Mac Studio M1 Ultra Teardown [video]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY0gRMpT4AY

157 203 4 years ago

MBCook3• 4 years ago

The size of that M1 Ultra package is just enormous. I’d love to see what it looks like under the heat spreader.

It’s also interesting Apple is cooling both sides of the chip. Is that just for efficiency so the computer is quieter? Intel/AMD chips that put off way more power aren’t cooled from both sides right?

giuliomagnifico2• 4 years ago

The dual blower is completely non-standard, as well. Goldberg says that the engineering team found that by splitting each impeller of the blower by a divider partway up its height, they were able to make adjustments using the disc that allowed for different pitches of the blades above and below the divider. “That results in drawing different amounts of airflow from each section of the box so we can tune for the thermal performance based on the cooling needs, adjust the height of that divider, adjust the the pitch of the blades and each section and then kind of optimize for thermals and acoustics at the same time,” says Goldberg.

https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/17/apple-execs-on-developing-...

kitsunesoba2• 4 years ago

Apple has really stepped up their cooling game in the past few years.

The heat sink in the iMac Pro was where things really started to shift. It keeps the Xeons in those machines reasonably cool while being whisper quiet at idle/low load and reasonably quiet at load. They really kicked it up a notch with the Mac Pro, which remains nearly inaudible at all times, and now that’s carried forward into the Mac Studio.

Really nice work. I’d love to see this kind of innovation in more standardized PCs — the NH-D15 and front fans in my custom built tower do a good job on thermals but their acoustics leave something to be desired, despite Noctua coolers and fans being some of the quietest on the market.

sbierwagen• 4 years ago

different pitches of the blades above and below the divider

I thought that was interesting, so I looked for it on the video: https://youtu.be/IY0gRMpT4AY?t=878 If there's a difference in blade pitch, it's not visible from that angle. What is pretty clear is that the split isn't exactly halfway down, maybe 55/45 instead of 50/50.

Their marketing photos aren't any clearer: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FNa32k2XoAMCDiW?format=jpg&name=...

You would probably need to cut an impeller up to see a difference, or xray it.

I would also be interested if someone swaps out the blowers and see what difference the Apple impeller makes. I would be surprised if it's more than 5%. But injection molding makes fancy geometries very cheap, and if you're making the molds anyway you might as well pick up the easy design win. Amortized over however many millions they're going to make, the NRE costs are going to be pennies per unit.

MangoCoffee• 4 years ago

The size of that M1 Ultra package is just enormous

i was going to make the same statement.

is chiplet design the future? lets put together two powerful chip to make one super powerful chip. i guess its one way to beat the Moore's Law

perryizgr8• 4 years ago

is chiplet design the future?

Hasn't AMD been doing it for the past half a decade?

LeifCarrotson3• 4 years ago

It's not beating Moore's law, it's beating die yield curve limits.

Working near the limits of manufacturability will result in occasional defects. If you only have to have a few eight-core 10x8mm chiplets and a more reliable 12nm process node interconnect die come out defect-free, that's much easier than trying to get all of that on a single giant die with 64 cores and the IO on the same die.

To exaggerate, if each chiplet has a 50% chance of failing, on average you have to make 16 chiplets to get one good multi-package chip. But you'd need (2^8 * 8) = 2048 to get one contiguous super-die. with no defects.

Maursault4• 4 years ago

Was anyone else cringing during this video at both the host's constant unnecessary outbursts, but also the way he haphazardly stripped a $16K Studio? It was obvious he has experience and yet went out of his way to act unprofessional. I seriously doubt every screw made it back into that Studio. Can't wait for iFixit's calmer teardown video.

jeffbee• 4 years ago

It's pretty embarrassing watching a grown man lose his cool repeatedly just because there's a cap over a CPU and some memory that are mounted on the same PCB.

ehutch79• 4 years ago

This guy is kinda... I'm surprised the headline isn't QUANTUM COMPUTING MAC CONFIRMED.

henvic• 4 years ago

Give him a break. He's probably doing his best to make money out of his channel.

