Maxed Out 15-Inch MacBook Pro Priced at $6,699 for 2.9GHz Chip, 32GB RAM and 4TB SSD

[scoobs69]

I said



That's fine for games, not for real work.

You realize you can do "real work" on a gaming computer, right? The MacBook Pro has a CPU for and a cheap GPU aimed at gamers. The MBP doesn't have a Xeon CPU (which is necessary for SOME professional users, but not ALL professional users), nor does the MBP come with a Quadro or Radeon Pro WX graphics card.

My PC workstation would be considered a "gaming PC", but it's crazy fast for editing photography. It's faster than Anything Apple offers right now, and it's a fraction of the cost.

And the nit-picking over a 4TB drive as the definitive spec between a 6-core PC laptop and the MacBook Pro is petty. The MacBook Pro doesn't offer the GTC 1060, much less anything remotely close to the GTX 1080. How many people are really going to pay $3,200 for a 4TB SSD drive when they pre-order MBP? I wouldn't buy a MBP with anything over the 512GB SSD. I would keep all of my work on an external SSD, and back-ups on the cloud and two local spinning drives.

Other than that, good points.

 

[deevey]

I am disappointed Apple is still at this $800 per terabyte price point on SSDs

That's the point - they don't charge a reasonable price for SSD (among other things). A 512GB is a $200 upgrade, 1TB is a $600 upgrade. For perspective, I ordered a 1TB SSD for a 2012 Macbook Pro for $200. Waste your money if you want to.

Sure you can get a "fast" 2.5 inch SSD for around $300. BUT the Apple SSD's used in their current machines are somewhere around 4-6x the speed of anything else out there.

The average person wont need or notice the speed difference, but someone who edits GB's of Video files sure will.

FYI and EXTERNAL SSD with similar (actually worse) performance is $2799 from OCW

https://www.macrumors.com/review/owc-thunderblade-v4/

The Mac SSD is probably the least overpriced upgrade.

 

[CBlakeston]

A PROFESSIONAL will want a tool of the trade that will last, but also can be tailored to evolving needs - oh - something that a Macbook is useless for - no upgradeable er, ANYTHING. No ability to increase memory, swap out graphics boards, add specialist data capture cards, in fact NOTHING. Calling something PRO doesn't make it so. Aside from anything else for serious technical computing or rendering a laptop will never be able to run flat out because of thermal limitations. They may have comparable prices but they have zero flexibility for the future.

Last time I checked I was considered a pro. I put together campaign videos for huge international brands. I do it on a ‘best’ spec 2016 touchbar MBP. Please don’t tell me what I do or do not need to do my job.

 

[FFR]

Sure you can get a "fast" 2.5 inch SSD for around $300. BUT the Apple SSD's used in their current machines are somewhere around 4-6x the speed of anything else out there.

The average person wont need or notice the speed difference, but someone who edits GB's of Video files sure will.

But but but he is a profes....I mean gamer.

 

[CBlakeston]

Apple has lost it's mind..... I can get a high end laptop for 1/2 the price that would spank that new MacBook pro..

Great. Can you link me to a windows laptop with better specs, a True Tone display and an internal 4TB SSD that’s 3200 speed. I’ll just wait here....

 

[deevey]

Great. Can you link me to a windows laptop with better specs, a True Tone display and an internal 4TB SSD that’s 3200 speed. I’ll just wait here....

But But, it'll have a touchscreen !!!!

 

[jdiamond]

That's the point - they don't charge a reasonable price for SSD (among other things). A 512GB is a $200 upgrade, 1TB is a $600 upgrade. For perspective, I ordered a 1TB SSD for a 2012 Macbook Pro for $200. Waste your money if you want to.

And of course, you can't upgrade after the fact. But yes - Apple on average makes all their profit from these "unreasonably priced" upgrades on all their devices, typically charging about double the going retail price of the flash. I'd rather spend $2,000 to get a 2015 keyboard installed.

