Mac Hardware - 5k Supremacy - The Something Awful Forums

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I said come in!: Jun 22, 2004

I got an Intel SSD yesterday. Hopefully it's just the ribbon cable, but it's beyond my technical knowledge to figure out and i'm afraid to touch it anymore. I'll let Apple handle it and hope the repair doesn't hurt too much, I don't have Apple Care on this computer.

# ? Sep 18, 2015 16:30

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# ? Jun 11, 2024 12:18

Perplx: Jun 26, 2004; Best viewed on Orgasma Plasma; Lipstick Apathy

i had to update the firmware on my intel ssd before my mac saw it, but that was an ancient X25-M from 2009

# ? Sep 18, 2015 16:34

Binary Badger: Oct 11, 2005; Trolling Link for a decade

I said come in! posted:

I got an Intel SSD yesterday. Hopefully it's just the ribbon cable, but it's beyond my technical knowledge to figure out and i'm afraid to touch it anymore. I'll let Apple handle it and hope the repair doesn't hurt too much, I don't have Apple Care on this computer.

I don't know what it is about the hard drive cables on Early 2010-2012 MacBook Pros, they're all the same paper-thin-as-rear end ribbon cables that just can't seem to take the usual amounts of shock / movement / abuse that other Mac laptops have.

Perhaps that's part of why they went straight to logic-board mounted SSDs after the rMBPs were released.

I've managed to keep some of these cables going longer just by wrapping them in a few extra layers or Kapton tape, or by wrapping them with special signal-blocking foil, or a mixture of both.

I've had one laptop come back and when I checked the history it had come back three times for the same issue- hard drive cable. Same hard drive throughout though.

# ? Sep 18, 2015 17:29

Dr. Video Games 0050: Nov 28, 2007

I said come in! posted:

I got an Intel SSD yesterday. Hopefully it's just the ribbon cable, but it's beyond my technical knowledge to figure out and i'm afraid to touch it anymore. I'll let Apple handle it and hope the repair doesn't hurt too much, I don't have Apple Care on this computer.

Cables are one of the cheapest repairs. The labor costs more.

# ? Sep 18, 2015 18:12

Mu Zeta: Oct 17, 2002; Me crush ass to dust

I think Apple charges $40 for the labor

# ? Sep 18, 2015 19:02

ryangs: Jul 11, 2001; Yo vivo en una furgoneta abajo cerca del río!

My Mac Pro has been hard locking lately. Totally frozen, except for the cursor. This message shows up repeatedly in the log:

code:

WindowServer[229]	GPU Driver appears to be hung (over 5 continuous seconds of unreadiness)

This happened on 10.10 and now on the 10.11 GM.

Perhaps related, I've also seen some visual artifacts in Final Cut Pro. Check out the line of red and green dots.

Sounds like video hardware failure to me, but the Apple Hardware Diagnostic didn't turn up anything. Is there a GPU-specific diagnostic tool?

Only registered members can see post attachments!

# ? Sep 18, 2015 19:37

Binary Badger: Oct 11, 2005; Trolling Link for a decade

ryangs posted:

Is there a GPU-specific diagnostic tool?

Nope, not for the Mac Pro (Late 2013.) Or any other Mac Pro, for that matter. From Apple, at least.

There's 3rd party bench markers like GeekBench and OpenGL Extension viewer, but no diagnostic tools.

# ? Sep 18, 2015 20:44

I said come in!: Jun 22, 2004

Mu Zeta posted:

I think Apple charges $40 for the labor

The total came out to be $56. But my laptop is working again and has an SSD in it now.

# ? Sep 18, 2015 22:55

ethanol: Jul 13, 2007

so it was the cable?

# ? Sep 18, 2015 23:34

I said come in!: Jun 22, 2004

ethanol posted:

so it was the cable?

It was indeed the cable, that's what the Apple tech guy said after I explained the problem and he was able to confirm that too. He installed the SSD for me and got Yosemite installed within 15 minutes. Apple's in-store support is fantastic.

# ? Sep 18, 2015 23:36

ethanol: Jul 13, 2007

somebody should buy that poster who called it a beer

# ? Sep 18, 2015 23:37

I said come in!: Jun 22, 2004

I will buy him all of the beer.

# ? Sep 18, 2015 23:39

empty baggie: Oct 22, 2003

That same repair has been diagnosed in this thread at least 5 times, though it would be near impossible to go back and find them all, and just as unreasonable for everyone reading to remember.

E: For whatever reason, from 2009 to 2012, those HDD bracket/cables are notorious for failing. The 2011's are the only ones that are somewhat reliable, although I just swapped one out today, so they aren't fool-proof either. The 2012's are particularly bad, followed by the 2009 models.

empty baggie fucked around with this message at 00:03 on Sep 19, 2015

# ? Sep 18, 2015 23:59

ethanol: Jul 13, 2007

I get an nonserious issue that's kind of hard to google, I unplug my display and sometimes the mac still thinks it's plugged in.... normally with windows I would click detect display but I can't seem to find a similar option in mac os x

e; eh nevermind it's command f2

ethanol fucked around with this message at 03:48 on Sep 19, 2015

# ? Sep 19, 2015 03:24

AlwaysWetID34: Mar 8, 2003; *shrug*

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AlwaysWetID34 fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Jan 18, 2019

# ? Sep 19, 2015 03:48

Thanks Ants: May 21, 2004; #essereFerrari

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/ultrastudiothunderbolt/techspecs/W-DLUS-04

# ? Sep 19, 2015 12:09

champagne posting: Apr 5, 2006; YOU ARE A BRAIN
IN A BUNKER

That's pretty cheap for a thunderbolt device.

