Fresh impressions of a 2017 Macbook Pro 15 TB from a PC user

[csurfr]

What I meant is that the aluminum minidock is burning hot, not the Mac.
Reading back my post I see that I was a little confusing

Ah, ok. That makes more sense! When I was using a usb-c to hdmi cable on my MacBook Pro (34” 3440x1440 ultrawide), the hdmi end would get rather warm too.

I think you’re pushing so much power through that io that any dock is going to heat up without question. Should it be blistering hot? Probably not. Does that dock not have some sort of cooling fan?


Edit: just looked at your link. Yeah that thing is super tiny. There is zero chance to push that much through it without generating a ton of heat, I would think. And there is no where for it to go but the case.

I thought you had gotten a larger one for the time being.

 

[Cristim74]

I also wanted to ask for your opinion about keeping the Mac docked for most of the time during the day.
Does it put additional strain on the battery? Will it wear faster in the long term?
I know that it's supposed to automatically disconnect from charging when it reaches 100% charge, but I'm asking anyway.

 

[Cristim74]

I can't seam to get more than 5-6 hours of battery life from a full charge.
Right now the battery has 18 charge cycles and about 10 days.
I think it's done indexing and syncing all the stuff I have.
I keep MS Outlook 2016 always running in the background with 6 email accounts.
Could this be the reason?
Brightness is in the 40-50% range; anything less is too dim for me.

 

[jerryk]

I can't seam to get more than 5-6 hours of battery life from a full charge.
Right now the battery has 18 charge cycles and about 10 days.
I think it's done indexing and syncing all the stuff I have.
I keep MS Outlook 2016 always running in the background with 6 email accounts.
Could this be the reason?
Brightness is in the 40-50% range; anything less is too dim for me.

You can see what is using the CPU and Energy by checking the Activity Monitor. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201464

Also ensure you do not have external devices connected which are being powered by your laptop. I have a USB hub and Audio interface connected to mine and was shocked to see them consume 40% of the battery in 8 hours, even when the lid was closed.

 

[Cristim74]

I have nothing connected to the laptop.
Outlook has been running forever in the background but seams to consume low percentage of CPU.

 

[jerryk]

I have nothing connected to the laptop.
Outlook has been running forever in the background but seams to consume low percentage of CPU.

What are CalNCService and photoanalysisd? Do have a photo library that is being synced?

 

[Cristim74]

I have no ideea. I was wondering about those too.
I'll try to search them up on the web.

LE:

CalNCService seems to do with calendar sync. But does not seem to consume much CPU.

photoanalysisd is processing the Photos Library. Seems to be using 0% now. Probably synced the library last week. About 4500 photos and 150 videos.

 

[Patcell]

Congrats on your purchase and glad to hear you are enjoying your machine!

I too use a 2017 15” Pro. I bought it last summer right after the 2017 refresh and I have been very happy with it so far.

As you have figured out, photoanalysisd is a process that analyses photos in your photo library for machine learning purposes. Ultimately allowing you to use some of the advanced search features in Apple Photos. Like, “show me pictures of dogs,” and the like. It looks at your photos for distinct objects. I only see this process running if I am connected to AC power though - it is designed to stop processing photos to conserve battery when not plugged in to power. That has been my experience anyway...

 

[c0ppo]

I checked and unfortunately repairs are not covered by the insurance.
What's worst is that I called Apple support and they told me Apple Care+ is not available in Romania.
Common Apple, W*F? We are in EU ...

There is an easy workaround:
ebay.co.uk or ebay.de

Purchase AppleCare, and authorised Apple repair/reseller will have to fix your MBP if problems do show up. I'm talking from personal experience, since I'm from Croatia, and we also don't have Apple Store or Apple Care officially in my country.

Just make sure that the seller on ebay has high enough ratings, and pay exclusively via PayPal. All my macs are under Apple Care, and that is the way I do it

 

[Cristim74]

Interesting. Have you ever successfully fixed a machine with Apple Care bought like that?

 

[c0ppo]

Interesting. Have you ever successfully fixed a machine with Apple Care bought like that?

Indeed. Keyboard ob my MB12 2015.
iStyle is authorised reseller and service center for apple gear in Croatia.

They just checked via email, and with no questions asked, they’ve fixed it in less then a week.

Luckly, never had other issues, so that was the only time I had to use my apple care. MB12 was almost 2 years old when I’ve sent it to be repaired.