Of course he wants to draw attention, and that's fine. People understand he's acting, besides doing a professional work.

ianai• 4 years ago

Probably the interesting thing will be if we ever get videos of deep hardware fixes of these. Like the “I bought 5 broken PS5s to fix for this video”

buryat2• 4 years ago

but also the way he haphazardly stripped a $16K Studio

the version they tore down is $4k and even the maxed out version is $8k, don't know where you got $16k figure from

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/mac-studio/20-core-cpu-48...

dylan6042• 4 years ago

They bought 3 separate systems with montiors. Easy to see how it got to the $17k+. It's explained within the opening minutes of the video

smoldesu2• 4 years ago

Max Tech is... really something. I stumbled upon a few of his videos a few years ago and thought it was a parody of JayzTwoCents/LinusTechTips channels, but... nope. Guy is a real gem of modern YouTube and algorithm pandering.

pram2• 4 years ago

Fun fact: it’s not a single guy, it’s actually two guys who look and sound similar.

pokstad2• 4 years ago

What’s up with not using an electrostatic mat and wrist bracelet to prevent discharging onto the electronics?

vinyl7• 4 years ago

In my experience of having touched components and had static discharge, modern components (at least on PCs) are designed to handle it. I worked for a systems builder and none of the assemblers used grounding straps and had no issues. It seems like they have something in the traces to protect the critical components from static, probably to reduce RMAs from custom builders. That's not to say it can't happen though.

paxys2• 4 years ago

Meh. It is a $4K machine, not $16K. And a million views on a YouTube video (which this one is approaching and sure to exceed) can get you up to $40K in ad revenue. Somehow I doubt think the possibility of screwing up when putting it back together is too scary to him.

unclekev• 4 years ago

And a million views on a YouTube video (which this one is approaching and sure to exceed) can get you up to $40K in ad revenue

1 million views on YouTube is closer to $3-$4k in Ad Revenue (If you are lucky)

Not $40k

Underphil• 4 years ago

Yeah, this is the kind of content I try to avoid. Being shouted at by a guy who uses the word 'literally' in almost every sentence isn't my idea of enjoyable content.

louwrentius2• 4 years ago

The video was excruciating for this very reason. Very obnoxious bro-culture presentation.

k2enemy2• 4 years ago

It seems there are two slots for SSDs. I'd be curious to know which storage configurations populate both slots versus just one. If Apple offers SSD upgrades like they do for the Mac Pro, it would be nice to order a studio with one slot free.

MBCook3• 4 years ago

Isn’t this sort of how the iMac Pro worked? Didn’t it have slots, but they would only work in single or tandem, not as two separate drives? And you couldn’t upgrade your current drive, you had to blow it away since the drives were tied through the Secure Enclave?

Maybe I’m misremembering.

But it wouldn’t surprise me if this was a version of that.

pram2• 4 years ago

Yep the iMac Pro and Mac Pro have had the same setup. I’d assume the 4/8TB configurations populate both ports from the disk speed tests I’ve seen.

marcan_42• 4 years ago

It's not the secure enclave thing. These aren't SSDs. These are raw storage modules. The SSD controller is built into the M1/T2. You are upgrading the raw storage behind a single, global SSD. Of course when you change the layout of the raw storage, the data arrangement changes and you have to reformat. It'd be like swapping out chips on a regular SSD and expecting your data to still be there.

eyelidlessness2• 4 years ago

Yep apparently two non-soldered modules. From what I read, the Pro’s upgrade program was introduced after the fact. I’d bet Studio will follow suit if there’s an aftermarket interest, and it’ll be repositioned as the semi-upgradeable amorphous version of “xMac”. It’s otherwise perfectly suited for the long lost mid tier desktop Mac, and it’s safe to assume no other internal components will ever be upgradeable again.

yuuta• 4 years ago

Apple always makes incredibly beautiful internal designs - for themselves, not the users.

tlb• 4 years ago

Most Apple products I've owned, I've ended up seeing inside at some point in their life cycle. It makes a difference to me knowing that they're nice inside.

