Apple finally brings MacBook Pro up to recent technology

It is looking like the 4.8GHz single core clock of the i9 is a complete fabrication on Apple's part. While the processor may be capable of that, in the MBP, even when the machine is run in a deep freeze, the best it can achieve is 4.3GHz which makes it no faster when running single core apps (note that PS is largely a single core app for the vast majority of functions) than the highest spec i7 machine run at room temp.

EJ, what would you reckon to be the best configuration for mainly PS and LR use, no video processing and no gaming? I suspect it would be the i7 with 32G RAM. What I am unable to figure out is how much of a difference the CPU makes, i.e. 2.6 vs 2.9 GHz, is the extra $300 worth it?

Pradeep

Yeah, I would get the highest spec i7 with 32GB and storage to match your needs. Both PS and LR are VERY CPU and memory intensive so get the best you can afford. All of this thermal throttling stuff doesn't rule out the i9 though as you won't be thermal throttling it nearly as much s you would for video production but you are never going to get the performance the processor is capable of in that machine so the extra money is likely a waste. That said, you can likely get a Windows laptop that significantly outperforms any Mac for less money.

E.J. Peiker wrote:Yeah, I would get the highest spec i7 with 32GB and storage to match your needs.  Both PS and LR are VERY CPU and memory intensive so get the best you can afford. All of this thermal throttling stuff doesn't rule out the i9 though as you won't be thermal throttling it nearly as much s you would for video production but you are never going to get the performance the processor is capable of in that machine so the extra money is likely a waste.  That said, you can likely get a Windows laptop that significantly outperforms any Mac for less money.

So even if it is only going to run at say 4.3 GHz max, the i9 is a better choice for PS and LR  - if cost was not an issue? In the tests posted on Youtube, it seems that the i7 actually runs faster than the i9 overall. The other thing that concerns me is the heat issue on the rest of the chassis and other components. 

For me Windows is not an option as I am totally committed to the Mac platform. Used to build my own Windows machines up to 15 yrs ago, from components, putting the best into a dream system. Was constantly plagued by viruses, memory leaks, other slow downs and system updates. Ever since I moved to the Mac, life has indeed become much easier, for me at least. 

I still use Windows for work since our software in the office only runs on this OS. I have a portable IBM thinkpad for travel to other offices too. I find the entire system very annoying now, but that's just me. I can put up with the less than fastest machine and higher costs just for the ergonomics and convenience of the Mac OS. 

What I am hearing from my son (who has been a long term Mac programmer) is that the community is very unhappy with the Mac now as it is no longer a fully open system and developers are moving to Windows. Not a good day for old Apple. 

No not really since the top i7 runs 4.2GHz when utilizing a single core and doesn't have the speed throttling issue so during heavy single core loads, the i7 might actually be faster - there's a lot of factors involved.

Just dug a little deeper and on the Dell website you can custom configure an XPS 15 laptop with identical specs to the top of the line i9 model, except that the Dell uses significantly faster DRAM.  The difference is $800 before tax and almost $900 once you add in tax, Dell being cheaper.  The Dell comes with one year of next day onsite support.  I don't know if the Dell has thermal throttling issues and I haven't seen anything online that this is a problem with this model.  It also comes with a full array of ports including regular USB, USB-C, HDMI, thunderbolt and a built in SD card reader...

The Dell DOES throttle. A couple of other brands with i9 also throttle. The Razr doesn’t after they put in a beefed up cooling system (not thin). All thin laptops with i9 chips throttle. That chip should not be placed in any thin laptop - can’t be cooled adequately. I was getting ready to order the MBP i9 when I read about these problems. Did a lot of research, probably will get i7 instead.
If you Bing Dell and i9 throttle, there are tons of hits documenting it. Dell even issued a bulletin about it. So Apple is not alone - but should have known better.

