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It's a no brainer to get the cheaper, but better hardware.

If your goal is maximizing performance for money, why are you even looking at Apple products? I’ve been hearing these types from comments for over last ten years, it’s always the same. It’s clear that Apple doesn’t make a computer to suit your needs. There are enough things on the market. A computer is a tool, not some religious item to be obsessed about.
 
If your goal is maximizing performance for money, why are you even looking at Apple products? I’ve been hearing these types from comments for over last ten years, it’s always the same. It’s clear that Apple doesn’t make a computer to suit your needs. There are enough things on the market. A computer is a tool, not some religious item to be obsessed about.
You might want to take your own advice. "A computer is a tool, not some religious item to be obsessed about." I simply made a comment, and you and the other guy are constantly trying to prove that Apple has x,y,z to compare with things that i look for in a computer. I know that Apple does not make computers that are meant to be pushed, as they throttle pretty much every device, iPhone, imac, mbp, etc. This was my point. Now that we are clear on that, there shouldn't be much left to discuss.
 
I simply made a comment, and you and the other guy are constantly trying to prove that Apple has x,y,z to compare with things that i look for in a computer.

I am not trying to prove anything like that, simply pointing out facts you might be not aware of (like Apple iMac line using equivalent of mobile GPUs). As I said over and over again, all designs involve tradeoffs. You need to decide which ones are optimal for you. If you are looking for highest possible GPU performance for least money spent, keep away form Apple.

I know that Apple does not make computers that are meant to be pushed, as they throttle pretty much every device, iPhone, imac, mbp, etc. This was my point.

This is completely untrue. My colleagues and me use our Apple computers to run heavy-duty numeric simulation prototypes. I've been pushing my laptops to their limits for last 8+ years without any issues, sometimes for 30-40 hours straight (before we got a supercomputer). One of the reasons I work with Macs is because there are very few computers on the market that can be pushed that much. Certainly not in that compact form factor. For comparable processor performance, I'd have to get a large workstation, and I prefer to stay mobile.
 
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Because other manufacturers are saving costs by using cheaper thunderbolt controllers and less complicated mainboard logic. People like to complain about Macs are more expensive, but they often fail to take into account that Macs are built to higher standards. For example, compare the Dell XPS 15" mainboard: https://www.vrassets.us/dell-xps-15...-7700hq-4gb-nvidia-la-e331p-yh90j-0yh90j.html

And an MBP 15" mainboard: https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/CSVuDEmvqgaDMqSn.huge (front) https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/Wkp5fNBb1SdZTgjX.huge (back)

Notice something?

It is a shame that they did it with other compromises (and of course at a cost premium). The truth is, you'll struggle to find people (from the pro community) who benefit from even half that bandwidth. It is like a 10,000 MB capable wifi adapter or an 8K resolution screen on a laptop, great that the hardware is there, but at what use.
 
Correction: I googled a bit, and it seems that Dell only connects 2x PCI-E lanes to its thunderbolt controller, again, most likely in order to save costs/reduce the mainboard complexity.

Your correction is incorrect. The 2017 Dell XPS 13" uses 2 x PCIe lanes and is limited to 20Gbps on its TB port; however, the 2018 Dell XPS 13" uses 4x PCIe lanes, providing the full 40 Gbps to the TB3 port which now supports eGPUs.
 
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The truth is, you'll struggle to find people (from the pro community) who benefit from even half that bandwidth. It is like a 10,000 MB capable wifi adapter or an 8K resolution screen on a laptop, great that the hardware is there, but at what use.

True. I think the real reason why they did it was to have symmetry in the port capabilities. Its an "elegant" choice that of course costs more money and also rubs off some users the wrong way (lack of legacy ports etc.). Thats Apple though, they are opinionated in what they do.

Your correction is incorrect. The 2017 Dell XPS 13" uses 2 x PCIe lanes and is limited to 20Gbps on its TB port; however, the 2018 Dell XPS 13" uses 4x PCIe lanes, providing the full 40 Gbps to the TB3 port which now supports eGPUs.

Thanks for the correction. I think maflynn mentioned this before as well.
 
True. I think the real reason why they did it was to have symmetry in the port capabilities. Its an "elegant" choice that of course costs more money and also rubs off some users the wrong way (lack of legacy ports etc.). Thats Apple though, they are opinionated in what they do.

I think Apple missed a trick by not including a dock (similar to what Asus did with their USB-C only laptops), even if they bumped up the prices by £50-£100. Would have really dampened a lot of the criticism (especially since buying docks are a nightmare, with compatibility and quality issues).

Think the iPhone dampened a lot of the noise by including the 3.5mm adapter (even though it isn't the most elegant of solutions) - with which without I think the criticism would have been deafening (no one likes to have to buy accessories to have to use their own accessories, accesories which they may have just bought recently and not from a decade ago, accessories which worked with previous models).
 
I think Apple missed a trick by not including a dock
I used to think so, but they're really embracing wireless and at this point do people really need docks? I see even in the PC world, less and less. I think in the enterprise it makes total sense but for Apple's target demographic, I'm not sure anymore.
 
