Support NeoGAF

[killertofu]

At this point the main issues with using a classic Mac Pro is I/O and processor. The fastest processor you can stick in it is a single or dual 3.46GHz, but that's still the best workstation performance you can buy... from 2012. This is intensely game-dependent; some games it won't matter, some it will.

You can get faster flash storage or USB 3 via PCI add-on cards, although you need to do your homework with regards to Mac compatibility (or Mac/Windows compatibility if you're going to do dual-booting.) Thunderbolt is a no-go, period, although diehards would argue that with all that internal expansion it doesn't matter.

To use Nvidia's cards you need to use their web drivers, which at the moment haven't been updated for the 10XX line. You could throw a 980 or Titan X or whatever in there and it'd be fine, though.

It's worth noting that Thunderbolt 3 coming to Macs with the presumable next refreshes this year will bring the possibility of non-kludgy (or significantly less kludgy) external GPU support, in which most cases you're getting a sizable percentage of full performance off whatever card you throw in. So you could get a modern Mac and skimp on the expensive GPU upgrades and get an upgradable and transferrable upgrade path for the graphics down the line.

Thanks for the info. It's something to think about at least. I work on Macs most of the time for my job...After Effects, Premiere, stuff like that. Dipping my toes into 3D as well.

I had a Hackintosh but it felt incomplete. I want to like Windows 10 but it just seems so foreign to me. Keyboard shortcuts, Finder, all that stuff comes so easy to me at work and it's hard to replicate when I'm at home.

It sucks that Apple went with the trashcan. I want to tinker with a PC without actually having a PC lol

 

[Fuchsdh]

Thanks for the info. It's something to think about at least. I work on Macs most of the time for my job...After Effects, Premiere, stuff like that. Dipping my toes into 3D as well.

I had a Hackintosh but it felt incomplete. I want to like Windows 10 but it just seems so foreign to me. Keyboard shortcuts, Finder, all that stuff comes so easy to me at work and it's hard to replicate when I'm at home.

It sucks that Apple went with the trashcan. I want to tinker with a PC without actually having a PC lol

Haha, yeah, I understand. Really my only issue with the cylinder nMP is the lack of updates. My parents ran a graphic design studio from our house and just bought a new Mac, maybe added some RAM, and ran it for four or five years and outright bought a new one. To me that's ultimately a use case that probably works better, even though I do love tinkering. For now I'll hold onto my secondhand Mac Pro I got... two years ago? And just run it for another few years, by which point there hopefully will be a new Mac Pro I can get and enjoy the extra desk space.

 

[GWX]

Alfred 3 is out.

I'd buy the Powerpack with ease if it wasn't 17 GBP The exchange rate to Brazilian Reais is too rough, can't cope for the amount of usage I'd give it. The new release looks awesome, though.

 

[test_account]

I asked about this a bit earlier, but is there no way to format a Power Mac G5 running OSX 10.5.8 (Leopard) without having a reinstall disc? Tried to search on Google and the closest thing i find is how to delete accounts, but no instructions on how to do a simple format of the harddrive. Why is it so difficult? :\

 

[EmiPrime]

I asked about this a bit earlier, but is there no way to format a Power Mac G5 running OSX 10.5.8 (Leopard) without having a reinstall disc? Tried to search on Google and the closest thing i find is how to delete accounts, but no instructions on how to do a simple format of the harddrive. Why is it so difficult? :\

Wait, you just want to wipe the disk?

Plug it into another Mac using Firewire, hold down T when booting up and it will start in target disk mode. Then format it in disk utility from the other Mac.

 

[test_account]

Wait, you just want to wipe the disk?

Plug it into another Mac using Firewire, hold down T when booting up and it will start in target disk mode. Then format it in disk utility from the other Mac.

Yeah, just wiping the disk. Unfortunately i dont have another Mac, is there another way? Thanks for the tip regardless

 

[EmiPrime]

Yeah, just wiping the disk. Unfortunately i dont have another Mac, is there another way? Thanks for the tip regardless

You should still be able to do it from another computer. TDM just tells the Mac to act like a giant external HDD and as you you just want to wipe the drive you don't need to worry about installing HFS+ Windows programs or the like to preserve the data.

