Geekbench Shows 2018 MacBook Pro Has Biggest Yearly Performance Gain Since 2011

[0837990]

Why do you say eGPU isn't a good option? I'm curious because I'm tempted to get an eGPU to accelerate all the image editing that I need to do.

I owned the Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550, and used a Gigabyte Radeon RX VEGA 56 Gaming OC 8GB in it.
This card has noticeably better cooling and a quiet fan profile for more silent operation than the reference Vega 56 cards.

Still, though, this was an extremely noisy setup. Having a eGPU box on your desk will be quite audible. The fans from the GPU and the power supply in the eGPU box is gonna be very noticeable since the box sits on your desk. The egpu boxes are not sound dampened at all.

Traditional computer cases were usually more sound dampened, and they also usually sat under your desk, not on it. Also, tradition computer cases has significantly better airflow and access to air than these egpu boxes has, so the fans don't have to spin as fast.

I would only consider a watercooled eGPU solution if I was ever gonna try it again.

Also, some games and apps simply didn't work well with the eGPU. Even in High Sierra 10.13.5. And that includes Apple's own Final Cut Pro X 10.4, which doesn't even use the performance of the eGPU AT ALL. FCPX only uses the eGPU for live rendering, but not for exporting, transcoding, or any of the really heavy media tasks... So what's the point.

 

[NT1440]

I owned the Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550, and used a Gigabyte Radeon RX VEGA 56 Gaming OC 8GB in it.
This card has noticeably better cooling and a quiet fan profile for more silent operation than the reference Vega 56 cards.

Still, though, this was an extremely noisy setup. Having a eGPU box on your desk will be quite audible. The fans from the GPU and the power supply in the eGPU box is gonna be very noticeable since the box sits on your desk. The egpu boxes are not sound dampened at all.

Traditional computer cases were usually more sound dampened, and they also usually sat under your desk, not on it. Also, tradition computer cases has significantly better airflow and access to air than these egpu boxes has, so the fans don't have to spin as fast.

I would only consider a watercooled eGPU solution if I was ever gonna try it again.

Also, some games and apps simply didn't work well with the eGPU. Even in High Sierra 10.13.5. And that includes Apple's own Final Cut Pro X 10.4, which doesn't even use the performance of the eGPU AT ALL. FCPX only uses the eGPU for live rendering, but not for exporting, transcoding, or any of the really heavy media tasks... So what's the point.

Can’t you just buy a longer cable if the noise is noticeable? I’m currently under the impression that eGPUs don’t have a fixed cord but I don’t have any experience with them personally.

 

[AJ5790]

Inflation? Are we in Venezuela now?

Nope. We’re still talking about normal, everyday economics. $1 in 1990 could buy as much as $1.95 now. So if Apple was selling a laptop for the same sticker price in 1990, their new laptops are half as expensive.

 

[Sackofnickels]

That's odd. Perhaps you didn't buy Apple Refurbished? They come with a one-year warranty just like new products. And they've been inspected and certified by Apple. For a cautious and frugal person (raises hand) they're great: you save money and you get a like-new (or better than) product.
______

"Before we put an Apple Certified Refurbished product up for sale, it undergoes a rigorous refurbishment process to make sure it’s up to Apple’s high standards. We back it with our standard one-year limited warranty. And you have the option of purchasing AppleCare products to extend your coverage further."

"Each Apple Certified Refurbished Product:

• undergoes full functionality testing and any defective modules identified in testing are replaced.
• Apple Watch and Apple Pencil devices that require replacement parts are not included in the Apple Certified Refurbished Program.
• is put through a thorough cleaning process and inspection.
• is repackaged (including appropriate manuals, cables, new boxes).
• includes either the Operating System originally shipped with the unit or, in some cases, a more recent version.
• is placed into a Final QA inspection prior to being added to sellable refurbished stock."

https://www.apple.com/shop/browse/home/specialdeals?afid=p238|sjFItAiXM-dc_mtid_1870765e38482_pcrid_267778434709_&cid=aos-us-kwgo-brand--slid--product-

Good advice. Thanks. Funny too, because the refurbs I had issues with came from the Apple store. I am typing on a MB Air right now that I purchased from Best Buy that was an open box return. Runs great. I have found some pretty good open box deals at Best Buy.
[doublepost=1531758920][/doublepost]I was just on Apple's site looking at the MBP. I cant believe they still offer 128gb of storage and call it a Pro.