 

[mrhick01]

If the drive uses old fashioned SATA-6000 interface, around $1,050 for a 4TB (Used to be closer to $1,500). You could do that in a Dell XPS since 2015. I've used these laptops - 500MB/second may sound slow, but IMO, you get almost all the benefits of Apple's 2GB/second drives - you can barely notice the difference. (But the difference from a spinning hard drive is extremely noticeable!)

The big choice not being offered to customers is this:
Is the difference you feel going from 500MB/s to 2,000MB/s worth $3,000 to you?

At the next Tier, if you got a Windows Laptop with NVMe drives, it would cost you about $2,000 for a 4TB drive (which admittedly I haven't seen offered yet) - that's about half what Apple charges, but again, the drive would run slower, closer to 1,000MB/sec. So again, the question here is "does the feel you get going from 1GB/s to 2 GB/s worth $2,000 to you?

Honestly, I really think Apple is mainly trying not to undercut their older models. Maybe when that inventory clears out they'll be willing to lower prices...

UPDATE: For a concrete comparison, the latest DELL XPS 15.6" has almost identical specs to the 2018 Macbook Pro: Same CPU, same 32GB DDR4, similar weight, a higher resolution screen, far more ports, etc, etc. Their model with a 1TB SSD costs $2,900. Could not find prices on their upgrades, or if they are using NVMe.

Well SATA-6000 is considerably slower. We've known for years that Apple does thin and sleek, they're not going to backslide on that to help PC enthusiasts feel better about repairability (like it or not).

A 4 TB NVMe.2 drive is going to be breathtakingly expensive. I can also tell you that Apple has always a BTO price premium on hard drives and memory. I've been using Macs for 30 years and have owned Mac computers for 28 (oh, the stories I can tell!)

Let's look at the Surface Book, similarly specced with a 1TB hard drive and the 2018 MacBook Pro. I would guess that there's not more than a $250 difference in price either way.

 

[WinterWolf90]

Not a great move at all. Apple are making Macs obsolete before officially announcing it. Take my late 2015 21.5" 4k iMac for example I cannot use an eGPU because it does not have Thunderbolt 3.

A Mac barely three years old.

what exactly is eGPU used for? I keep seeing this, but am not really sure. Is it just an external graphics card for high intensity programs?

 

[Endorphine88]

And of course, you can't upgrade after the fact. But yes - Apple on average makes all their profit from these "unreasonably priced" upgrades on all their devices, typically charging about double the going retail price of the flash. I'd rather spend $2,000 to get a 2015 keyboard installed.

Ok. Back it up there. Profit is made from sales. Apple happens to sell a lot of things. That is how they make their profit. No one is forcing anyone to upgrade so maybe measure twice and cut once before you go dropping statements like that, ok. I bought my most recent Macbook last year, knowing very well that within a year, a newer, shinier, pricier version will be out. I am by no means tripping over furniture to order a new one despite the upgraded specs and the TrueTone display (which is honestly the only thing I regret I don't have right now). There's plenty of things that comprise the bulk of Apple's revenue and upgrades is a very small part of that.

 

[4jasontv]

Great. Can you link me to a windows laptop with better specs, a True Tone display and an internal 4TB SSD that’s 3200 speed. I’ll just wait here....

Right!? And those parts better come soldered, cause buying a laptop and adding a faster drive and RAM doesn't count. You can't buy a GT83VR MSI laptop with SLI 1080's and then replace the 16GB ram, nor can you get an Asus ROG G703 with an 4.8 Ghz i9, 1080 with 1440 gsync display because that has a 8700Mb/s drive. 8700 is not 3200.

Oh, and it better have a GPU that's at slower than the discontinued 2010 GTX 570 and nothing but thunderbolt I/O!

 

[Adorso87]

I don't get people freaking out about the price.