 

[Cristim74]

Our reseller here is also iStyle.
And I also have some issue with my wife's 2016 Macbook keyboard (spacebar), but unfortunately no Apple care

How does it work with this Apple Care bought from eBay? How do you associate it with your hardware?

 

[jerryk]

Our reseller here is also iStyle.
And I also have some issue with my wife's 2016 Macbook keyboard (spacebar), but unfortunately no Apple care

How does it work with this Apple Care bought from eBay? How do you associate it with your hardware?

The Apple Care you buy is a box with a code on a card. You log onto the site, entered your system's serial # and the code on the card.

 

[csurfr]

The Apple Care you buy is a box with a code on a card. You log onto the site, entered your system's serial # and the code on the card.

Just be careful, as there have been a lot of people reporting scams with extended warranties such as this on eBay.

 

[Cristim74]

Just a short update:

1. I have given up the Ideea of purchasing unofficially Apple Care as I'm not 100% sure if I can use it here.
2. Battery life is still the same; around 6 hours per charge, but it's not a big deal.
3. CalDigit just shipped me the dock today, but unfortunately I have mistakenly chosen economy shipping and it will take a week to reach me; at least it will not be end of April.
4. So far my experience with the MacBook Pro was fine, except for a few video glitches.

 

[Patcell]

Just a short update:

1. I have given up the Ideea of purchasing unofficially Apple Care as I'm not 100% sure if I can use it here.
2. Battery life is still the same; around 6 hours per charge, but it's not a big deal.
3. CalDigit just shipped me the dock today, but unfortunately I have mistakenly chosen economy shipping and it will take a week to reach me; at least it will not be end of April.
4. So far my experience with the MacBook Pro was fine, except for a few video glitches.

Six hours of battery doesn’t seem all that great... but will obviously depend heavily on what you are doing with the matching. With a mix of photo work, YouTube, Netflix, and web browsing I manage 8-9 hours down to 10-15% charge.

Also, what video glitches have you experienced?

 

[Cristim74]

The problem is that about 70% of the time I use it in clamshell mode (btw I got a space grey Twelve South Bookarc) and I can't tell precisely how long it runs on the battery. Is there a counter telling me how long it run on battery since last unplugged?

Regarding video glitches: because of the setup I use now with 3 USB-C to HDMI/DP adapters for the external displays, I have occasional issues when the displays are not recognised and I have to repeatedly plug/unplug the adapters. Also once after I unplugged all the adapters without first opening the lid, when I opened the lid at a later time the display kept black and I had to force reboot the machine.

One of the things I was missing in clamshell mode was the quick unlocking using the TouchID. I just solved this yesterday as I got a Series 3 Watch (non-LTE) and I can use the really neat auto unlock feature.

 

[jerryk]

The problem is that about 70% of the time I use it in clamshell mode (btw I got a space grey Twelve South Bookarc) and I can't tell precisely how long it runs on the battery. Is there a counter telling me how long it run on battery since last unplugged?

Regarding video glitches: because of the setup I use now with 3 USB-C to HDMI/DP adapters for the external displays, I have occasional issues when the displays are not recognised and I have to repeatedly plug/unplug the adapters. Also once after I unplugged all the adapters without first opening the lid, when I opened the lid at a later time the display kept black and I had to force reboot the machine.

One of the things I was missing in clamshell mode was the quick unlocking using the TouchID. I just solved this yesterday as I got a Series 3 Watch (non-LTE) and I can use the really neat auto unlock feature.

I had the same issues with monitors not being recognized on my 2015 rMBP. Always power cycling the monitor before attaching often workes, but someones a reboot with the monitor attached is required. I have more problems with Asus and Samsung monitors, and almost none with Dell monitors.

BTW, just curious. If you are running in clamshell model that implies you have an external monitor with AC power. Do you not connect your MacBook to the charger. I have heard you can get get maximum performance that way. I always do that and have a second power supply/charger where my monitors are.

 

[Cristim74]

The MacBook Pro is not getting power from one the monitors, but from it's charger through one of the video adapters which is also multiport (see below pictures). All three monitors are Dell.

 

[jerryk]

The MacBook Pro is not getting power from one the monitors, but from it's charger through one of the video adapters which is also multipart (see below pictures). All three monitors are Dell.

View attachment 755886 View attachment 755887

Nice!

 

[Cristim74]

Just got the CalDigit dock delivered yesterday.
I works fine but I need time to rewire everything as my desk is a mess now.