 

[thekeyring]

Yeah, I was disappointed to find that Photoshop was just as sluggish on a 27" iMac with the highest graphics and processor as it was on my old 2012 13" MBP.

I hate when Mac versions of programs are not as snappy as their Windows counterparts

I’ve not had a problem with Photoshop, but then the files I work with aren’t very large. I’m more disappointed when opening a new, blank word document causes my entire Mac Pro to hang.

 

[Flabasha]

this was an extremely noisy setup. Having a eGPU box on your desk will be quite audible.

Also, some games and apps simply didn't work well with the eGPU. Even in High Sierra 10.13.5. And that includes Apple's own Final Cut Pro X 10.4, which doesn't even use the performance of the eGPU AT ALL. FCPX only uses the eGPU for live rendering, but not for exporting, transcoding, or any of the really heavy media tasks... So what's the point.

Apparently, the new Blackmagic eGPU is whisper quiet, even at an extended period of full load.

Also, the FCPX (and Premiere) bug of not using the eGPU is apparently solved, according to folks on egpu.io...

 

[Baymowe335]

Price. I am being priced out of the Apple eco-system. It's not that I can't afford the prices, it's that I don't want to PAY the prices. If you noticed none of the lower end products like the Mac Mini or the MacBook Air are getting any support or hardware updates. The lower cost iPhones look like phones from generations past. It's all about $1000 phones and "Pro" computers. For my needs spending a premium is not practical just so my device says "Apple" or "Pro". Not to mention I don't need the "Pro" moniker for what I use a computer for which is to create spreadsheets, word documents, edit PDF's, photos, web research, or combine video clips.

If the rumors are true that Apple is coming out with a lower cost laptop or desktop, than I'm in and all this is moot.

Make or save more money if you want it. Life is about trade offs.

 

[avkills]

I've been testing the throttling on my Macbook Pro 15'' 2016 all weekend, by looking at Intel Power Gadget and doing various CPU intensive tasks. I was trying to decide if going for the higher CPU tier on the 2018 version would offer any performance improvements in real world apps or it would just be throttled down.

What I found.. well, it's not that great. My CPU is 2.7GHz, Turbo Boost to 3.6. In practice it never reaches that 3.6, best I got was 3.2. That's only if you stress a single core though, plus the dirty secret - in order to reach 3.2 on that core it drops the frequency on all the other cores.

If you go 100% load and stress all cores equally, it goes to 100 degrees Celsius really fast. It cannot maintain even the nominal 2.7GHz speed on all cores. Instead it goes down to 1.6GHz and a temp of around 80º C.

And it doesn't even have to be for an extended period of time. Just opening up Chrome with let's say 20 tabs, nothing too crazy, and let's say a video in one of them, would make it go to 100º C almost instantly and then it would correct itself by dropping the frequency all the way down.

It's not a surprise really... I mean, have you seen the cooling system for these things? It looks like this

So unless they've substantially improved the cooling system in the 2018 15 inch models, going for the higher tier is probably a waste of money. I mean, it will be slightly faster just due to the bigger 12MB level 3 cache, but I'm not sure how much of an impact that would make. All I know is: 4.8 Turbo? no freakin way

Very good points Evangeline; which is why I am going to keep close eye on the reviews and hop to barefeats every so often. Encoding video or rendering 3d and motion graphics is going to be pointless on that 6-core if the clock speeds can't be maintained; which will mean just stick with the 4-core.

 

[Naimfan]

Or, you know, touch any single key on the keyboard. Which you do when you are actually using the machine. It seems you are looking for any reason you can come up with to bash the new machines, based on your recent post activity.

As I own one (a 2018 2.6/16/512/560x), it says more about you that you think I'm only looking for reasons to bash them. It's a solid update in some respects - notably the CPU - as I've noted. That does not mean it's immune to criticism, and my criticisms of the 2016/17/18 form factor remain, including the frippery that is the touchbar.

 

[smirking]

I’ve not had a problem with Photoshop, but then the files I work with aren’t very large. I’m more disappointed when opening a new, blank word document causes my entire Mac Pro to hang.

There’s something skunk about the MS Office suite. I’ve always had problems with it. Then you download the open source clones of MS Office and they’re snappy. Have you tried Libre Office?