That's ****ing 4 TB of ****ing 3.2 Gbit/s flash storage. What do you expect?
Also 32 GB of 2400 MHz DDR4 and Intel probably charges quite a bit for that "i9" moniker.

This is why:

ROG G703GI Desktop Replacement Gaming Laptop, Unlocked Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, Overclocked GTX 1080 8GB, 17.3” 144Hz 3ms G-SYNC Display, 1.5TB PCIe SSD + 2TB FireCuda, 64GB DDR4. All for the price of $5,000 on amazon today. If you don't know anything about graphics that 1080 costs between $500 and $650 alone and dwarfs the Radeon card apple is offering. Apple is handing you a new processor that is under cooled and most likely will never turbo due to inadequate cooling as well as graphics tech from 2017. Apple is just milking the public with limited innovation and crap releases since the trashcan.

 

[lec0rsaire]

My PC workstation would be considered a "gaming PC", but it's crazy fast for editing photography. It's faster than Anything Apple offers right now, and it's a fraction of the cost.

A premium pre-built machine like this will always be more expensive. Can you take that PC with you wherever you go? Notebook hardware is more expensive the desktop hardware even more so when it is custom designed with all of these proprietary chips.

Desktop parts crush their mobile counterparts. While efficiency has increased dramatically, performance requires power and that power consumes battery life like a Bronco guzzles gas.

 

[4jasontv]

No one is forcing anyone to upgrade

Obviously. Why force them to upgrade when it's more profitable to force people to replace.

 

[Adorso87]

How much did you pay for your 4TB nVME SSD, 32GB DDR4, i9 4.8GHz 6 core laptop with 4 thunderbolt ports?

Is there even a laptop that powerful on Windows?

Thanks for insulting us.

Yes here is one for ya:

ROG G703GI Desktop Replacement Gaming Laptop, Unlocked Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, Overclocked GTX 1080 8GB, 17.3” 144Hz 3ms G-SYNC Display, 1.5TB PCIe SSD + 2TB FireCuda, 64GB DDR4. And it's only $4,999.00. .

 

[lec0rsaire]

This is why:

ROG G703GI Desktop Replacement Gaming Laptop, Unlocked Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, Overclocked GTX 1080 8GB, 17.3” 144Hz 3ms G-SYNC Display, 1.5TB PCIe SSD + 2TB FireCuda, 64GB DDR4. All for the price of $5,000 on amazon today. If you don't know anything about graphics that 1080 costs between $500 and $650 alone and dwarfs the Radeon card apple is offering. Apple is handing you a new processor that is under cooled and most likely will never turbo due to inadequate cooling as well as graphics tech from 2017. Apple is just milking the public with limited innovation and crap releases since the trashcan.

Yeah, what is the battery life like on this thing? There are many very powerful desktop replacements but they’re good for nothing! If they won’t be used on battery then you might as well build a damn desktop and save the money! Who the hell is going to be carrying around a heavy 17” machine in 2018? You can build a full blown Threadripper machine with even less money.
A 12 yr old gamer will find something like this appealing. A mature adult would never want to be seen with this thing!

From Asus: 2 HOURS! That means about an hour and 20-30 minutes tops! F outta here!

 

[4jasontv]

This is why:

ROG G703GI Desktop Replacement Gaming Laptop, Unlocked Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, Overclocked GTX 1080 8GB, 17.3” 144Hz 3ms G-SYNC Display, 1.5TB PCIe SSD + 2TB FireCuda, 64GB DDR4. All for the price of $5,000 on amazon today. If you don't know anything about graphics that 1080 costs between $500 and $650 alone and dwarfs the Radeon card apple is offering. Apple is handing you a new processor that is under cooled and most likely will never turbo due to inadequate cooling as well as graphics tech from 2017. Apple is just milking the public with limited innovation and crap releases since the trashcan.

I beat you... neener.

