Our Category: Hardware

The iPad 3 and the Future of Mobile Graphics

By Luke On Jul 12, 2011 Apple | Gadgets | Hardware 0 No Comments

With consumer desktop CPU’s reaching 8-cores per CPU, we can expect to see similar tech find it’s way into our upcoming tablets and mobile CPUs. Playstation’s Vita for example features a mobile GPU with 4 cores! It’s called the SGX543MP4. It’s little brother, the the SGX543MP2 is a dual-core variant and it is at work in Apple’s iPad 2.

In OpenGL benchmark tests (3D Graphics and User Interface) the iPad 2 is 4x faster then the original iPad and 3x faster then the Motorola Xoom. 1.

  • SGX543MP2 – 2 cores -iPad2 – 67M polygons – 2Gpixels/sec @200MHz
  • SGX543MP4 -4 cores- PS Vita- 134M polygons – 4Gpixels/sec @200 MHz

The PS Vita as mentioned early has a 4-core GPU and a 4-core CPU. That’s double the power in half the size of an iPad 2. It’s only logical assume that Apple’s next iPad will be at the very minimum 4x faster than it’s predecessor. I don’t think it is out of the question to expect a 4, or possibly even 8-core A6 chip in the iPad 3.

Apple removes DIY upgrades of 2011 iMac Hard drives

By Luke On May 12, 2011 Apple | Hacks/Mods | Hardware 0 No Comments

Sad news for Apple fans everywhere as Apple has now introduced a proprietary connector for SATA drives in it’s new lineup of 2011 iMacs.

“For the main 3.5″ SATA hard drive bay in the new 2011 machines, Apple has altered the SATA power connector itself from a standard 4-pin power configuration to a 7-pin configuration. Hard drive temperature control is regulated by a combination of this cable and Apple proprietary firmware on the hard drive itself. From our testing, we’ve found that removing this drive from the system, or even from that bay itself, causes the machine’s hard drive fans to spin at maximum speed and replacing the drive with any non-Apple original drive will result in the iMac failing the Apple Hardware Test (AHT).” - OWC Blog

Here’s to hoping a remedy is just around the corner.

What we love about the new MacBook Air

By Luke On Oct 20, 2010 Apple | Hardware 0 No Comments Tags:

Right off the bat, our favorite feature is the fact that it comes in two flavors. A 13″ and an  11″, with the latter having a sub $1000 price tag! Now, we understand that $999 for a glorified netbook is a bit much, but the new Air has plenty of tricks up it sleeves to justify the price. Read More

iPhone 4 insides for your viewing pleasure

By Luke On Jun 23, 2010 Apple | Gadgets | Hardware 1 1 Comment Tags: ,

Courtesy of iFixit we present you the inside of Apple’s newest iPhone!iPhone4blowup

The iPhone 4′s design is a dramatic departure from the aluminum and plastic drenched days that have plagued the iPhone in the past. The rugged stainless steel bezels around the iPhone 4′s perimeter double as both structural supports and antennas to boost reception.

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The new Unibody Mac Mini is here! But is it worth it?

By Luke On Jun 15, 2010 Apple | Featured | Hardware 0 No Comments Tags: , ,

features_hero_20100615First, lets start by making it clear that the Mac Mini has been one of Apple’s greatest ideas.  When the first Mini came out you could buy it for $499.99 and it came with a 1.25GHz G4 CPU W/ 512MB ram, a 40GB hard drive as well as a CD/DVD combo drive.

Ever since it’s inception we have seen the Mini’s price, and feature list get bigger. Today with Apple’s announcement of the new Unibody Mini we also see, yet again, another bump in price. This time all the way up to $699. In my opinion this is a big blow to the target market of the Mac Mini. The idea of  “value” is now somewhat lost in this $699 product.

But lets get down to what really matters, is the new Mac Mini really worth $699?

The stock CPU is a 2.4GHz (up from 2.26GHz) Core 2 Duo. This CPU, tied with the integrated NVIDIA  GeForce 320M GPU actually make for a decently capable machine. (We watched a 1080p video clip with a bitrate of 7.5Mbps and CPU usage stayed below 10%). It’s no HD authoring studio or extreme gaming machine but you will find it has more then enough power to tackle your HD video editing as well as fly through almost any game you can throw at it. The new SD card reader and included HDMI port really go along ways in adding value to the Mini, especially in it’s common role as a home media device.

To continue on it comes with a 320GB (for $699 we really should be seeing 500GB as stock) hard drive, 2GB of DDR3 RAM (up to a total of 8GB) and all the while sucking down less than 85 watts of power.

