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> All the ports are on separate boards too. This might be the most repairable mac in a while. This is sort of like saying "Great - the doors on my car can be r

by giobox 5y ago

> All the ports are on separate boards too. This might be the most repairable mac in a while. This is sort of like saying "Great - the doors on my car can be replaced!" Obviously they can, but am I ever likely to need to do this? Probably not. I've never once had to replace a USB or HDMI port on my desktop computer. I have routinely had to replace CPU, GPU and memory, none of which are serviceable on this machine. The computer's I/O ports being on separate proprietary daughter boards is not really a consolation, I'm certainly not celebrating this machine as a victory for reparability - the SSD is effectively the only user-serviceable component.

hajile 5y ago
Everything else is effectively inside the SoC. I’m not sure how you’d go about breaking that down.
- giobox 5y ago
  That’s precisely the point I’m making. Machine’s performance is great (today…), but it is not a victory for user serviceability or upgrades, likely never will be now. At least with other integrated SoCs such as those from AMD, you can buy and replace the SoC on a standard socket too… it’s not a given that putting everything on the same die prevents upgrades or replacements the way this design does. The SoC does not need to be permanently attached, but that’s how Apple force these machines to be close to obsolete within 5 years and then require the purchase of a whole new computer again. Proprietary CPUs/SoCs make aftermarket upgrades difficult but not impossible - the G4 era professional machines from Apple had socketed CPUs and after market options did emerge (companies like Sonnet back in the day), despite only apple using the chip.
  - hajile 5y ago
    There's basically nothing on the board other than the chip and some VRMs. This is closer to complaining that you can't swap your GPU core out. They should keep the same chassis and allow competent users to swap out the board for an upgraded one, but we know that's not happening. In the meantime, the life expectancy is greatly increased by the ability to swap SSDs and add new ones without having to scrap it and buy new.

by giobox 5y ago

hajile 5y ago

Everything else is effectively inside the SoC. I’m not sure how you’d go about breaking that down.

giobox 5y ago
That’s precisely the point I’m making. Machine’s performance is great (today…), but it is not a victory for user serviceability or upgrades, likely never will be now. At least with other integrated SoCs such as those from AMD, you can buy and replace the SoC on a standard socket too… it’s not a given that putting everything on the same die prevents upgrades or replacements the way this design does. The SoC does not need to be permanently attached, but that’s how Apple force these machines to be close to obsolete within 5 years and then require the purchase of a whole new computer again. Proprietary CPUs/SoCs make aftermarket upgrades difficult but not impossible - the G4 era professional machines from Apple had socketed CPUs and after market options did emerge (companies like Sonnet back in the day), despite only apple using the chip.
- hajile 5y ago
  There's basically nothing on the board other than the chip and some VRMs. This is closer to complaining that you can't swap your GPU core out. They should keep the same chassis and allow competent users to swap out the board for an upgraded one, but we know that's not happening. In the meantime, the life expectancy is greatly increased by the ability to swap SSDs and add new ones without having to scrap it and buy new.