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expiredDr.W posted Aug 28, 2024 06:03 PM
expiredDr.W posted Aug 28, 2024 06:03 PM

Apple MacBook Pro (Late 2023): M3 Max Chip, 16.2" 3456x2234, 128GB RAM, 1TB SSD

+ Free Store Pickup

$3,500

$5,000

30% off
Micro Center
109 Comments 79,068 Views
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Deal Details
Micro Center has 16.2" Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (Late 2023, Z1AF001AL, Space Black) on sale for $3499.99. Select free store pickup where available.

Thanks to community member Dr.Wajahat for finding this deal.

Note: Availability will vary by location.

Specs:
  • Apple M3 Max 16-Core Chip w/ 40-Core GPU
  • 16.2" 3456x2234 Liquid Retina XDR 120Hz Display
  • 128GB Unified RAM
  • 1TB Solid State Drive
  • 2x2 Wireless LAN Wifi 6E 802.11ax + Bluetooth 5.3
  • Backlit Keyboard
  • MacOS
  • Ports:
    • 3x Thunderbolt 4
    • 1x HDMI
    • 1x MagSafe 3
    • 1x Audio Combo Jack

Editor's Notes

Written by oceanlake

Original Post

Written by Dr.W
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Micro Center has 16.2" Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (Late 2023, Z1AF001AL, Space Black) on sale for $3499.99. Select free store pickup where available.

Thanks to community member Dr.Wajahat for finding this deal.

Note: Availability will vary by location.

Specs:
  • Apple M3 Max 16-Core Chip w/ 40-Core GPU
  • 16.2" 3456x2234 Liquid Retina XDR 120Hz Display
  • 128GB Unified RAM
  • 1TB Solid State Drive
  • 2x2 Wireless LAN Wifi 6E 802.11ax + Bluetooth 5.3
  • Backlit Keyboard
  • MacOS
  • Ports:
    • 3x Thunderbolt 4
    • 1x HDMI
    • 1x MagSafe 3
    • 1x Audio Combo Jack

Editor's Notes

Written by oceanlake

Original Post

Written by Dr.W

Community Voting

Deal Score
+46
Good Deal
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Top Comments

thischris
738 Posts
114 Reputation
Going to hold out for a 256GB Ram so I can edit reality.
Peichen
1254 Posts
151 Reputation
If they are going to give this 128 GB RAM at least throw in 2 or 4 TB
Cheapmelonsoda
68 Posts
22 Reputation
Hot damn! That price is insane.
Can we please get a Microcenter in every state!
... and then ideally around the world.

109 Comments

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Sep 04, 2024 05:41 AM
32 Posts
Joined Dec 2023
yqkSep 04, 2024 05:41 AM
32 Posts
Who can even get this? Out of stock everywhere
Sep 04, 2024 06:35 AM
1,254 Posts
Joined Jul 2015
PeichenSep 04, 2024 06:35 AM
1,254 Posts
Quote from cdog90260 :
agreed, is 8TB possible? The space is really out of line compared to the ram.
8 TB is the max storage MacBook Pro can get.
Sep 04, 2024 12:21 PM
15 Posts
Joined Apr 2019
RoninAMGSep 04, 2024 12:21 PM
15 Posts
Heck yeah, this is an excellent deal if you need this much horsepower from a MB Pro. Since there's an Apple Store in the neighborhood where I've got some business later this afternoon, it's at least worth it for me to stop by and see if they'll Price Match this deal. I'll try to distract them from noticing the part where this one is for a Late 2023 model and show and compare Specs to Specs and see what happens. The information I've seen in regard to Apple offering Price Match is contradictory at best. But the common thread seems to be that it must be an Authorized Retailer and also have an Apple Store type presence such as most of the Best Buy stores. My local Micro Center has both and I'm going to print all this information for them prior to arriving to present my case. It may be a waste of time, but worth the potential $1,500 savings.

