i would mostly want to clean the insides from dust, so I‘m wondering on what you guys think.
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Any idea on whether the user will be able to open and clean the Mac Studio?
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From this image of the bottom side of the Studio, the top left pill-shaped hole looks like a place for a plying tool to yank the whole plate down out. There are no screw holes, or the round shaped areas don't seem to have seams, so it is a mystery as to how this whole mechanism works.
At least this "bottom opening" must be there for assembly, the question is how user accessible this is.
Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking when I saw that little hole. On the Mac Mini you are supposed to remove the "black disk" on the bottom part, it just kinda clips off, and then you can unscrew it.
Hopefully, a similar system will be available in the Mac Studio. I can't even imagine a reason why they wouldn't make it at least accessible-ish to the average consumer.
Hopefully, a similar system will be available in the Mac Studio. I can't even imagine a reason why they wouldn't make it at least accessible-ish to the average consumer.
I thought that was a Kensington lock slot...
I thought the same, even went to the Apple spec page to search for the word “Kensington”, but no mention. It would have been an odd location for the lock anyway.
But to be honest, judging by the few animated shots of the internals when they showed the fan blower airflow, I can tell the boards and protruding ports are quite crammed together, to the point I doubt if that “sandwich” of internals can even be slid out straightly when the bottom lid is opened. Since the fans and heatsink chamber that would need cleaning the most is the furthest into the chassis “bowl“, I do think it won’t be easy, to answer your original question.
If the top of the case is a separate part can that come off, then their product shots are hiding the seam really well. To me the entire chassis looks like a bowl of aluminum with only the very bottom side having an opening.
Yeah, I'm hoping that this is the case, but since the PSU is exposed (?), wouldn't that make it dangerous which would then mean that Apple doesn't want us to open it at all?
Maybe I’m thinking of the renders, so I could be wrong.
EDIT: you’re right, I was thinking of the renders. Then again it could be a top chassis with a release in that hole.
That’s also what I’m concerned with. I would think having an exposed PSU would be a bad hazard, let alone having to go through it to do any maintenance.
Well if it's a desktop that can't be opened, I literally will not be buying it... And maybe I'll just wait for the Mac Pro, which we will probably be able to open?
Seriously, to think that Apple would design a desktop Mac that can't be opened, based on the Mac Mini (which can be opened), in 2022, even to dust out the fans just a little, is ludicrous.
I need to dust my desk on basically a daily basis, since a lot of dust gathers there even though I vacuum a lot, and that's the one thing I hate about Macs. I've used my iMac Pro in the studio and there's a lot of people there, which makes more dust, and the insides kinda get clogged from it and then the iMac Pro becomes more audible, which is horrible in a studio environment. There's also isolation foam and various carpets etc., in music studios, and this can get full of dust as well.
So to think they would actually design a Mac Studio that can't be opened and CLEANED just a little is mind-boggling.
Sorry for the huge rant lol, and HOPEFULLY I'm wrong and we will be able to access just a little.
Seriously, to think that Apple would design a desktop Mac that can't be opened, based on the Mac Mini (which can be opened), in 2022, even to dust out the fans just a little, is ludicrous.
I need to dust my desk on basically a daily basis, since a lot of dust gathers there even though I vacuum a lot, and that's the one thing I hate about Macs. I've used my iMac Pro in the studio and there's a lot of people there, which makes more dust, and the insides kinda get clogged from it and then the iMac Pro becomes more audible, which is horrible in a studio environment. There's also isolation foam and various carpets etc., in music studios, and this can get full of dust as well.
So to think they would actually design a Mac Studio that can't be opened and CLEANED just a little is mind-boggling.
Sorry for the huge rant lol, and HOPEFULLY I'm wrong and we will be able to access just a little.
Let’s wait and see, it’d be silly to make a literal sealed box when their other products are openable (some with more difficulty than others).
I wouldn’t know how they would assemble such a thing.
Actually taking assembly and the size of components into account, I’m certain the bottom comes off somehow. The PSU and fans look too big to fit through the circular part.
Yeah, I'm kinda getting angry in advance, but it's mostly due to my experience with the iMac Pro, which is a fantastic device, except when it gets clogged with dust, and you have to take it to a specialized store to clean, or risk breaking the screen and other components if you want to dissasemble it on your own.
You're right, the bottom will probably come off somehow.
And obviously it will need to be opened somehow, I'm just hoping it will be reasonably accessible to the average consumer.
I’m sure iFixit will have one torn apart after the 18th.
One possibility is that the 3D rendered internal shots during the keynote may not be scaled accurately, so that the actual boards and stuff are smaller than the chassis with some more clearance to the “wall”. Another factor is that they didn’t show shielding like foils in these renders because that would not look sexy enough, I believe some iterations of Macs have foils and cages over the coils (but I forgot which Macs).
Anyway I think for a boxy desktop computer that the maker provides warranty, they themselves need the means to access and repair the internals anyway, not even the touch bar MBPs are that impossible to dissemble after a few tries. Cleaning the Studio will probably be fair trivial.
Anyway I think for a boxy desktop computer that the maker provides warranty, they themselves need the means to access and repair the internals anyway, not even the touch bar MBPs are that impossible to dissemble after a few tries. Cleaning the Studio will probably be fair trivial.
I didnt’ realize It was a hole, vs like the TrackPads plastic for wireless signal throughput.
An idea: would it be dumb to place fabric softener sheets, cut out to work, along the grill at the bottom to prevent dust? Probably better to have good air filtration.
The first Mac mini was designed in a way that you‘d need a Putty knife to open it up. Studio may well be history repeating …
I remember trying to upgrade the RAM in my G4 mini gen 1, couldn’t do it myself and brought it to a shop. The guy used one of those disposable plastic knives you get from a lunch box to pry it, he obviously knew what he was doing but it still took him more than 10 minutes just to get the bottom off.
I did the same - and it was terrifying - I had two putty knives, one on each side, and they were bent to 90 degrees and the casing still didn't move. It felt like either the casing was going to give, the knife blades were going to snap and the shrapnel would embed in the ceiling!
In a way, I'm kinda glad that is not an option on the Mac Studio - no way I'd want to repeat that with a machine that's 4 times the cost of the old Mini
The easiest way to clean dust will be to take it outside and give it a good blow through. If you have compressed air cans, use those, otherwise a good few solid puffs will probably do it.
I use compressed air from divers tanks, a couple of 300bar squirts of that generally blows dust out from everywhere!
I use compressed air from divers tanks, a couple of 300bar squirts of that generally blows dust out from everywhere!
Well, yes, you could do that, but it wouldn't be advisable. If you don't hold the fan blades in place it can cause static electricity issues and basically make your new Mac Studio useless.
I've been blowing dust out of equipment with fans using air from a diving tank for nearly forty years* without any problems.
*Not non stop, I do other things in my life as well
So I've been lucky on the [literally] thousands of computers I've cleaned with compressed air?
