Anyone who ordered a 15'' 2.6GHz, will you be returning?

[Windows&Apple]

Leo Laporte, The tech guy advises the best thing for the battery is to leave your machine plugged in whenever near an outlet and keep it fully charged at all times. When you drain the battery, Even half way, counts as one cycle. When the unit is plugged in and the battery is fully charged, The battery shuts off and the AC power takes over

Not true, that kills your battery when you do have to go without the plug.

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I ordered the 2.6 CPU and no way am I returning it.

I always have my MBP plugged in so battery life isn't even an issue for me. In the past 5 years of owning my previous MBP, I don't think I've gone for more than an hour without the charger. So it could have a 3 hour battery and I still wouldn't utilize it.

For the quad core CPU, the 2.6 is a huge increase in power over the 2.3 CPU. I know heat is an issue, and obviously being cooler is preferable, but the CPU upgrade is worth it.

My new maxed out 15" rMBP is a beast and there's no way I'd return it.



Not true at all. The 15" rMBP is advertised as a desktop replacement, portability is a big feature but it does not define the laptop. You're thinking of the Macbook air

I'm sorry, but if you're spending $2600 on a laptop ment for a desk and only a desk, it would be wiser to spend $2600 on a custom built desktop, which would be about 5x if not more powerful than the MacBook Pro.

In my eyes, if you're buying a laptop, regardless of the size, it's expected to have a decent/usable battery life. And on top of that, Apple shouldn't of advertised 8 hours on the 2.6 if it wasn't true.

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300Mhz increase x 4 cores = 1.2Ghz

It's not 1.2Ghz increase. That's like saying the Macbook Pro is running at 10.4Ghz. It's 300Mhz per core, not 1.2Ghz in total.

 

[Starfyre]

It's not 1.2Ghz increase. That's like saying the Macbook Pro is running at 10.4Ghz. It's 300Mhz per core, not 1.2Ghz in total.

Its still 300Mhz per core for 4 cores, point is, its not just a small increase, hence the higher geekbench scores.

Today looks more up as battery life is being reported at around 9:03 using integrated gfx only from at least one user of the 2.6. Sure you have to manually tell it to not use the dGPU, with two clicks, but the fact that you can do that to achieve over 8 hours of battery life is very positive news.

 

[Benk3350]

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I'm sorry, but if you're spending $2600 on a laptop ment for a desk and only a desk, it would be wiser to spend $2600 on a custom built desktop, which would be about 5x if not more powerful than the MacBook Pro.

In my eyes, if you're buying a laptop, regardless of the size, it's expected to have a decent/usable battery life. And on top of that, Apple shouldn't of advertised 8 hours on the 2.6 if it wasn't true.

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Who said it's meant for a desk and a desk only? I take my macbook all over the place all the time. It's just usually a place where an outlet is nearby. And I do have a custom built desktop, thats what I use at home. My macbook has a ton of power and I can move it around with ease. I know what I bought and what its uses are. It's not just sitting on a desk just because I keep it plugged in most of the time.

And even the battery time that people are reporting aren't terrible. They're not as good as some of the other models, but to say they aren't decent or usable is a bit much.

 

[lKeithStone]

What were you doing when it said 6:52?

Browsing the web/iPhoto/twitter/updating apps

 

[Atomic Walrus]

Its still 300Mhz per core for 4 cores, point is, its not just a small increase, hence the higher geekbench scores.

Today looks more up as battery life is being reported at around 9:03 using integrated gfx only from at least one user of the 2.6. Sure you have to manually tell it to not use the dGPU, with two clicks, but the fact that you can do that to achieve over 8 hours of battery life is very positive news.

It's a performance increase of 7.5-8%, which is the same as the actual clock increase of 300 (3500/3800 = 0.921). Before anyone asks, it does make more sense to use the boost clocks when talking about benchmark scores, since those are the clocks the chips will be at while running benchmarks. The number of cores has absolutely nothing to do with it. Clocks up by 8%, performance up by 8%.