But also, it's hard to think of products that are nice on the outside but ugly on the inside. I suspect it's because some people care and some don't, and both inside and outside reflect that.

sgjohnson4• 4 years ago

it's hard to think of products that are nice on the outside but ugly on the inside

HP and Microsoft have both made some pretty looking laptops recently, but they are a complete and utter mess on the inside.

spoonjim• 4 years ago

Some of it is too much though. Why are those black stickers on there covering up parts of the components? It's like they were ashamed of the schematic or something.

greggsy• 4 years ago

Possibly a mix of cosmetic and functional. Maybe they identified that dust buildup can cause static issues. Maybe the plastic addresses some solder filament problems. It might also increase the device’s tolerance to vibration, or performs sound dampening.

Casteil3• 4 years ago

EMI shielding, most likely

gumby3• 4 years ago

Their CEO is a master of the BOM. They aren’t including a sticker like that unless it is functional.

sneak• 4 years ago

If it comes at the expense of usability in software, it isn't worth it.

I wish their software and UI teams were this unrushed (or time-efficient).

lwkl• 4 years ago

Can you explain how you come to this conclusion? Maybe I'm much more critical of Windows because I have been using it for the last 13 years (and will be using it alongside macOS and Linux in the future) but my experience was the complete opposite.

I switched back to macOS after having been away for 13 years and I felt right at home. System Apps and Settings generally are and worked the same. Sure the UI might have have changed a bit but mostly by repositioning things or adding a feature. Almost everything I learned about the UI 15 years ago still applies. The disk encryption and firewall settings were still in the same place, same goes for the touchpad and everything else.

It was the total opposite to the Windows 11 VM I set up after. The settings app had a major redesign again and instead of relying on my memory I had to use the search function after failing to find some settings.

wsc981• 4 years ago

The internals of the G4 MDD were beautiful (and functional) for both Apple as well as the users: https://512pixels.net/2016/11/lazarus-mac-mdd-g4/

dagmx• 4 years ago

The direct comparison today would be the Mac Pro which has both a very well designed (though not super bespoke) interior, and is accessible to users too.

sschueller3• 4 years ago

But not technically the best designs. They run high voltage next to unprotected low voltage which in the case of water ingress can damage things like the CPU. This may not be an issue with a desktop but it is with a laptop or keyboard. Alternatively you could coat a board if there are places where you can't get around such design situations but Apple doesn't do that either.

PUSH_AX• 4 years ago

Is it not safe to assume that if you have water ingress all bets are off regardless?

Damogran62• 4 years ago

Name another desktop (or laptop even) that’s designed for water ingress. Sure, some keyboards have channels to run a cup of coffee away, but I want to know who creates a “technically the best” design that isn’t a massive brick-with-a-handle MDT.

nicoburns• 4 years ago

I don't understand why manufacturers haven't waterproofed keyboards. It's such a common failure mode you'd think it's be an easily marketable feature. And they're already doing it for phones.

robertwt7• 4 years ago

very excited with this mac studio. with the same price of mbp14 ($3300 AUD), i can get m1 max with 32gb ram, as opposed to m1 pro (10 core and 16 core gpu) with 16gb ram.

Seriously considering to buy the mac studio and take it in my backpack lol.

nirui2• 4 years ago

I don't really care how a company arrange their PCBs. It's just like writing code, as long as the code is correct, easily readable, expressive and have great eventual performance, it's a good code, you don't have to keep your lines in a visually beautiful perfect symmetry to achieve that.

The same is true for PCB design: as long as the board is correct, reasonable, stable and have good performance, it's a good board.

