MacBook Pro CPU comparison

[Ma2k5]

According to https://browser.primatelabs.com/opencl-benchmarks

HD Graphics 530: 17,300
Radeon Pro 450: 41,400
Radeon Pro 455: 46,200
Radeon Pro 460: 56,800

That graph has the 540 being more powerful than the 550.

 

[xoration]

I'm in the exact situation as you. iOS development and most of the time connected to external monitors.

Initially, I ordered the 15" but after seeing how much bigger it is, I ordered a 13". Now, I have to decide which order I will cancel.

My only fear with the 13" is that it won't be powerful enough. I currently use a Mac mini quad cores i7 so the 13" will be a downgrade for me (7,000 versus 10,000 in benchmark). Regarding the dGPU, I really don't care. My current mini iGPU only score 6,000 so any of the MBP GPU will be a huge upgrade.

What are you using now?

Tbh I personally wouldn't be overly concerned about the cpu performance. I think it will be fine. My biggest concerns are size and do I need the dedicated gpu. i've also been looking into battery life for whatever reason some only get 6 hours and thats pretty poor but other reviewers got 13hrs I think it was arstechnica. I don't know whats going on there.

 

[Yoshimura]

Tbh I personally wouldn't be overly concerned about the cpu performance. I think it will be fine. My biggest concerns are size and do I need the dedicated gpu. i've also been looking into battery life for whatever reason some only get 6 hours and thats pretty poor but other reviewers got 13hrs I think it was arstechnica. I don't know whats going on there.

I should receive the base 13" (16GB, 512GB) in about a week. Can't wait!

 

[xoration]

I should receive the base 13" (16GB, 512GB) in about a week. Can't wait!

Are you going for the 13" now?

 

[Yoshimura]

Are you going for the 13" now?

Yes. My only concern was the CPU performance. But like you said, I should be fine.

And the 15" is definitely to big for my use cases.

 

[xoration]

You are getting the non touchbar model right?

 

[Yoshimura]

You are getting the non touchbar model right?

Correct.

I will mostly use it in clamshell mode. So no real needs for the TB. And the longer battery life of the non-TB will be appreciated.

Regarding power dissipation (15W versus 28W), it seems that the 15W won't throttle down unless you keep both the CPU and GPU at 100%.

 

[snakes-]

Correct.


Regarding power dissipation (15W versus 28W), it seems that the 15W won't throttle down unless you keep both the CPU and GPU at 100%.

thats true and the reason why i have the i5/15W its very silence and i have never the feeling its overheatet.
stable running with continuous output

 

[Skika]

My method for making a CPU decision for Macbooks:

Work out if you want/need 2 cores or 4. Typically this means you either go 13" or get forced into a 15" if you need 4 cores.

Once you've done that, pick the base spec CPU that comes with the machine that has the storage and RAM options you require. That CPU will be fine.

It is typically 110% NOT WORTH upgrading the spec of CPU on a Macbook, outside of getting the spec Apple ship in the machine you pick based on the above choice.

The 13" machine's i7s are an i5 with a little more cache, and basically almost the exact same speed for 99% of workloads.

The one exception is in the 15" Macbook Pros. If you want a 15" machine, and KNOW you are doing a lot of heavily CPU bound work (not games, like heavy video work) go for an i7 to get 8 threads instead of 4.

Clock speeds are pretty irrelevant. They all boost up pretty fast - within 10% of one another.

The big, big choice is 13" vs 15" machine, and if you go 15", i5 vs. i7.

Typically, any money you think you might want to spend on a CPU upgrade it much better spent on more storage or more RAM. If you've got an unlimited budget by all means, go nuts. Just be aware that those very expensive custom BTO machines with the highest spec CPU are only perhaps 5% faster than the CPU that was replaced (and it is money you're far better off putting in the bank to buy a new model a year sooner). Except for going from i5 to i7 in the 15". That is a significant upgrade, IF you need it.


2c.

All of 15" inch models have an i7, there is nothing to choose here.

 

[xoration]

Ok. I now decided to get the 13" Model with the touchbar. I have looked at a view more reviews which came out lately and I think battery life will not be an issue tbh. Most of those tests now get really good battery life.

I figure it might be the same as with the apple watch 2. When I received my apple watch the first few days, actually the first 1-2weeks, I had really poor battery life. I compared it to a friend of mine who had it longer and he was at 75% or something and mine was at 30-40%. I then called apple about it and they told me the battery seems fine and I should just wait a few days and keep comparing and if the issue persists they will take another look and possibly fix it. Well long story short after a few days battery life is now the same as my friend. So my guess would be maybe for the macbook it is the same that the battery will need a few cycles.

And that is what I am seeing in the latest reports were the touchbar model gets 10+ hrs.

The quietness (fan) over the 15" + size made me get the 13". So we will see if it was the right choice.

 

[throAU]

But is there any battery difference between any of these CPU's? I'd assume the lower the clock speed, the greater the efficiency?

All CPUs these days will sleep if idle. If it's not idle it will get stuff done as quick as possible then sleep.

A slower CPU will take longer to do stuff and use similar battery by running longer and slower (staying awake longer) because of that.

Sure, you'll use less power on a dual core vs. a quad, or on a 5 watt CPU vs a 25 watt, but if you're comparing the same class of CPUs, there's little difference. Trying to pick the difference between say, a 2.7 GHz i5 and a 2.9 - you'll never notice it in the real world.