Where cores come in is when you consider that 8% of the quad core chip's performance is more significant than 8% of a dual core's performance, though obviously this is only true if you have an application that's multi-threaded enough to use all 4 cores.

Not true, that kills your battery when you do have to go without the plug.

Tell that to my 2010 17", which still hits 98% of its battery capacity spec. Stays plugged in more than 95% of the time. Lithium batteries are best kept topped off, however they should have at least some power cycled through them now and then. This is where Apple gets the "at least one cycle per month" line; at least 1x the full capacity of the battery should be discharged from it in a 30 day period, though it's actually best not to do it all at once.

 

[daudi81]

Not true, that kills your battery when you do have to go without the plug.

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I'm sorry, but if you're spending $2600 on a laptop ment for a desk and only a desk, it would be wiser to spend $2600 on a custom built desktop, which would be about 5x if not more powerful than the MacBook Pro.

In my eyes, if you're buying a laptop, regardless of the size, it's expected to have a decent/usable battery life. And on top of that, Apple shouldn't of advertised 8 hours on the 2.6 if it wasn't true.

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It's not 1.2Ghz increase. That's like saying the Macbook Pro is running at 10.4Ghz. It's 300Mhz per core, not 1.2Ghz in total.

Well to be fair, mine sits on a desk a lot of it's life as well. However, I go to the office every morning, and back home (working at home several times a month), and fly a few times a year, as well as go on vacation several times per year. I don't necessarily need something as portable as the air, but the 15" is portable enough to let me take work to all those places if I need. A $2600 desktop wouldn't allow me to do that at all.

 

[lKeithStone]

Here is mine currently - 15"/2.6/16/512

 

[fs454]

No offense but I think this battery life stuff is a load of crap. Really like to know how many people are away from electricity for over 8 hours in a day. Sure a flight across the world. I get that one but really everyday use.

To me that is the least important factor. Not saying its not important but I base my computer on performance than battery life.

Flame suit on but I just had to say it and if your buying a 15 inch laptop its the least likely device to travel with given there are many Apple products that are much more travel worthy and battery efficient. I travel a lot myself across the US and the most I am ever without power would be 6 hours.

I'm buying a 2.6 loaded because its the best performance laptop Apple sells. If I could buy a 3.0 one I would. LOL

Regardless, the more battery life the better. It's not about "who really actually needs this" at all, god forbid someone else has different use cases and needs than you.

Imagine if the iPad had a 6 hour battery. It's a whole different experience when you can comfortably never think about the battery AT ALL during the day. May not be a big deal for you, but I'd like to feel the same way about my notebook as I do about my iPad where I can unplug it, throw it into my bag and get almost two days of moderate use out of the thing without a single glance at the battery percentage or a single thought about having to unplug and carry my charger with me. And, the higher the claimed battery life (for light tasks), the longer you can go while doing heavier tasks, which is what we all hopefully are doing on our $2000+ machines. Right now, the battery will drain in a paltry few hours if you're doing intensive stuff with it.


We're there with the Air, I was hoping we'd get a rated 10-12 hours out of the rMBP as well for light tasks given the much bigger battery, but that retina display and the higher wattage components are keeping it at bay for the time being.

Definitely not a deal breaker, but poo-pooing battery life improvements is just dumb.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Regardless, the more battery life the better. It's not about "who really actually needs this" at all, god forbid someone else has different use cases and needs than you.

Imagine if the iPad had a 6 hour battery. It's a whole different experience when you can comfortably never think about the battery AT ALL during the day. May not be a big deal for you, but I'd like to feel the same way about my notebook as I do about my iPad where I can unplug it, throw it into my bag and get almost two days of moderate use out of the thing without a single glance at the battery percentage or a single thought about having to unplug and carry my charger with me. And, the higher the claimed battery life (for light tasks), the longer you can go while doing heavier tasks, which is what we all hopefully are doing on our $2000+ machines. Right now, the battery will drain in a paltry few hours if you're doing intensive stuff with it.


