Spooky.. powerful is what it is. At the time of writing this article, the M4 is among the fastest of CPUs in the Mac lineup, no questions asked. Let’s.. put this into perspective: A 2019 ‘Pro with the 28-core Xeon W-3275M cost $12,999 USD brand new from Apple. Then there’s the new M4 Mini for […]
Spooky.. powerful is what it is. At the time of writing this article, the M4 Pro/Max are the fastest CPUs in the Mac lineup, no questions asked. Let’s.. put this into perspective: A 2019 ‘Pro with the 28-core Xeon W-3275M cost $12,999 USD brand new from Apple. Then there’s the new M4 Mini for $599. […]
Want a Mac Pro expansion slot without the tower? Starting in macOS 10.13.4 High Sierra, you can use an external graphics card with your Thunderbolt equipped Mac, also known as an eGPU. While it’s possible to: use a mini PCIe to PCIe adapter or an MXM to PCIe adapter for eGPUs on older Macs on […]
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 […]
You just might have to do a double-take if you see one of these in person. Coming in at a remarkable 5″ by 5″ by 2″ (12.7/12.7/5.0 cm), the third-generation Apple Silicon-based Mac mini resembles a footprint akin to an Apple TV 4K. This is a brand new design for the Mac mini, the first […]
You definitely have to ponder for a minute – what was Apple thinking when making this computer? There’s literally nothing else like it, developed and released at a time when people were unsure of whether or not the Mac Pro would receive an update. The 2013 Mac Pro 6,1 received little to no updates in […]
On Monday October 28th 2024, Apple announced the M4 iMac, the first with this most advanced chip. An M4 iPad Pro exists and was released to the general public on May 7th, 2024, being the only other device with an M4 chip at the time. The physical dimensions and design are all the same, but […]
Apple gave the iMac a fresh new look in April 2021, the first major iMac redesign in a long, long time. While the new Apple Silicon iMacs are a multicolored throwback to the PowerPC era, they still retain an aluminum body with a glass screen, with a starkly different appearance. The new look changes the […]
The M1 iMac arrived in the second wave of first generation Apple Silicon Macs, and is the first Mac to receive a redesign alongside the new chip. Gone are the 21.5″ and 27″ screen options of the Intel era, and none to replace the larger option. November 2020 saw the announcement of the M1 Mac […]
Launched as an iterative upgrade to the previous generation, the M2 chip offers improved CPU and GPU capabilities, making it quite ideal for everyday computing and creative workflows. The base model configuration released with 8 GB of RAM, causing some debate as to whether or not it is still an adequate amount of memory for […]
The M2 Max/M2 Ultra Mac Studio was released just over a year after the original, seemingly following its own trend in contrast to other Apple Silicon Macs. Dropping and shipping same day, June 5th 2023 was when it was announced. Retaining an identical exterior to the previous generation M1 Max / M1 Ultra Mac Studio, […]
The M1 Mac mini was the very first commercially available Apple computer with an Apple Silicon chip. A predecessor, Apple Developer Transition Kit exists based off of the A12Z Bionic chip, however, most have since been returned to Apple as per the loan agreement. The M1 Mac mini introduces a 5 nm 3.2 Ghz 8-core […]
There was a time in the PowerPC era roughly 20 or so odd years before the Mac Studio’s release, in which Apple sold a rough equivalent to the Studio itself. Perhaps it’s a stretch saying such a thing – however, the Power Mac G4 Cube did offer the same G4 Processor and most of the […]
These links provide a quick way to access hardware profile indexes for Apple Silicon-based Macs. Apple Silicon iMac Apple Silicon MP Apple Silicon mini Apple Silicon MBP AS MacBook Air Mac Studio Apple DTK 2 See as a list
The announcement of Apple Silicon at WWDC 2020 marked a major transitioning point for Apple, mainly focused on their return to a proprietary CPU platform. The compound effect of years of improvements on the iPhone ARM CPU platform had finally made their way to the desktop consumer market, and by extension, the Pro market. Akin […]
Although the outgoing Mac Pro had a 6 year run, it received few, if any updates during that time. In the weeks, months and years preceding the release of the 2019 Mac Pro, the crescendo of silence surrounding the Mac Pro led many to believe Apple was going to axe this model from the lineup. […]
Back from the Low End Mac Mailbag is another excellent piece from longtime reader and now contributor, Adam Goff. Enjoy Adam’s excellent take on how Mac OS 9 is still alive and kicking today – over 24 years later! Introduction – It’s the late 1990s/early 00s.. Macs (and their accessories) Become Fashion Trends In 2002 […]
