filmguy123
Veteran
Oh yeah I've watched that before, and that's the sort of thing I've personally done to my Macs. I fixed a 2007 MBP back in the day as well. I grew up working on PCs and continue to build my own workstation PCs. Just saying:
Rumored 16-Inch 3072x1920 Resolution MacBook Pro to Launch in September
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filmguy123
Veteran
Well, all this might have been premature...
Latest news says Apple is cancelling it's encrypted repair blocking and working to green light independent 3rd party repair agencies, in a consumer friendly move to lower repair costs.
Latest news says Apple is cancelling it's encrypted repair blocking and working to green light independent 3rd party repair agencies, in a consumer friendly move to lower repair costs.
To be clear I wasn't saying that Apples prices were low or even reasonable. That latter question is something each buyers will have to decide on their own. I was only making the point that isn't fair to compare Apples SSD with a random low TBW $99 model on NewEgg.
We don't really have to wait to find that Apples SSDs will be much faster than these low end consumer drives. The SSDs in current MacBook Pro 13" and 15.4" models are have 3.2GB/s read and 2.2GB/s write speeds. One would expect this new upgraded model to at least as fast as the current systems so much faster than the cheap drives you mentioned.
You make a good point about the Samsung SSD. I doubt many would notice any performance difference between it and the Apple or OWC SSDs but it does look pretty sweet.
I doubt the "Right to Repair" laws that are being discussed will do much to change this situation. The laws I've seen don't require vendors to accept their party parts and instead they require that companies sell parts and tools to anyone who wants them. Apple would likely just be forced to sell their more expensive parts to more repair shops. Many smaller shops wouldn't be able to afford all of fancy hardware that companies like Best Buy have bought to repair Apple gear. Labor isn’t large part of an Apple repair cost and Apple doesn’t charge a diagnostic fee so I don’t think there would be a big saving going with third party repair shops.
While I would like to see more modularity I think the T2 chip plays very well in the enterprise space where large customers are facing increasingly sophisticated security threats. In addition to seamlessly encrypting the hard drive, the T2 chip has a Secure Boot feature that prevents a hacker from loading an unsigned operating system making it much harder to compromise the loaded operating system.
Apple has a number of large enterprise customers with intellectual property to protect who will likely welcome these and other security enhancements. Enthusiasts may grumble but many larger companies are putting security first. In my experience many of these large companies only repair system through authorized channels even if it means getting some of their employees certified by Apple.
Of course all this extra security will likely eventually mean the death of Hackintoshes, but we probably have at least 5 or 6 years before that happens. The 2019 iMac doesn't have a T2 chip and that system will be supported for some time.
We don't really have to wait to find that Apples SSDs will be much faster than these low end consumer drives. The SSDs in current MacBook Pro 13" and 15.4" models are have 3.2GB/s read and 2.2GB/s write speeds. One would expect this new upgraded model to at least as fast as the current systems so much faster than the cheap drives you mentioned.
You make a good point about the Samsung SSD. I doubt many would notice any performance difference between it and the Apple or OWC SSDs but it does look pretty sweet.
I doubt the "Right to Repair" laws that are being discussed will do much to change this situation. The laws I've seen don't require vendors to accept their party parts and instead they require that companies sell parts and tools to anyone who wants them. Apple would likely just be forced to sell their more expensive parts to more repair shops. Many smaller shops wouldn't be able to afford all of fancy hardware that companies like Best Buy have bought to repair Apple gear. Labor isn’t large part of an Apple repair cost and Apple doesn’t charge a diagnostic fee so I don’t think there would be a big saving going with third party repair shops.
While I would like to see more modularity I think the T2 chip plays very well in the enterprise space where large customers are facing increasingly sophisticated security threats. In addition to seamlessly encrypting the hard drive, the T2 chip has a Secure Boot feature that prevents a hacker from loading an unsigned operating system making it much harder to compromise the loaded operating system.
Apple has a number of large enterprise customers with intellectual property to protect who will likely welcome these and other security enhancements. Enthusiasts may grumble but many larger companies are putting security first. In my experience many of these large companies only repair system through authorized channels even if it means getting some of their employees certified by Apple.
Of course all this extra security will likely eventually mean the death of Hackintoshes, but we probably have at least 5 or 6 years before that happens. The 2019 iMac doesn't have a T2 chip and that system will be supported for some time.
Louis Rossmann proves that this is not true at all. He regularly gets Macbooks that have been f*cked-up by Best Buy because they had no clue what they were doing, despite spending the big bucks on fancy repair equipment, and then he methodically undoes the damage that Best Buy did to the Macbook, and finally shows how to properly repair the laptop. Going by Louis's many videos, it really looks like most repair places have no clue how to properly repair a Macbook motherboard. ( which Louis demonstrates in almost every video he posts on his YouTube channel ) And it looks like Apple repairs by replacing the entire motherboard with a new one, instead of attempting to fix the non-functioning motherboard itself.