# ? Sep 19, 2015 14:00

JHVH-1: Jun 28, 2002

I said come in! posted:

It was indeed the cable, that's what the Apple tech guy said after I explained the problem and he was able to confirm that too. He installed the SSD for me and got Yosemite installed within 15 minutes. Apple's in-store support is fantastic.

I had installed drives in 2 other apple laptops on different occasions without issue, but the first time I did one with a ribbon cable I didn't realize it was connected and it ripped lifting the drive up. Ended up ordering the part from eBay for $15 or whatever it was and having to wait before I could use the new SSD. I don't think its so much that they use a paper thing ribbon cable, but that the thing was designed with a 90 degree angle in it, making a really obvious stress point where it tore.
I think the price for the labor plus part is pretty good, especially if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself.

# ? Sep 19, 2015 16:40

empty baggie: Oct 22, 2003

Definitely a good price. We charge $159.

# ? Sep 19, 2015 18:23

NeuralSpark: Apr 16, 2004

McFunkerson posted:

Does anyone have a good recommendation on a Mac Video Capture device? Would be connecting it to a Mac Pro so I'd be looking for a thunderbolt device, and I'm looking to have the video source be HDMI.

I don't actually intend to capture video, just watch it so I'd also be cool with a device that lets me got from HDMI out to Thunderbolt in, but I don't think such a beast exists.

Thanks Ants posted:

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/ultrastudiothunderbolt/techspecs/W-DLUS-04

My father has one of these, and has told me about random problems with HDCP messing up the capture. But otherwise it's a great little device.

# ? Sep 19, 2015 18:59

Thanks Ants: May 21, 2004; #essereFerrari

Oh yeah, HDCP is always going to gently caress you up. There's not much you can really do about that short of having a dodgy box to strip HDCP for you. I don't know of any capture devices that are going to support HDCP since the whole point of it is to prevent this sort of capturing.

# ? Sep 19, 2015 19:00

japtor: Oct 28, 2005

McFunkerson posted:

Does anyone have a good recommendation on a Mac Video Capture device? Would be connecting it to a Mac Pro so I'd be looking for a thunderbolt device, and I'm looking to have the video source be HDMI.

I don't actually intend to capture video, just watch it so I'd also be cool with a device that lets me got from HDMI out to Thunderbolt in, but I don't think such a beast exists.

Do you need low latency? Cause I don't think anything has that. Like if you intend to game with it or something I don't think it'll work out, but should be fine for just viewing stuff (barring HDCP on the source). Anyway another option would be the USB Elgato game capture stuff.

# ? Sep 20, 2015 01:50

AlwaysWetID34: Mar 8, 2003; *shrug*

AlwaysWetID34 fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Jan 18, 2019

# ? Sep 20, 2015 04:20

empty baggie: Oct 22, 2003

japtor posted:

Do you need low latency? Cause I don't think anything has that. Like if you intend to game with it or something I don't think it'll work out, but should be fine for just viewing stuff (barring HDCP on the source). Anyway another option would be the USB Elgato game capture stuff.

Elgato makes quality stuff, and I have a couple of their older tuner boxes attached to 2008-9 iMacs that work perfectly as spare bedroom TV's, and have friends that use their newer stuff to play console games on newer macs. From what I know, I dare say if they don't produce something that fits your need on a Mac, you probably won't find it anywhere else. They can be pricey tho, and I don't know if they work around HDCP issues.

# ? Sep 20, 2015 04:40

japtor: Oct 28, 2005

McFunkerson posted:

Nah, it's so I could develop for the Apple TV without having to build the app on the device, then move it to the living room for testing. I think I'll find a way to fit a small cheap tv on my already crowded desk.

Elgato stuff should work then...unless the ATV enforces HDCP on everything.

empty baggie posted:

Elgato makes quality stuff, and I have a couple of their older tuner boxes attached to 2008-9 iMacs that work perfectly as spare bedroom TV's, and have friends that use their newer stuff to play console games on newer macs. From what I know, I dare say if they don't produce something that fits your need on a Mac, you probably won't find it anywhere else. They can be pricey tho, and I don't know if they work around HDCP issues.

I have the cheaper "Game Capture HD" one myself, cheaper than the HD60 model and can do analog sources, but doesn't do 1080p60 (it can pass it through, but iirc the max capture is 1080p30 or 720p60). Around $130 I think, maybe less if you can find a deal. Way too much latency to play on though, it's only useful for capturing or streaming, or in this case, just watching output.

