Macbook Pro 13 or 15 ?

[Fabian95]

Hello Guys,
i want to buy a new Macbook Pro. The 2 Models i look at are the 13" Macbook Pro 2017 with Touchbar (1729€, dual i5, 256gb, 8gb ram) and the Macbook Pro 15" Late 2016 (2129€, quad i7, 256gb, 16gb ram). I use this device atleast 5 Days a week for studying (economic science), i travel everey day nearly 9-10 hours. And when i am at my Girldfriend i use it 7 Days a week. I do heavy Multitasking (many Apps open, Facebook, Spotify, Netflix, Youtube, Twitch, Mail, Word, multiple Browser Tabs, etc..) and sometimes i game on this Device when i cant use my Desktop PC cause i am not at home. The 2017 15" costs about 2389, that is too much.

Does anyone know how the batterylife increase on the 2016 15" with all the updates ?

Which Macbook should i choose ? I want to use it atleast for 2 or 3 years.

 

[jaslion]

Hello Guys,
i want to buy a new Macbook Pro. The 2 Models i look at are the 13" Macbook Pro 2017 with Touchbar (1729€, dual i5, 256gb, 8gb ram) and the Macbook Pro 15" Late 2016 (2129€, quad i7, 256gb, 16gb ram). I use this device atleast 5 Days a week for studying (economic science), i travel everey day nearly 9-10 hours. And when i am at my Girldfriend i use it 7 Days a week. I do heavy Multitasking (many Apps open, Facebook, Spotify, Netflix, Youtube, Twitch, Mail, Word, multiple Browser Tabs, etc..) and sometimes i game on this Device when i cant use my Desktop PC cause i am not at home. The 2017 15" costs about 2389, that is too much.

Does anyone know how the batterylife increase on the 2016 15" with all the updates ?

Which Macbook should i choose ? I want to use it atleast for 2 or 3 years.

Does it need to be a macbook you can have many alternatives that cost much less and have 6 hour battery life just like the macbook. The heavy multitasking you described can be handeld by any generic mobile core i5 from the last 4 years so you have quite a few options when going non apple. If you do go apple any macbook from the past 4 years with a core i5 will do.

 

[Fabian95]

It should be a Macbook. My Home PC is a i7 7700K @5ghz, Rog Strix 1080 ti @2ghz , 32gb Ram 3000Mhz Monster that i would never ever switch for an iMac. But when it comes to Tablets or Notebooks i consider Apple over any other Company.

6 Hours Batterylife is disapointing... The new Macbook 13 gets easy 8-10 Hours with 420 Nits Brightniss in most of the Reviews i saw. But the 2016 Mbp had some srsly problems but somebody told me with the latest MacOs Updates it increases a lot, but maybe someone got some numbers for me if its true.

 

[jaslion]

It should be a Macbook. My Home PC is a i7 7700K @5ghz, Rog Strix 1080 ti @2ghz , 32gb Ram 3000Mhz Monster that i would never ever switch for an iMac. But when it comes to Tablets or Notebooks i consider Apple over any other Company.

6 Hours Batterylife is disapointing... The new Macbook 13 gets easy 8-10 Hours with 420 Nits Brightniss in most of the Reviews i saw. But the 2016 Mbp had some srsly problems but somebody told me with the latest MacOs Updates it increases a lot, but maybe someone got some numbers for me if its true.

The macbook pro 2017 overheats when used intensively and can get too hot to put your hands on since apple uses the case as a heatsink. The same goes for the 2016 model and thats why I don't like macbooks for anyone that does something remotely intensive.

Have you looked at the dell xps 13? I have one and it's an amazing little machine that lasts me about 10 hours usually when just doing generic work and lasts me 8 hours when running multiple vm's/photoshop + yt music + whatnot when I'm working on the go and can't bring my more powerfull laptop due to me needing to work on the battery.

 

[Solandri]

The compelling reason to get a Macbook Pro is because Apple pre-calibrates the screens to cover 100% sRGB. If you don't know what that means (aren't an artist, photographer, or videographer), then quite frankly a MBP is a waste of money IMHO.

