrible now on OS X.
And they're both so much better than Firefox.
Just FYI, YouTube's ad system is still better than so many other video sites ad systems. At least you can skip most of them. Earlier I was getting unstoppable minute and thirty-five second ads on NormalBoots.com while marathoning The Completionist. I don't even know what it was for. I reloaded the page 4 times before giving up and actually leaving the room.
Mac mini hasn't been updated since 2012. You're better off just waiting until they refresh it (as to when that would be, I do not know.)
They've left it to longer before. I assume they're waiting for the Broadwell die shrink and/or the integrated graphics to get to another significant notch. But I expect it'll be updated this year.
Autumn Wind
Member
The Mac mini definitely needs to be updated this year and updated at the same time as the MacBook Pro and/or iMac.
What OS are you running ? Sometimes turning Wi-Fi off waiting a minute and then turning it back on helps.
So I got the 13" MacBook Pro (Intel Dual Core i5 2.5GHz, 4GB RAM) recently and, although I absolutely love it, it's starting to chug a bit when I'm putting things together in After Effects. I've been meaning to upgrade things a little bit and Crucial are recommending me a 16GB RAM upgrade and an upgrade to an SSD. What should I be looking at in terms of Premiere Pro/After Effects performance, should I be looking at doing both?
I do most of my intensive editing on a separate PC but still need a performance boost for working on smaller shots when I'm away from that; rendering at the moment is absolutely chugging.
Thanks!
I do most of my intensive editing on a separate PC but still need a performance boost for working on smaller shots when I'm away from that; rendering at the moment is absolutely chugging.
Thanks!
Both will speed up your performance, but if you had to pick one and were looking at it solely from an After Effects perspective, the RAM upgrade is more important. You should be writing files and renders to a volume that's not your boot drive and ideally is also not the place you have your footage, so an SSD isn't really going to give you a big boost unless all your storage was flash-based. That said an SSD will speed up practically everything else.
Thanks for that. I've asked a few other people and they seem to agree. RAM it is!
Good Read:
Fact or fiction: What does (and doesn't) actually speed up your Mac
http://www.macworld.com/article/209...es-and-doesnt-actually-speed-up-your-mac.html
Doubt it. Apple seems to wait at least a year to refresh their Macs now.
Jo Shishido's Cheeks
Member
Is there anyway of 'sleeping' the MB display when connected to an external monitor via HDMI?
I just turn the brightness all the way down each time but surely there's a more elegant solution?
I just turn the brightness all the way down each time but surely there's a more elegant solution?
Close the lid? I know that works when connected via TB.
Jo Shishido's Cheeks
Member
That puts the main display to sleep too unfortunately, although yeah I'm sure this is how it worked in the past (wasn't connected by HDMI then though)
Try one of these
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0025V2VO0/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Not 100% sure. But I think that will let you close the lid.
Mr. Wonderful
Member
It used to only work if you also had an external keyboard and mouse attached.