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Tag-Archive for » 2011 «

iMac Hard Drive Upgradeability Expanded!

Thursday, February 21st, 2013 | Author:

As you may recall, Apple changed the hard drive upgrading game with the  2011 iMac.

Up until 2009, changing a drive was easy once you could get to it. A few screws here, a connector there and voila – you were good to go. And OWC had you covered for all your iMac DIY hard drive upgrades.

With the late 2009 iMacs, Apple introduced a different connector for each brand drive, but as long as you stayed within the same hard drive brand, then it was the same, once you got to it – it was easy-peasy to make the old switch-a-roo. And OWC had you covered for your iMac DIY hard drive upgrades.

Then came the 2010 iMacs and the ‘same for same’ caveat still applied, but the 27″ iMac model introduced an additional SATA drive connection on the motherboard and the OWC Turnkey Upgrade program was born. Send us your 27″ iMac and we’d add up to 3 SSDs or even an eSATA port. It was a little more difficult, so we started with a do-it-for-you service, then made it available as a DIY kit. And OWC had you covered for all your iMac  DIY hard drive upgrades.

Lo and behold, the 2011 iMac changed the game again, no longer could you swap out the drive without failing the Apple Hardware Test (AHT) and sending the fans into a tizzy. Soon after, we expanded the iMac Turnkey Program with our Do-it-for-you service on these machines as well. And, now, we’re happy to announce that we’ve crafted that solution into an elegant little DIY Kit. So, once again, OWC has you covered for all your iMac DIY hard drive upgrades. Article Continues…

OWC Announces Memory Upgrades For New 2012 Apple Mac mini Models

Wednesday, October 24th, 2012 | Author:

Other World Computing announced today the immediate ordering availability of OWC DDR3L 1600MHz Memory Upgrades for all new 2012 Mac mini models announced by Apple yesterday. OWC Memory Upgrade Kits offer owners of the newest Macintosh mini models RAM savings of up 61 percent on comparable sized memory upgrades; as well as a memory configuration not available from the factory.

OWC Memory Upgrades for 2012 Mac mini 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, or 2.6GHz Intel i5 or i7 models:

Replaces existing factory installed 2 x 2GB memory modules with 8GB total memory at 50 percent lower cost vs. same sized factory 8GB option costing $100 

Replaces existing factory installed 2 x 2GB memory modules with 12GB total memory. This kit offers 50 percent more RAM at 14 percent lower cost vs. factory 8GB option costing $100.

Upgrade not available as a factory option.

Replaces existing factory installed 2 x 2GB memory modules with 16GB total memory at 61 percent lower cost vs. same sized factory 16GB option costing $300.

Article Continues…

Category: Press Releases

Other World Computing Named To Inc. 5000 “Fastest Growing Privately Owned Companies in America” List For Sixth Straight Year

Tuesday, August 21st, 2012 | Author:

Other World Computing announced today that it has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of “Fastest Growing Privately Owned Companies in America” for the sixth consecutive year. Out of 30,000 list honorees since the recognition program began in 2007, OWC is one of only 524 companies to be named to the list for all six years that the list has been published. In addition to achieving a three-year growth rate of 33%, the LEED Platinum certified, wind-powered firm was also ranked 36th on the Inc. 5000 “Top Computer Hardware Companies” list.

The exclusive ranking list by Inc. magazine represents a comprehensive look at America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs, defined by Inc. 500/5000 selection methodology as U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent — not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies as of December 31, 2011.

Other World Computing debuted on the inaugural Inc. 5000 “Fastest Growing Privately Owned Companies” List in 2007 with a “Computer and Electronics Top 100” category ranking of 78 and a 3,378 overall ranking, and has been named to the list each consecutive year.

Now, more than ever, we depend on Inc. 500/5000 companies to spur innovation, provide jobs, and drive the economy forward,” said Inc. Editor Eric Schurenberg. “Growth companies, not large corporations, are where the action is.

Being included for all six years of the Inc. 5,000 fastest growing list is quite an honor, and we are proud that the ‘OWC Difference’ of superior quality products backed by best-in-class, free lifetime customer support has helped us attain that honor once again,” said Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing. “Our team will continue in its quest to provide the upgrades and accessories our customers need to get the most performance and value from their technology investment.

Category: Press Releases

Power Nap Not Available to All Models Announced, but works with Aura

Friday, July 27th, 2012 | Author:

Whenever a new OS, there’s always a feature or two that a lot of people are really looking forward to. With OSX 10.8, lots of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with retina display (rMBP) owners were excited about the Power Nap feature, which enables software updates, backups, iCloud syncing and a number of other functions while the computer is set to “sleep.”

Unfortuantely, this feature wasn’t enabled from the start; apparently, a new firmware update is required. Apple has already released SMC updates for the 2011 and 2012 MacBook Airs and the 2012 rMBP update is “coming soon.” However, Apple has seemed to have quietly dropped support for the 2010 MacBook Air, even though it was initially announced as working with those models.

UPDATE 7/30/12: Apple released an SMC update for the rMBP, which adds Power Nap support.

We went ahead and tested it anyway and found that while the 11″ 2010 MacBook Air doesn’t support Power Nap, the 13” 2010 MacBook Air does.

While we were at it, we also tested the 2010 MacBook Air 13″, 2011 MacBook Air 11 & 13″, and the 2012 MacBook Air 11 & 13″ with our OWC Mercury Aura Pro SSDs (for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 models) and can confirm that Power Nap works as perfectly with our SSDs as they do with the originals.

UPDATE: More information regarding the 2010 MacBook Air 13″

We’ve now checked Power Nap capabilities on multiple 13″ 2010 MacBook Airs, and it seems hit-or-miss for compatibility. With those that it worked for, it did so without any extra changes. For those it didn’t work with, it just wasn’t enabled. We couldn’t find any rhyme or reason to why some worked and  some didn’t.

Category: Apple News

Boost 2011 MBP Performance with 1600MHz RAM

Monday, June 25th, 2012 | Author:

Right now, everybody’s talking about the MacBook Pros announced at WWDC earlier this month. That’s great; it’s always fun to talk about the latest and greatest. However, not everybody can afford to get the newest model every year. Most of us have to content ourselves with getting the most out of what we already have.

It’s in that line that we’ got some great info for those of you who bought a MacBook Pro last year. In an interesting development, it seems that although Apple sold and marketed the 2011 MacBook Pros as using 1333MHz memory, they are, in fact, capable of utilizing 1600MHz memory, just like the current crop of MacBook Pros.

Lloyd Chambers of Mac Performance Guide did some in-depth testing and found that a 2011 MacBook Pro with 1600MHz memory saw a 2% average performance boost over the same configuration with 1333MHz memory.

We’ve long established that adding more memory to your Mac is the most cost-effective way to get the most out of your Mac. For the 2011 MacBook Pros, it looks like using the faster compatible RAM speed can get you that extra little bit of speed you may be seeking.