From 2011 13" mBP to 2018 15"?

[Shredder-]

Clearly, I've got quite an old machine - it's nowhere near sluggish or anything as I've upgraded to an SSD and 8 GB ram so in that department I feel like I can accomplish my workload in an okay manner (web development).

What I don't like with my current machine are the following (and strong reasons why I'd like to upgrade)

-Battery life is poor (1-2 hours max)
-Speakers are so bad, can barely hear anything on max volume
-Fans go nuts and computer heats up when doing some semi-intensive stuff like watching youtube / streaming from various sites / deploying code.

Now, I've seen complaints on two out of the three above mentioned areas with the 2018 mBP. Battery life only seems "ok" and the temperature on the machine can quickly rise up, even when doing light tasks.

What's peoples suggestion? If the 2018 models have loud fans and high temperatures, that's kind of a deal breaker..

 

[DannEboE]

I can't speak for everybody here, but my model is great. Watching youtube or streaming will not run the temperature high or result in loud fans. Even the loudest setting of the fans isn't super loud by any means. My 2013 MacBook Pro was louder and hotter than this laptop has ever been. I use safari personally for video streaming.

Battery life is phenomenal for me. Without doing any tinkering, I can easily get 7-8 hours. If I thermally limit the processor to about 25W using Volta (which is still the same performance as a 2017 13 Inch MacBook Pro w/TB), battery life is even higher (There was 1 time I actually received 14 hours of real usage from this thermal limit), temperatures are lower, and fans will be lower. You can use MacFanControl or SMCFancontrol (Beta version is the only one that works with 2018 models atm) to boost up fan curves to your optimal settings to go around high temperatures as well.

It's going to be a phenomenal upgrade from your 2011 model. SSD is easily 3-4x faster than the SSD you put in, the base 15 inch has 16gb of Ram, speakers are an improvement from 2017 models which is already an improvement over the last generation (2015), and screen is bright, colorful, and relatively color accurate.

 

[Shredder-]

You're right that whatever machine I purchase will be a huge benefit. I just expect a machine (like this one) to last me at least 4-5 years and I don't wanna have it running hot and bad after just a few months of usage..

 

[Frieg]

Your 2011 should not run hot with such easy tasks like youtube. Reapplying the thermalpaste will work wonders, it did with my 2011 13", felt like a newer macbook afterwards.
Battery can super easy be exchanged for 50-60 bucks.
With a ssd and more ram the 2011 is still pretty capable, i can cut hd videos with final cut pro without any greater performance problems. Not perfect, but it gets the job done. Still my main laptop.

 

[maflynn]

I just expect a machine (like this one) to last me at least 4-5 years and I don't wanna have it running hot and bad after just a few months of usage..

These new Macs run hotter then prior generations.

 

[Shredder-]

Your 2011 should not run hot with such easy tasks like youtube. Reapplying the thermalpaste will work wonders, it did with my 2011 13", felt like a newer macbook afterwards.
Battery can super easy be exchanged for 50-60 bucks.
With a ssd and more ram the 2011 is still pretty capable, i can cut hd videos with final cut pro without any greater performance problems. Not perfect, but it gets the job done. Still my main laptop.

Interesting, I'm gonna look into that whole thermal paste thing, gonna see if I can have some shop do it for me, I'd rather not risk messing something up
[doublepost=1534682080][/doublepost]

These new Macs run hotter then prior generations.

That's what I fear..

 

[maflynn]

Interesting, I'm gonna look into that whole thermal paste thing, gonna see if I can have some shop do it for me, I'd rather not risk messing something up
[doublepost=1534682080][/doublepost]
That's what I fear..

Well, they have 2 more cores in the same enclosure.

 

[Shredder-]

I can't speak for everybody here, but my model is great. Watching youtube or streaming will not run the temperature high or result in loud fans. Even the loudest setting of the fans isn't super loud by any means. My 2013 MacBook Pro was louder and hotter than this laptop has ever been. I use safari personally for video streaming.

Battery life is phenomenal for me. Without doing any tinkering, I can easily get 7-8 hours. If I thermally limit the processor to about 25W using Volta (which is still the same performance as a 2017 13 Inch MacBook Pro w/TB), battery life is even higher (There was 1 time I actually received 14 hours of real usage from this thermal limit), temperatures are lower, and fans will be lower. You can use MacFanControl or SMCFancontrol (Beta version is the only one that works with 2018 models atm) to boost up fan curves to your optimal settings to go around high temperatures as well.

It's going to be a phenomenal upgrade from your 2011 model. SSD is easily 3-4x faster than the SSD you put in, the base 15 inch has 16gb of Ram, speakers are an improvement from 2017 models which is already an improvement over the last generation (2015), and screen is bright, colorful, and relatively color accurate.

What temperatures are you looking at if you're doing some semi-intensive tasks? Can you post a screenshot

 

[Frieg]

Really, "no fans" while streaming or youtube isn't a plus of newer macbooks because even the old 2011 shouldn't do that! Mine is staying on 2000RPM while netflixing and the CPU never exceeds 72℃

 

[DannEboE]

What temperatures are you looking at if you're doing some semi-intensive tasks? Can you post a screenshot

Hey! I am plugging in the computer into an external 4k monitor, thus, the dGPU is being utilized as well. I am streaming Netflix with a few browser tabs open and an excel sheet open.

Temperatures aren't that bad. This is without any thermal limits or manually controlling fans (typically I control them a bit higher).

Really, "no fans" while streaming or youtube isn't a plus of newer macbooks because even the old 2011 shouldn't do that! Mine is staying on 2000RPM while netflixing and the CPU never exceeds 72℃

When I had my Late 2013 MacBook Pro, that thing heats up when I log in and fans start spinning the minute I open a safari browser with 3 tabs, 1 of them being Facebook. It really revs its engines when I stream youtube or Netflix streaming. For me, personally, coming to this new generation, everything is so fast and smooth and honestly, cooler than my own experiences with previous MacBooks.

 

[michael31986]

This is exactly what I'm doing. I have the lowest end model of late 2011 13 inch. Now I'm getting 2018 15 inch middle level. Can't wait.

 

[Shredder-]

Hey! I am plugging in the computer into an external 4k monitor, thus, the dGPU is being utilized as well. I am streaming Netflix with a few browser tabs open and an excel sheet open.

Temperatures aren't that bad. This is without any thermal limits or manually controlling fans (typically I control them a bit higher).

When I had my Late 2013 MacBook Pro, that thing heats up when I log in and fans start spinning the minute I open a safari browser with 3 tabs, 1 of them being Facebook. It really revs its engines when I stream youtube or Netflix streaming. For me, personally, coming to this new generation, everything is so fast and smooth and honestly, cooler than my own experiences with previous MacBooks.

That's in Fahrenheit right?

 

[DannEboE]

That's in Fahrenheit right?

Yeah. If it was in celcius, my Mac would be on fire

 

[Frieg]

This are my stats while streaming Netflix in hd on a 1920x1200 external monitor.
I don't see how a newer macbook should be way better than this, maybe it is in 4k, but thats not my use case scenario. a newer macbook will be capable of so much more when it comes to cpu hefty tasks, but casual streaming is not one of them. if your older macbook seems to be not capable of doing such easy things, then you have a cooling problem