Again, watch Louis Rossmann's YouTube videos where he regularly shows that Macbook motherboards can repaired in a short period of time ( usually well under an hour ), with a much smaller parts cost than Apple's method of just replacing the entire motherboard. Louis's Macbook repairs often cost a tiny fraction of what Apple charges for the same repair because he's actually finding the problem with the non-functioning motherboard and fixing the defective component on it. It's astounding to watch Louis quickly fix a Macbook motherboard by analysing the problem and then applying some basic logic to fix the problem.
Ha! ...That never gets old, and I keep falling for it. :nads:
Run&Gun
Veteran
Where’s the estimated price coming from?
Was your friend including tax and other things? I just took 12 seconds and maxed out the newest 15” on Apple’s website: $6549.
Run&Gun
Veteran
Everything will fail at some point. Everything. My current RMBP is going on, I believe seven years old and my 17”, while not still being used, is 10 years old and still works.
Thomas Smet
Veteran
This is why Apple uses higher end flash storage. There are specs and speeds for drives but what specs rarely tell us is how well the drive holds up over time. One can buy a decent fast SSD or m2 drive but it may be QLC or just not be as reliable and have a higher failure rate. Apple uses higher end storage that is not only fast but will last many years of write operations and has a very low failure rate. It costs more but you get what you pay for. Newegg has drives like this for sale but when anybody wants to call Apple a rip-off they only seem to compare to the lower end drives.
Apples biggest fault is they don’t give users an option. Honestly most of us would prefer cheap m2 storage that can be replaced vs high end super expensive storage that may last 7 years+. I think in the long run the value would be the same but then users would feel more in control and spend their money as needed vs all up front. I personally think it’s better to just do it right the first time and not worry about it again. By the time the m2 storage in a MBP fails it will likely be time for a new MBP anyway.
Thomas Smet
Veteran
This is true to a certain degree. That’s why Apple does provide a good three year warranty which will replace your entire MBP no questions asked if it fails that badly. After three years we are SOL.
I will say in the corporate world I have seen repair isn’t typically a factor to worry about. When a machine dies even a PC tower or laptop companies tend to just pitch them and get a new one. I have worked for three corporations now and have had numerous corporate clients that never bother to have IT waste time fixing any PC or Mac. They might utilize Dell, HP or Apple support while under warranty but after that they get filed in the giant green file cabinet outside.
The days of walking into Fry’s or buying components on Newegg to repair a system are coming to a close.
At least MBP has a solid solution for external boot drives. I use an external SSD all the time on my work MBP so I can use it as my own personal machine as well. This way when I travel for work I don’t need to take two MBPs. Just plug in the external boot drive and work off my own MBP.
I do agree it is a bummer a MBP can never replace the storage or ram which happen to be the two most likely failure points on a computer. I wish Apple would change this policy but honestly this is just the world we live in now. Phones, tablets, cars, TVs and so forth are not very repairable anymore. It took me many years to get used to this and honestly I’m too old to worry about it anymore. I buy the tool I need and when it fails I replace it. I don’t bother to get my toaster, TV or anything else repaired anymore. My car is the one exception but I take that to the dealership service center and let them do their thing. Most people don’t even change their own oil anymore. We have become a culture of take in somewhere for somebody else to deal with it. Not sure yet if that is a bad thing or not.
With that said I bought a Mac Mini instead of a MBP for the very reasons many of you have brought up. I can update pretty much anything I want minus the CPU. Don’t even mind doing an external boot someday if the internal flash storage dies. I upgraded my own ram and use a Vega 56 eGPU which can be replaced at any point. The Mini itself was $1,100. I bought mine refurbished for $980 and added my own 32Gb of ram and the Vega 56. Total system cost was $1,860 and I can update whatever I want. If the system dies after three years I can replace it with another $1,100 Mini and use the ram and eGPU if they still work. I can use a USBc 10gbps or TB3 40gbps external boot drive if just the storage fails so I’m not really worried about that either. It isn’t portable and that does suck but I rarely do heavy editing or animation on the road so I’m ok with that. I either use my old work 2014 MBP when I need a portable system or just use my iPad Pro for normal business type stuff.
G
Guest
Guest
Did you add all the extra things? Dual external monitor, eGPU pro, all the pro apps? Apple care?
