Getting a hand-me-down MacBook Pro

[dave_the_nerd]

There is no BIOS, only Zuul!, intel Macs use EFI, and it's not user exposed. There's no point in disabling Turbo, it's there to improve battery life. By spinning up just 1 core, it can complete tasks faster and thereby return to a MUCH lower power state sooner. That's its whole job.

Adjusting the brightness though, sure, that'll affect battery life a little bit.

I think you might be able to disable Turbo in Windows, but I doubt it will make up for the battery hit you'll take just from running Windows (Macs just don't get great battery life in Windows, poorly optimized drivers most likely).

http://macdownload.informer.com/turbo-boost-switcher/

If you know you're going to be running a constant load in a realtime application (gaming is the big example for me) you can turn it off. Also prevent overheating problems.

Finally, Open Firmware is definitely accessible by the user. If they're so inclined.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT1352

 

[TheStu]

http://macdownload.informer.com/turbo-boost-switcher/

If you know you're going to be running a constant load in a realtime application (gaming is the big example for me) you can turn it off. Also prevent overheating problems.

Finally, Open Firmware is definitely accessible by the user. If they're so inclined.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT1352

If that's your thing, at least the option is out there. Learn something new every day.

And your link is for adding a password to the Open Firmware, which is quite a bit different from poking around the EFI for hardware controls. I suppose you are technically correct, the best kind of correct, that I wasn't 100% correct about the EFI being user accessible but...

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I'm just trying to justify spending money on an SSD for it. It has a Toshiba 500 GB HDD in it right now. It seems pretty fast. I'm hoping to get the same size SSD or > ...

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If that's your thing, at least the option is out there. Learn something new every day.

And your link is for adding a password to the Open Firmware, which is quite a bit different from poking around the EFI for hardware controls. I suppose you are technically correct, the best kind of correct, that I wasn't 100% correct about the EFI being user accessible but...

I fail at internets. Meant to paste this one:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/enter-bios-command-macbook-31823.html

But further reading would seem to indicate they used to have it accessible, but now it's not.

 

[Koing]

I'm limping along with a late 2006 MBP. The original Core 2 Duo performs decently enough, and an SSD upgrade last year helped significantly, but the 3 GB RAM limit is very confining.

I'm patiently holding out for Broadwell-based Macs, but the latest CPU rumors are that Skylake will be out by this time next year so I might keep waiting and waiting... I'm also not sure if I can downgrade to a 13" screen, so I'm (foolishly) hopeful Apple can fix the exhorbitant pricing of the 15" models within the same timeframe.

The resolution on the rMBP 13 should be much better than your 2006 MBP.

Koing

 

[manly]

The resolution on the rMBP 13 should be much better than your 2006 MBP.

Koing

Correct me if I'm wrong, but on rMBPs isn't the effective desktop resolution the same as the cMBPs that preceeded them?

Due to pixel doubling, UI assets will be razor sharp but you're still looking at a 1280x800 logical resolution on the 13" rMBP? I believe the logical resolution is "scalable" but optimal quality is usually doubling of both dimensions?

 

[TheStu]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but on rMBPs isn't the effective desktop resolution the same as the cMBPs that preceeded them?

Due to pixel doubling, UI assets will be razor sharp but you're still looking at a 1280x800 logical resolution on the 13" rMBP? I believe the logical resolution is "scalable" but optimal quality is usually doubling of both dimensions?

Sure, but even at 'sub'optimal, the higher resolutions don't exactly look like trash. And of course, if one really hated one's eyes, they could always run 100% native.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Will a 2.5" form factor SSD fit into the MBP? I found an Evo 850 500GB for 190$

 

[redheeler]

Sure, but even at 'sub'optimal, the higher resolutions don't exactly look like trash. And of course, if one really hated one's eyes, they could always run 100% native.

I always run at native on my 13" rMBP despite the small amount of screen space because at the scaled resolutions quality does degrade close to the pixel level. I make up for it by using most of my apps in full screen mode.

However, even at 1440x900 HiDPI scaled down to 2560x1600, it still looks a lot better than a non-retina MBA running at native 1440x900.

Will a 2.5" form factor SSD fit into the MBP? I found an Evo 850 500GB for 190$

Yes, it should work just fine.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Yay, got an SSD on the way

Cheers everybody!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Ok, so I don't have an external USB SATA enclosure, and I don't have a Mac OS install disk. What can I do? I want to install the SSD. I don't think I use more than Firefox, and iPhoto on my MBP

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Ok, so I don't have an external USB SATA enclosure, and I don't have a Mac OS install disk. What can I do? I want to install the SSD. I don't think I use more than Firefox, and iPhoto on my MBP

Get a USB adapter for it so you can clone (Carbon Copy Cloner probably) the old disk to the new one.

www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-SATA-Drive-Adapter-Cable/dp/B00HJZJI84

No good geek should be without!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Get a USB adapter for it so you can clone (Carbon Copy Cloner probably) the old disk to the new one.

www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-SATA-Drive-Adapter-Cable/dp/B00HJZJI84

No good geek should be without!

Awesome, thanks!

Got another issue. My old desktop background picture still keeps showing on on the log in screen where i enter my password. It's blurry. The pic has since been deleted and is still showing up. Why is this?

EDIT: just ordered that adapter! THANKS!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Also will the USB 3.0 adapter work with the USB 2.0 port on the MBP ?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Also will the USB 3.0 adapter work with the USB 2.0 port on the MBP ?

Should be fine. It'll just run at a slower speed.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Got another issue. My old desktop background picture still keeps showing on on the log in screen where i enter my password. It's blurry. The pic has since been deleted and is still showing up. Why is this?

That picture is hidden. You can change it.

http://osxdaily.com/2015/02/24/customize-login-screen-wallpaper-background-mac-os-x/

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Thanks again, and thanks in advance! hah


Carbon Copy Cloner is $39 ? There is no free app to do this?

 

[Childs]

SuperDuper! is free.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Ok.. I've got the adapter. It just came in today. Do I need to format it for Mac OSX ?

I think I might go with Carbon Copy Cloner... :hmm:

 

[dave_the_nerd]

You can format it first, but the cloning software should do that for you.

I've used Superduper before, it worked fine I just forgot about it. If the clone fails you can always try again with a different utility, though.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

You can format it first, but the cloning software should do that for you.

I've used Superduper before, it worked fine I just forgot about it. If the clone fails you can always try again with a different utility, though.

Did you buy your copy of Carbon Copy Cloner?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

btw I'm not getting notifications of replies to this thread and i'm subscribed to it,, hmm

 

[manly]

Last I looked, CCC is trialware (guess the historical term is shareware). Free for 30 days, it'll gently nag you.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Did you buy your copy of Carbon Copy Cloner?

Nah, it used to be free. I just used the old version.

It's been a very long time since I bothered cloning a drive.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Installed and it's working fine so far! Excited!

Thanks alot people

So I basically just cloned the original drive to the SSD and then swapped them out. No need for telling the Mac which drive will be the main drive now - i think... :hmm:

EDIT: seems to take a little while for the machine to enter the boot up screen where the apple pops up and the loading bar appears.. why is that?