We're there with the Air, I was hoping we'd get a rated 10-12 hours out of the rMBP as well for light tasks given the much bigger battery, but that retina display and the higher wattage components are keeping it at bay for the time being.

Definitely not a deal breaker, but poo-pooing battery life improvements is just dumb.

When you buy a performance machine usually battery life is a second or third thought. Bottom line and let me be clear anyone not paying attention to battery life that is a concern of theirs and a priority should not be buying the monster laptop. That is impulse buying, not doing your homework and just plain stupid, hell just go to the Apple store and ANY associate would say if battery is primary they would steer you far away from the top of the performance line. That's the point here. I'm a photographer my life is electricity and batteries by the truck load and on top of that having backups by the truck load. I know all about buying the right product that fits my needs exactly. The OP overshot his wade and did not pay any attention to his needs. That's the whole point.

 

[Starfyre]

If anyone wanted a monster laptop, thats what gaming PCs are for. Macbook Pros differentiate by being decent, while thin, lightweight, and have better battery life than the rest of them. Just because its the max spec does not mean they should perform below Apple's estimates or stray far below them.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

If anyone wanted a monster laptop, thats what gaming PCs are for. Macbook Pros differentiate by being decent, while thin, lightweight, and have better battery life than the rest of them. Just because its the max spec does not mean they should perform below Apple's estimates or stray far below them.

Who the hell wants to buy a PC. NEVER AGAIN

Let me ask you a simple question , do you honestly believe every advertising marketing on every product. Okay next comment. Apple basis their battery life tests on normal usage. Now define normal, no answer for that everyone uses things differently than others.

This is marketing 101. I buy photo gear that says battery will last for 200 full power manual flashes. Lucky if you get 75. They never mention speed or use.

 

[Starfyre]

This is marketing 101. I buy photo gear that says battery will last for 200 full power manual flashes. Lucky if you get 75. They never mention speed or use.

Many PC companies like HP have similar claims and they always are less, Apple is the only company I've experienced that doesn't. Then again, I've never owned a maxed out top of the line macbook pro.

 

[simon48]

When you buy a performance machine usually battery life is a second or third thought. Bottom line and let me be clear anyone not paying attention to battery life that is a concern of theirs and a priority should not be buying the monster laptop. That is impulse buying, not doing your homework and just plain stupid, hell just go to the Apple store and ANY associate would say if battery is primary they would steer you far away from the top of the performance line. That's the point here. I'm a photographer my life is electricity and batteries by the truck load and on top of that having backups by the truck load. I know all about buying the right product that fits my needs exactly. The OP overshot his wade and did not pay any attention to his needs. That's the whole point.

This is rather insulting to a lot of users. If you are someone who needs power and/or wants your computer to last a long time and wants good battery life, it does not mean you are impulse buying, stupid, and not doing your homework.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

This is rather insulting to a lot of users. If you are someone who needs power and/or wants your computer to last a long time and wants good battery life, it does not mean you are impulse buying, stupid, and not doing your homework.

You take it anyway you want. I deal with people that buy upwards to 60k on photo gear and I'll be damed to steer them wrong when they ask for advise on specs and what it will do.

Now if I insulted the OP that was not the intent but why come on this forum in the first place and ask a question after he made a purchase where the data is just about on every thread. Does the word estimated mean actual. Look at every battery life statement from Apple if they ever say actually I would eat my shorts . It's always the wording the estimated battery yada yada. It's like buying a car with gas mileage. Certainly if your not happy return it but you have to ask why buy the least battery life device to begin with when that is your priority. I would be thrilled if every double AA battery I used actually went anywhere near estimated with my gear.

Anyway I'm stepping out of this one. To the OP if I offended you than sorry was not the intent but my comments remain.

 

[koppie644]

Most of my friends that leave their computer plugged in all the time have had their battery go bad before mine. I make sure to never leave it plugged in more than needed and my battery still holds a 5-6 hour charge (was less before on mountain lion) and it has 1300 cycles on it.

Image

Too bad that my battery had just 1xx cycles and is now dead!!!