Based on the video, in order to clean up the dirty fans in this machine (something you'll start to do eventually), you'll have to:

1. Un-glue the button rubble stand ring to access the body screws,

2. Remove the exposed power supply (Risk getting shocked or worse),

3. Detach almost everything (screws, tapes and cables) you can see, so you can un-mount the main board to access the fans.

Then, after done cleaning, you have to do everything again but in reverse.

My opinion is, Apple can make their circuits look like a Steve Jobs thonk pose, but if an user has to go through all that many trouble and risks to preform such simple and (rare but) routine task, this design is bad.

Casteil3• 4 years ago

Had this same thought when I watched this teardown when it came out a few days ago.

I'm a big fan of the power/efficiency of the M1 (and all variants), but it's completely ridiculous that the teardown is so involved to get at the fans/heatsink for cleaning.

lwhi• 4 years ago

I think Apple would rather you buy a new machine.

oxplot4• 4 years ago

if an user has to go through all that many trouble and risks to preform such simple and (rare but) routine task, this design is bad

You're assuming an Apple user is meant to service their own product. That's not the case as far as Apple is concerned. You have an issue, you drop by the Apple store (or send your device in) and they repair it for you.

Determining good-ness or bad-ness of a design has to take into account the intended usage and design goals. Whether a customer should be able to repair their device easily/at all, is a whole separate topic. Apple doesn't think so and their design decisions have clearly reflected that over the decades. As far as that goes, whether the end user has to dig through 20 layers of hardware before cleaning a fan is irrelevant. What's relevant is whether Apple employees who'll be fixing/cleaning these devices will be wasting too much time for the most frequent support requests. That's what Apple should be (and most certainly is) optimizing for.

Also note that the majority of the end users will not have the time nor the interest to repair their own devices, especially when in most cases, their repair is covered under warranty. A lot of people with the technical skills far more than needed to to the self repair fall into this category as well. I've been modding and hacking expensive hardware for decades mostly for fun, but also for practical reasons, in order to add to/modify behavior of the hardware. Even I have little interest to repair my Apple products I have paid premium dollars on. I increasingly value where I spend my time and I let Apple do my laundry for me.

I must also mention (given the high degree of Apple/Google/Facebook/... bashing on HN) that Apple is among the better, if not the best, manufacturers in terms of warranty service and support (at least where I live). I have requested warranty services for dozens of products and not once have had to "prove" my case, or so much as try to convince Apple of an issue. Compared to every other worse interaction with other brands, I will continue to pay top dollars for Apple products even at the cost of whatever the hot Apple knocking topic of the day is. Having said that, there are of course tools that I need full access and repairability as a given and I never go with Apple in those cases.

Osiris• 4 years ago

He's not talking about repair. He's talking about cleaning. Cleaning should not require an Apple certified technician.

nirui2• 4 years ago

You're assuming an Apple user is meant to service their own product. That's not the case as far as Apple is concerned.
Determining good-ness or bad-ness of a design has to take into account the intended usage and design goals. Whether a customer should be able to repair their device easily/at all, is a whole separate topic

I was just talking about the product design itself, did not touch the self-repairability issue at all.

There are certain expectations a device should be providing, been Apple does not grant them the exception. No, Apple is not a special company that produce magic rainbow out of their computer/phones, it's a company that produce digital product and service, just like those in Shenzhen, Apple is not special. They're expensive, they're a monopoly, and they hire some good people, but they're not special, keep this in mind.

I would complained the same thing if Dell or Lenovo designed their wind system like that. Fun fact, I kind like how Dell designed their OptiPlex MFF system, at least I don't have risk my life trying to clean them. But of course that computer, not a Mac.

But with all that said, I'm not here to stop you. If you want one (because it look beautiful I guess???), then treat yourself. I'm just here to complain what I saw as a consumer.

kiratp• 4 years ago

Our devs aren't cleaning their machines - it goes to Apple. As long as their techs can do it it matters not. Its cheaper that way anyway.

