Mac Studio Teardown Indicates That SSD Storage May Be Upgradeable

[theluggage]

That, and by making the storage modular, the number one variable in customer ordering no longer requires different motherboard SKUs.

...I suspect that is the real reason.

They already have to manufacture half-a-dozen different main logic boards for the various CPU/GPU/RAM RAM options, now if they have to make each of those in 5 different SSD versions you end up with a huge number of permutations.

That might be sustainable with the MacBooks and Minis which sell in fairly large quantities - but the volumes for the Studio are probably a lot lower, so some of the less popular permutations would have to be made in very small numbers (...and distributed internationally...?) - whereas with socketed SSDs the rare permutations can be assembled to order - or, at least, it delays the point during manufacturing where Apple have to commit to a SSD size.

I'm guessing there's some critical volume of sales below which socketed SSDs become more economical than soldered-in ones.

Meanwhile, ISTR that both with the 2019 Mac Pro and the 2017 iMac Pro, the RAM and SSD weren't officially upgradeable (even by Apple-certified engineers) at first, until they were.

 

[3gfisch]

Forget about the SSD apple said its not upgrade able and you shouldn’t.
but why is no one talking about that monster of a chip oOO

 

[theluggage]

I am interested to see what OWC will bring up.

Have OWC made any SSD upgrades for T2 or M1 Macs? Like the 2019 Mac Pro?
Since Apple switched to custom SSD controllers on the SoC or T2 chip, I don't think it's an option without Apple's blessing.

 

[JosephAW]

Keep in mind that macOS is also getting bloated, Monterey installer is over 12 GB. The original Mac OS X installer could fit on a single side DVD.

 

[svish]

Good start. Now some third party SSD manufacturer could bring out an upgrade kit.

 

[cmaier]

Forget about the SSD apple said its not upgrade able and you shouldn’t.
but why is no one talking about that monster of a chip oOO
View attachment 1977747

Keep in mind that much of that is RAM

 

[gagaliya]

Just wait 6 months, owc will come out with off brand ssd for this guaranteed. It looks an easy 10min upgrade

 

[gagaliya]

Regarding SSD reliability and TBW I don’t keep my computers past when AppleCare runs out. I’ve never got anywhere near 10% of TBW on standalone disks even running a full stack development environment on a workstation for 5 years historically. I choose what I need up front x2 to sink any future load.

If I get a problem, I’m never running a computer which is out of any warranty cycle. What is more important to note is that there’s only one vendor at play here. If you build a custom PC and it something goes wrong 2 years down the line, have fun trying to work out what is broken and which vendor RMA policy you’re going to have to argue with. The same happens if you stick a third party SSD in a Mac. I rather like walking into an apple store and just getting the whole thing swapped out with a stock config myself.

What I have found though is that the limiting factor of the computer is never the storage these days. It’s always the battery, the charger cable, the software and whatever the gorilla owning it manages to do to it.

thats stupid, desktop macs are built like tanks, my 2012 imac is still going perfectly, just look at that tear down. But I guess you got money to burn…

 

[Danfango]

thats stupid, desktop macs are built like tanks, my 2012 imac is still going perfectly, just look at that tear down. But I guess you got money to burn…

Not at all. Being a contractor, if my equipment dies, so does my income.

As for the 2012 iMac still going, you are merely riding on luck and one data point. You want to go and visit the mortuary room of any large IT company and see what's lurking in there which didn't survive half that time.

 

[reyesmac]

Maybe the cost of replacing an entire motherboard with Ultra chip was the reason for making the hard drive easier to replace by repair techs. Its a part that will die before the logic board does. I hope Apple does with with more products and also builds their products without using glue. That way, years from now when we dig up these old relics, we can upgrade them like we can old G3 and power pc macs. And frankly, after the warranty is up, we should be able to upgrade these things any way we see fit. Apple doesn't care to service them after a few years anyway, why not have repairs and upgrades easier to pull of for those with the knowhow to do it.

 

[ct2k7]

Just wait 6 months, owc will come out with off brand ssd for this guaranteed. It looks an easy 10min upgrade

Like with they did with the Mac Pro?