I used to think so, but they're really embracing wireless and at this point do people really need docks? I see even in the PC world, less and less. I think in the enterprise it makes total sense but for Apple's target demographic, I'm not sure anymore.

Wireless doesn't really work well for connecting things like monitors (old model had HDMI support), data transfer devices/cards and a lot of equipment people own which worked perfectly with their previous Macbook but not on their shiny new one. Cloud is still some years away from replacing hardware storage - and quite a few years away for people who need very fast data transfer speeds.

You may have had a nice mechanical keyboard of which, many aren't wireless. You may like the precision/reliability of a wired keyboard/mouse too. Until the technology is there for when the wired versions are obsolete, you will be missing a trick.

You also have various item's in the house which probably connects to your PC to transfer data or for firmware updates now and then, which probably came included with a USB-A cable. It also would be nice to be able to connect my iPhone to a MacBook without a cable (wireless hasn't as well for me compared to wiring it).

The dock would have acted as a nice bridge between paving the future of USB-C, while not cutting off people's hands in the process.
 
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Wireless doesn't really work well for connecting things like monitors
I'm not disagreeing but my point is their customer base is less likely to need one.

You may have had a nice mechanical keyboard of which, many aren't wireless.
Apple wants you to use their wireless keyboard, in fact they include a wireless keyboard with the iMacs.

The dock would have acted as a nice bridge between paving the future of USB-C, while not cutting off people's hands in the process.
Perhaps, but I'm pointing out that I believe its not in apple's philosophy. You're trying to make justifications for a dock, to me, but for what ever reasons apple has long chose not to have any docks.
 
Perhaps, but I'm pointing out that I believe its not in apple's philosophy. You're trying to make justifications for a dock, to me, but for what ever reasons apple has long chose not to have any docks.

They broke the rule with the iPhone by including the 3.5mm adapter, I guess I was hoping they could have done it with the Macbook too :) (Even an adapter is better than nothing). I mean Apple stores would have been selling USB-A devices to customers a week before the event, so would have liked that their products continued to support them without needing additional purchases.
 
I think Apple missed a trick by not including a dock (similar to what Asus did with their USB-C only laptops), even if they bumped up the prices by £50-£100. Would have really dampened a lot of the criticism (especially since buying docks are a nightmare, with compatibility and quality issues).

I agree. Furthermore, I am disappointed that they didn't do more for USB-C. With their money, influence and know-how, they could design/license/sell good hub chips and cables and help make USB-C adoption easier and more affordable for the user. In the meantime, we are still stuck with hubs that don't have proper support for the USB-C video...
 
I chatted with Apple employee last night. I asked him to clarify which port(s) on the 13" MBP 2017 support Thunderbolt 3 at mac speed of 40Gbps. At one point, he said that just like the 15" model, all ports on the 13" model are independent and can operate at 40Gbps. In the middle of the conversation, he said that the ports share bandwidth. So, it means each port cannot operate independently at 40Gbps? Then, he said that most devices cannot operate at that speed so I don' have to worry about saturation. I already told him that I intended to use eGPU.
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I think Apple missed a trick by not including a dock (similar to what Asus did with their USB-C only laptops), even if they bumped up the prices by £50-£100. Would have really dampened a lot of the criticism (especially since buying docks are a nightmare, with compatibility and quality issues).

Think the iPhone dampened a lot of the noise by including the 3.5mm adapter (even though it isn't the most elegant of solutions) - with which without I think the criticism would have been deafening (no one likes to have to buy accessories to have to use their own accessories, accesories which they may have just bought recently and not from a decade ago, accessories which worked with previous models).

They had docks for the Powerbook computers about 25 years ago. Don't know why they stopped offering that.
 
I chatted with Apple employee last night. I asked him to clarify which port(s) on the 13" MBP 2017 support Thunderbolt 3 at mac speed of 40Gbps. At one point, he said that just like the 15" model, all ports on the 13" model are independent and can operate at 40Gbps. In the middle of the conversation, he said that the ports share bandwidth. So, it means each port cannot operate independently at 40Gbps? Then, he said that most devices cannot operate at that speed so I don' have to worry about saturation. I already told him that I intended to use eGPU.
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They had docks for the Powerbook computers about 25 years ago. Don't know why they stopped offering that.

They stopped offering that when they could fit all the ports needed on laptops. Now where portability is a huge selling point ports have been simplified and docks have made a come back.
 
So what is the max speed of each Thunderbolt 3 port on the 13" 2017 model?
 
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So what is the max speed of each Thunderbolt 3 port on the 13" 2017 model?
The same as the 2016 model.

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) supports Thunderbolt 3 at full performance using the two left-hand ports. The two right-hand ports deliver Thunderbolt 3 functionality, but have reduced PCI Express bandwidth.
Always plug higher-performance devices into the left-hand ports on MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) for maximum data throughput.
 
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Thanks. By left handed ports, do you mean the ports near the left hand of the user when typing?
 
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