I was also going to approach Best Buy about them price matching Micro Center which I know they would. However, Best Buy doesn't even offer the 128GB Unified RAM model. The highest RAM model that they currently offer is the 48GB for whatever reason which I find quite odd. 🤔 - Nonetheless, still worth the potential $1,500 savings.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?_dyncharset=UTF-8&browsedCategory=pcmcat378600050009&id=... [bestbuy.com]

If I have any luck with either one of those locations, I'll be sure to post the details. And if anyone else has a process that has worked to acquire this exact model for $3,500 then please share as I checked just about every Micro Center location for this model and they're all Out of Stock and won't offer any sort of rainchecks or price honoring even if this model were to rejoin their inventory. Thanks...
Sep 04, 2024 12:37 PM
24 Posts
Joined Sep 2020
DavidsonkzSep 04, 2024 12:37 PM
24 Posts
NO LONGER CARRIED at Miami Store
Sep 04, 2024 01:15 PM
2,277 Posts
Joined May 2011
pechangoSep 04, 2024 01:15 PM
2,277 Posts
Quote from erishun :
I have a 4TB NVME drive attached to my dock, so internal storage isn't an issue. I only use internal storage for applications, all my assets go on the drive.
As they should be. The people complaining about internal storage ON A LAPTOP are nuts. You don't go storing 4-8tb of data on a laptop if you know what you're doing.
Sep 04, 2024 04:45 PM
393 Posts
Joined Jun 2007
schneiksSep 04, 2024 04:45 PM
393 Posts
Quote from erishun :
I have a 4TB NVME drive attached to my dock, so internal storage isn't an issue. I only use internal storage for applications, all my assets go on the drive.
Would like to hear more about this setup. Even just device names for dock, drive, etc.
Sep 04, 2024 04:48 PM
504 Posts
Joined Aug 2006
dwkorSep 04, 2024 04:48 PM
504 Posts
Quote from schneiks :
Would like to hear more about this setup. Even just device names for dock, drive, etc.
WD Black 4TB + Acasis TB4 enclosure [acasis.com]. Getting 2.6GB/s read/write throughput on M1 Max
Last edited by dwkor September 4, 2024 at 09:52 AM.

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Sep 04, 2024 05:22 PM
504 Posts
Joined Aug 2006
dwkorSep 04, 2024 05:22 PM
504 Posts
Quote from pechango :
As they should be. The people complaining about internal storage ON A LAPTOP are nuts. You don't go storing 4-8tb of data on a laptop if you know what you're doing.
It depends. If you are dealing with photo or video editing, NAS may not work well for you due to network throughput constraints. External drives are generally slower and also a pain to carry around.

There are other cases, especially in IT, where I may prefer to have more than 1TB of internal storage.
Sep 04, 2024 05:44 PM
2,277 Posts
Joined May 2011
pechangoSep 04, 2024 05:44 PM
2,277 Posts
Quote from dwkor :
It depends. If you are dealing with photo or video editing, NAS may not work well for you due to network throughput constraints. External drives are generally slower and also a pain to carry around.

There are other cases, especially in IT, where I may prefer to have more than 1TB of internal storage.
Obviously it depends but again get the right tool for the job. If you need 8tb of storage on a laptop for the constant storing of files, you don't have the right tool for the job. Portable storage is not a good way to store data long term (in general).

I've had a 512gb laptop for work for longer than I can remember and have never come close to maxing it out, especially these days when network or cloud storage are readily available.

I have a 1tb laptop for personal and it stores and manages 30k photos. For me, I don't have the right tool for the job anymore (when my desktop became obsolete) but I really need to offload those. The rest of my sensitive or larger files are on a NAS.
Pro
Sep 04, 2024 06:23 PM
229 Posts
Joined Apr 2017
SavvyStackSaver
Pro
Sep 04, 2024 06:23 PM
229 Posts
Wow got additional 10% discount. Nice
Check there is 10% discount on Apple devices
Sep 04, 2024 06:48 PM
2,544 Posts
Joined Feb 2007
cdog90260Sep 04, 2024 06:48 PM
2,544 Posts
Quote from pechango :
As they should be. The people complaining about internal storage ON A LAPTOP are nuts. You don't go storing 4-8tb of data on a laptop if you know what you're doing.
if you're paying this much for a laptop, storage is a consideration. If you're travelling, the amount of devices you carry is a consideration, my older windows PC had the ability to add more storage, however I dont do windows, and would love to add more storage for simplicity sakes. You can "know what you're doing" and still want more HD space. When working on video projects, 1TB might not even get me through working one project at a time, nevermind multiple projects. The rendered project is then gone off to a gigantic NAS, no issues there, but it would be nice to have a large working space that's half as big as my archival unit. I'm working with 512 and VM's are a real hassle because of the drive limitation, and running a VM from external is iffy
Sep 04, 2024 09:12 PM
144 Posts
Joined Mar 2015
bostongardenSep 04, 2024 09:12 PM
144 Posts
Still 1 in Cambridge, MA for those interested as of September 4, 5:12pm 😀.
Sep 05, 2024 01:52 AM
4 Posts
Joined Mar 2022
MagentaFruit9428Sep 05, 2024 01:52 AM
4 Posts
I don't think this can run Doom, just not enough RAM
Sep 05, 2024 07:00 AM
6,047 Posts
Joined Nov 2013
ROB.E.REINSep 05, 2024 07:00 AM
6,047 Posts
A significant security vulnerability, known as the "GoFetch" exploit, has been discovered in Apple's M-series chips, which include the M1, M2, and M3 models. This vulnerability is particularly concerning because it is rooted in the microarchitectural design of the chips, making it unpatchable through traditional software updates. Instead, it requires architectural changes to the chips themselves, which cannot be applied to existing hardware[1][3][6].

