Recommendation on my 2016 12” Laptop

[Randy B. Singer]

So what configuration would you recommend for the MBA?

For what it's worth, two things have changed drastically with the M1x chips. It used to be that you probably wanted to get as much RAM as you could afford, and whatever size hard drive you could make do with.

That has reversed with the M1x-based Macs.

Unless you are doing something that is outlandishly RAM intensive (3D modeling, very advanced graphics, video editing), then the minimum RAM configuration is almost certainly plenty. See:

Is the base MacBook Air M1/8GB powerful enough for you? - 9to5Mac

So I decided to pick up the base $999 MacBook Air` to see how it would hold up side-by-side with my 16-inch behemoth. The results are incredible.

9to5mac.com

The recommendation of purchasing more RAM than you need to "future proof" your Mac is unfounded. Over the last decade or so, Macs have tended to become MORE efficient with RAM, not less.

As far as hard drive space goes, the M1x Macs all use integrated SSD's. That means that they can't be changed out, so a failed hard drive requires an entirely new motherboard, which is likely cost prohibitive. (Also note that an M1x-based Mac can't even be booted from an external hard drive if the internal SSD has died. So you can't continue your work after a hard drive failure by booting from a clone backup as you used to be able to. Another reason why you really don't want your internal SSD to fail.) SSD's drastically slow down when they get to somewhere over half full. Also, since each register can only be re-written a fixed number of times, an SSD will live longer the larger it is. So, since optimizing the lifespan of your SSD is critical to maximizing the lifespan of your Mac, getting a larger-than-necessary SSD from the very beginning is the way to go. (Of course, another way to go is to purchase an SSD of moderate size, and to also purchase an external drive to offload stuff to for long-term storage, so that you never fill up your internal hard drive.) See:

Why solid-state drive (SSD) performance slows down as it becomes full - Pureinfotech

Ever wondered why your solid-state drive degrades performance over time? Here we look into the problem and what to do to keep drive speedy.

pureinfotech.com

"The rule of thumb to keep SSDs at top speeds is to never completely fill them up. To avoid performance issues, you should never use more than 70% of its total capacity.
...
"When you’re getting close to the 70% threshold, you should consider upgrading your computer’s SSD with a larger drive."

https://www.slrlounge.com/tips-to-get-the-most-from-your-ssds/

"SSDs may suffer performance issues, especially in writing speed, when the drive reaches full capacity. It is easier for the drive to write to an empty cell when there is free space available. When the drive is full, the SSD needs to find out which blocks are partially filled, move that information into a cache and then write it back to the drive. It is best to have 10-15% of your drive set aside for free space, to keep a good balance between performance and space utilization."

 

[Rod]

If its any help, I have an M1 14" MBP 16GB Memory 500GB Storage which I keep at about 300GB with the use of EHD's and iCloud Storage (not Photo Library).
I have one Clone (CCC) on SSD and a Time Machine backup on HDD.

 

[techiesteve]

Steve .. Thank you for the reply … you accurately tracked the sequence of everything Apple Repair was performing. My logic board was working prior to going in for a battery replacement. My sense is that it failed / was damaged during the battery replacement process. The store doesn’t want to ”eat“ that expense and are trying to offer me fair compensation. We disagree on what is fair at this point.

Since Apple Repair mentioned I might need a new logic board (they initially indicated repair expenses beyond the battery would be the responsibility of Apple), would I have a dependable Macbook for the next couple of years? … our am I now at the point of Humpty Dumpty … and am best off negotiating the best possible compensation.

ie - Could get my laptop back and it crashes again in 60 days

I often see multiple faults on the MacBook 12" Retina, loose USB-C cables due to I/O board socket wear, flex cable failures, intermittent keys, GPU caused displaced video and complete logic board failures, they can be unreliable. I'm aware of some service providers here utilising Apple's mail in repair options as the can be time consuming to diagnose and repair. Also Exchange logic boards can be unreliable. When they are working they are great, when not they can be an expensive liability. As you have now been offered $350, and taking account that you are also not having to pay out on the battery replacement, to me the the offer now seems reasonable. The new MacBook Air's are so much more reliable if you go for one.

