10TH GEN i7/32GB/1TB - SILVER
Received on May 22.
I’m a returner to Mac - my last MBP was a 2013 15” rMBP that I sold in 2017 so I’m returning to Mac after some time away. Prior to this my main machine has been a 15” Asus 2-in-1 i7/16GB/2TB + 512SSD/NVIDIA GTX 950M with 4K resolution - great Windows laptop - fast and quiet mostly.
Consultant by day with a couple of separate businesses that I am growing. Not a developer; no plans for gaming on this machine. This MBP is for my personal/business use. My heaviest workflow will later involve some photo/video editing, but nothing intense at this time. I use Office extensively so a VM for Windows is a must. I’m in webinars and trainings with WFH, so I also do a lot of research and will have multiple tabs open in multiple browsers.
GENERAL SETUP (AT DESK)
Asus 27” PB278Q 2560x1440 2K@60Hz (connected via USB-C to HDMI cable)
MBP - Lid Open (95% of the time) - on a stand
Logitech MX Keys Keyboard and MX Master 3 Mouse
Bose Resolve Speaker via BT
Windows 10 in Parallels 15 (8GB allocated)
Office 365 (have subscription from college)
Office 2019 (same as above) + Visio
WebEx, GoTo Meeting, Teams, BlueJeans, Zoom
Brave - 20-30 tabs (Mac OS)
Firefox - 10 tabs (Windows)
Cloud apps - Quicken, PM tools, etc for varying needs
Other apps as deemed useful
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GENERAL THOUGHTS
- Laptop build quality is 10/10 - not a single flaw. No creaks. I skinned mine because the old cases are not going to fit this MBP due to the slight increase to accommodate the new keyboard. See pics.
- I love this keyboard. I actually didn’t hate my brief time with the butterfly keyboard, but I questioned its longevity with the keys practically pressed into the chassis to start. This Magic Keyboard is really nice to type on.
- Does the trackpad really have to be so big?
- Next to the 16” speakers, the speakers on this MBP are the best I have heard yet. I’m regularly listening to the speakers as I sit on the sofa to type.
- No Bluetooth or Wifi issues
- Perfect size for actual laptop use - I can cross my legs and balance the laptop perfectly as I type.
- This thing is quiet - like really quiet.
- No coil whine; no snaps/crackles/pops from speakers
- Battery life doesn’t seem promising - looks like 5 hours when running the external monitor. I will test this weekend for standalone life, but if IIRC, it wasn’t much longer.
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TEMPS & FAN NOISE
- For most usage, I am between 43-61C.
- Fan noise has been minimal: I heard the fans 1) on the initial power-up, 2) when I installed Parallels/Windows 10 and updated, 3) running benchmark tests, 4) when I connected my iPP via Sidecar as a 3rd screen and then ran a YT video from the 30+ tab Brave session that I moved over. Case 4 was the loudest, but not airport runway loud - as soon as I moved the Brave session back to the MBP, all calmed down.
- Otherwise, this thing is quiet - like really, really quiet.
- How quiet? Yesterday, I ran my external monitor, an Asus 2K with Parallels with Excel and OneNote in 365 on Firefox on that screen. On the MBP screen, I had Brave with 20+ tabs open including a 2-hour on-demand webinar class playing. Notes and Pages were open plus Activity Monitor and Intel Power Gadget. The Asus is connected via USB-C to HDMI. All quiet. Temps in the 45-55 degree range. I was expecting noise and heat. It came for less than a minute as I was in the middle of updating Windows 10. Got up to 85-95, fans came on at a soft moderate level, then kicked off.
- Today I have been on all day with the same session and again quiet. My work 14” Lenovo ThinkPad whirls like it's ready for international takeoff.
DISPLAY
- Pixel perfect. Very sharp - crisper then on the 2019 refurb I had briefly. Guess I got a better panel this time around.
- No ghosting issues on the display or on the external
- No heat issues/fan noise/power spikes with the Asus monitor
- Between this display and the iPP, my eyes are spoiled. I’m probably going to invest in a 4K monitor now because I can really tell the difference between the MBP display and the Asus. I didn’t see such a difference with the Asus laptop.
BENCHMARKS
- Geekbench - 1378 & 4867. Highest on the first day. After that, scores have been consistently in the 1360 and 4776 range.
- Metal - 10439
- Blackmagic Speed Test - 2753.3 W/2238.1 R, although my Reads have been as high as 2380.
- Didn’t bother with Cinebench - I can check, but I generally don’t care so much about benchmarks unless I think I have a problem. Only then do I run speed tests and such.
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QUIRKS
- I’m currently using a USB-C to HDMI cable to connect the Asus monitor. The monitor has built-in speakers, so when I connect, my sound automatically goes to those (- except for today??) I can chose the MBP speakers in System Preferences, but when I disconnect from the external monitor, I notice that my sound falls to the right speaker only. thought my left speaker was blown, but when I restarted, my sound was back in both speakers just fine.
- I’m waiting for a USB-C to DisplayPort cable to arrive. My picture on the Asus is ever so slightly fuzzy, especially in Windows. Going to search to see if there are some tweaks I can make. My gut is telling me I may need to update to a 4K monitor and of course I let the Memorial Day sales pass by.
Although limited usage, hope this helps someone. Also, I'm not sure why my thumbnails inserted into the post, but since I couldn't get them out and keep as attachments, I decided to make it all a little more coherent.