 

[EmiPrime]

That said I don't think FireWire ever took off outside of Macs... if you have a PC with a Thunderbolt port then a TB to FW adaptor might work.

 

[test_account]

I dont have Thunderbolt either :\ Is it possible to simply take out the HDD and connect it to a PC, then format it?

 

[EmiPrime]

I dont have Thunderbolt either :\ Is it possible to simply take out the HDD and connect it to a PC, then format it?

Of course.

 

[test_account]

I think i'll do that then Thanks!

 

[Ambitious]

I dislike how the navigation dropdown menu in iTunes 12.4 disappears when you select a device using the button right next to it. I guess the reason for this is that there is no clear solution of what to actually display in the dropdown when a device is selected.

And having to click twice just to switch to a different section of iTunes sucks anyway. Switching to a different view or tab should never take more than one click.

I think that instead of a dropdown menu, they should simply display separate buttons for all the different media libraries and the devices. (And they should of course use different icons for different kinds of devices, which for some reason they don't do at the moment.) Quick and dirty mockup:

Not perfect either. If you have several iPads/iPhone, there's no way to distinguish them. You'd need a tooltip or something. But I assume most people have just up to one of each, so this solution should be fine.

 

[The Real Abed]

I dislike how the navigation dropdown menu in iTunes 12.4 disappears when you select a device using the button right next to it. I guess the reason for this is that there is no clear solution of what to actually display in the dropdown when a device is selected.

And having to click twice just to switch to a different section of iTunes sucks anyway. Switching to a different view or tab should never take more than one click.

I think that instead of a dropdown menu, they should simply display separate buttons for all the different media libraries and the devices. (And they should of course use different icons for different kinds of devices, which for some reason they don't do at the moment.) Quick and dirty mockup:

Not perfect either. If you have several iPads/iPhone, there's no way to distinguish them. You'd need a tooltip or something. But I assume most people have just up to one of each, so this solution should be fine.

That's what the previous version did. I don't know why they changed it to the menu. At least the iPhone section is separate. I was afraid it'd be in the menu too. The menu disappears when viewing a device because at that point you're supposed to know you're only modifying that device, not the local library. So it makes sense. Just click Done or Back and the device will continue syncing or backing up or doing what it's doing.

Overall I prefer how iTunes works UI wise now. The changes are mostly great. It's much more snappy.

But it has a couple problems I hope they address in the next update:
1) Expanded playlist folders don't remember which ones were expanded. They had this same damn problem months ago with the first update that changed the UI to what we have now. But they fixed it quickly. But now it's back again. Fuck. Fix it again please!
2) That dropdown is unnecessary. But it's not a terrible problem for me. Still it's an extra step. I don't know why it needs to be a menu. Everything should be their own icon from all the different media types to every iDevice separately. Personally I preferred when they were all in the sidebar myself. But whatever.
3) I can't remember anything else. I guess it's fine as it is. Of course there's always the quirks I keep complaining about how stuff should work but doesn't. Like complete iCloud based syncing so you don't even need to use iTunes and stuff like that. But whatever.

Edit: I still hate how iTunes/iOS treats Voice Memos. They're still counted and categorized under Music. Why? They should be their own media type kept separate with proper syncing like Movies/TV Shows and Podcasts and other kinds. Why are they still Music? Didn't they learn anything from that Community Halloween episode?

 

[Ambitious]

That's what the previous version did. I don't know why they changed it to the menu. At least the iPhone section is separate. I was afraid it'd be in the menu too. The menu disappears when viewing a device because at that point you're supposed to know you're only modifying that device, not the local library. So it makes sense. Just click Done or Back and the device will continue syncing or backing up or doing what it's doing.

Overall I prefer how iTunes works UI wise now. The changes are mostly great. It's much more snappy.

But it has a couple problems I hope they address in the next update:
1) Expanded playlist folders don't remember which ones were expanded. They had this same damn problem months ago with the first update that changed the UI to what we have now. But they fixed it quickly. But now it's back again. Fuck. Fix it again please!
2) That dropdown is unnecessary. But it's not a terrible problem for me. Still it's an extra step. I don't know why it needs to be a menu. Everything should be their own icon from all the different media types to every iDevice separately. Personally I preferred when they were all in the sidebar myself. But whatever.
3) I can't remember anything else. I guess it's fine as it is. Of course there's always the quirks I keep complaining about how stuff should work but doesn't. Like complete iCloud based syncing so you don't even need to use iTunes and stuff like that. But whatever.

