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New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

ichilton.co.uk

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Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#231

Post by Retric »

ctdonath wrote: post #192
briguyd wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And what am I supposed to do if I don't want to spend $2200 on a computer that only lasts me two years? My laptops usually last me 3-4 years, at least, after a hard drive and RAM upgrade, as well as a new battery.

My laptops usually last me 3-4 years, at least, after a hard drive and RAM upgrade, as well as a new battery. New hard drive. New RAM. New battery. Probably want a new CPU, but that's not upgradable. Ditto display. Can't add Thunderbolt, USB3, or whatever nifty new interface. May as well just get a new computer at the 2+ year point, seeing as you replaced half of it and want to replace the other half. "This here's a…

I still don't like laptops because their still slow and individual components have different upgrade cycles, and the keyboard and battery lifespan limits the value of upgrades anyway. GPU's and CPU don't have synchronized release cycles, let alone RAM and SSD's. Saying up upgrade all the components on the same time frame does not mean you can't get the new GPU for a year before the next CPU upgrade shows up.

PS: By slow compare my 18 month old CPU (2600K @4Ghz) + GTX 680 and you might be able to buy a laptop that fast in 3 years, but it's still going to cost you more money.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#232

Post by wwweston »

ctdonath wrote: post #116
gouranga wrote: post #84

Sorry but you have got to be a fucking idiot to buy one to be honest if that is the case. Apple are making an attempt to turn generic computers into disposable appliances with moves like these. I would never accept a compromise like that with a computer that I owned. My rationale is as follows: If I pay £1800 for one of those machines, I expect to be able to repair common problems easily. That's a lot of money sittin…

Making components replaceable increases volume, weight, and cost. If you want replaceable components, go buy a computer for which that is a feature - and know that you will get a machine which is larger, heavier, and more expensive (all other factors being equal). Swapable components require additional casing, connectors, testing, sales channels, etc. You're not going to get a 3/4" 5-lb 7-hour 256GB-SSD 8GB-RAM MBA R…

Having a different POV may not make you an idiot, but saying "If I need more RAM, it's best matched with a new CPU" and "If I need more storage, I'll need more RAM to throw around more data" makes you sound like one. Both statements have pretty large and likely counterexample spaces.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#233

Post by mironathetin »

BitMastro wrote: post #222
mironathetin wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Your assumptions are completely wrong, and it only shows that Apple target customers are not really doing any kind of serious computing." Yeah,... Astro-Physicist here. 90% of my colleagues use Macs and we write most of the software that controls satellites and earth bound observatories on Macs. Just an old science, entertainment, with no real or useable results :o).

I'm curious: what language do you working with? Are you using as IDE (if you are using one)?

java, jython (90% of the time), C, C++, python, Netbeans, some use Eclipse (cough), emacs, bbedit, vim

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#234

Post by mironathetin »

super_mario wrote: post #226
mironathetin wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Your assumptions are completely wrong, and it only shows that Apple target customers are not really doing any kind of serious computing." Yeah,... Astro-Physicist here. 90% of my colleagues use Macs and we write most of the software that controls satellites and earth bound observatories on Macs. Just an old science, entertainment, with no real or useable results :o).

Mathematician and software developer here (and the guy you are responding to) and ALL my personal computers are Macs too. I criticize Apple's direction because I sincerely do not think it is good for the future of general purpose computing. The software you write for your scientific computing might become "illegal" if Apple gets it their way, and you will first have to pay Apple a cut before you can run it, or it may…

I agree with you completely. I don't like the direction of Apples development either. But then, I know how much time a linux notebook consumes. I still did not manage to play back my rsync'ed backup in a way that the machine boots.

That (and related stuff) is what I mean when I write ( a bit further down) that there is no real operating system for a Thinkpad. Pity.

In a way, apple goes the same way that car manufacturers have gone already. Try to get a BMW repaired in a non-BMW workshop. Impossible, because you need BMW proprietary tools and Software. So BMW dictates the prices and they dictate, what parts have to be replaced for a certain error.

My wife and I use subway and bicycles where ever we can, since Mercedes, Porsche, Opel, Ford all try to do the same.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#235

Post by baby »

jonknee wrote: post #109
baby wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They made a huge deal out of the fan, which was exactly what I was expecting from Apple. But you're right, I read somewhere that it weighed almost as much as a macbook air. But didn't see that advertised on Apple's website. Which was for me the biggest news next to the new display.

