User profile for user: Chacapamac
Chacapamac Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Is it true that you cannot use an external disk to startup a new Mac Mini or Studio if the internal soldered SSD Memory is defective?

My first Mac was a Mac SE 30mb and I still use Mac today, I start to look to change my trusty IMac 27“ and start to look toward the new line of Mac Mini or Studio as the 27 inches is now replace by a small 24 inches screen. For the work I do, 27 inches is the minimum I can go, no way I will start to downgrade because Apple limit my choice.


FIRST QUESTION:

• Is it true that you cannot use an external disk to startup a new Mac Mini or Studio if the internal soldered SSD Memory is defective?

SECOND QUESTION:

I hear that these Macs use memory Swap on the internal disk, even if booted from an external disk. Is this also true?

This means that even if you try to safeguard the internal disk, you can't, and when your disk fails, you get a very expensive door stopper?????

What is wrong with Apple's offer.

  • Silly size of Internal storage and onboard Memory vs the price
  • Lack of possibility to change or repair the Internal SSD Memory Bank
  • Impossible to update RAM yourself
  • Difficult to find a correct monitor other than the $2000 Apple Studio Display
  • Still have to find a Keyboard and Mice other than the overpriced Apple ones
  • do not support eGPUs
  • and what else?


If all that is true this is an automatic passage to a Window machine for me after more than 30 years using a Mac. I will wait until the other companies roll their ARM-based PC at the end of next year and have a

last look if Apple is coming back to their senses.


Posted on Dec 4, 2023 12:18 AM

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User profile for user: woodmeister50
woodmeister50
User level: Level 7
21,417 points

Posted on Dec 4, 2023 4:53 AM

First question: True

Second Question: No. Memory swapping is done on the booted drive.


I have verified this by monitoring total disk writes as I spend 99% of my time booted on an external drive and know that I heavily use swap with certain apps that I run. When I look at the total bytes written for the internal drive, it changes very little and can be attributed to changing only due to keeping it updated to the current OS and current versions of apps. As to the Numbers for this year, the external drive has had a total of 17.3 TB written to it while the internal drive has only had 500 GB written to it. In other words, of all the bytes that have been written to the two drives, only 3% where writes to the internal drive and 97% of the writes were to the external boot drive.


FWIW, as to your other comments, there are lots of displays that work extremely well with Macs other than the Apple Studio Display (I have an LG 4K display that works great). With a PC, you still need to "Still have to find a Keyboard and Mice" for them and on Macs, there any number of third party keyboards and mice that work quite well.


As far as non-upgradable RAM, that is the nature of tightly integrating RAM and CPU on a chip and achieve memory bandwidths that are simply not doable when traces are running on a PC board and going through a connector and running through more traces on another PC board. At these speeds distance is time and the longer the distance the data has to travel, the slower the bandwidth.


As to the soldered in SSDs, I somewhat agree with you on this point and it seems on the new MacPro and on the MacStudio, they appear to have replaceable SSDs though they are a custom design but all other Macs, if the SSD dies, its new logic board time.


As to eGPUs, many are finding they are more trouble than they are worth.


In the end, if you don't like the Apple approach to computer design, no one is twisting your arm to buy an Apple computer.

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User profile for user: woodmeister50
woodmeister50
User level: Level 7
21,417 points

Dec 4, 2023 4:53 AM in response to Chacapamac

First question: True

Second Question: No. Memory swapping is done on the booted drive.


I have verified this by monitoring total disk writes as I spend 99% of my time booted on an external drive and know that I heavily use swap with certain apps that I run. When I look at the total bytes written for the internal drive, it changes very little and can be attributed to changing only due to keeping it updated to the current OS and current versions of apps. As to the Numbers for this year, the external drive has had a total of 17.3 TB written to it while the internal drive has only had 500 GB written to it. In other words, of all the bytes that have been written to the two drives, only 3% where writes to the internal drive and 97% of the writes were to the external boot drive.


FWIW, as to your other comments, there are lots of displays that work extremely well with Macs other than the Apple Studio Display (I have an LG 4K display that works great). With a PC, you still need to "Still have to find a Keyboard and Mice" for them and on Macs, there any number of third party keyboards and mice that work quite well.


As far as non-upgradable RAM, that is the nature of tightly integrating RAM and CPU on a chip and achieve memory bandwidths that are simply not doable when traces are running on a PC board and going through a connector and running through more traces on another PC board. At these speeds distance is time and the longer the distance the data has to travel, the slower the bandwidth.


As to the soldered in SSDs, I somewhat agree with you on this point and it seems on the new MacPro and on the MacStudio, they appear to have replaceable SSDs though they are a custom design but all other Macs, if the SSD dies, its new logic board time.


As to eGPUs, many are finding they are more trouble than they are worth.


In the end, if you don't like the Apple approach to computer design, no one is twisting your arm to buy an Apple computer.

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User profile for user: Ian R. Brown
Ian R. Brown
User level: Level 7
25,027 points

Dec 4, 2023 6:48 AM in response to Chacapamac

I can confirm Woodmeister50's findings that all the swapping is done on the external boot drive.


I have 2 bootable 1 TB SSDs attached to my M2 mini . . . one is Ventura and the other Sonoma and any swapping is done on whichever is the boot drive.


Regarding monitors, my iMac has the 27" 5K screen and my M2 mini has a very cheap (£110) Philips 27" 1080p monitor.


If I compare the 2 side by side, the iMac's is better but when working at video editing I just don't notice the difference. I think people agonise too much over having a 4K screen . . . the perceived difference is minimal.


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Is it true that you cannot use an external disk to startup a new Mac Mini or Studio if the internal soldered SSD Memory is defective?

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