Edit: I still hate how iTunes/iOS treats Voice Memos. They're still counted and categorized under Music. Why? They should be their own media type kept separate with proper syncing like Movies/TV Shows and Podcasts and other kinds. Why are they still Music? Didn't they learn anything from that Community Halloween episode?

Oh yes.. it was like that in the previous version, wasn't it? Man, iTunes 12.4 isn't even a week old and I've already forgotten how the UI looked before. But then again, I hardly ever see the main window. Most of the time I use Alfred to control iTunes.

 

[The Real Abed]

Oh yes.. it was like that in the previous version, wasn't it? Man, iTunes 12.4 isn't even a week old and I've already forgotten how the UI looked before. But then again, I hardly ever see the main window. Most of the time I use Alfred to control iTunes.

I don't even listen to music at home much. iTunes is strictly mostly a media manager and syncing app for me. Which is why I wish they'd give us the iCloud Photo Library equivalent for music so I never have to A) open iTunes on my MacBook if I don't want to but still B) can open it on any other Mac I own and have it show the same music and C) also let me manage my music on my device with full Smart Playlist capabilities and instant updating and everything gets synced to the cloud. With the added benefit of having an iCloud.com based web version of iTunes where I can listen to my entire library as well. (They might need to finally replace all my leftover Protected AAC files with unprotected ones FOR FREE to do this because I still have a large amount of them since A) you can't pick and choose anymore and B) they all cost $.30 each to replace for some godawful reason. Also C) because last I did it, it replaced the copy I had with a new entry and reset my play counts and star rating for the songs for some stupid reason too. Just replace the fucking file with a new one and change the link to it in the database! It's not that hard.)

 

[mrkgoo]

I dislike how the navigation dropdown menu in iTunes 12.4 disappears when you select a device using the button right next to it. I guess the reason for this is that there is no clear solution of what to actually display in the dropdown when a device is selected.

And having to click twice just to switch to a different section of iTunes sucks anyway. Switching to a different view or tab should never take more than one click.

I think that instead of a dropdown menu, they should simply display separate buttons for all the different media libraries and the devices. (And they should of course use different icons for different kinds of devices, which for some reason they don't do at the moment.) Quick and dirty mockup:

Not perfect either. If you have several iPads/iPhone, there's no way to distinguish them. You'd need a tooltip or something. But I assume most people have just up to one of each, so this solution should be fine.

I hate how it takes more time to select, but you CAN click, hold, select and then release.

 

[EmiPrime]

Quicker to just use cmd and the number keys.

 

[Zeyphersan]

What do people think about the new Magic Keyboard? I have the opportunity to get one for about $50 and I'm looking for a Bluetooth keyboard for my iPad Pro

I like the travel of the keys, I know that was a point of contention for people

 

[Uno Venova]

Recently, When my Macbook wakes from sleep, it takes a really long time to find my wifi network, so I can never just open the lid and start surfing quickly, I have to wait around 2 minutes.

Known problem? There any solution for this? Turning the wi-fi off, then back on is kind of tedious.

 

[EmiPrime]

Recently, When my Macbook wakes from sleep, it takes a really long time to find my wifi network, so I can never just open the lid and start surfing quickly, I have to wait around 2 minutes.

Known problem? There any solution for this? Turning the wi-fi off, then back on is kind of tedious.

Are you on the latest version of OS X?

Have you tried going into Network then WiFi settings and deleting all the WiFi networks on there? You can also try to making a new Location.

 

[Uno Venova]

Are you on the latest version of OS X?

Have you tried going into Network then WiFi settings and deleting all the WiFi networks on there? You can also try to making a new Location.

Thanks Ill try this, I only have one network so I'll delete it and add it again.

 

[mrkgoo]

Thanks Ill try this, I only have one network so I'll delete it and add it again.

Consider restarting the router occasionally too.

Networking is notoriously hard to troubleshoot. A lot of people just assume the end decide is at fault because other devices are working perfectly. But that may not be the case. Or it may only be a partial issue. The router needs to make a handshake with the device, especially if it has joined before (usually holds an IP address and reassigns it, but if the device or router is not making the right response it delays everything).