I saw they have some new PCIe model with very little lag but no Mac software, not that there's any Mac slots left. Maybe they'll make a TB version with the same guts and Mac software sometime.

# ? Sep 20, 2015 09:31

Lady Gaza: Nov 20, 2008

Are we expecting an early 2016 rMBP refresh? I want to ditch my old Windows desktop and was going to wait until I get my Christmas bonus, though if a new version is out early next year I might hold off for a while. I'm in no rush to get rid of my old machine, I just am wondering roughly how long I will need to wait.

# ? Sep 20, 2015 18:26

computer parts: Nov 18, 2010; PLEASE CLAP

Lady Gaza posted:

Are we expecting an early 2016 rMBP refresh? I want to ditch my old Windows desktop and was going to wait until I get my Christmas bonus, though if a new version is out early next year I might hold off for a while. I'm in no rush to get rid of my old machine, I just am wondering roughly how long I will need to wait.

Probably around May is the current thinking. The new Skylake computers are coming.

# ? Sep 20, 2015 18:47

Bob Morales: Aug 18, 2006; ~~Just wear the fucking mask, Bob~~

I don't care how many people I probably infected with COVID-19 while refusing to wear a mask, my comfort is far more important than the health and safety of everyone around me!

Lady Gaza posted:

Are we expecting an early 2016 rMBP refresh? I want to ditch my old Windows desktop and was going to wait until I get my Christmas bonus, though if a new version is out early next year I might hold off for a while. I'm in no rush to get rid of my old machine, I just am wondering roughly how long I will need to wait.

What are you expecting with the refresh? You'll get a marginally faster machine and that's about it. They just added Force Touch trackpads.

# ? Sep 20, 2015 18:54

App13: Dec 31, 2011

Bob Morales posted:

What are you expecting with the refresh? You'll get a marginally faster machine and that's about it. They just added Force Touch trackpads.

Hoping for usb-c, DisplayPort 1.3 etc

# ? Sep 20, 2015 19:06

Lady Gaza: Nov 20, 2008

Bob Morales posted:

What are you expecting with the refresh? You'll get a marginally faster machine and that's about it. They just added Force Touch trackpads.

Doesn't matter really, since I'm in no rush to buy one I was wondering whether it's worth holding off for a month or two so that when I do buy it, it's the most up to date one.

# ? Sep 20, 2015 21:33

champagne posting: Apr 5, 2006; YOU ARE A BRAIN
IN A BUNKER

Apple may put out a sensible Macbook.

# ? Sep 20, 2015 21:56

BGrifter: Mar 16, 2007; Winner of Something Awful PS5 thread's Posting Excellence Award June 2022

Congratulations!

Boiled Water posted:

Apple may put out a sensible Macbook.

I'd be surprised considering they just doubled down on the keyboard design with the iPad Pro.

# ? Sep 20, 2015 22:44

champagne posting: Apr 5, 2006; YOU ARE A BRAIN
IN A BUNKER

MacBook 2016: No ports at all!

# ? Sep 20, 2015 22:58

keevo: Jun 16, 2011; WAKE UP

Does anyone know when Apple updates the refurbished store? I want to get a MacBook Pro soon and while I'd be ok with the 13", I want to see what 15" models they offer.

# ? Sep 21, 2015 05:37

hatty: Feb 28, 2011; Pork Pro

Go here and set up an alert for the model you want

# ? Sep 21, 2015 05:52

Roobsa: May 1, 2011

What's the single biggest/best upgrade I can make for my 2010 Mac Pro? I've got a new graphics card which is nice but I'd like more. Is it an SSD, more RAM or something else? I've currently got 8gb in this thing.

# ? Sep 21, 2015 22:09

Pivo: Aug 20, 2004

Roobsa posted:

What's the single biggest/best upgrade I can make for my 2010 Mac Pro? I've got a new graphics card which is nice but I'd like more. Is it an SSD, more RAM or something else? I've currently got 8gb in this thing.

SSD. Biggest you can afford

8GB of RAM is ok but 16 would be better. It's not expensive.

But SSD #1

# ? Sep 21, 2015 22:34

Binary Badger: Oct 11, 2005; Trolling Link for a decade

Don't bother putting the SSD in the hard drive bay in that Mac Pro.

Get this, plug the SSD into it, plug this into any available PCIe slot, and it will operate faster in this than if you plugged it into the hard drive bay.

# ? Sep 21, 2015 22:51

keevo: Jun 16, 2011; WAKE UP

hatty posted:

Go here and set up an alert for the model you want

Of course they re-stock the refurbished page the day after I ask about it.

# ? Sep 21, 2015 23:01

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# ? Jun 11, 2024 12:18

Choadmaster: Oct 7, 2004; I don't care how snug they fit, you're nuts!

Binary Badger posted:

Don't bother putting the SSD in the hard drive bay in that Mac Pro.

Get this, plug the SSD into it, plug this into any available PCIe slot, and it will operate faster in this than if you plugged it into the hard drive bay.

I have two of these in my 2009 Pro. Definitely worthwhile.

# ? Sep 21, 2015 23:08

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