This design optimizes for the rest of the (365 * 3) - 1 days that the machine takes less space on your desk and is whisper quiet.

AHTERIX5000• 4 years ago

Cheaper to send the whole machine to Apple for servicing? I worked at a company where most users had simple PCs with dust filters and it took 5 seconds to clean those when fans started ramping up due to accumulated dust. I can't really see how it would be cheaper to pause all work and send the machine somewhere else for cleaning.

Heatsinks and thermal pastes, no-one really cared since they should be fine for years until the machine is replaced anyway.

Hamuko• 4 years ago

I've definitely cleaned my work machine by myself. I imagine my employer also appreciates it, since the alternative would be to be without a work machine for however long.

jazzyjackson• 4 years ago

Or get a separate HEPA filter in the same room as the mac so you and your CPU can skip breathing dust bunnies

willcipriano• 4 years ago

Isn't the problem this is trying to solve fan noise?

k8sToGo• 4 years ago

Ah yes, the apple way. Buy more to fix our bad design decision.

Cthulhu_2• 4 years ago

Or like, clean your room / house for a change. A vacuum and dust cloths go a long way. A roomba isn't enough. HEPA filters should only be used for the rest, if any, but those small particulates won't affect the fans much.

everyone• 4 years ago

Those sort of shenanigans will be illegal in EU soon hopefully.

_ph_6• 4 years ago

At minimum, Apple should be required to perform a cleaning for free. That would quickly ensure good accessibility. Equally, the cost for a keyboard exchange on a laptop should be capped at about 100€.

hughrr• 4 years ago

I service far more dangerous and complicated things regularly. Some from an era before safety was even a thing. This Mac is fairly easy to service.

Not that I’d bother to service it as I’d rather apple handled it these days so I can go and play inside the old dangerous stuff instead.

(HP 141T on the bench at the moment)

Maursault4• 4 years ago

in order to clean up the dirty fans in this machine

Maybe do something about the dirty air instead? Also, unless in a dusty industrial environment, by the time a computer fan and chassis is filthy, it's already legacy equipment. If a computer is used for work, to generate income, replacing it every 2 years is the cost of doing business and a write-off. But I suppose if a typical Mac user, one would have to go through the trouble of blowing out the dust every 4 years.

neya• 4 years ago

Between this and an M1 Mac Mini, which one would the HN crowd recommend for day to day programming tasks and occasional gaming?

yakkityyak• 4 years ago

Baseline Mac studio.

JanSt• 4 years ago

I own the first gen M1 lowest spec (8 GB) MBP. I can run XCode / Android Studio without any problems. I'd go with 16GB next time, because I sometimes run Xcode, Android Studio, VS Code and more at the same time which is too much for 8 GB. The M1 does handle memory really good though. Can't say much in terms of gaming but it runs Zwift perfectly fine, which is the only game I play.

norman7844• 4 years ago

There aren't too much games that runs on macOS and less even that run on arm without rosetta, so I agree that he should just buy a PC for gaming (maybe a steamdeck), I also own a Mac mini m1 (16gb) but I'm tempted to upgrade to a MacBook Pro for the next gen, I really miss the ability to use it not only in the desk.

Also I'm curious if the entry level Mac studio will make a difference when compiling your app, I have a rust side project were it takes a while to do a clean compilation and 12-15 secs when doing incremental compilation (it really sucks when you need to wait "that much" to try some things out, mostly when working in the UI and tweaking some things). If this new Mac could take that to 5< secs It would be a huge upgrade, if not then the Mac mini is worth the bucks.

Casteil3• 4 years ago

Mini. Studio is a waste of money if you're not regularly doing intensive & specific workloads like video editing/rendering.

Plain M1 is quite capable on its own.

jorlow• 4 years ago

It's quite overkill for even intensive video editing. There are a number of YouTube videos of people downgrading from a m1 max to pro because the max was a waste of money and battery life.