 

[GuruZac]

New 1TB SSD 15” MBP with 16GB RAM and hexacore processor is a dream machine. As far as the comments above, yeah the A10X in the iPad Pros is extremely impressive still.

 

[manu chao]

Indeed, but we're not hearing people say that "dust appears to be a contributing factors to keyboard failures." Instead we're hearing "OMG, a single grain of dust will cause your keyboard to fail."

100% of keyboards will have dust in them, but not 100% of them are going to fail. That is why I'm saying the dust story is overblown. Dust alone is probably not the issue. Also, it's awfully curious that there appears to be a predisposition for certain keys to fail.

I don't think people are saying "a single grain of dust will cause your keyboard to fail", rather they are saying "a single grain of dust could cause your keyboard to fail". In reality it most likely isn't a single grain of dust, but rather the one grain of dust that breaks the camel's back.

Could a (small) percentage of keyboards have a manufacturing flaw that either causes them to fail even without any dust ingress or that make them noticeably more susceptible to develop issues due to dust ingress? In principle yes, but then we hear stories of people having gotten their keyboard repaired/exchanged and see problems again only a few months later. You'd need be extremely unlucky to get hit by the same rare manufacturing flaw multiple times. We also have heard stories from people with 2015 MBs, 2016 MBPs, and 2017 MBPs. If there was a manufacturing flaw, it should have been fixed (or at least significantly improved) after more than two years of production.

Maybe there is some (unavoidable) manufacturing variation that makes a certain percentage of MBPs more susceptible to dust-triggered problems. Maybe it is a certain dust composition combined with temperature and humidity that causes the problem to appear and some people are just unlucky enough to get hit. But in the end I'm convinced the underlying reason is a susceptibility to dust-ingress caused problems that causes the keyboard to fail for too many people. And 'too many people' could be 0.1% of MBP buyers. But I'd be willing to bet that the milder form (ie, one fixed with compressed air) does affect more than 0.1% of all MBP buyers.

 

[armut]

What do you think about the performance with FCPX?
I don't mean export/render time etc!
What about smooth working?
Do I need to wait for background rendering will finish his process or can I just deactivate background rendering and can still watch without frame drops my edited timeline?
Can this Macbook Pro handle 4K media?

 

[jgbr]

any updates on how long the i9 can remain? For all the improvements on the i7 HQ that the top of the range 2017 had, it maybe able to outpace the 2018 by keeping its speeds up for longer.... chicken and egg type of argument.

 

[geromi912]

3 times faster? Looks like we are both exagerating are we?
Also 560X is faster than 560, not much but it is

From the website posted.

Well, I said 1060 is almost 3x the performance of 560, not 1050ti. If the 560 is 70% of 1050ti, then the 1050ti is 43% faster. And 1060 itself is 80% faster than 1050ti. So that’s like 150% faster or 2.5x the 560. 560x is only a rebadge and slight clock boost and Apple underclocks the chips.
Nvidia is so ridiculously ahead in terms of performance/watt it’s not even funny. If you look at the power draw, the 1050ti only draws on average 10% more under load but performs 30%-90% better.

 

[fairuz]

A max q 1070 in many $2000 thin laptops will still easily outperform the rx580 as an eGPU. Remember the 1070 is the superior chip and egpu takes a 15% performance hit minimum.

I'm seeing the Max q 1070 as across the board much slower than RX580 in benchmarks. Not the same as the desktop 1070.

eGPU performance drop: I can't find evidence online saying it's 15%. I see 15% for higher end cards like the 1080, but 1050ti is having more like 5% according to people here: https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/pcie-slot-dgpu-vs-thunderbolt-3-egpu-internal-display-test/
Edit: Actually, people are saying 15% drop with 1060, which is comparable to RX580, so nvm. One thing to note, these are framerate rendering benchmarks, not compute.

 

[pipis2010]

The guy he replied to isn’t being sarcastic, I think. He’s been asking for a battery powered mini since his first post. And a Mac Pro with 24 hour battery life.

Correct me if I am wrong, but 2-3 years ago, wasn’t there an article of Apple’s acquisition of a company which produced some form of new-gen batteries able to last for 1 week before re-charging?

What happened since then exactly? Anyone has any clue?

 

[imageWIS]

Yeah it’d stay plugged in most of the time, but you take it with you without shutting down, just like a laptop. And you wouldn’t need a UPS just like a laptop. And you could use it anywhere, just like a laptop.

