I'm still debating returning the i7 13" for an i5 when I get it. By maybe the extra money wasted will balance out since I'll use the laptop for a very long time.
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Apple launches new MacBook Pros Touch Bar Only starting @$1799
- Thread starter Vanillalite
- Start date
Issue is I'm leaving the country on August 1st, so I'd have to order one now to get it in time assuming I want the i5. Oh well. Will still be significantly cheaper than what it would cost in Europe.
The thing is, when Notebookcheck tested the 2018 15 inch MBPs, they found out that the cooling solution isn't even strong enough for the TDP, let alone what Intel allows the processors to draw. And that's with the i7, not the i9. Here's a graph showing the power draw among other things (bottom left):
Source (in German): https://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-2018-2-6-GHz-560X-Laptop.316698.0.html
As you can see, mean power draw is 37.54 W, or ~7.5 W below TDP. That's on Apple, not Intel. At least the mean core clock is slightly above its specified 2.6 GHz.
I was messing around on notebookcheck.com, then I found out that windows ultrabooks with 8th gen CPUs all throttle to some degree after repeated cinebench test. The most interesting thing I found was i7 ultrabooks are generally less than 10 percent faster than their i5 counterparts in cinebench multi-thread test, and with some models (such as XPS 13) even slower than i5. Lenovo T480 i5 was beating i7 laptops left and right.
i7 and above are vanity spec lol.
i7 and above are vanity spec lol.
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Innovation, engineering prowess and product focus may not be happening where you want them to be happening but to ignore the iPhone X/FaceID, their ARM chip team, stuff like the T2 in the newest Macs, APFS, the Watch, Swift... is just ignoring what's right in front of you.
They clearly neglected the Mac while trying to rush the Car project. The last year shows they really are returning a lot of effort to the Mac. It's not going to happen overnight. But the engineering prowess at Apple is undeniable.
Charging such a premium and offering an i9 when they know it would not perform as advertised is pretty egregious. The Pro in MacBook Pro has lost all meaning since the Jobs days, that much is certain.
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But the current MBPs use the very same heatsink design as last year's, and those had no problem at all with the same TDP. To me that points to Intel's packaging being worse at dissipating heat towards the top of the die.
Thermals are not great for all updated MacBook Pros. Their thin chassis couldn't handle the heat from the extra cores.
Do it. i7 are only worth it if you're willing to use the MacBook in the fridge.
Lol right
May I introduce, "Star Citizen" ...
Anyway, I might be in for one of these once they take a price cut around Black Friday. I still have x3 MacBook Pro, 2013/2014s (got from work free) that are *beastly* but I shamelessly want a new one.
Not sure if they allow the config but go i5 + dGPU over an i7.
i5 and i7 performance gap is not worth noting. Better off spending that on better graphics or a bigger SSD.
Also note: barely anyone will ever use over 16GB RAM unless you have your MBP plugged up to external monitors and are doing heavy multitasking. SSD and dGPU are best investments IMO (dGPU only if you game on it though).
I actually really want Apple to get a lot of heat (ha) for this. Sort of to guarantee that they won't screw up in the next redesign.
Of course, that's ignoring the possibility that part of the reason why they didn't change the heatsink is because a complete redesign is on the way for next year.
Of course, that's ignoring the possibility that part of the reason why they didn't change the heatsink is because a complete redesign is on the way for next year.
That doesn't relate to anything I said; the MacBook Pro line has been unsatisfying at best since 2012-ish in my opinion.
Isn't redesign every 4 years, so we might be waiting until 2020? That would suck to wait for.
I will be moving somewhere cold on the 31st, though, so maybe I'll be fine if I sit outside...
Yeah, if there was a dGPU option in the 13", I would have jumped on it. It's kind of crazy that a MacBook Pro in 2018 won't give me radically better graphical performance compared to my old Air, but I need that portability. (I've been scarred ever since I owned a 17" MacBook Pro.)
Maybe I can underclock the CPU/set a more aggressive fan curve. The CPU upgrade is 12% of the price I paid, so I guess a 10% performance boost if I'm lucky makes sense.
Most of apple laptops were always nearing the high temperatures. My 2017 used to reach 90* under heavy workloads, but always went along with no throttling. Thanks for the reddit link, I did read some yesterday.
It always seemed weird for manf. such as Dell and Asus to put the i9 in their thin laptops even though they all throttle, but not that severly as the MBP. Apple's lineup also comes later due to the need for CPU's with GT3e chips for their 13" lineup.