AceJohnny2• 4 years ago

M1 Mac Mini. It's like 2-3x cheaper, and already great.. (I don't understand how the OS and apps on M1 are so much more responsive than a equivalent-multi-core Intel)

Don't game on macOS though, so use the leftover cash to buy a decent gaming PC (or get in line for a Steam Deck)

jmkni• 4 years ago

For casual gaming I don’t think you can do better than the XBOX Series S, insane amount of power for £250

matwood• 4 years ago

The mini is a great machine, but for me 16gb was just too little RAM for my day to day (I used the 16gb MBA for a year). I ended up with a 64gb max MBP. A 32gb mini would probably be a great value/sweet spot which is why Apple likely doesn't offer it.

gumby3• 4 years ago

A 32gb mini would probably be a great value/sweet spot which is why Apple likely doesn't offer it.

Oh come on. That’s actually the classic apple move to have a low end entry product and a higher margin upsell product which is where all the sales happen. It’s why their phones start with low levels of storage (pretty much have to buy the next step up at minimum) and conversely why there is a pointless higher end storage option for the apple tv (grabs a little extra cash from those who can afford it).

I am surprised the high end mini hasn’t been switched to M1 max. That’s the machine I want — the studio is too large and too much for my needs but the M1 mini doesn’t do it for me (I just use a laptop instead).

I guess it will be the entry level M2 device sometime this year.

Tagbert5• 4 years ago

Apple does offer a 32GB Mini but it is the older Intel model still around for specialized retail channels. The M1 does not have enough memory controllers to handle 32GB of RAM. The expectation is, once Apple has the M2 ready, it may be built to take more RAM. If not, expect either an M1/2 Pro Mini or an M1/2 Pro Studio at a lower starting price. there is too much of a price gap right now between the base Mini and the base Studio. Apple needs to put something in that spot to allow a smooth upgrade path.

dcchambers• 4 years ago

Programming: The only reason I'd be tempted to go for the Studio is so I could get 32GB of memory, but TBH 16GB w/ M1 is more than enough for the vast majority of programming workloads (or at least the type of work I do), and is a very compelling buy at only $899. If you've already got a monitor, mouse, keyboard you like - no real reason to not want it.

To move to 32GB of memory means you need an M1 Pro, Max, or Ultra...so you're either going for a Mac Studio for $1999+, or a 14" MBP w/ RAM upgrade for a minimum of $2399. You get a better CPU and GPU with the studio than the MBP for less money.

Assuming you get minimal benefits from the better CPU, is it worth it spend the extra $1200+ to go from 16GB to 32GB of RAM? Probably depends how long you plan on keeping the machine I guess.

Gaming: I have no idea...gaming is the only reason I boot up my Windows PC. The M1 GPU seems solid but the M1 Pro/Max/Ultra do have measurably better GPUs. They all do great in certain synthetic benchmarks, but real-world performance is another question entirely. The vast majority of games will not be written for M1 natively, so you'll be running them via the Rosetta 2 x86 translation layer, which also will impact game performance.

hit8run• 4 years ago

I don’t know about you but I find it extremely hard to watch this video as the guy is constantly screaming and faking emotions.

giuliomagnifico2• 4 years ago

Me too. Watch it without the audio =) The hardware is interesting, his opinions/emotions not so much.

timc3• 4 years ago

Yeah Maxtech videos are quite unwatchable/unlistenable but their click bait titles show up often in my YouTube results much to my annoyance

MrBuddyCasino• 4 years ago

Besides being off-putting in the moment, its also a blackpill on the audience of these YT videos. Apparently what people want to see is the destruction of a work of art by an obnoxious person on meth. Like giving the Pietà to the nearest crack addict for disassembly.

louwrentius2• 4 years ago

I wanted to see the video but the presenter-bro was extremely obnoxious in my view. I really couldn’t stand him.

ilumanty• 4 years ago

I find it odd that the power indicator light on the front is always visible, even though the machine is clearly not plugged in.

