Tag: FireWire 800

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Mac mini (Late 2012)

Since the first Mac mini was released in 2005, all models have been compact, shipped without a display, keyboard, and mouse, and all have been relatively inexpensive.

The Mac mini (Late 2012) was described by EveryMac: “Compared to its predecessor, this model looks identical, but it has a faster internal architecture with a faster processor, faster graphics, faster RAM, and USB 3.0 ports.”

Its primarily aluminum case has a plastic bottom and measures 1.4 inches (3.6 cm) tall, 7.7 inches x 7.7 inches (19.7 cm) square, and weighs 2.7 pounds (1.22 kg).

The Mac mini (Late 2012) was offered with a 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 or 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor. It shipped with a 500GB or 1TB (5400-rpm) hard drive.

For a compact case, it had many physical plug options: Thunderbolt, FireWire 800 port, 4 USB 3 ports, HDMI, SDXC card slot, gigabit ethernet port, and audio in/out. Its 3 wireless interfaces included 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and an IR receiver.

This Mac mini shipped with OS X Mountain Lion.

Sources: EveryMac, Wikipedia, Apple

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Mac Pro (Quad Core, 2.8 GHz, Mid-2010)

The Mac Pro Quad Core 2.8 uses a single 2.8 GHz Quad Core Xeon W3530 processor. The “quad core” designation refers to its single processor with four independent “core” processing centers that can work independently or together to increase computing speed and efficiency. It used 3 GB of RAM (DDR3 ECC SDRAM), a 1 TB Serial ATA hard drive, an 18X dual-layer SuperDrive, and an ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card.

The design of this tower was identical to its Power Mac G5 predecessor, using the same anodized aluminum alloy case with a removable side panel. The sides of the tower were solid aluminum with a light gray Apple logo printed on center. The front and back used a pattern of aluminum perforations as a design element, a structural feature, and as part of the ventilation for the internal systems.

The front of the tower included spaces for two optical drives at the top. On the lower-right was the power button and five ports: 3.5 mm headphone jack, two USB ports, and two FireWire 800 ports.

The back of the tower included five slots. Slot 1 includes a dual-link DVI port and two Mini DisplayPorts. Slot 2 is unused (and uses a ventilated cover), while slots 3–5 are unused. Rear ports include three USB 2.0 ports, two FireWire 800 ports, optical digital audio in/out ports, a 3.5 mm line-out audio jack, a 3.5 mm line-in audio jack, and two independent Gigabit Ethernet ports. Internally, wireless networking options include AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1.

Inside, the Mac Pro includes two 5.25-inch optical drive bays (both are outfitted with Apple SuperDrive drives in this example); four internal 3.5-inch cable-free, direct-attach hard drive bays (this model has three 512 GB drives); and four PCIe 2.0 slots, one with a graphics card installed.

Source: Everymac

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Power Mac G5 (Dual Core, 2.3 GHz, 2005)

The Power Mac G5 tower represented a major design departure from the four previous Mac “pro” tower designs. The Power Mac G5 used an anodized aluminum alloy case design with a removable side panel that replaced the hinged door on previous Mac towers.

The sides of the Power Mac G5 were solid aluminum with a light gray Apple logo printed on center. The front and back used a pattern of aluminum perforations as design elements, structure, and as part of the ventilation for the internal systems.

This model is a Power Mac G5 Dual Core running at 2.3 GHz. The same design was available in a G5 Dual Core (2.0 GHz) and a G5 Quad Core (2.5 GHz) variation, with all models using 970MP G5 processors with two independent cores on a single chip. This tower included 512 MB or 1 GB RAM (SDRAM), a 250 GB (Serial ATA) hard drive, a 16x dual-layer SuperDrive, and a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 video card.

The front of the tower included a single optical drive, the power button, and three ports: one 3.5 mm headphone jack, one USB port, and a FireWire 400 port.

The back of the tower included four slots. Slot 1 includes two DVI ports (one single-link DVI and one dual-link DVI port), while slots 2–4 are unused. Rear ports include two independent Gigabit Ethernet ports, one FireWire 400 port, one FireWire 800 port, optical digital audio in/out ports, a 3.5 mm line-out audio jack, a 3.5 mm line-in audio jack, and three USB 2.0 ports.

Internally, the tower supports AirPort Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless protocols. Everymac reports that the inside of Power Mac G5 models were divided into “four different thermal zones with nine computer-controlled fans for optimum cooling.” Also, this Power Mac G5 has two internal hard drives.