> I read somewhere that it weighed almost as much as a macbook air. You read some bullshit then, it's not even close to the Air in terms of weight. 4.46 pounds for the Retina and 2.38-2.96 pounds for the Air (11 or 13")

4.46 pounds = 2.02302197 kilogram 2.96 pounds = 1.34263342 kilograms

700 g difference. It's pretty close. My guess is you might have a hard time telling which is more heavy if you blind your eyes and weigh one in each hand.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#236

Post by Kerrick »

sneak wrote: post #92
uzero wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes I know but that wasn't the point. The point is that if I now buy the laptop with let's say 8GB because I think I don't need more than that because all I do is code. After 6 months I get assigned to doing work with BIG databases that easily eat 10GB memory. Now I'm stuck with 8GB because it's soldered and even Apple can't upgrade it.

Upgrading the RAM on a new Macbook Pro is a user-serviceable operation. It consists of four steps: 1) Back up data, wipe drive 2) Sell MBP on eBay 3) Buy new MBP with desired amount of RAM 4) Restore data Now stop it. You're buying a Mac because you don't like to waste time dicking around with your computer, remember?

No, I'm buying a Mac because I need a UNIX-based operating system that can run the Adobe Creative Suite.

My fiancee, who is practically hardware illiterate, just installed brand new RAM and a new SSD into her 4-year-old MacBook. If she had originally purchased it with those upgrades, it would have been $500+ extra at the time of purchase. This week, it cost $150 for the parts on Amazon.

User-serviceable operations that don't require completely replacing the computer are important, and will surely affect many people's buying decisions. You don't get to say that everybody who wants a Mac will never want to waste time dicking around with their computer.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#237

Post by esonderegger »

tincansandtwine wrote: post #194
ctdonath wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Making components replaceable increases volume, weight, and cost. If you want replaceable components, go buy a computer for which that is a feature - and know that you will get a machine which is larger, heavier, and more expensive (all other factors being equal). Swapable components require additional casing, connectors, testing, sales channels, etc. You're not going to get a 3/4" 5-lb 7-hour 256GB-SSD 8GB-RAM MBA R…

Specifically in reply to the battery: I work in an enterprise environment where Macs make up about 50-60% of the installed machines. Of these, about 30-40% are laptops. In my experience, Mac laptop batteries have a high rate of failure, higher than our significantly more dated PC hardware. With the most recent revs, replacing the battery has become a huge problem, since relatively new hardware (1-2 years old) is now…

Why did you put quotes around "require" when describing your userbase and Mac hardware?

I'm genuinely curious - do their stated reasons for using Macs differ from how you think they are actually using their machines?

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#238

Post by WiseWeasel »

brockhand wrote: post #185
51Cards wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... while it's under warranty. Pay through the nose when it's not because it can't be serviced anywhere else. Simply put, would you buy a car that once beyond the warranty had to have brakes, tires, battery, air filter, and spark plugs replaced ONLY at the dealership with parts at factory cost? In addition if any part broke on the engine you would have to replace the entire engine. It's not that much different. I wou…

I hear this comparison often but to me the big difference lies in the order of magnitude of cost difference. A $2,200 laptop is different than a $30,000 car for a few reasons. The largest is probably the difference in purchasing behavior. I might save up for a few weeks to buy a laptop. I might have a car note for a few years. To me that makes all of the difference. I think people should educate themselves on the pro…

Not to mention that unlike cars, Apple laptops maintain their value surprisingly well. After two years, you can probably still get at least half what you paid out of it.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#239

Post by doetoe »

mironathetin wrote: post #199
super_mario wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your assumptions are completely wrong, and it only shows that Apple target customers are not really doing any kind of serious computing. Sometimes your processes are not CPU bound at all, sometimes they are I/O bound. Sometimes in RAM caches can increase performance quite a bit etc. This means swapping HDD and putting faster SSD is enough to speed certain things up. Also, updating RAM only is enough to speed things u…

"Your assumptions are completely wrong, and it only shows that Apple target customers are not really doing any kind of serious computing." Yeah,... Astro-Physicist here. 90% of my colleagues use Macs and we write most of the software that controls satellites and earth bound observatories on Macs. Just an old science, entertainment, with no real or useable results :o).

That is beside the point. That you're using a Mac doesn't automatically make you an Apple target customer.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#240

Post by [deleted] »

mironathetin wrote: post #162
gouranga wrote: post #84

Sorry but you have got to be a fucking idiot to buy one to be honest if that is the case. Apple are making an attempt to turn generic computers into disposable appliances with moves like these. I would never accept a compromise like that with a computer that I owned. My rationale is as follows: If I pay £1800 for one of those machines, I expect to be able to repair common problems easily. That's a lot of money sittin…

"Sorry but stuff like this is just pandering to consumerism if it is disposable by design." You are kind of right. We use our 7 year old G4 Powerbook with the 4th battery. Its a pity that there is no real operating system available for a Thinkpad.

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