Nature of the Vulnerability

The GoFetch vulnerability is a type of cache side-channel attack that exploits the data memory-dependent prefetcher (DMP) in Apple's M-series chips. The DMP is designed to predict memory addresses that running code will likely access soon, thereby optimizing performance by preloading data into the CPU cache. However, this feature inadvertently allows attackers to extract cryptographic keys by manipulating the prefetcher to treat certain data values as memory addresses, which can then be observed through cache side channels[1][2][3].

Impact and Exploit Conditions

The vulnerability allows attackers to extract secret keys from cryptographic operations by running a malicious process on the same CPU cluster as the targeted cryptographic process. This can be done without requiring root access, as the exploit only needs the typical user privileges that most third-party applications have[1][2][3]. The vulnerability affects a wide range of cryptographic implementations, including those using OpenSSL and post-quantum cryptography protocols[1].

Mitigation and Challenges

While the vulnerability cannot be patched directly due to its hardware nature, some mitigation strategies have been proposed. These include using third-party cryptographic software with added defenses, such as cryptographic blinding, or running cryptographic operations on chip cores that do not have DMP functionality. However, these measures can significantly impact performance, particularly for earlier M-series chips like the M1 and M2[2][3][6].

Apple has not yet released an official fix, and the only complete solution would involve redesigning the chip architecture, which would apply to future chip generations rather than existing ones[6][7]. Meanwhile, users are advised to maintain strong security practices, such as using strong passwords and being cautious about installing unknown software, to mitigate the risk of local exploitation[5][7].

Citations:
[1] New GoFetch Vulnerability in Apple's M Chips Allows Secret Keys ... https://www.techrepublic.com/arti...e-m-chips/
[2] There's a vulnerability in Apple's Mac chips–and the fix might be as ... https://www.macworld.com/article/...mance.html
[3] Unpatchable vulnerability in Apple chip leaks secret encryption keys https://arstechnica.com/security/...mac-chips/
[4] Security Vulnerability in Apple's M-Series Chips Puts Mac Users ... https://www.insanelymac.com/forum...s-at-risk/
[5] M Series Chips Security Flaws : r/MacOS - Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/co...ity_flaws/
[6] A vulnerability in Apple M-series chips could expose encryption keys ... https://www.itpro.com/security/a-...npatchable
[7] Unpatchable vulnerability discovered in Apple M1, M2 and M3 chips https://www.tomsguide.com/computi...ed-to-know
[8] Vulnerability found in Apple's Silicon M-series chips – and it can't be ... https://mashable.com/article/appl...ption-keys
1

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Sep 07, 2024 08:38 PM
15 Posts
Joined Apr 2019
RoninAMGSep 07, 2024 08:38 PM
15 Posts
They're not completely sold out just yet. As of this comment, there's one left in Sharonville, OH. There were two available, and I just ordered one and plan on driving over there tomorrow morning to pick it up from Chicago. I don't mind the drive.

In addition, I ordered one from their Overland Park, KS location that will be cancelled at the end of today and should be put back in inventory tomorrow. I also ordered one from their St. Louis Park, MN location that will be cancelled at the end of tomorrow and should be put back in inventory my Monday the 9th. Good luck to anyone still hunting for one.
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