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MacBook Pro finally going quad-core with Intel Core i5

By Luke On Jan 13, 2010 Apple | Hardware 0 No Comments Tags: , ,

corei5Apple has been taking its sweet time when introducing a quad-core MacBook Pro to the market. It seems however, that Intel itself may have pulled the veil off of this long awaited product.

AppleInsider recently acquired an E-mail invite to Intel’s Retail Edge Program. Included on this invitation is a promotion for a new MacBook Pro featuring Intel’s new Core i5 mobile architecture.  Specific details are still non-existent but at least we can confirm that Apple is finally getting ready to unleash a new wave of power into the Macbook Pro lineup.overview-hero

Whether or not we see the whole line-up adopt the Core i5 or not is still up in the air, but more than likely we will see the i5 in the higher end 15″ and 17″ models.

The Mac mini Server

By Luke On Nov 17, 2009 Apple | Hardware 2 2 Comments

miniserverListing at $999.99, The mini Snow Leopard server doesn’t carry a very mini price tag. But it’s only $100 more than a Mac mini equipped with the same CPU and RAM and an optical drive instead of the second 500GB HD.

So Apple is basically charging you $100 to remove the optical drive and install an additional 500GB HD. Which, in all honesty isn’t that bad of a price for a 2.5″ 500GB SATA drive. This second drive in place of the optical drive brings the mini’s total internal storage capacity to 1TB! Pair that with it’s GeForce 9400M and you have HD ready media center. Set this next to your beautiful Plasma or LCD and you could experience a truly wonderful experience.

So although it may be a slight investment, Your getting 1TB of internal storage and 4GBs of RAM in box less than 2″ high and 6.5″ long. So, great storage capabilities, a solid amount of RAM, a speedy 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and a powerful 9400M make for a pretty powerful system in a small, functional package.

More info about the mini server here

16 GB of RAM for your new 27″ iMac and where to buy.

By Luke On Oct 28, 2009 Apple | Hardware 0 No Comments Tags: , , , ,

27" iMacIf you bought yourself a nice new quad-core iMac and your looking to max out the RAM, you may notice that Apple charges almost as much as you paid for the machine itself. $1400 to be exact. 4GB sticks of DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) are not cheap, but I can tell you that you can find them for a bit less than the $350 a piece Apple charges.

  1. [G.SKILL - F3-8500CL7S-4GBSQ] Running $249.99 a piece, these quality sticks are $150 cheaper then Apple’s stock selection. If you max out your iMac with these it will set you back an even grand, about $400 cheaper than Apple’s 16GB offering.
  2. [Mushkin - Enhanced Essentials 996644] You can get a pair of 4GB sticks (8GB) from Mushkin for $489.99. That means if you wanted a full 16GB you could do it for about $980, $420 cheaper than Apple.
  3. [RamJet -MBALX4G] At $235.99 a piece, these are the least expensive chips I was able to find. 16GBs can be yours for as little as $970.

MBALX4G

The Beauty of the Xserve

By Luke On May 29, 2009 Apple | Hardware 0 No Comments

12 pictures that will make you fall in love with Apple’s Xserve lineup

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Macally intros new devices. BTkey and BTmouse

By Luke On May 13, 2009 Apple | Gadgets | Hardware 0 No Comments Tags: , , ,

I have owned many Macally products in my life and I have never been disappointed.  All of there hardware is well designed and durable. Macally has recently introduced a few new gadget and I thought it would be nice to give them a quick once over. I have found that Macally products fit just a little more comfortably in my hand.

    First up; The BTkey Bluetooth keyboard. The Macally BTKey is a stylish wireless bluetooth extended keyboard. Low profile Scissor keys reduce key stroke travel distances and eases pressure on your finger tips.

      screenshot-2009-05-13-14h-44m-29s

        It features:

        • The latest Bluetooth 2.0 technology
        • 108 key ultra slim Bluetooth keyboard
        • Enhanced Scissor-Key-Switches for thin keycaps with sensitive and responsive touch
        • Caps Lock, Pairing and Low battery indicator LEDs
        • Quick access keys for CD Eject, Mute, Volume up and down
        • On/Off switch for energy saving
        • Two AAA batteries (included)

          And now the BTmouse. The Macally Bluetooth Mouse has the following features:screenshot-2009-05-13-14h-45m-33s

          • 3 button interface (programmable on mac)
          • Scroll Wheel
          • 800 dpi precision Laser sensor
          • Uses 2 AA batteries (Included)
          • pair and on/off buttons.
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