EGrav wrote:The Dell DOES throttle. A couple of other brands with i9 also throttle. The Razr doesn’t after they put in a beefed up cooling system (not thin). All thin laptops with i9 chips throttle. That chip should not be placed in any thin laptop - can’t be cooled adequately. I was getting ready to order the MBP i9 when I read about these problems. Did a lot of research, probably will get i7 instead.
If you Bing Dell and i9 throttle, there are tons of hits documenting it. Dell even issued a bulletin about it. So Apple is not alone - but should have known better.

Thanks for pointing me to that. I expected that it would but hadn't seen a huge uproar but then anything Apple does has a huge internet amplification effect where Dell pretty much flies under the radar.  I do agree that this processor should only be put in a larger chassis from what I am reading.

As I said earlier, for me Windows is a no-go. I also like the form factor of the Mac laptops, having an extra 1 lb makes a difference in your carry-on luggage.

I guess I am going for the i7 with 32G RAM and a 1TB SSD. Not a cheap machine at all, and sometimes I wonder if the Macs are worth the extra outlay, but I am stuck in the ecosystem so no getting out. Just consoling myself that most of the time it all works without a hitch.....

Pradeep

Primus wrote:As I said earlier, for me Windows is a no-go. I also like the form factor of the Mac laptops, having an extra 1 lb makes a difference in your carry-on luggage.

I guess I am going for the i7 with 32G RAM and a 1TB SSD. Not a cheap machine at all, and sometimes I wonder if the Macs are worth the extra outlay, but I am stuck in the ecosystem so no getting out. Just consoling myself that most of the time it all works without a hitch.....

Pradeep

I just hate Windows, unfortunately my programming tools only run on Windows. I used to lug around a Dell Precision M4800 but now I run Windows on my old MacBook Pro and it's so much nicer to carry around. At home I'm all Apple and blow the price, it's far less hassle.

It has become obvious that the i9 chip is not good for (thin) laptops (Windows or Mac). What are your thoughts on 2.2 vs 2.6 i7 in the 2018 MBP? My usage is 90% Capture One Pro, 5% LR/PS (until I can finish moving everything over to Capture One Pro), and 5% light video editing (Final Cut Pro/ DaVinci Resolve) as far as imaging is concerned.
Thx

For anything processor intensive, which is most things it will be exactly 2.2/2.6 times as fast or 84.6% of the speed. It also has a slightly slower graphics processor but you can opt for the faster GPU in the 2.2GHz custom build.

Thanks

Apple seems to be having problems with this new laptop overheating and their fix was to slow it down from rated specs...I can't believe a product like this would be released in the wild.

They did NOT slow down the chip. The VRM was missing a piece of code that regulated voltage to the CPU. Software update fixed it - no throttling, good turbo boost, base frequency maintained and temps under the limit. Tons of up to date articles about the fix. All of the i9 chips have a heat problem. Dell (and some of the other manufacturers DID lower the voltage.) Apple didn't. It was sloppy of Apple to release the machines with the missing code, but at least they corrected it quickly. You need to read the latest before spreading false info.

Max has done some testing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7iu1x-BJRo&t=22s

Youtube? 

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-iss ... 232.0.html

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/24/th ... rovements/

https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/07 ... acbook-pro

Just a few reliable sources. Bunch more after a simple search. Anyway, I won't argue with you. It is safe to buy the new 2018 models now, for those looking for new laptop.

It does look like a substantial improvement. Their implementation still lags a Windows computer running the same processor but only by a little now.

Pretty dramatic improvement in LightRoom performance with the patched i9 top spec 2018 MBP compared to the previous model, video performance only marginally improved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR9AElgklXU

Just saw this - probably the most powerful thin and light computer ever made when fully tricked out:
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/th ... 2WS2WPP101

Available in about 3 weeks starting at $2K for the lowest end model and tricking out to over $4K with 4TB NVME, Xeon processor, 10bit per color Nvidia Quadro graphics and 64GB of RAM.  Lots of ports of any kind you can think of and an SD reader.  Could potentially be a true high end desktop replacement...