Super-Charged “Hybrid” 2010/2011 Mac Mini

Introduction and Background A little over 5 years ago I wrote about the mid-2010 Mac Mini being an outstanding Low End Mac for using as a media server in my article titled “Mid 2010 Mac Mini: The Perfect Low-End 1080p Media Center“.  It checks many of the key boxes given the fact that it can […]

A Forgotten Gem: Apple FireWire SDK

Once upon a time (for those somewhat new to the Mac platform), there was this innovative connection that showed up in the late 1990s – early 00s called FireWire that came around shortly after the advent of USB (at least in terms of the consumer world – FireWire had been in development since the mid […]

Envisioning the Mac Pro 8,2 “Dream Machine”

Some History on the Best Mac Value Ever: The Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1 The Mac Pro has went through many iterations over the years and with the advent of Apple Silicon, things have certainly come to a crossroads. The Mac Pro 4,1 from 2009 and the slightly revised Mac Pro 5,1 (sold from 2010 […]

Mac Pro GPUs by Era

Mac Pro Evolution Each design of the Mac Pro over the years has had its advantages and disadvantages when it comes to overall system architecture and design, including the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) options available.  Many factors are at play when determining what kind of graphics card you can run with your Mac Pro as […]

Starting Over: A Low End Mac Legacy

Dear Low End Mac friends: Apologies for the very long hiatus on new articles on the website. Things haven’t been easy for a while. Over the summer/early fall, our founder Dan Knight decided to step away after around 24 years of running Low End Mac and its day to day operations as Editor in Chief.  […]

GPU Madness in the Mac Pro 5,1: Early 2021 Edition

This is a bit of a throwback to my article from May of last year – Tri-Booting a Mac Pro 2,1 – not long before I had just procured my Mac Pro 5,1 (well technically a 4,1 that was flashed to a 5,1 with dual Intel Xeon 5680 CPUs with 12 cores at 3.33 GHz).  […]

Best Modern Alternative to the Mac Pro 5,1

It’s safe to say that the Mac Pro 5,1 will reach the end of the line at some point in the next few years – even in terms of user base extended support such as patching tools that have allowed Catalina (and now Big Sur) to be installed keeping these Macs up to date for […]

Mac Media Hub Evolution Part 1: The 480i and 480p Era (2000-07)

Hello Low Enders! It’s been a while, so I’m going to enlighten all of you with a great new series on using the Mac as a media hub and how it has evolved over time. As we have gotten newer Macs throughout the years to integrate into our home theater setups, serving as our digital […]

Snow Leopard and the Mid 2009 MacBook – Just Like PB&J

Hi Low End friends! Gather around! It’s time for another late night campfire story!            Just like the camping trips you might enjoy with family and friends, and gathering around the fire, sometimes you need a late night snack and reach for a delicious Peanut Butter and Jelly out of the […]

To Sell or Not to Sell – That is the Question

Hi Low End friends! Let’s call this article part of a “new take” category of Low End Mac.  Welcome to Low End Mac Campfire Discussions.   Now relax and think of yourself in your backyard with family or friends, enjoying your favorite beverage and wondering where all the time has gone surrounding our favorite Low […]

The Mac Pro 3,1 to 5,1 Gets Thunderbolt 3

Expansion and I/O Challenges with Older Macs Imagine the average 8-12 year old Mac sitting on your desk today.. Many are getting long in the tooth and have limited external upgrade potential or simply can’t even keep up with the best options offered today in terms of approaching optimal throughput for external graphics (also known […]

Tri-Booting a Mac Pro 2,1

Hi Low Enders! It’s the Bash man again, with another happy episode of trials and tribulations getting my Mac Pro 2,1 in a stable triple boot state (queue crickets, darkness, and crackling campfire as you roast marshmallows and read on).

The Pismo at 20: An Enduring Legacy

Hi Low Enders! It’s been a while, but like a fine wine some vintage Macs just get more sought after with age.  One of those happens to be the PowerBook G3 “Pismo”.   The Pismo PowerBook was announced this very day 20 years ago while Apple was in the middle of their “Think Different” campaign […]

RCA MM36100 – Amazing “Under the Radar” Consumer CRT Display

Dear Low End Mac Friends: It’s been a while.  Life and other typical duties keep one busy, but when something extraordinary comes up, there’s always time to talk about it with our community.  In this article, I will be discussing an interesting piece of hardware (a display to be precise) – the RCA MM36100.   […]

DVI Scaler for All Low End Mac and Gaming Needs

Greetings Low End Mac friends! It’s been a while since I have written an article solely dedicated to Apple Tech and Gaming, but this one fits the bill perfectly. A while back I had gotten a hold of a Sony Trinitron KV-36HS420. I covered that TV in the article TV Technology: No ‘Catch-All’ Solution for Low […]

5+ Year Old Macs – No Longer Low End

Something odd has happened over roughly the last 5 years. Moore’s law is hitting a brick wall (or at least it would seem so). As a result, the difference in a 5 year old Mac today versus a 5 year old Mac from 1995 in the year 2000 or a 5 year old Mac from […]

Using the Emtec P600 Wi-Fi Hard Drive

In an update to my article, Low End Wireless Hard Drive Review: The EMTEC P600, I have been able to discover some of the more intricate features of the wireless hard drive and how it can fit into a variety of “real world” usage cases. Here are some of the things of note after learning more about […]

Will Apple Enter the Smart TV Market?

There are lots of convenience and “smart” features these days when it comes to your TV viewing experience. One of the greatest features has traditionally been the ability to control a wide variety of devices with one. This began with the time tested universal remote control that still dominates many home theater set-ups today.

Now Is the Time to Bring Back the 17″ MacBook Pro

I still love my Early 2011 17″ MacBook Pro, as do many others despite its potential to exhibit a known graphics fault (see Apple Recall regarding discrete GPU failure), and it continues to be my daily driver and likely will remain that way for the next 4-6 years – unless Apple decides to reverse its course on a few […]

Remembering the Final PowerPC Macs

Nearly a decade has has passed since the last run of PowerPC Macs hit Apple’s store shelves and provided us with one last hurrah on “thinking different” and being part of the trope of “crazy ones” who simply would not conform to the norm.

Koji Igarashi Brings Next Masterpiece to the Mac via Steam

For the first time on the Mac (via Steam), gamers will be finally getting the opportunity to simultaneously enjoy a new release title, alongside console gamers from the legendary team of director Koji Igarashi (affectionately known simply as IGA by fans) and master composer Michiru Yamane. For those not fully aware of these two Japanese […]