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Ah, interesting. I'd never heard of that before.

Check out Intel Speedstep if you're interested in finding out about the tech side. How this is implemented/used is left to the manufacturer, so I am curious how aggressively Apple is throttling the MacBook when off the charger. Hopefully anandtech includes this, because most other review sites run Geekbench, Cinebench and call it job done, or use the rest of the review to give us their thoughts on only having one port.
 
Check out Intel Speedstep if you're interested in finding out about the tech side. How this is implemented/used is left to the manufacturer, so I am curious how aggressively Apple is throttling the MacBook when off the charger. Hopefully anandtech includes this, because most other review sites run Geekbench, Cinebench and call it job done, or use the rest of the review to give us their thoughts on only having one port.

yea can't wait for their review. It seems that today most "reviews" are about some nice photos of the product and 1 benchmark and you are set. For example most of the battery tests are kinda useless since nobody describes their test scenario and used programs so you have no idea how to interpret or compare those results. On the other hand I doubt that the normal guy wants to read a 10 pages review so they are fine with a few photos :D
 
Check out Intel Speedstep if you're interested in finding out about the tech side. How this is implemented/used is left to the manufacturer, so I am curious how aggressively Apple is throttling the MacBook when off the charger. Hopefully anandtech includes this, because most other review sites run Geekbench, Cinebench and call it job done, or use the rest of the review to give us their thoughts on only having one port.

Thanks, I'll check it out. I do like AnandTech's reviews...on the other hand, I remember how long I waited for his Haswell rMBP review.
 
Unfortunately not. Normally there is extra throttling going on when a laptop is not plugged in to increase battery life.

But that is always a configuration that can be changed by you, the user. Not an issue at all.
 
That is usually adjustable in system preferences.

I need to at least partly withdraw that response. Doing some further looking...these are not all addressable in System Prefs, some of it is in the kernel. Reading the Intel tech doc on the Core M processor it looks like the Core M is primarily designed to deal with these issues based on it's power state rather than whether it's on battery power or mains, but there could be both BIOS and operating system variables. Too much to decipher quickly without benefit of any coffee early on a Sunday morning...
 
I need to at least partly withdraw that response. Doing some further looking...these are not all addressable in System Prefs, some of it is in the kernel. Reading the Intel tech doc on the Core M processor it looks like the Core M is primarily designed to deal with these issues based on it's power state rather than whether it's on battery power or mains, but there could be both BIOS and operating system variables. Too much to decipher quickly without benefit of any coffee early on a Sunday morning...

Wow, it didn't realize it was so complicated.
 
Whether it would matter for most uses, or any specific application, is another question, though.

Hence why I would like to see realistic benchmarks (not GB) when the machine is plugged in vs not, so that it's easier to answer that question.
 
Reviews no hands on yes, think I am out. Tried a 1.1 in the local Apple store today and it`s everything we have heard; The display is fabulous the colours really pop. The keyboard is a non issue for me, the the keys have very shallow travel, however they are extremely responsive with very nice positive feedback. Trackpad works as promised, a clever development on the original. All in all it`s a great package, definitely best looking Notebook I have ever seen.

The bad, the 1.1 display model was still in 10.10.2, which is not a big deal, just an observation. Switching the display to 1440x900 (scaled) which for me is a necessity, opening multiple apps in fullscreen lag in the UI was very apparent more so than I have seen on any other Retina I also noticed that the demo units software image was sparse to say the least, only Apple applications, certainly nothing heavyweight, I had to take pause to think what to open to load the GPU. Equally was able to induce the lag repeatedly and am now not confident the MacBook will deal with my workflow without overly lagging.

The store was packed being the weekend, so I will likely go back midweek and have another look on a freshly booted machine to see if there is any difference. I have always had concern on the GPU`s capabilities due how OS X scales/renders Retina. Apple advised in store availability will be 4 weeks FWIW.

I am definitely going to get a MacBook, however maybe not the current version as Skylake is not so far away and will likely resolve much of the GPU issues.

Q-6
 
Have the reviews changed your mind?