 

[quigpriss]

If its any help, I have an M1 14" MBP 16GB Memory 500GB Storage which I keep at about 300GB with the use of EHD's and iCloud Storage (not Photo Library).
I have one Clone (CCC) on SSD and a Time Machine backup on HDD.

Sounds like a good plan to emulate

 

[quigpriss]

I often see multiple faults on the MacBook 12" Retina, loose USB-C cables due to I/O board socket wear, flex cable failures, intermittent keys, GPU caused displaced video and complete logic board failures, they can be unreliable. I'm aware of some service providers here utilising Apple's mail in repair options as the can be time consuming to diagnose and repair. Also Exchange logic boards can be unreliable. When they are working they are great, when not they can be an expensive liability. As you have now been offered $350, and taking account that you are also not having to pay out on the battery replacement, to me the the offer now seems reasonable. The new MacBook Air's are so much more reliable if you go for one.

I agree with all … per prior post I sent in an email to [email protected] … I know it will be read by one of his support folks. My request was to be able to use the 10% discount offered to education / military (I’m also a AFG vet) … the store said they could not stack discounts (Trade-in and Military discount together). I did included the repair case # so they could review any history. I do not see the trade in as a discount. My email made mention of how my first MacBook performed very well in the austere environment in Afghanistan.

I presume I will hear something by the end of this week. Even if they deny my appeal for a military discount, I’ll be in later this week to purchase a MacBook Air. I’ll buy the one with the M2 chip. I also like that they have gone back to the mag safe charging cable.

 

[quigpriss]

I did receive a call from executive relations regarding my email to Tim Cook… they have agreed to let me apply the military discount. NICE!! …. so $350 trade credit will be rebated back to me after I order the MacBook Air via military purchasing portal, plus I can take advantage of 10% off the initial order. Very positive outcome. I think providing the repair number in the email, kept the email simple, short and positive. I outlined my issue, they saw that the initial store repair took too long before they even responded (2 weeks) to raise an initial issue, all worked in my favor.

Question - can they still pull files from my flash drive in the current sate of my old laptop? The vast majority of my files are in the cloud, a few are on the flash drive only. Nothing life shattering if they can’t, but would be good if possible.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I did receive a call from executive relations regarding my email to Tim Cook… they have agreed to let me apply the military discount.

I'm glad that it all worked out for you in a positive manner! Apple has long been known for coming through and making their customers happy. I'm a bit distressed that the route to satisfaction has become more difficult.

I'd write an article about this if there were anyplace left to have such an article published that might make a difference. But print media is dead, and there isn't a huge online resource that has a lot of influence in a matter such as this that I can think of.

Question - can they still pull files from my flash drive in the current sate of my old laptop? The vast majority of my files are in the cloud, a few are on the flash drive only. Nothing life shattering if they can’t, but would be good if possible.

All that I can suggest is that you ask the store where you intend to purchase your new Mac about this.

 

[techiesteve]

Question - can they still pull files from my flash drive in the current sate of my old laptop? The vast majority of my files are in the cloud, a few are on the flash drive only. Nothing life shattering if they can’t, but would be good if possible.

Unlike some of the other early USB-C based MBP's that had a socket on the logic board that connected to a proprietary Apple kit that in most cases could recover data, the MacBook 12" Retina has no such recovery option. I always point out to MacBook 12" Retina users that if theirs contains data that might be missed it should be backed up regularly or it could be lost.

 

[quigpriss]

Thank you Randy for the suggestion to email Tim Cook -

Executive Relations did contact the Store where the repair was being done - not likely they could recover data - I did download my info from the cloud … I’m not missing anything critical - a good result and lesson learned to store info away from device

It does appear that elevating to customer relations, then executive relations (via the email to Tim Cook) was helpful …. that said … I believe I was allowed to use my military discount because of the lack of response from the store (2 weeks) … had they notified me of the problem within 3-5 days. … I’d have ended up with $300 - $350 compensation

Good news - I have a new M2 MacBook Air - and all my relevant data was in the cloud -

Thank you to all who posted throughout this process