Certain older Macs are able to take advantage of adding an external graphics card through modification. This is article is broken up into 3 parts, as it contains a lot of information and pictures. Please refer to part 1 of the article for hardware/parts prerequisites. Sections 1 through 5 are contained in part 1, Sections […]
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This 5K 2017 iMac has a socketed CPU, a SATA 3.0 port, Four memory slots for PC4-19200s DDR4-2400T RAM, an NVME style PCIe x4 SSD blade slot, and an AirPort card slot which appears to also be of a PCIe interface. This iMac also uses slightly faster DDR4 over its 1080p 21.5″ counterpart, at 2400 […]
This version of the Early 2013/Late 2013 iMac is stripped back and only available to educational institutions; it is not available for sale to individuals. To cut $200 and make this a $1099 computer, Apple scaled back from a 2.7 GHz quad-core i5 CPU to a 3.3 GHz dual-core i3, reduced hard drive storage capacity, […]
This was the end of the line for the smaller Intel iMacs altogether, and perhaps you’re thinking: doesn’t this have a T2 security chip since it’s from 2019? Rest assured, it doesn’t. There were no 2020 or 2018 4K iMacs, and this model came with Intel’s 8th gen coffee lake processors, the same generation used […]
Although only $200 separated the purchase price of the base model Mid-2017 1080p iMac versus the 4K Mid-2017 iMac, the differences inside couldn’t be more drastic. On the surface and on the outside they look to be the very same machine.. until you start tearing one apart and realize how much more upgradeable the 4K […]
This iMac is basically a giant 13″ 2017 MacBook Pro but with replaceable RAM and no battery. Kaby Lake was the end of the line for the non-retina iMacs with only a single CPU option, and remained available for purchase all the way through October 29th 2021. The i5-7360U was soldered onto the logic board […]
Certain older Macs are able to take advantage of adding an external graphics card through modification. This is article is broken up into 3 parts, as it contains a lot of information and pictures. Please refer to part 1 of the article for hardware/parts prerequisites. Sections 1 through 5 are contained in part 1, Sections […]
Certain older Macs are able to take advantage of adding an external graphics card through modification. This usually requires external power, the corresponding adapters, can be done via the mini-PCIe slot or MXM slot, and come with case-by-case caveats as most of this was never intended to be a thing. Once installed and properly connected, […]
The butterfly keyboard is no more – the 2020 retina MacBook Air has a new-to-it scissor style keyboard. This model also makes the leap over to 10th-gen Intel Ice Lake CPUs, which are also found in the 2020 13″ MacBook Pro with 4 Thunderbolt ports. The 2020 ‘Air and 4-TBP ‘Pro are the only Macs […]
Between the Late 2018 model and this one, there are almost no discernible differences – one could be forgiven for thinking it’s just a new model in name. In fact, the differences are so minuscule, it may as well be a late 2018 MacBook Air. You get a 49.9 watt-hour battery versus the 50.3 watt-hour […]
This was the first major design overhaul of the MacBook Air since the original. While there were some iterative changes after the 2008 and 2011 MacBook Air, they largely looked the same, especially to anyone in the market for one. The Late 2018 MacBook Air was the last ‘Book to gain a Retina display, as […]
Just like the 2019 model year, the 2020 intel model year is differentiated in name by its amount of thunderbolt ports. The awkward naming scheme caused confusion to some, when in reality it was separating the low/higher end 13″ models, like the non-TouchBar models that came before it. The 2020 model year 13″ MacBook Pro […]
The 2019 13″ MacBook Pro saw a slight bifurcation in the way the product was sold. They added a TouchBar to the 2x Thunderbolt Port Model, and started differentiating them in name by their amount of… thunderbolt ports. The 13″ model stuck around with 8th gen CPUs whilst the 15″/16″ made the leap to 9th […]
This was the very last and final A1466 ‘Book, a design dating back to Mid-2012 with the release of the Ivy Bridge Intel CPUs. The base’s i5 was bumped from 1.6 to 1.8 Ghz, and the i7 option remains the same as what was available in 2015. The ’17 ‘Air comes with 8 GB of […]
Did somebody say Quad-Core? That’s right – with the release of 8th-Gen Intel CPUs, the 2018 MacBook Pro was leaps and bounds faster than any generation before it. You now have an entire 2 extra cores with 4 extra threads, but you have to cough up some extra money and grab a TouchBar model ($1799). […]
Let’s take a step into the wayback machine.. back to 2017 – whatever happened to the TouchBar? In hindsight, it’s easy to tell from a future when this model has just been phased out – the implementation felt offbeat. This model also suffered from keyboard and LCD flex cable issues, as well as the one […]
Out with the A1990, in with the A2141. The scissor keyboard marks a return on this reimagined and upsized MacBook Pro, after several years of controversy with the Butterfly Keyboard. It’s now called the Magic Keyboard, in line with the naming of other keyboard devices being sold. Screen real estate and resolution sees a bump-up, […]
On June 5th 2017, Apple released the third and final iteration of the 12″ MacBook, marking the end of the line for this model, as with using the name “MacBook” by itself to refer to an Apple notebook. The A1534 is produced for another 2 years through July 9th 2019, and the “MacBook” name is […]