On the older aluminium MacBook Pro, it used to blend into the chassis.

542458• 4 years ago

Agreed. Maybe a slightly different manufacturing process that makes the fancy laser lancing impossible? Maybe they don’t have those machines anymore (IIRC there was only really one company making the equipment to do it)?

FinalBriefing• 4 years ago

Yea, the pre-unibody Macbook Pro had invisible power and camera lights. No idea how they made the light go through a piece of seemingly solid metal. Always thought it was a cool effect and it's too bad they dropped it.

frosted-flakes2• 4 years ago

Not invisible, just hard to spot. There were a bunch of tiny holes that let the light through.

_ph_6• 4 years ago

It is amazing, how much engineering goes into these machines - everything is designed from scratch for this form factor. It is also nice to see that the SSD are not soldered in place, though it isn't trivial to exchange them. The cooling solution for the CPU also seems to be great.

However, it is pretty unforgivable that the cooling sucks in air from the bottom where it would pick up any dust on the table and might clog the electronics of the power supply. Especially as it is not possible to easily clean the internals of the machine. If just the aluminum housing of the machine could be easily removed, I would consider this machine a great design - but not so as it is.

I wonder whether one should carefully apply some filter gaze around the air intakes to reduce dust intake into the machine.

Cthulhu_2• 4 years ago

How would it suck up more dust from underneath than it would from the sides? I don't see a major difference with previous models or competing laptops.

Also, desks and surfaces are usually cleaned.

llampx• 4 years ago

Dust collects on flat horizontal surfaces.

_ph_6• 4 years ago

Obviously, dust settles on flat horizontal surfaces, so having an air intake at the very bottom isn't optimal there. And yes, if the Mac stands in an office with daily cleaning, there might not be much dust, but still, if you run it for 5+ years, it will suck in a lot. If it is in a corner of a small desk with lots of other stuff and not daily cleaning - e.g. at home, there can be considerably more dust.

My MB Pro started failing for thermal reasons after 5 years, fortunately, the local service partner could clean it for a tip. After that, the thermals of the machine were distinctively improved.

Dust in the ventilation is just a matter of time, a machine should not fail because the user can't clean that dust.

Telemakhos• 4 years ago

I remember and miss the first Intel MacBooks, which came with an access panel for upgrading the hard drive and RAM, as well as an easily-swappable battery. Back then it felt like Apple was trying to make the best computer possible, not just a disposable consumer appliance.

mushyhammer• 4 years ago

Apple was trying to make the best computer possible

With the latest MacBook Pro it feels like they're back on the right track. Heck they dropped the magic bar.

The issue with replaceable components is that they're often at odds with performance. If MacBook had user-replaceable batteries we simply would have less battery OR a thicker and heavier and more expensive computer. Literally you cannot have all.

Memory/SSD sticks take more space and cost more than a soldered chip (and they earn Apple more money, shhh)

It's a compromise though, I get it.

awiesenhofer2• 4 years ago

It's funny, the first impulse I had when they presented it was that maybe it would look even better turned on its head - making the Mac Studio engraving visible. Could help with possible dust intake as well, maybe.

Tagbert5• 4 years ago

Or maybe clean your desk?

How much dust do you think comes from the desk surface vs the ambient air? The air is probably where most of the dust comes from.

traceroute664• 4 years ago

Interesting observation from the video (to me at least) is the move from IEC C7 (figure of 8) to IEC C6 (cloverleaf) AC power input.

This introduces a functional ground to the chassis, and so perhaps (amongst other things) addresses some of the static/dust build-up concerns that others here have commented on ?

zeckalpha• 4 years ago

Older macs, like the sunflower iMac, already had the same IEC C5 connector. Some had the IEC C14 connector.

traceroute664• 4 years ago

Older macs, like the sunflower iMac, already had the same IEC C5 connector. Some had the IEC C14 connector.