As mentioned, the MBPs have heating problems (compared to PC laptops) because Apple refuses to cut vent holes into the bottom. Airflow inside is thus limited to what the fan can push. Apple attempts to get around it by using special low-power Intel CPUs, but it still underperforms and the GPU tends to be underpowered or out of date. This is especially true of the 15" MBP with quad i7. I'd characterize it as a mediocre gaming laptop.

The apps you listed are not multitasking. You need them to run when they're in the foreground, and they sit waiting for updates while in the background. A dual core i5 should be able to handle them just fine. Though you'll probably be better off with 16 GB of RAM if you're going to leave all of them running at the same time. (Multitasking would be something that uses a lot of CPU while in the background - compiling software, scientific calculations, rendering videos, etc.)

Be aware that the newer MBPs have all the traditionally upgradeable components soldered to the mainboard - SSD, RAM. WiFi card. So you won't be able to upgrade it like you can other laptops. What you buy today is what you'll be stuck with for the rest of the Macbook's life. This could be a significant drawback with 802.11ad (60 GHz) coming out probably next year.

The touchbar... Find a friend who owns a MBP with a touchbar and ask if you can borrow it for a few hours or even a day. Try to use some productivity tasks with it. I've seen a lot of complaints about accidentally touching the touchbar and giving the computer an unintended command. Stuff that doesn't happen with real function keys because you have to (1) apply a certain amount of force before they activate, and (2) they need to move a certain distance before they activate. If you don't have problems with accidental touches of the touchbar, then great! But if you do, you're going to have to do some thinking about whether or not you want to live with it.

But when it comes to Tablets or Notebooks i consider Apple over any other Company.

Be aware that Apple doesn't actually make the Macbooks. They're made by Quanta - an ODM. Kinda like an OEM except they also design the laptop. Quanta also makes laptops for most of the other brands, including Dell, Lenovo, and HP.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laptop_brands_and_manufacturers#Original_design_manufacturers_.28ODMs.29

The entire laptop industry is very secretive about their ODM relationships, so it's usually impossible to tell which ODM made which particular laptop model. We know Quanta makes the Macbooks because they're the only ODM Apple currently uses. (They've used Asus in the past - the plastic Macbooks.) So if you like the Macbooks then you like Quanta, but it's tough to tell which laptops from other brands are also made by Quanta.

But the bottom line is the retail brand of the laptop doesn't tell you much except what kind of aftermarket support to expect.

 

[jaslion]

The compelling reason to get a Macbook Pro is because Apple pre-calibrates the screens to cover 100% sRGB. If you don't know what that means (aren't an artist, photographer, or videographer), then quite frankly a MBP is a waste of money IMHO.

As mentioned, the MBPs have heating problems (compared to PC laptops) because Apple refuses to cut vent holes into the bottom. Airflow inside is thus limited to what the fan can push. Apple attempts to get around it by using special low-power Intel CPUs, but it still underperforms and the GPU tends to be underpowered or out of date. This is especially true of the 15" MBP with quad i7. I'd characterize it as a mediocre gaming laptop.

The apps you listed are not multitasking. You need them to run when they're in the foreground, and they sit waiting for updates while in the background. A dual core i5 should be able to handle them just fine. Though you'll probably be better off with 16 GB of RAM if you're going to leave all of them running at the same time. (Multitasking would be something that uses a lot of CPU while in the background - compiling software, scientific calculations, rendering videos, etc.)

Be aware that the newer MBPs have all the traditionally upgradeable components soldered to the mainboard - SSD, RAM. WiFi card. So you won't be able to upgrade it like you can other laptops. What you buy today is what you'll be stuck with for the rest of the Macbook's life. This could be a significant drawback with 802.11ad (60 GHz) coming out probably next year.