Thomas Smet
Veteran
Thing is the DPI seems like it will be the same. 15” running 1920 scaled mode is 145 PPI. 16” running 1920 scaled mode will be 136 PPI. Yes slightly larger pixels but only by a sliver. 136 PPI is still very tiny. The 17” MBP was 131 PPI so maybe it will not be that bad but even that was kind of pushing the comfort level. Every little bit helps I guess so it will be slightly easier to read text with the 1920 scaled mode.
I still don’t think that is enough to justify ditching a 2018 or 2019 MBP just for that slight increase. I hope it has some other perks.
Thomas Smet
Veteran
It is unfortunate that Apple doesn’t have more affordable SSD options but 4TB of pro level fast SSD storage is always going to be expensive. It’s also a unique need to require that just inside of the computer itself. Most of us edit off of external edit drives which makes the need for 4TB of internal storage rather pointless. For example Newegg doesn’t have a lot of 4TB m2 options with the fast speed and reliability. Only one Intel option for $3,500. These are not the same as a 500 MB/S SSD drive that may croak after X number of write cycles. A 2TB Pro m2 drive at Newegg can be as high as $1,500. If Apple is using storage like that then what they charge is actually a bargain. The more I use SSD and m2 storage the more I see the value in not buying the cheaper drives. The cheap drives are like crack. They go fast at first but they crash hard and will eventually ruin your life.
The most common problem that Louis Rossmann fixes is minor water damage that has either corroded contacts or shorted out a chip on the Macbook motherboard. In some cases he simply removes the corrosion and may re-seat the original chip by removing it with the aid of a tiny soldering tool and a high power stereo microscope, or he may replace the motherboard chip with a brand new one that costs a tiny fraction compared to replacing the motherboard.
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Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Apple pricing is largely related to Apple making high profits and NOT because Apple is using better components. Most Apple computer components are standard PC parts that can be bought by anyone, but now we've got T2 encryption to stop users from by-passing Apple for upgrades. You can buy the same high end flash storage at a much cheaper price if you don't buy from Apple. ( but you will void your warranty in the process of installing it, assuming you are not locked out by the T2 chip )
I think you're creating a false equivalency between authorized OEM repairs and those done at mom and pop shops. When you take your device into the Apple store the doesn't repair parts. Apple's techs replace defective parts and then fully warrantees the entire system for 90 days. If the system board fails after a repair within 90 day window Apple will replace it for free. The corporations that buy millions of Mac systems want the system fixed right the first time and don't want to have to wonder if the repair is going last.
There are lots of local repair shops across the country that will tinker with your broken Mac. One shop brought my old MacBook Pro mostly back to life after it was doused with a pint of beer while plugged in. The tech told me it might last a week or it might last for years. I got another year out of it so I was happy but he wouldn't have been responsible if it had stopped working an hour after I left his shop.
The type of repairs that Rossmann does don't scale to anywhere near the scale Apple operates at. Micro-soldering like that is a tough skill to master and you're just as likely to screw up the repair as you are to fix the problem.
You hear about Rossmann's successes, but how often do his repairs fail? Whether that's immediate, two weeks, two months, or two years down the line?
You hear about Rossmann's successes, but how often do his repairs fail? Whether that's immediate, two weeks, two months, or two years down the line?
So when a small and cheap cable socket has a tiny bit of corrosion on it from a little bit water, Apple will replace the entire motherboard, where an independent repair shop like Louis Rossmann will give you the option of repairing or replacing the cable socket on the motherboard. Apple's solution may be more reliable in the long run, but you have to foot the bill of replacing the entire motherboard for a corroded pin on a small cable socket. I suspect that given the option of a $800+ repair from Apple versus a $80 repair from Louis Rossmann, many people will go with the $80 repair.
Louis Rossmann warrantees his motherboard repairs for 90 days. ( other repaired or replaced components may have up to a 1 year warranty )
Your comments remind me of the FUD ( fear uncertainty doubt ) that Nikon reps would use in the 80's and 90's to dissuade people from using independent camera repair shops instead of going to Nikon repair. Here in Toronto we had a few master repair technicians that often did a better job than Nikon did at almost everything. I even had some custom modifications done by these technicians that I could not get anywhere else.
I agree that small repair shops are not able to handle corporate repairs in any real quantity, but for independent freelancers you might save yourself quite a bit by going with an independent repair shop.
Run&Gun
Veteran
He didn't say, but as you can see, I did ask. Regardless, a new, loaded to the hilt, maxed out with everything MBP is $6495(plus tax where applicable ; ) ) External monitor, eGPU, apps, etc. shouldn't be considered part of the price of the computer itself, because, well, they're not. That would be like me saying my new truck that is really $50K cost $100K, because I counted the horse trailer and horses I'm towing.