You could use a monitor that plugs in at home and office, or use a laptop or iphone to control it.

That makes no sense, you would still need to carry the mouse, keyboard and monitor... they have those already, they are called 'laptops'.

 

[geromi912]

I'm seeing the Max q 1070 as across the board much slower than RX580 in benchmarks. Not the same as the desktop 1070.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Radeon-RX-580-vs-GeForce-GTX-1070-Max-Q_8108_8008.247598.0.html
No idea where you get that impression from. And that’s a desktop PCIe RX 580. The blackmagic eGPU likely has a downclocked solidered 580. Take a further 15-20% performance hit from TB3 and it’ll be solidly slower.

 

[Feenician]

Correct me if I am wrong, but 2-3 years ago, wasn’t there an article of Apple’s acquisition of a company which produced some form of new-gen batteries able to last for 1 week before re-charging?

What happened since then exactly? Anyone has any clue?

I don't recall that. That sure would be nice though. That kind of battery life in Macs and iOS devices would be amazing.

 

[wizard]

What are The objective complaints about the screen? You want 4K?

That is a good question the original poster should come back with an explanation because the screens arent an issue. There are other issues, such as ports, but they are not a concern for everybody.

Price...give me a break. They are always on the higher end, but you get what you pay for and you don’t have to use Windows. Software is something people don’t consider enough in price.

Actually Apple has mive the MBPs back into the bad value area. The price increases of late are not justified. Im under the impression that list prices were raised so that Apple resellers can offer bigger discounts. I actually gave up on Apple and their laptop line up early this year and bought an HP. Im running Linux on it right now to see if it can effectively replace a Mac. By the way i had Windows on the box for a few months and it is absolutely horrible!

So while i can agree that software has value, the reality is all three platforms come with what amounts to the same base software. That is the supplied base installs all offer the same functionality. On the Windows side much of that software appears to be designed by an idiot but that is another issue. Most of the rest of the software that i use is cross platform such as Eclipse, a couple of text editors, PDF manipulation software and such. At this point im not willing to say which platform (Mac or Fedora Linux) runs these apps better. The point is you do have choices when it comes to software.

 

[KPandian1]

Some have reported wearing issues, especially around the ports. See this video from the 3:40 mark. I never saw that after years of MagSafe:

This should catch the eyes of the bean-counters at Apple. A Pro device showing such wear is not good for the bottom-line.

 

[wizard]

It's about time something good finally happens to the Mac industry.

This isnt all that positive for the Mac Industry. Apple rekeased grossly expensive laptops and ignored the rest of the line up. Not good for the Mac Industry!

This MBP is perfect except two major points :
1. Price is up to the roof even on the base config.

It is likrly my biggest fear with Apple. That is the return to hardware with fat price tags that cant justify the price. Back in 2008, when i got back into the Mac world, laptops from Apple were at least affirdable if slightky high end. These days they have returned to unjustified high prices.

2. Graphics performance. macOS relies so heavily on GPU performance that I can't believe they still go with integrated solutions anymore.

With respect to the Pro line i have to agree. This is especially the case with Apples initiatives in AR, ML and other GPU intensive niches.

Can't say about the butterfly keyboard, never really tried it.

Next up : new chin-less iMac 30-in?

Honestly im looking for (hoping) for a new Mini or screenless desktop machine. Id be especially interested if it was ARM based and at a rational cost (sub $500 base price). Apple sure has a lot if excuses of late but the rest of the industry is putting them to shame engineering PC's people actually want.

 

[geromi912]

I don't recall that. That sure would be nice though. That kind of battery life in Macs and iOS devices would be amazing.

We’ve been “on the verge” of a battery breakthrough for a decade. None of those is coming to consumer devices anytime soon. Lithium ion batteries were first prototyped many years before they made their way into our devices.

 

[canhaz]

I owned the Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550

Also, some games and apps simply didn't work well with the eGPU. Even in High Sierra 10.13.5. And that includes Apple's own Final Cut Pro X 10.4, which doesn't even use the performance of the eGPU AT ALL. FCPX only uses the eGPU for live rendering, but not for exporting, transcoding, or any of the really heavy media tasks... So what's the point.

I have the Sonnet Puck 570 eGPU and using it to drive my primary internal display on the 13" mbp. *all* apps get accelerated. Granted though it takes some messing around to get it working as this specific configuration is not officially supported.