The case design with its front and back aluminum perforations and handles is, indeed, reminiscent of a cheese grater—albeit a beautiful one.

Source: Everymac

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MacBook Pro 15-inch (Core 2 Duo, 2.4 GHz, early 2008)

This MacBook Pro 15-inch laptop was released in early 2008 with an identical case design as its predecessor. It shipped with a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo (Penryn) processor and 2 GB of 667 MHz SDRAM. It contained a 200 GB hard drive and 8X DVD RW/CD-RW SuperDrive. The display was an LED-backlit 15.4-inch widescreen at 1440×900 resolution.

Although the external case did not change from the “Santa Rosa” processor version of the laptop that preceded it, the keyboard design removed the numeric keypad accessed using the fn (function) key and replaced the right-side enter key with an additional option key, the same laptop keyboard layout still in use now (as of February 2020). This MacBook Pro also used the same trackpad design as the MacBook Air of the time, adding multi-touch gestures.

Ports on this MacBook Pro included an ExpressCard slot, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 400, Firewire 800, two USB 2.0 ports, optical digital audio in/out, and DVI out. Wireless connections included AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1. It also included an iSight video camera and MagSafe power connector, both standard at the time.

When I acquired this laptop, its battery had burst while installed in the laptop. The battery failure caused the battery to bow in the center and it was lodged in the case. Using a few iFixIt spatula tools, I was able to extract it safely and then properly dispose of the ruptured battery.

Source: EveryMac

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iMac Core 2 Duo 24-inch (2009)

The iMac Core 2 Duo 24-inch featured a 2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (two independent processors on a single chip), 4 GB of RAM, a 640 GB hard drive, a slot-loading DVD-R DL SuperDrive, a built-in iSight video camera, and built-in stereo speakers. The screen was a 24-inch glossy TFT Active Matrix LCD display at 1920×1200. Ports included four USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire 800 port, Gigabit Ethernet, and a Mini DisplayPort. Wireless connectivity included a built-in AirPort Extreme.

The iMac Core 2 Duo (Early 2009) models differ from a previous similar aluminum iMac design by adding a tapered foot.

I used this iMac extensively as my primary home iMac for graphics and GarageBand music projects.

Source: EveryMac.com

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iMac Core 2 Duo 20-inch (2007)

iMac Core 2 Duo 20-Inch featured a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (two processors on a single chip), 1 GB of RAM, a 320 GB Serial ATA hard drive, a slot-loading DVD+R DL SuperDrive, a built-in iSight video camera, and built-in stereo speakers. The screen was a 20-inch glossy TFT Active Matrix LCD at 1680×1050. Ports included three USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire 400 port, a Firewire 800 port, Gigabit Ethernet, and mini-DVI. It also included built-in AirPort Extreme.

The exterior aluminum case had a black plastic back. The iMac Core 2 Duo also shipped with a matching aluminum Apple Keyboard with a design similar to the keyboard on the MacBook at the time.

Source: EveryMac.com

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PowerBook G4 1.33 17-inch (2003)

The PowerBook G4/1.33 17-inch was among the first aluminum PowerBook laptops. The PowerBook G4/1.33 17-inch featured a 1.33 GHz PowerPC 7447 (G4) processor, 512 MB of RAM, an 80 GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive, a slot-loading 2X SuperDrive, a FireWire 800 port, built-in Bluetooth 1.1 and AirPort Extreme (802.11g), and an ambient light sensor keyboard. The 17-inch widescreen TFT display had 1440×900 resolution, a very large display for a laptop then and now.

The previous version of the PowerBook G4 17-inch laptop had a slightly slower processor (1.0 GHz), a smaller hard drive, and a lower resolution graphics card. This PowerBook G4/1.33 17-inch upgraded the USB ports to the USB 2.0 standard.

This and all 17-inch PowerBook laptops at the time were near-perfect portable solutions for graphic artists and filmmakers. The high performance of these laptops allowed them to run the most recent versions of Adobe Photoshop and Apple Final Cut Pro, allowing creatives to flexibility to work anywhere with the same power available on desktop computers at the time with a very large display.

The internal photos were added in November 2020 when I made a slight repair to the internal hinges to allow the magnetic clasps to keep the lid closed. This example has a structural problem that was likely sustained due to a drop, but it still functions.

Source: EveryMac.com