2016 MBP vs 2016 Macbook - general use?

[TriApple]

Most of the reviews you read or watch are regarding video editing or photo editing... and describe the use case of these two devices.

I have a 2016 Macbook m5 512gb, my use case is large excel files (maybe 75mb) and complicated pivot tables, etc. I'll often wait 5-6 minutes to watch a recalculation (I know Excel is single core limited). I also use Outlook (not mail), large PDFs, I'll often have 20 tabs open, a few word docs, a few excel docs, and a couple power points.

I notice the MacBook m5 feeling occasionally a little slow, usually outlook (or the Excel thing I mentioned)... and an occasionally slow down in safari.

I'm considering the 2016 MBP for the larger screen size... are these slight slowness likely to be less on that machine? I know the excel portion is mostly limited by single core performance, so not expecting ,much there until MS fixes it, but what about Outlook and occasionally lagging in Safari?

On one hand, I think the MacBook probably has the same performance for my use case, though I'm still considering the larger screen (and newer keyboard)...

 

[casperes1996]

On one hand, I think the MacBook probably has the same performance for my use case, though I'm still considering the larger screen (and newer keyboard)...

I don't actually. By the sound of things, you multi-task a lot, and even if individual apps are single-threaded, they still do time sharing on the CPU, and if you multi-task you might have load averages higher than your processor's capable thread count, meaning you'll minimise the slow-downs. If you see the slow downs when you only have one app open, such as Excel, and nothing else, the problem probably won't be minimised all that much, although the single threaded performance of the MBP is still better than the m5 still. But if they mostly occur whilst multi-tasking you could have a nice surprise waiting for you

 

[Sanpete]

although the single threaded performance of the MBP is still better than the m5 still

Right, in addition to the time-sharing you point out, the single-core Geekbench score for the m5 in the 2016 MacBook is 3023. The score for the slowest 2016 MBP, the base 13", is 3612, about a 20% boost. The fastest 2016 MBP, the 15" 2.9, scores 4264, about a 40% boost.

 

[Mindinversion]

20 tabs plus large spreadsheets and other open items, you may not only benefit from more CPU, but also from more RAM. That's a LOT of data to hold in RAM all at once.

 

[Greene]

My excel usage is similar to yours ... though I usually don't have quite as much open as you.

I own the following machines:
2015 m5 MacBook
2015 13" MBP 2.7 i5 (work issued)
2016 13" MBP 2.9 i5
2016 15" MBP 2.7 i7

I notice a big performance increase going from the m5 to the 2015's i5. I often have YouTube videos going in the background while working - the MacBook didn't handle this well, the 2015 MBP does this in no sweat. The recalc times are also less. I don't have a metric for this, just remembering that the 4-5 minutes on the MB had me restructuring my workbooks to use less formulas and work more in stages.

Don't notice a performance gain from the 2015 MBP to the 2017 i7 in macOS. Do notice a pretty large one when working in Windows.

 

[TriApple]

My excel usage is similar to yours ... though I usually don't have quite as much open as you.

I own the following machines:
2015 m5 MacBook
2015 13" MBP 2.7 i5 (work issued)
2016 13" MBP 2.9 i5
2016 15" MBP 2.7 i7

I notice a big performance increase going from the m5 to the 2015's i5. I often have YouTube videos going in the background while working - the MacBook didn't handle this well, the 2015 MBP does this in no sweat. The recalc times are also less. I don't have a metric for this, just remembering that the 4-5 minutes on the MB had me restructuring my workbooks to use less formulas and work more in stages.

Don't notice a performance gain from the 2015 MBP to the 2017 i7 in macOS. Do notice a pretty large one when working in Windows.

First, thanks for that very relevant reply - I ended up getting the 13".

to my original question, it is like night and day compared to the m5. Everything is quicker - outlook is MUCH quicker on tasks, excel recalcs much quicker, and I get less "pauses" when switching between a recalcing XLS and some open tabs.

Greene, seeing you have both the 13" and 15" 2016... which one do you prefer for your work?

 

[Greene]

@TriApple - Glad to hear you're enjoying your new machine! Did you get the stock 8 gb of ram, or did you upgrade it? I have 16 gb on both my 2016s and notice I'll only break 9-10 GB on occasion, but I'm curious how you do with your usage.

I generally use the 2015 13" for my work, as that's what my boss wants me to use.
For personal projects, I prefer the 15", though it's more for the extra screen size than performance. The 13" is nice to have for portability - I'm actually selling the m5. I'll occasionally notice the 15's extra CPU grunt in Logic or with heavy multitasking, but the 13" suits me fine.