The touchbar... Find a friend who owns a MBP with a touchbar and ask if you can borrow it for a few hours or even a day. Try to use some productivity tasks with it. I've seen a lot of complaints about accidentally touching the touchbar and giving the computer an unintended command. Stuff that doesn't happen with real function keys because you have to (1) apply a certain amount of force before they activate, and (2) they need to move a certain distance before they activate. If you don't have problems with accidental touches of the touchbar, then great! But if you do, you're going to have to do some thinking about whether or not you want to live with it.

But when it comes to Tablets or Notebooks i consider Apple over any other Company.

Be aware that Apple doesn't actually make the Macbooks. They're made by Quanta - an ODM. Kinda like an OEM except they also design the laptop. Quanta also makes laptops for most of the other brands, including Dell, Lenovo, and HP.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laptop_brands_and_manufacturers#Original_design_manufacturers_.28ODMs.29

The entire laptop industry is very secretive about their ODM relationships, so it's usually impossible to tell which ODM made which particular laptop model. We know Quanta makes the Macbooks because they're the only ODM Apple currently uses. (They've used Asus in the past - the plastic Macbooks.) So if you like the Macbooks then you like Quanta, but it's tough to tell which laptops from other brands are also made by Quanta.

But the bottom line is the retail brand of the laptop doesn't tell you much except what kind of aftermarket support to expect.

This is pretty much the best explanation you can get of the current state of macbooks. 1 thing too add tho. The macbooks with added gpu's overheat within minutes and the performance drops severly. You can look at the older core m series macbook air's that actually started having problems playing 1080p 60fps yt when in a 30c enviroment due to overheating issues and downclocking.

You can also see this when a quad core i7 macbook gets put against a i5 macbook. Both will perform the exact same after a certain amount of time sometimes the i5 will even be better due to it needing a bit less power thus generating less heat.

I like the look of a macbook but it's pretty much 99% design 1% functionality and the user will just have to deal with the problems.

 

[Fabian95]

The compelling reason to get a Macbook Pro is because Apple pre-calibrates the screens to cover 100% sRGB. If you don't know what that means (aren't an artist, photographer, or videographer), then quite frankly a MBP is a waste of money IMHO.

As mentioned, the MBPs have heating problems (compared to PC laptops) because Apple refuses to cut vent holes into the bottom. Airflow inside is thus limited to what the fan can push. Apple attempts to get around it by using special low-power Intel CPUs, but it still underperforms and the GPU tends to be underpowered or out of date. This is especially true of the 15" MBP with quad i7. I'd characterize it as a mediocre gaming laptop.

The apps you listed are not multitasking. You need them to run when they're in the foreground, and they sit waiting for updates while in the background. A dual core i5 should be able to handle them just fine. Though you'll probably be better off with 16 GB of RAM if you're going to leave all of them running at the same time. (Multitasking would be something that uses a lot of CPU while in the background - compiling software, scientific calculations, rendering videos, etc.)

Be aware that the newer MBPs have all the traditionally upgradeable components soldered to the mainboard - SSD, RAM. WiFi card. So you won't be able to upgrade it like you can other laptops. What you buy today is what you'll be stuck with for the rest of the Macbook's life. This could be a significant drawback with 802.11ad (60 GHz) coming out probably next year.

The touchbar... Find a friend who owns a MBP with a touchbar and ask if you can borrow it for a few hours or even a day. Try to use some productivity tasks with it. I've seen a lot of complaints about accidentally touching the touchbar and giving the computer an unintended command. Stuff that doesn't happen with real function keys because you have to (1) apply a certain amount of force before they activate, and (2) they need to move a certain distance before they activate. If you don't have problems with accidental touches of the touchbar, then great! But if you do, you're going to have to do some thinking about whether or not you want to live with it.

But when it comes to Tablets or Notebooks i consider Apple over any other Company.

Be aware that Apple doesn't actually make the Macbooks. They're made by Quanta - an ODM. Kinda like an OEM except they also design the laptop. Quanta also makes laptops for most of the other brands, including Dell, Lenovo, and HP.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laptop_brands_and_manufacturers#Original_design_manufacturers_.28ODMs.29

The entire laptop industry is very secretive about their ODM relationships, so it's usually impossible to tell which ODM made which particular laptop model. We know Quanta makes the Macbooks because they're the only ODM Apple currently uses. (They've used Asus in the past - the plastic Macbooks.) So if you like the Macbooks then you like Quanta, but it's tough to tell which laptops from other brands are also made by Quanta.