From one configuration to another, 2 processor transitions apart. It’s been a month since the 24″ 2006 iMac in my possession has been modified, being turned into a sort of CustoMac. With an external display modified into the Mac itself, along with a newer graphics card, operating system, and all of the smaller components required […]
Nearly 20 years ago in October 2005, Apple released the Hi-Res PowerBook G4, in a 15″ and 17″ variant. These were named as such, as the base screen resolution which shipped with PowerBooks were increased dramatically. On the 15″ PowerBook G4, the screens jumped from (1280 x 854) to (1440 x 960), and for the […]
Fresh to the Low End Mac the mailbag from long time reader Adam Goff: “I recently made the personal decision to “un-OCLP” a few of my Intel based Macs and thus prompted a desire to create an easy to follow guide for those who need to create install media on their Mac computers running Mac […]
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 […]
In fall 2019, Apple announced their 16th major release of macOS, version 10.15 Catalina. This was the one which shipped with Apple SideCar, a system function/extension which allows you to use your iPad as a second display for your Mac. This means until October 7th 2019, there was no such analogue to the feature.. or […]
In late 2006, going right along their fall product cycle updates, Apple had introduced a 24″ iMac model for the first time. This was the largest ever produced of the “white” polycarbonate iMacs, sporting a 1920 x 1200 display, a 16:10 aspect ratio, and CCFL tubes to light up the screen. It’s a wonderful Mac […]
The Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, aka PCIe, is a longstanding serial computer expansion bus standard created in 2003. The Late 2005 Power Mac G5 was the only PowerPC Mac which took advantage of this technology, which had a production run of October 2005 – August 2006. As a result, AGP/PCI-based Macs received 1-2 years lesser […]
The first generation MacBook Air was the first ever Apple computer to ship with a Solid State Drive as a factory option for internal storage, in January 2008. Prices have come down dramatically over the years for SSD’s, making them a more viable option for faster, silent, and low power consumption operation. In the case […]
There was a time not too long ago in the past where one could simply open Safari on a PowerPC Mac, and be able to browse YouTube with relative ease. As web standards changed, resources required became more intensive, and the PowerPC platform was depreciated. Adobe Flash player was still in its hey day then, […]
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 […]
There are objective standards to judge technology by, by how well they perform in relation to how much they cost, their longevity, repairability, etc; but how much they impact you are subjective. As a technology enthusiast, I understand this a result of having a few different Macs from various eras. There’s a saying I remember […]
Officially, Minecraft 1.5.2 was the last version playable on any PowerPC Mac, as it was the last version playable on Java 5. The release date of 1.5.2 is May 2nd 2013, around the same time retina MacBook Pros just started shipping. Minecraft 1.8.9 was released December 9th 2015, adding several features and new textures over […]
Between 2006 and 2011, many iMacs shipped with a removable internal graphics card known as an MXM GPU. MXM (Mobile PCI EXpress Module) is an interface pioneered by Nvidia around 2004, originally intended for laptops, which had gone through several iterations before slowly phasing out as a platform interface connection standard. As our Macs age, […]
The 2003 Power Mac G5 was the first in a line of controversial 64-Bit PowerPC Macs, which suffered from above average hardware failure/glitchiness rates. While not the most popular Mac in the lineup of PowerPC Macs overall, the Power Mac G5 still packs a punch, and can be used for a wide variety of things. […]
The 2007 iMac has been around for a while, falling by the wayside, as it’s internal hardware doesn’t have many upgrade paths… or does it? A little known secret is hidden inside every early intel iMac made by Apple prior to their 21.5″/27″ transition.. they all have a Mini-PCIe slot! While many upgrades have […]
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 […]
The Mac Pro 5,1 has rode a heck of a wave thanks to a talented team of developers who have worked hard to keep these old machines running smoothly with OpenCore/OpenCore Legacy Patcher (and some other tools/patchers that were developed earlier such as the dosdude1 patchers) and has allowed the Mac Pro 5,1 (as well […]
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 […]