My point is don't just think it's the device. If your router hasn't been rebooted in a while consider doing that as part of your troubleshooting.

 

[Uno Venova]

Okay looks like deleting the network solved it, it's back to it's normal behavior when I wake the laptop up, thanks guys.

 

[EmiPrime]

Okay looks like deleting the network solved it, it's back to it's normal behavior when I wake the laptop up, thanks guys.

Great!

 

[X-Frame]

I have a question regarding the two different 15" MBP configurations -- one has just 1 GPU while the other has 2 of them.

I have a 2010 MBP and I had bought the top of the line one at the time with a dGPU and I know my model and I think the 2011's had dGPU problems that caused crashing for example.

Are the new dGPU's Apple has put in their computers been more reliable or are they still potentially shitty? I am looking for gaming performance, just reliability.

I'm asking more in anticipation of the refreshed MBP's and what they may have rather than what is available now too.

On my 2010 despite trying to always lock to my iGPU my computer often switches back to the dGPU for a lot of apps that I use. I guess it's a power issue and while VLC and Reeder 3 requires my dGPU now, maybe the current iGPU would be powerful enough to handle them without switching?

 

[Deku Tree]

I have a question regarding the two different 15" MBP configurations -- one has just 1 GPU while the other has 2 of them.

I have a 2010 MBP and I had bought the top of the line one at the time with a dGPU and I know my model and I think the 2011's had dGPU problems that caused crashing for example.

Are the new dGPU's Apple has put in their computers been more reliable or are they still potentially shitty? I am looking for gaming performance, just reliability.

I'm asking more in anticipation of the refreshed MBP's and what they may have rather than what is available now too.

On my 2010 despite trying to always lock to my iGPU my computer often switches back to the dGPU for a lot of apps that I use. I guess it's a power issue and while VLC and Reeder 3 requires my dGPU now, maybe the current iGPU would be powerful enough to handle them without switching?

I have the 2012 rMBP max spec and I never had any issues.

 

[X-Frame]

I have the 2012 rMBP max spec and I never had any issues.

Thanks Deku!

I suppose then I need to decide if I even would need the dGPU when I get a new rMBP.

I'm seeing a lot of responses that unless I would require the dGPU for gaming, video editing, Photoshop (I do none of this) then it would actually hinder my laptop performance.

Though I suppose I could always just disable the graphics switching via System Preferences .. Especially if the difference in price is "only" $100 right now. Hmmm.

 

[Vashetti]

Safari Tech Preview 5 is out

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I have a question regarding the two different 15" MBP configurations -- one has just 1 GPU while the other has 2 of them.

I have a 2010 MBP and I had bought the top of the line one at the time with a dGPU and I know my model and I think the 2011's had dGPU problems that caused crashing for example.

Are the new dGPU's Apple has put in their computers been more reliable or are they still potentially shitty? I am looking for gaming performance, just reliability.

I'm asking more in anticipation of the refreshed MBP's and what they may have rather than what is available now too.

On my 2010 despite trying to always lock to my iGPU my computer often switches back to the dGPU for a lot of apps that I use. I guess it's a power issue and while VLC and Reeder 3 requires my dGPU now, maybe the current iGPU would be powerful enough to handle them without switching?

If you're looking for reliability, I would seriously consider going with an Iris Pro Skylake or Kaby Lake MacBook Pro when they're released.

 

[Ambitious]

When using a theme with blur/translucency, Alfred 3 is lagging for me. This is unacceptable. I told the developers, and they told me to simply use another theme. Wow.

 

[Swag]

A friend spilled some beer on my MacBook Pro, now it doesn't work without the MagSafe being plugged in and there's a replace now indication on the battery icon in OSX. The laptops performance seems like it's being throttled, is this because it's running off of the charger?

 

[X-Frame]

If you're looking for reliability, I would seriously consider going with an Iris Pro Skylake or Kaby Lake MacBook Pro when they're released.

Thanks! At least right now, both the current 15" rMBP's have the Iris Pro right? So even if I did get the higher-end one with the dGPU I could always disable the graphics switching, then would it be no different if I had gotten the lower spec with just the iGPU?

Or does just having the dGPU in the machine (even if it's disabled) reduce the reliability?

