Mac Tips : Part 4 – How to check MacBook Model, Processor Generation and ….

If you missed our previous articles, please check the following links

Mac Tips : Part 1     Part 2     Part 3

There are times when you wish to check various information of your MacBook, like whether your Mac is dual-core or quad core, its warranty, RAM Type, which generation of processor your Mac has etc.. We will tell you each and everything you may need to know about your Mac.

How to check Which MacBook’s Model, Processor, number of cores, Processor’s clock speed, RAM, and Serial Number

1. Click on Apple icon (located at the top left corner by default)
2. Click on About this Mac
3. Click on System Report

The screenshot makes everything clear. Please note that when number of cores are 2, it means your MacBook has dual-core processor. If the number of cores are 4, it means your Mac has quad-core processor. Only 15-inch 2011 or later models with core i7 processor has quad-core processor as far as MacBook Laptops are concerned. However, you can always check this way to remove confusion.

The screenshot still doesn’t define the RAM type and Speed and processor generation. We will tell you how to check

How to check RAM detail on Mac

Under the same window (System Report), click on Memory, and you will find the following screen

As you can see, in my Mac there are 2 RAM slots (that usually all Macs has), and its DDR3, and has 1600 MHz speed. You may find the speed to be 1866 MHz in some newer models, like 13-inch MacBook Pro Retina 2015 model.

How to Check what generation of Processor Mac has

Processor Generation doesn’t appear in System Report Section. You need to check it via Terminal. Follow these steps

1. Launch Terminal (located under Application –> Utility if you open via Finder, Or just press Command+Space to bring spotlight search, and Type Terminal, hit Enter to launch)
2. Type the following command in terminal, and Press Enter

sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string

You will get the Processor information like below Screenshot. In my case it has a i5-4278U CPU @ 2.60GHz, that’s 4th Generation. Number “4278U” is used to define Processor Generation. If the number starts with 2, it means it’s 2nd generation, If with 3, it means 3rd generation, if it starts with 5, it means 5th generation processor.

How to Check Mac’s Warranty, and what if Warranty Status doesn’t appear

The warranty of any Apple Product can be checked on Apple’s Official Website with the serial key. We have already told how to check Serial Key. So you need to put the Serial key there, enter Captcha Code, and hit continue to check the warranty Status. If you have bought a used MacBook, and it’s not showing anything, you will have to verify the purchase date after logging in with Apple ID. If you don’t know the purchase date or it is not accepting, you have no other way except contacting Apple Support, and they will require purchase receipt to verify the purchase.

How to know which year model of Mac I have

When you check the warranty status it always shows the year. It doesn’t matter warranty status is updated or not, but the model year will always be there.

 How to check MacBook’s battery status or Power Cycle

Under the same System report windows, click on Power, and you will find the Cycle Count. Please note after a certain power cycle, you will need to replace the battery. You can check the maximum cycle count of all MacBook model here.

How to check if MacBook has a Dedicated Graphic Card

Under the system report windows, you can click on Graphic to check Graphic detail. If there is Dedicated Graphic you will see two Graphic names there, just like below Screenshot. Intel Graphics are always shared graphic, in Dedicated Graphic, you will find either AMD or Nvidia.

How to check which version of Bluetooth Your Mac has

In System Report Window, click on Bluetooth, and check LMP Version as shown in the below image. If it shows LMP version as 0x6, that means your mac has Bluetooth 4.0, else check the below information

 LMP Version and Bluetooth Version

0x8 :  4.2

0x7 : 4.1

0x6 : 4.0

0x5 : 3.0

0x4 : 2.1

0x3 : 2.0

0x2 : 1.2

ox1 : 1.1

In the same way, you can click on each item to check the detail. Clicking on USB will reveal whether you have USB 3.0 or 2.0 port. So you can have all the information you need.