I'm curious what AMD will bring, because they're taking their time. Intel already felt the heat and quickly released their X299 platform, with such a weird naming scheme.
If AMD delivers and won't run as hot, then that would be a massive competitor in the notebook landscape.
Been thinking about getting a new laptop seeing as my Surface is starting to get a little old. Thinking about the lowest tier 13" pro model.
I've never had a MacBook before. How good is OneDrive support on Mac, also would this thing be okay for light gaming for things like WoW and HotS?
Also how difficult would getting a dual boot setup with Win10 on it be?
I've never had a MacBook before. How good is OneDrive support on Mac, also would this thing be okay for light gaming for things like WoW and HotS?
Also how difficult would getting a dual boot setup with Win10 on it be?
Why transition to a Mac from Windows?
Lenovo Carbon X1 is a great windows laptop, though pricey.
Curiosity mainly. I got an iPhone after using Androids since forever and have had a pretty good experience with it. Seeing as I'm due for an upgrade and it's tax time why not try something new? If I don't care for it I'll upgrade again in a few years anyway.
I dunno, I'm due for an upgrade, I have a late 2013 Macbook Pro that still works but some of the keyboard keys are crapping out.
My specs for the 2013 MBP are 15 inch w/2.6 GHz i7 processor, 16GB DDR3, Nvidia GT750M w/2GB, 1TB SSD.
I don't really keep up with Intel CPU and Nvidia/AMD GPU performance increases ... how much more powerful is almost top of the line i7 MBP these days? Would it run circles around my current machine? How about the smaller 13 inch models?
My specs for the 2013 MBP are 15 inch w/2.6 GHz i7 processor, 16GB DDR3, Nvidia GT750M w/2GB, 1TB SSD.
I don't really keep up with Intel CPU and Nvidia/AMD GPU performance increases ... how much more powerful is almost top of the line i7 MBP these days? Would it run circles around my current machine? How about the smaller 13 inch models?
I haven't used a Mac in a while, but I don't see what could go wrong with OneDrive. Gaming would be a pain with the 13"s because they only have integrated Intel graphics. See here. The lowest, non-Touch Bar models aren't quad core, though.
Don't know how's Boot Camp support these days either.
It's a leap performance wise.
Geekbench scores (CPU):
15-inch early 2015 (i7-3840QM, 2.8GHz): 3715/11935 (Single-Core/Multi-Core)
15-inch mid 2018 (i7-8750H): 4931/21148 (Single-Core/Multi-Core), +32%/+77%
13-inch mid 2018 (i5-8259U): 4490/16484 (Single-Core/Multi-Core), +20%/+38%
3DMark 11 Performance GPU (Median)
GT750M: 2543
Raedon Pro 555 (MacBook Pro 2018 15-inch base model uses 555X, a variant of 555 w/ slightly higher clock speed): 5185
Personally speaking I do think macOS offers a better experience than Windows 10 (better high-DPI support, much more coherent design, no annoying ads & promos, great built-in utilities, etc.), though it may take you a while to adjust, especially if you have never used a mac before.
OneDrive support is alright, the app has all the basic features. Light gaming is OK too, I am pretty sure WoW and HotS wouldn't be a problem, though you have to understand that the integrated graphics in the 13-inch models has its limits. Bootcamp offers a better-than-nothing experience to be honest; I do recommend caution if you plan to purchase a mac to run Windows all the time; besides, last time I checked the Bootcamp drivers for 2018 models haven't been released yet.
The real question is, is it wise to make a purchase at this point if you have always been a Windows user? The base 2018 13-inch model costs $1799 (4-core 8th-gen i5, 8GB DDR3, 128GB SSD, Iris Plus 655); with $100 more you can buy an XPS 15 (6-core 8th-gen i7, 16GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, GT1050M w/ 4G DDR5, 15-inch 4K AdobeRGB screen), which is far more powerful than the MacBook. Huawei MateBook X and XPS 13 are good choices too if you have to go with the 13-inch form factor, they are similarly powerful, have good build quality, and costs hundreds of dollars less.
Actually just FYI, I got my Dell XPS 15 9570 from Costco for $1799, regular price (6-core i7, 16GB ram, 512GB ssd, 1050 Ti, 4k touchscreen, 2 or 4 year warranty if you have the costco visa). https://www.costco.com/Dell-XPS-15-...D---GeForce-GTX-1050Ti.product.100417754.html
I still use an imac at work and have a late 2013 13" rMBP, but when I wanted a new laptop the difference in cost between the Dell and a new 15" rMBP is huge. Hopefully getting my laptop in the mail today actually.