 

[ric22]

Like with they did with the Mac Pro?

The very niche Mac Pro has a much smaller volume of sales than this is likely to have, so there is more incentive to produce parts for this.

 

[cmaier]

And frankly, after the warranty is up, we should be able to upgrade these things any way we see fit.

True. But Apple is under no obligation to design its products in such a manner as to make that easy for you.

 

[Dozer_Zaibatsu]

And if you are that level of a pro that needs the raw speeds of the internal drive vs an external fast SSD, you have enough money where it is not an issue…

Um. My wife makes music. She composes. She has a band. She's released an album and is working on another. It's still a minor proportion of our income. We spend money where we have to. We pinch pennies where possible. Because we don't want to eat our pets.

We do use external SSDs for the laptop. But I am going to call out something as highly engineered as the Studio for requiring it.

I'm a fan of the revolution Steve Jobs started that has made DIY for creatives so much more possible. But let's not be so quick to count other peoples' money. Yes, I'll use Macs. But like everyone else, we use these amazingly engineered machines when and where they meet our needs.

We use Reaper for instance, and not Logic. At times it would be easier to use Logic. But we have deliberately decided to go with a DAW that is actively developed and supported cross-platform. Because we are happy to use Apple's strengths. But we also are aware that the Walled Garden is not there for our convenience. It's incredibly convenient that we can also do things on a Windoze PC when needed.

They already have to manufacture half-a-dozen different main logic boards for the various CPU/GPU/RAM RAM options, now if they have to make each of those in 5 different SSD versions you end up with a huge number of permutations.

That might be sustainable with the MacBooks and Minis which sell in fairly large quantities - but the volumes for the Studio are probably a lot lower, so some of the less popular permutations would have to be made in very small numbers (...and distributed internationally...?) - whereas with socketed SSDs the rare permutations can be assembled to order - or, at least, it delays the point during manufacturing where Apple have to commit to a SSD size.

And yet so does every other PC manufacturer. Windows and Linux will boot off just about any kind of storage there is.

It would not be difficult if Apple made public the specs they want to have on peripherals to work with their machines. They definitely depend on Anker and Logi to make peripherals and aftermarket things they don't want to make themselves. They're looking out for their shareholders at the expense of their customers. (And partners? Potential partners?) I maintain that is their right to do so.

But I also think it's the customers' right and duty to call it out. And make decisions accordingly. It's a great selling point for a competitor PC, for instance, that it's possible to snap in extra internal storage where needed.

 

[thebeans]

Great news.

But in general, I don't quite understand the fuss around user-upgradability. Why do storage and memory need to be upgradable? Just buy as much as you need over the machine's lifetime right away. Think you will need 32 GB memory in the future instead of 16 GB? Then just get 32 GB memory now. Think you will eventually need 4 TB storage instead of 2 TB? Then just get 4 TB now.

A machine that is good enough at the time when you buy it will also be good enough five years later.

Eventually after some years, the CPU becomes the bottle neck, and since that is not really replaceable anyway, whenever that point comes, you will need an entirely new machine anyway, not just a memory or storage upgrade.

It’s simple really. RAM goes bad. SSDs go bad. It happens. The ability to replace those things, especially by the user, is very much an advantage. The Mac Studio should have been designed so that these items were easily accessible for the user if needed.

 

[centauratlas]

Great news.

But in general, I don't quite understand the fuss around user-upgradability. Why do storage and memory need to be upgradable? Just buy as much as you need over the machine's lifetime right away. Think you will need 32 GB memory in the future instead of 16 GB? Then just get 32 GB memory now. Think you will eventually need 4 TB storage instead of 2 TB? Then just get 4 TB now.

A machine that is good enough at the time when you buy it will also be good enough five years later.

Eventually after some years, the CPU becomes the bottle neck, and since that is not really replaceable anyway, whenever that point comes, you will need an entirely new machine anyway, not just a memory or storage upgrade.

Perhaps one reason is aftermarket cost vs Apple cost.
Another being that you might think 4TB is enough but need 8TB in 2 years.
Or they might only offer 4TB (or 8TB) now, but then in 2 years 16TB or 32TB is available so you want to upgrade.