But the bottom line is the retail brand of the laptop doesn't tell you much except what kind of aftermarket support to expect.

 

[Fabian95]

Solandri but if i upgrade the 13" to 16gb ram than i am just 150 bucks away from the 15". I cant decide 🙁

 

[Finstar]

I would go for the new 13 inch MBP, just ditch the touch bar, i've heard that it can be more of an annoyance than something useful.

All macs are generally really well optimized so multitasking won't be an issue even with lower specs.
But you honestly shouldn't even think about gaming on one. As mentioned, they overheat like hell and turn into portable hand cookers in no time, not to mention the damage that happens to the hardware over time.

 

[Solandri]

All macs are generally really well optimized so multitasking won't be an issue even with lower specs.

OS X is built on BSD Unix. The Unixes are built from the ground-up for multitasking environments (it dates back to the mainframe days, when everyone at your company used the same "computer"). So it's really, really good at multitasking. Even the base Unixes come close to being a real-time OS (switch between threads so quickly you can run extremely timing-sensitive tasks on them).

Windows was built starting from a single-user model. Consequently its multitasking is not as robust. Most of its flaws have been swamped out by increases in processor speed over the decades. But it still lags behind in real-time OS-like performance. That's why the Macs tend to be better at video and music (both capturing and playback) - those tasks are extremely sensitive to CPU starvation if the OS doesn't give the CPU back to the multimedia thread quickly enough. Something as simple as plugging in a USB flash drive on a Windows PC can result in a glitch in the music you're recording. (The USB device recognition process starves the multimedia process of CPU.)

But as this is not OP's use case...

 

[Fabian95]

All macs are generally really well optimized so multitasking won't be an issue even with lower specs.

OS X is built on BSD Unix. The Unixes are built from the ground-up for multitasking environments (it dates back to the mainframe days, when everyone at your company used the same "computer"). So it's really, really good at multitasking. Even the base Unixes come close to being a real-time OS (switch between threads so quickly you can run extremely timing-sensitive tasks on them).

Windows was built starting from a single-user model. Consequently its multitasking is not as robust. Most of its flaws have been swamped out by increases in processor speed over the decades. But it still lags behind in real-time OS-like performance. That's why the Macs tend to be better at video and music (both capturing and playback) - those tasks are extremely sensitive to CPU starvation if the OS doesn't give the CPU back to the multimedia thread quickly enough. Something as simple as plugging in a USB flash drive on a Windows PC can result in a glitch in the music you're recording. (The USB device recognition process starves the multimedia process of CPU.)

But as this is not OP's use case...

so for the next 2 or 3 years the standard touchbar model is enough with 8gb ram ?

 

[Finstar]

All macs are generally really well optimized so multitasking won't be an issue even with lower specs.

OS X is built on BSD Unix. The Unixes are built from the ground-up for multitasking environments (it dates back to the mainframe days, when everyone at your company used the same "computer"). So it's really, really good at multitasking. Even the base Unixes come close to being a real-time OS (switch between threads so quickly you can run extremely timing-sensitive tasks on them).

Windows was built starting from a single-user model. Consequently its multitasking is not as robust. Most of its flaws have been swamped out by increases in processor speed over the decades. But it still lags behind in real-time OS-like performance. That's why the Macs tend to be better at video and music (both capturing and playback) - those tasks are extremely sensitive to CPU starvation if the OS doesn't give the CPU back to the multimedia thread quickly enough. Something as simple as plugging in a USB flash drive on a Windows PC can result in a glitch in the music you're recording. (The USB device recognition process starves the multimedia process of CPU.)

But as this is not OP's use case...

so for the next 2 or 3 years the standard touchbar model is enough with 8gb ram ?

Yes.