Did I make a mistake by getting the base model Macbook Pro 16"?

[godegamle]

Hi. I got a an offer to get a new Macbook Pro 16" base model (i7, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD) for 1700€ and had to act fast so I went ahead and got it.

I had done some research but afterwards I have had some second thoughts if I should have gotten a more spec'd out one. I do mostly music production, running Ableton Live and plugins like Omnisphere, Fabfilter, Diva and such. I do also often use some big string sample libraries. On my old Macbook Pro (2017, 16 GB Ram) I did have some lacking when having those string plugins on 20-30 tracks. Occasionally I do some photo editing, otherwise I mostly use it for watching movies and writing.

I did get another offer to get the model with 2,3 i9, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB. But for this I would have to pay almost 2700€, for a one year old machine. The only thing I know I could use for sure it the 1 TB SSD, but that could be fixed by adding old music projects to an external harddisk. It would be practical though, since some sample libraries are 20-25 GB and quickly fills up the harddisk.

So my question is, should I go for the spec'd up version and would I benefit from the extra power? Or am I better off staying with what I got and maybe selling it on in a couple of years and upgrade then?

Thank you.

 

[4sallypat]

All I can say about the 16" i7 MBP: buyer's remorse.

I purchased the same base unit ($2500 plus AppleCare+) when it first came out and since then it's been a failure in my 35 years with Apple.
I don't do music or videos - some Adobe Photoshop CC and a lot of web streaming.

Issues:

• Runs superhot - needs a cooling fan underneath to keep it from sizzling your thighs.
• Short battery life - less than 5 hours of web browsing.
• Battery life has shortened to 82% - getting ready for a replacement as soon as it hits 79%.
• Fans spin up like crazy - sounds like a wind tunnel.

I don't think a higher end model is going to make a difference.

I'd wait for the 16" Apple Silicon Mx model soon to be released.

What did I replace the 16" Intel MBP with?
Answer: M1 MBP at half the price - runs circles around the Intel with only 8GB Unified Memory.

 

[mono1980]

Return it and wait for the M1X models which are probably being announced in less than a month at WWDC.

 

[godegamle]

Return it and wait for the M1X models which are probably being announced in less than a month at WWDC.

Unfortunately I can't return it. I think I'll keep it for now, take good care of it, and then maybe update when the M1X models comes out, and sell this one on.

 

[godegamle]

I'd wait for the 16" Apple Silicon Mx model soon to be released.

What did I replace the 16" Intel MBP with?
Answer: M1 MBP at half the price - runs circles around the Intel with only 8GB Unified Memory.

Just curious, what makes the 8GB Unified Memory faster than the 16GB RAM in the base model?

 

[4sallypat]

Just curious, what makes the 8GB Unified Memory faster than the 16GB RAM in the base model?

What I said was the 8GB Unified Memory can't be compared to a 16 or 32GB RAM in Intel based Macs. It's like comparing apples to oranges.....

Apple Silicon has a totally different design called SOC where they have integrated most core parts of the computer into a unified system. They use software (apps) that run efficiently like an iPhone or iPad effectively marrying the Mac OS and iOS together in a reduced instruction set computer.

Apple's M1 use a RISC design that leverages more low-level parallel processing than the CISC design of Intel and AMD processors. Apple has been designing its own computer chips for a decade (eg A15 iOS) and has learned a lot when they originally had used RISC PowerPC chips before Intel took over.

Intel uses separate parts to make a system and their RAM is what people have been brainwashed to buy more and more of because programs that are x86 and x64 need more and more RAM with ever increasing demand on the processor's clock and instruction cycles (wasted as heat). My 16" MBP is an example of how poorly Intel works....

Because Apple Silicon is more efficient, Unified Memory (RAM) is used more efficiently and faster along with read/writes on their on board storage (SSD).

Here's an article on how Intel chipped Macs had to suffer with high prices, maximum RAM and laggy performance compared to a base M1 Mac:
https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/production-expert-1/why-the-apple-m1-chip-is-so-fast

 

[Fishrrman]

Do the apps you use run well on the new 16"?

If they do, I think that's "the answer".

Just keep using what you have.

 

[godegamle]

I just got an option to swap the base model for a 2,3 GHz i9, 16 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD.

I am mostly interested in the 1 TB SSD (for sample libraries). As I understand the i9 won't make much difference for music production.

Seems some people think that the i9 has more fan noise, but I could not find any concluding evidence of this.

Would I risk getting more noise if I go for the i9? Or could that be fixed by swithcing off the GPU?

 

[satcomer]

The noise of fans come on if one uses Audio DAWs all day long or video programs to make videos and upload them to web site! Then the Intel chip draws drastic power doing these tasks!

 

[kristof46]

You can download software which reduce turbo boost. It helps with fan noise

 

[godegamle]

You can download software which reduce turbo boost. It helps with fan noise

Ok, but would it then be better to stick with the i7, utilising Turbo Boost? Or would fan noise be the same on i7 and i9 with Turbo Boost on?

 

[kristof46]

Ok, but would it then be better to stick with the i7, utilising Turbo Boost? Or would fan noise be the same on i7 and i9 with Turbo Boost on?

I am not sure but I guess that i9 still can little bit hotter and of course drain more battery. Anyway Turbo Boost Switcher should resolve fan noise problem.
i have base mbp 16 and usually I use laptop for office stuff. Anyway I found that with Turbo Boost switcher I have better battery performance. Maybe that’s because turbo boost was always on standby and now is completely off

 

[Yebubbleman]

Just curious, what makes the 8GB Unified Memory faster than the 16GB RAM in the base model?

RAM is still RAM. What makes the Unified Memory better than what you get on an Intel Mac is that the whole SoC can access the same RAM without having to copy data to other segments of RAM in use by other components. It's more efficient overall. That being said, the concept of RAM capacity has NOT changed with this model. If you want to run a virtual machine, more RAM is still better. If you want to have more things running at once, more RAM is still better. Since that RAM can be accessed by multiple other components at the same time, you might not feel the limitations of 8GB of RAM as much as you would on an Intel Mac or a Windows PC, but for use cases where you need to load lots of data into RAM, more is still better.