On March 9th 2015, Apple reintroduced the MacBook after a 4-year hiatus, becoming the #1 thinnest Mac at the time. Most simply referred to this as “the new MacBook” during its production, before settling into calling it “the 12-inch MacBook”. It wasn’t cheap, starting at a hefty $1299, matching the cost of an entry-level 13″ […]
The 11″ Early 2015 MacBook Air ships with a 2.2 Ghz i7-5650u as a BTO/CTO option, making it the absolute fastest 11″ ‘Book ever. This hasn’t at all stopped users online from shoehorning an even better CPU in there, which inadvertently or intentionally upgrades the GPU also. Out with the old Intel HD 6000, in […]
Back in the days of late PowerPC, Apple released a DTK which looked like a Power Mac G5 on the outside, but was actually a modified Intel Pentium 4 machine. Fast forward to the Apple Silicon transition, Apple released another one to developers on a loan-basis, with an A12Z chip in it. If you were […]
Once again, the base MacBook Pro takes a step forward with better performance. The machine is actually nearly identical to the newer A3113 (13″ ‘Air), except it looks like an A2992 (14″ ‘Pro). Essentially, a MacBook Air in the shape of a MacBook Pro. As of Late 2024, this was the final Apple Silicon-based MacBook […]
Now available in Space Black versus Space Gray, the M3 Pro MacBook Pro 14″ is terrifyingly fast. Almost feels like a wider, 2023 version of the PowerBook G3 Lombard. The M3 Pro cranks it up a notch over the M2 Pro, boasting even higher performance and efficiency core clock speeds, and newer, more power efficient […]
The M2 Pro/Max 14″ MacBook Pros were sold to the consumer market by Apple for a grand total of 286 days in 2023, making it one of the shortest-lived Apple computer models in history. There are some benefits to having an M2 Pro/Max over their M1-series counterparts, however, the M3 Pro/Max series released soon thereafter […]
I’m getting “heavy” 2009 Aluminum 15″ MacBook Pro vibes off of this. Is it the keyboard, with the return of the scissor switch? Is it the screen real estate, and return of physical buttons as opposed to a Touch Bar? It has rounded edges similar to a TiBook rather than tapered edges of the unibodies.. […]
Once again, the MacBook Air takes a step forward with better performance. The breakthrough was when Apple decided to start shipping these with 16 GB of RAM standard, starting October 30th, 2024 – along with the discounted M2 model. This M3 is still rated around 15 hours of battery use, and aside from a new […]
Joining the MacBook Air family in Summer 2023, the 15″ MacBook Air ($1299) is the biggest one yet. The new form factor enters larger laptop territory, but with a properly powerful entry level chip – the Apple M2. Previously, the only option you had for a larger Apple notebook would be the 15/16″ MacBook Pro. […]
Once again, the MacBook Air takes a step forward with better performance. The breakthrough was when Apple decided to start shipping these with 16 GB of RAM standard, starting October 30th, 2024 – along with the discounted M2 model. This M3 is still rated around 15 hours of battery use, and aside from a new […]
Just like the M1 Pro ‘Books before it, the M2 MacBook Air is totally redesigned, from head to toe. The design language is identical to the newer MacBook Pros – increasing the screen to body ratio, while also adding a notch to the top of the display to house the FaceTime camera/components. Gone is the […]
The Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT was a GPU option available for the Late 2005 Power Mac G5, and was released by Nvidia on August 11th, 2005. Although this was regarded as a high end GPU, an even higher-end, 512 MB Nvidia Quadro FX 4500 was available to configure. This GPU has a few generational upgrades […]
In the world of computer upgrades and peripherals, the age-old question has come up time and time again: do I get this one, or that one? Whether “Apple or Microsoft”, “Intel or AMD”, “iPhone or Android”, “ATI or Nvidia”.. competitors seek to have an advantage over the other, as so to convince someone to buy […]
In the world of Mac CPU hardware upgrades for your Power Mac G4, the Sonnet Encore/ST G4 1.6 is an aesthetically pleasing one, shaded with vibrant yet deep purple colors. Although it wasn’t a Dual CPU model, it was available seemingly for a long time, and was still available for purchase in December 2010 off […]
The M1 MacBook Air was among the first 2 commercially available Apple notebooks with an Apple Silicon chip. For $999, you get a front row seat on how mobile CPUs have progressed over the years to be powerful enough to run macOS. The new Apple Silicon MacBook Air features 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, Thunderbolt […]
Now available in Space Black versus Space Gray, the M3 Pro MacBook Pro 16″ is terrifyingly fast. Almost feels like a wider, 2023 version of the PowerBook G3 Lombard. The M3 Pro cranks it up a notch over the M2 Pro, boasting even higher performance and efficiency core clock speeds, and newer, more power efficient […]
The M2 Pro/Max 16″ MacBook Pros were sold to the consumer market by Apple for a grand total of 286 days in 2023, making it one of the shortest-lived Apple computer models in history. There are some benefits to having an M2 Pro/Max over their M1-series counterparts, however, the M3 Pro/Max series released soon thereafter […]