Ditto RAM.

Or you have something go bad.

 

[theluggage]

The very niche Mac Pro has a much smaller volume of sales than this is likely to have, so there is more incentive to produce parts for this.

...but, since the introduction of T2 and M1, the SSD controller is embedded in the T2/M1 and the drive blades connect via a proprietary protocol rather than NVMe or SATA. Also, Apple control the configurator software that you now need to run on a second, USB-C-connected Mac in order to 'register' the new SSD with the SoC.

...I think the Mac Pro and Studio are the only T2 or M1-based Macs to have socketed SSDs - looks like everything that OWC produce is for pre-T2 Macs that still used NVMe (albeit with nonstandard connectors).

 

[Chancha]

...but, since the introduction of T2 and M1, the SSD controller is embedded in the T2/M1 and the drive blades connect via a proprietary protocol rather than NVMe or SATA. Also, Apple control the configurator software that you now need to run on a second, USB-C-connected Mac in order to 'register' the new SSD with the SoC.

...I think the Mac Pro and Studio are the only T2 or M1-based Macs to have socketed SSDs - looks like everything that OWC produce is for pre-T2 Macs that still used NVMe (albeit with nonstandard connectors).

The iMac Pro also has T2 on top of Xeon like the Mac Pro. I am not 100% sure but I think the SSDs are socketed, and always come in pairs. They and the Studio SSD do not share the interface at all, but may behave similarly on logical level.

 

[theluggage]

The iMac Pro also has T2 on top of Xeon like the Mac Pro. I am not 100% sure but I think the SSDs are socketed

You're probably right.
Still - as far as I know, no sign of third-party upgrades.

 

[Chancha]

You're probably right.
Still - as far as I know, no sign of third-party upgrades.

I thought OWC must have done it but they didn‘t. The only option is surprisingly from Apple. They do sell after-sales SSD kit, but only for the Mac Pro.

 

[Absrnd]

This may partially answer it

[Update]
Nu such luck and Luke is pissed, and Apple screwed the pooch

 

[kieguru]

Great news.

But in general, I don't quite understand the fuss around user-upgradability. Why do storage and memory need to be upgradable? Just buy as much as you need over the machine's lifetime right away. Think you will need 32 GB memory in the future instead of 16 GB? Then just get 32 GB memory now. Think you will eventually need 4 TB storage instead of 2 TB? Then just get 4 TB now.

A machine that is good enough at the time when you buy it will also be good enough five years later.

Eventually after some years, the CPU becomes the bottle neck, and since that is not really replaceable anyway, whenever that point comes, you will need an entirely new machine anyway, not just a memory or storage upgrade.

I'm not sure if you're trolling but I'll bite anyway.

User upgradability kind of goes hand in han with repairability. Your SSD, RAM, WiFi card fails? No problem, you can simply replace the part without having to send off your device or feel like you'll need to buy a new one that would be wasteful.

Cost is another huge factor, why spend £2400 on a 8TB storage option, when you can get the base model and buy an 8TB NVME drive for £1200? Also, when capacity of available drives increases in future generations, you'll simply be able to drop a 12 or 16TB one in.

The whole tech industry in general needs to be more proactive on reducing tech waste and using user-replaceable parts is a positive step in achieving this.

 

[VictorTango777]

Dust is bad for any computer that has a fan, whether desktop or laptop. Any computer that uses a fan should provide easy access to clean out dust from the inside. Cleaning dust from inside a computer should not require a trip to a repair shop. Do not assume that everyone only uses computers in a sterile clean room while wearing a bunny suit.

 

[name99]

Forget about the SSD apple said its not upgrade able and you shouldn’t.
but why is no one talking about that monster of a chip oOO
View attachment 1977747

It's not a large CHIP, it's a large PACKAGE.
It's large because most of the area is DRAM, not the actual two M1 Ultra SOCs.

No-one is talking about this because it's an moronic thing to talk about, there is nothing interesting there. Leave clickbait to the idiots.


cf this shot here of a decapped Max

 

[_Spinn_]

Good news and very surprising.