 

[LeleSocho]

A friend spilled some beer on my MacBook Pro, now it doesn't work without the MagSafe being plugged in and there's a replace now indication on the battery icon in OSX. The laptops performance seems like it's being throttled, is this because it's running off of the charger?

I remember reading cpu/gpu being throttled when only on charger a couple of years ago so i'm inclined to say yes.
Don't take my word for it though and research it.

I have a question regarding the two different 15" MBP configurations -- one has just 1 GPU while the other has 2 of them.

I have a 2010 MBP and I had bought the top of the line one at the time with a dGPU and I know my model and I think the 2011's had dGPU problems that caused crashing for example.

Are the new dGPU's Apple has put in their computers been more reliable or are they still potentially shitty? I am looking for gaming performance, just reliability.

I'm asking more in anticipation of the refreshed MBP's and what they may have rather than what is available now too.

On my 2010 despite trying to always lock to my iGPU my computer often switches back to the dGPU for a lot of apps that I use. I guess it's a power issue and while VLC and Reeder 3 requires my dGPU now, maybe the current iGPU would be powerful enough to handle them without switching?

If you are going to buy the model right now on sale in terms of reliability i think you will be totally fine with the sku with dGPU, if you are going to wait for the new one that will be released soon then i would be way of buying the one with dGPUs because of three reasons: new thinner form factor, new die shrink for both CPU and GPU and new architectures... mixed together there's high chance they will be less reliable than what we have now if not throughly tested (which they usually are).
We are still talking of very remote chances of stuff breaking and you'll probably be very safe with buying the dGPU model anyway but if you are obsessive about it it's good that you know.

Sincerely, a guy who had the GPU problem with the 2011 model.

 

[The Real Abed]

A friend spilled some beer on my MacBook Pro, now it doesn't work without the MagSafe being plugged in and there's a replace now indication on the battery icon in OSX. The laptops performance seems like it's being throttled, is this because it's running off of the charger?

Yeah, I believe MacBooks are designed so when there's no battery it throttles the CPU for some reason. I don't know why though. But it does sound like your laptop can't detect the battery or knows there's a problem with it.

 

[EmiPrime]

A friend spilled some beer on my MacBook Pro, now it doesn't work without the MagSafe being plugged in and there's a replace now indication on the battery icon in OSX. The laptops performance seems like it's being throttled, is this because it's running off of the charger?

Your laptop is on borrowed time, the longer you leave liquid damage the less likely a repair is possible, especially if you keep using the device. The battery is buggered and parts of your motherboard will be corroded from the liquid damage. Ask your friend to contribute towards the cost of a new laptop or ask him/her to stump up for a new battery and motherboard replacement repair job (very costly).

 

[Swag]

Yeah, I believe MacBooks are designed so when there's no battery it throttles the CPU for some reason. I don't know why though. But it does sound like your laptop can't detect the battery or knows there's a problem with it.

Your laptop is on borrowed time, the longer you leave liquid damage the less likely a repair is possible, especially if you keep using the device. The battery is buggered and parts of your motherboard will be corroded from the liquid damage. Ask your friend to contribute towards the cost of a new laptop or ask him/her to stump up for a new battery and motherboard replacement repair job (very costly).

I'm wondering if it will be worth repairing the laptop versus buying a new one. My local repair store (We don't have an Apple store in my country) quoted me about $710 for the entirety of the repair which is $590 less then just getting the same model new, so might just cut my losses and purchase a new one.

I remember reading cpu/gpu being throttled when only on charger a couple of years ago so i'm inclined to say yes.
Don't take my word for it though and research it.

Thanks will look into it

 

[Ninja Dom]

Hi all. What would you all say is the best 1TB SSD to get for my iMac in terms of cost & performance?

 

[The Real Abed]

I'm wondering if it will be worth repairing the laptop versus buying a new one. My local repair store (We don't have an Apple store in my country) quoted me about $710 for the entirety of the repair which is $590 less then just getting the same model new, so might just cut my losses and purchase a new one.

Thanks will look into it

Have them look into it. They'd have to open it up to make sure there's no other damage you can't see. I mean the battery is underneath. So it would have to drip down through the other stuff to get to it. Either through the keyboard or the trackpad. Make sure all your keys still work.