I still love OS X it's just hard when the prices get so high.
Actually the idea of learning a new OS sounds fun to me, as weird as that may be. I wouldn't be using Windows all of the time, or maybe even at all, was more just curious about it. I'm not tied to anything on Windows except for OneDrive.
I won't be playing many games on it if at all either, just small silly stuff, I'd rather play games on my TV
MBP 13 i5 performs on par with windows ultrabooks of the same size.
It'd be worth keeping in mind that the lowest-tier 13-inch Pros - so, the ones without the touchbar - still have the second generation Butterfly keyboards, which - even if you can stand typing on them; I can't - are the ones with all the bad press - plus ongoing lawsuit - about dust-related failures.
If you're happy with Windows, I really wouldn't recommend making the switch to a Mac right now, honestly. I like MacOS, a lot, but I'm thinking of giving up and going all Windows right now, just 'cause I've been so consistently unimpressed with Apple's hardware recently, and they've shown absolutely no signs of changing course.
(Though, of course, it's ultimately your decision.)
(Oh, and as for the OneDrive thing: it works great! I've been using it on my Mac for years and never had any trouble--it's just as seamless as it is on Windows.)
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple...e-performance-with-a-few-clicks.317552.0.html
It's one software update from fixing all the throttling business. But will Apple do it?
It's one software update from fixing all the throttling business. But will Apple do it?
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...scussion-merged.2127869/page-34#post-26270556
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...scussion-merged.2127869/page-34#post-26270627
Unsurprisingly more aggressive fan curve or voltage adjustments could help
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...scussion-merged.2127869/page-34#post-26270627
Unsurprisingly more aggressive fan curve or voltage adjustments could help
I think what we're seeing is the market segmentation created by selling CPU SKUs at different clock speeds breaking because today they're more and more getting into thermal limits like in phones and tablets.
Obviously Apple should've had better cooling in a laptop designed for heavy work, but this is also the new paradigm in CPU operation; make it really fast in bursts.
Obviously Apple should've had better cooling in a laptop designed for heavy work, but this is also the new paradigm in CPU operation; make it really fast in bursts.
I'm guessing this will have a big impact on battery life (and possibly health due to temps) so I doubt it.
It actually runs cooler and faster once you limit the TDP.
8th gen's TDP is closer to base clock than ever, and Apple's usual policy of letting CPUs go wild with power made them get too hot too fast.
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I have almost no doubt that, if this is as solvable with a software update as NotebookCheck's tests demonstrate, they will absolutely push an update to do this. There's no reason for them not to.
Maybe it'll make it impossible to hit the turbo boost listed on the apple website and they'll be sued for false advertising :^)
From notebookcheck's review of 15inch i7 2.6GHz:
So yeah
MacOS is nothing special. It does some things differently but mostly you do the same things you do in windows.
Base 13" was not upgraded - still dual core and so is much worse value than an equivalent windows laptop which will almost all be on quad core now. Also it only has one fan instead of two in the TB 13" so gets pretty hot to the touch
I have one for work but I wouldn't buy one for myself. Maybe if money were no object I'd buy the TB model with i5 for better cooling and performance but I dislike the premium they're asking for the TB
IIRC, that's the single-core turbo boost, so you won't see that for the multicore version of Cinebench.
I'm just saying if one of the "fixes" was to undervolt and presumably prevent that speed from ever being reached, not its inability to reach it during this benchmark. Was a joke post anyway!!!!
Anyway i7 vs XPS 15 tests
I really want one of these 15" Pros, the maxed out $3500 is really tempting. The specs are insane.
I wish I could justify it but my 2016 touchbar Pro is holding up perfectly and I've had no issues with speed for my work.
For me this has been one of the best Macs I've owned. My wife's 2017 MacBook isn't holding up very well with her workload though.
I wish I could justify it but my 2016 touchbar Pro is holding up perfectly and I've had no issues with speed for my work.
For me this has been one of the best Macs I've owned. My wife's 2017 MacBook isn't holding up very well with her workload though.
If you edit video in FCPX a lot, but mostly just Youtube stuff, does the base 15 inch model i7 do a decent job when cutting with 1080p-4K? Also is the 32GB of RAM overkill?
Seriously? Smh, Apple.
I'm so close to just giving up on getting another Mac at this point.