It doesn't matter if it's not far away you will not get a revision of this product this year. I keep seeing people referring to Skylake as if it's going to be some great panacea from the sky resolving all issues.
 
FWIW, the new 1.1Ghz Macbook actually tests somewhere in between the 2013 and 2014 Macbook Air with the i5-4250U and i5-4260U processors. ARS just didn't have those test to compare it to. I'm certainly fine with the Macbook testing like the entry level Air from the last year or two. It's better than I expected.

See here: http://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks

So I can get a slightly faster XPS13 with a bigger matte screen and ports for less money? My first laptop was an IBM Thinkpad with a matte screen and I just loved it! The ease of use Apple brings to the table doesn't justify the extra money. My iphone and ipad are great, but unless these macbooks are offered for screeming deals in the refurb store I just don't see one in my future.
 
So I can get a slightly faster XPS13 with a bigger matte screen and ports for less money? My first laptop was an IBM Thinkpad with a matte screen and I just loved it! The ease of use Apple brings to the table doesn't justify the extra money. My iphone and ipad are great, but unless these macbooks are offered for screeming deals in the refurb store I just don't see one in my future.

I think you're missing the point a little bit, if you think that a bigger screen and more ports = better.
 
I think you're missing the point a little bit, if you think that a bigger screen and more ports = better.

I'm not missing any points at all. My existing desktop is an HP and I use an iphone and a ipad when away from home. Unlike many on this website, i'm not married to Apple. I look at the bigger picture. The world spun before Apple came along, and it's going to continue spinning if a consumer decides 2015 tech at 2011 performance isn't a wise $1300 investment.
 
Switching the display to 1440x900 (scaled) which for me is a necessity

What if you don't? I was already surprised that the "recommended" default resolution is 1280 x 800, which is completely not in line with a true retina 2x mode of 1152 x 720. Decimal scaling will noticeably impact performance if a non-dedicated GPU is used.

To be clear, I'm asking if anyone has tested performance at an integer doubling resolution.

I do not require 1440x900 (I have a rMBP 15" for that), and prefer to lean towards a natural 2x resolution. I'm wondering if it still lags at that scaling.
 
So I can get a slightly faster XPS13 with a bigger matte screen and ports for less money? My first laptop was an IBM Thinkpad with a matte screen and I just loved it! The ease of use Apple brings to the table doesn't justify the extra money. My iphone and ipad are great, but unless these macbooks are offered for screeming deals in the refurb store I just don't see one in my future.

OS X is what justifies the money for me. No question about it.
 
So I can get a slightly faster XPS13 with a bigger matte screen and ports for less money?

Yep. However, that XPS 13 also has a garbage plastic keyboard that bows if you do more than light tapping and an awful trackpad. The 8GB RAM and 256 SSD option is priced at $1100, not that much cheaper.
 
Yep. However, that XPS 13 also has a garbage plastic keyboard that bows if you do more than light tapping and an awful trackpad. The 8GB RAM and 256 SSD option is priced at $1100, not that much cheaper.

The tables have turned! dexterbell has begun to defend Apple of late. :)

Actually, I don't mean to make light of that.

I now think that there is nobody's review that I look forward more (of a retina MacBook) than dexterbell's. He is buying one and will probably have it soon. I very much I look forward to hearing what he has to say.
 
The tables have turned! dexterbell has begun to defend Apple of late. :)

Actually, I don't mean to make light of that.

I now think that there is nobody's review that I look forward more (of a retina MacBook) than dexterbell's. He is buying one and will probably have it soon. I very much I look forward to hearing what he has to say.

Ha! Well I have Apple everything but I am not opposed to a Windows laptop but when I finally played with the XPS, ugh. No thanks.
 
Ha! Well I have Apple everything but I am not opposed to a Windows laptop but when I finally played with the XPS, ugh. No thanks.

I've had Windows laptops all the way from 1996 to 2009. Most weren't too bad. I now prefer OS X.

I'm excited about the new rMB. I wish I didn't have to wait so long. Blah!!! Maybe I should have just ordered the basic (1.1GHz/256GB) version. They are now even a long ways out.
 
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