 

[EmiPrime]

Selling it as broken on eBay might be an option too, should fetch a few hundred $. Somebody with an ultrasonic cleaner and a soldering iron might fancy their chances fixing the damage themselves.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Thanks! At least right now, both the current 15" rMBP's have the Iris Pro right? So even if I did get the higher-end one with the dGPU I could always disable the graphics switching, then would it be no different if I had gotten the lower spec with just the iGPU?

Or does just having the dGPU in the machine (even if it's disabled) reduce the reliability?

No. The dGPU dying would still kill your Mac.

 

[EmiPrime]

https://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/

Apple's recent (acknowledged) lemons for reference.

 

[Ninja Dom]

I'm moving to a new apartment next week. I did a Speedtest on my iPhone and got a nice 70Mb/s down and 18Mb/s up. Once I fix my iMac I'll have an option of using the Ethernet or the wifi.

Will I get faster speeds using the Ethernet? I suspect it'll be a more reliable connection. But what about the OSX features like answering phonecalls on my iMac? Will I need to be connected via wifi for that?

 

[EmiPrime]

I'm moving to a new apartment next week. I did a Speedtest on my iPhone and got a nice 70Mb/s down and 18Mb/s up. Once I fix my iMac I'll have an option of using the Ethernet or the wifi.

Will I get faster speeds using the Ethernet? I suspect it'll be a more reliable connection. But what about the OSX features like answering phonecalls on my iMac? Will I need to be connected via wifi for that?

You'll need to be on Wifi for those features.

I can only speak for the latest form factor super slim iMacs (wireless ac and 5GHz) but they get phenomenal Wifi reception, better than any of my other devices. No problems using Plex or playing first person shooters even very far from the router (my computer and router are on separate floors).

 

[Moreche]

I'm really hoping we see new MBPs soon as I've moved away from iPads after selling my iPad Pro, they just to expensive for how limiting I find them compared to a laptop.

 

[Zeyphersan]

You'll need to be on Wifi for those features.

I can only speak for the latest form factor super slim iMacs (wireless ac and 5GHz) but they get phenomenal Wifi reception, better than any of my other devices. No problems using Plex or playing first person shooters even very far from the router (my computer and router are on separate floors).

Wait, if you're wired into the same router that your phone is wireless connected to it won't forward phone calls? That doesn't seem right

 

[Fuchsdh]

Wait, if you're wired into the same router that your phone is wireless connected to it won't forward phone calls? That doesn't seem right

I know it can't be right, because my Mac Pro is wired into my network and still grabs my phone calls.

 

[CraigMcD]

The iPhone needs to be on WiFi, not the Mac.

 

[EmiPrime]

Sorry I remembered things wrongly, it's just AirDrop that is Wifi only. I use Ethernet for my main connection but keep Wifi on for AirDrop and for those times when I forget to turn back on my home plugs:

Unless Ninja Dom upgrades his Bluetooth card this is all moot anyway!

 

[Deku Tree]

I get phone calls on my wired mac from my wireless iPhone on the same network.

 

[alpinestars1980]

Not sure if this acceptable in here. If not, I'll delete. I figured I'd offer this in here since it's Mac-specific.

Mac people, if you're looking for a new Mac ($1200 MSRP) and want to save a few hundred, I can get it and send it to your house directly.

This Apple iMac - 21.5" 1.6GHz Dual-core i5 is $1200 MSRP and I'll sell it for $950.

This Apple MacBook Pro - 13" 2.5GHz i5 is $1100 MSRP and I'll sell it for $875.

This Apple MacBook Air - 11-inch, 1.6GHz i5, 256GB is $1100 MSRP and I'll sell it for $875.

This Apple MacBook Air - 13-inch, 1.6GHz i5, 256GB is $1200 MSRP and I'll sell it for $950.

This Apple Mac mini - 2.6GHz Dual Core is $700 MSRP and I'll sell it for $550.

This Apple Mac mini - 1.4 GHz Dual Core is $500 MSRP and I'll sell it for $400.

This Apple 9.7" iPad Pro Wi-Fi 256GB - Space Gray is $900 MSRP and I'll sell it for $750.

I accept PayPal FF, communicate quickly, and have great feedback here.


Also, if you see another iPad or Apple product on Sweetwater's website that I don't mention here, message me and I'll let you know if I can do anything.