Yes, I am aware of that.

I was, however, referring specifically to this form factor, i.e. "mini" style[1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Mini

norman7844• 4 years ago

I know that a lot of people hates apple, but I love to see their hardware and I think they are innovating in certain areas that I'd hope amd/intel start copying, like the unified memory, if they start working in that direction it will change the PC world forever (also they need to add more memory channels to their processors, 2 is just not enough for this feature).

Also the PCB design looks cool, but they are not the only ones, if you buy a mid/premium gaming motherboard they are also beautiful.

sgjohnson4• 4 years ago

unified memory

Please dear god no. First, it already exists (shared memory with GPU). Second, implementing it in the same way as Apple basically requires an SoC.

Dobbs• 4 years ago

Yes unified memory already exists it isn't some newfangled thing. That said Apple is the only modern consumer brand doing it for a Laptop/Desktop. It definitely has some downsides, but it also does have some upsides.

norman7844• 4 years ago

Yes, but you need to setup in the bios how much memory you want to dedicate to the gpu, while apples approach afaik doesn't gpu/cpu can access the same memory, so if you for example want to game and the game requires more memory than the cpu you can get as much as ram you have.

I'm on having the cpu/gpu integrated, but more powerful, if apple can do it, then amd/intel can do it too, but I suspect amd will lose their dedicated gpu market, while intel could gain more with this kind of move, but I suspect that intel doesn't care too much about the enthusiast or end users as apple/amd (I mean that apple market are end user and not server/enterprise like intel).

detaro4• 4 years ago

Unified Memory is not something Apple just introduced and nobody else has.

norman7844• 4 years ago

I know isn't something new (amd announced it iirc back in 2013 with their apu line) but afaik no one implemented the same way as apple, the gpu and cpu are in the same DIE (I'm not sure if this is the word or how is spelled) but they are not a unit, in apple design both can access all the memory and share between without copying or reserve specific memory from the bios for the gpu.

mfer• 4 years ago

Invention is different from innovation. The way Apple has the memory in the same silicon as the CPU and GPU all in a laptop and now desktop... has anyone else done that? It looks like an innovation.

Razengan• 4 years ago

Unified Memory is not something Apple just introduced and nobody else has.

The GP did not say that.

bullen2• 4 years ago

That's no computer, this is a computer: http://move.rupy.se/file/xeon_1030.png

Maursault4• 4 years ago

Why did you link to a boat anchor?

bullen2• 4 years ago

Because it's passively cooled, completely silent.

And you can repair it with standard parts quickly.

And you can run open software on it...

bradfa4• 4 years ago

I feel bad for Apple's "design for manufacturing" engineering team. That looks like a horrible design to have to assemble reliably in mass quantities. So many tiny screws holding so many tiny PCBs connected with so many tiny flex cables. It's amazing how much focus Apple puts on the customer's experience and the design ascetic in comparison to making something which is easy to assemble. To their credit, they've been doing it this way for a long time, but gosh, the poor manufacturing team...

ricardobeat4• 4 years ago

I think you have it pretty backwards. These designs are optimized for manufacturing, these are not meant to be user-accessible or easily serviceable.

If it’s anything like iPhone manufacturing videos they’ve shared before, most of the device is assembled by robots.

bradfa4• 4 years ago

I don't think I mentioned anything about user-accessibility or servicing, I was just thinking from an assembly point of view.

In my experience, which has never been at the scale or complexity of iPhone manufacturing volumes, anything with screws is a big no-no. You must minimize the number of screws and having things which snap fit is greatly preferred over a screwed connection. Even when robots are doing some of the assembly.

If you have any videos of robots installing lots of tiny screws in mass manufacturing, I'd be genuinely interested to see that. I'm interested in volume manufacturing techniques.

adolph• 4 years ago

They say that when you're a plumber a busted sewer line still smells, but like money.

Mac Studio M1 Ultra Teardown [video]

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