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Your ignorance astounds.
It knows no bounds.
On par with the thoughts of a bunch of clowns!!

Haha... see what I did there?

don't be such a prig.

battery and heavy/pro user is not mutually exclusive.

Pretty close, you said and I quote:


I read that as if you buy a top end rMBP and you care about battery life you are, "impulse buying, not doing your homework and just plain stupid".

Read it again . Not paying attention too is a big difference.

I'm just being honest . Is it not the case you buy something and realize you made a mistake, what outcome do get from that. To me if I did that than exactly what I wrote. Bottom line would be I ****ed up and did not look at a million threads or estimate correctly before buying. Is that not the same as not doing my homework and so on.

So let's leave it at this. Don't like what I said too bad get over it. I'm 57 I don't feel the need to justify anything to anyone when I feel I'm right. You have your opinion and that's awesome. I'm entitled to express mine and I already said no offense to the OP. Believe me I own a forum and know exactly how this stuff goes down.

BTW pretty close is like estimating is it not. LOL

 

[T-Bob]

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum __^


The larger the machine gets, the less portable and more powerful it becomes until you get this:

 

[simon48]

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum __^


The larger the machine gets, the less portable and more powerful it becomes until you get this:

Image

My God that thing is ugly!

 

[pat.micunnis]

Here is mine currently - 15"/2.6/16/512

That's impressive! and with bluetooth on

What was your brightness? 5%?

 

[Starfyre]

I'm just being honest . Is it not the case you buy something and realize you made a mistake, what outcome do get from that. To me if I did that than exactly what I wrote. Bottom line would be I ****ed up and did not look at a million threads or estimate correctly before buying. Is that not the same as not doing my homework and so on.

The facts are this is a fresh new product release, and all we can go by are Apple's marketing (which battery-life wise, has always been conservative, except maybe this time with the top of the line 2.6, which to me is still uncertain after reading threads from people that literally just received their machine perhaps a day ago).

If you buy the product at launch, or a few days or a week or two after launch going only by whats advertised about the product, your bound to make a mistake regardless. But people buy hoping that whats advertised is honest, and if the product turns out to have some defect or not meet expectations, you have 14 days to return or exchange it, no big deal. You can say buying it now is a stupid decision, but then again there's always the chance you will get a perfectly fine system without having to return or exchange it.

 

[VinoGrande]

As most of us are. Sure its a replacement but Im on the road a lot as well. The difference between a hour after 8 hours was more my point. I would never give up performance to gain the 9th hour of battery. I like battery life as much as the next person but the threads obsessing over it are really silly to return a 2.6 to get much less performance and save a extra hour on a 2.0 machine. Im after horsepower more than anything. They do sell iPads with 10 hour battery life that I depend on for web and movies and such and much easier to lug around. Buying a 15 inch laptop is not the ideal travel companion and if power is primary than why buy the highest performance unit than return it.

Obviously you can argue this one all day long but thinking of your NEEDS first is primary on buying anything. If battery life is key than obviously a performance model is not the answer.

Agree 100%. If I wanted to surf the web all day, I use my iPads. But my notebook needs to be top of the line so I can get my work done as fast as possible.

 

[lKeithStone]

Image

That's impressive! and with bluetooth on

What was your brightness? 5%?

Nope, brightness is at 50%

 

[Ryan1524]

Considering my current MBP barely hits 1 hour, I think I'll be keeping my 2.6.

 

[ajrulez]

My Top of the line macbook on day 1 cycle one lasted for around 6 hours of intensive use.
Day 2 Cycle 4: WTF ?? Check Image Amazing 13+ hours on just safari, reading, data transfer pl check significant energy usage app and close it.

 

[patrick001]

My Top of the line macbook on day 1 cycle one lasted for around 6 hours of intensive use.
Day 2 Cycle 4: WTF ?? Check Image Amazing 13+ hours on just safari, reading, data transfer pl check significant energy usage app and close it.

How did you charge it to get it to that? Draining it to 0%? I'm about to get the same (2.6/1TB/16) so I'm just wondering. that is awesome.