Anyway, we are being unfair. You could get the one with two 256 GB m.2 drives and simply replace them with $800 2 TB 970 EVO's (which are 3500 MB/s) and still have room for a third one.

 

[Think creative]

Yes here is one for ya:

ROG G703GI Desktop Replacement Gaming Laptop, Unlocked Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, Overclocked GTX 1080 8GB, 17.3” 144Hz 3ms G-SYNC Display, 1.5TB PCIe SSD + 2TB FireCuda, 64GB DDR4. And it's only $4,999.00. .

But it’s not going to edit faster with final cut? Can you really not see different people have different needs for computers.

 

[lec0rsaire]

Apple is providing a machine that is actually practical and usable. Why did I buy MacBook Pros after thinking like you do now? Because THEY LAST ALL DAY LONG!

what exactly is eGPU used for? I keep seeing this, but am not really sure. Is it just an external graphics card for high intensity programs?

Yes. Full sized desktop GPU in an enclosure. The same concept as an external drive. Good for high resolution video editing and 3D rendering. Most people are really interested in playing games though when they could just buy a damn PlayStation for a couple hundred bucks.

 

[4jasontv]

Yeah, what is the battery life like on this thing? There are many very powerful desktop replacements but they’re good for nothing! If they won’t be used on battery then you might as well build a damn desktop and save the money! Who the hell is going to be carrying around a heavy 17” machine in 2018? You can build a full blown Threadripper machine with even less money.
A 12 yr old gamer will find something like this appealing. A mature adult would never want to be seen with this thing!

Can I do this one?

Yeah, what is the battery life like on this thing?

Two hours.

There are many very powerful desktop replacements but they’re good for nothing!

Except for making desktops portable...right?

If they won’t be used on battery then you might as well build a damn desktop and save the money!

Thank goodness it has a battery!

Who the hell is going to be carrying around a heavy 17” machine in 2018?

Do you even lift bro? Oh, wait, Apple doesn't have 17" option do they? Therefore, no one needs that much screen.

You can build a full blown Threadripper machine with even less money.

No, but you could put other crappy AMD products in it like they did with the 2018 MacBook Pros.

A 12 yr old gamer will find something like this appealing.

Maybe. When do kids start to find super-cars, mansions, and yachts appealing?

A mature adult would never want to be seen with this thing!

A mature adult doesn't feel threatened by the products they use.

 

[TimmeyCook]

Yes here is one for ya:

ROG G703GI Desktop Replacement Gaming Laptop, Unlocked Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, Overclocked GTX 1080 8GB, 17.3” 144Hz 3ms G-SYNC Display, 1.5TB PCIe SSD + 2TB FireCuda, 64GB DDR4. And it's only $4,999.00. .

So a worse computer is cheaper?

Thank you!

A MBP with a smaller SSD, also costs way less than $6K.

Two hours.

LOOOOL!

 

[Adorso87]

Yeah, what is the battery life like on this thing? There are many very powerful desktop replacements but they’re good for nothing! If they won’t be used on battery then you might as well build a damn desktop and save the money! Who the hell is going to be carrying around a heavy 17” machine in 2018? You can build a full blown Threadripper machine with even less money.
A 12 yr old gamer will find something like this appealing. A mature adult would never want to be seen with this thing!

From Asus: 2 HOURS! That means about an hour and 20-30 minutes tops! F outta here!

Interesting. How about you do what apple does and shut down the GTX 1080 so your machine runs on the Intel UHD 630 and extends your battery life? As for threadripper that is an awesome idea but will likely melt your lap considering it's server/workstation part and has no reason to be inside a laptop. I grabbed the most expensive mobile i9 configuration I could find and gave you the comparison so you would see what $5,000 bucks gets you in an innovative setting.

Aside from mobility you lose this argument time and time again. Apple is dumping old tech into its release and just widening the gap for people like me who need to go between both OS and Windows and can no longer do so easily. I could go on but it's not your fault apple is headed in this direction lol.

 

[Regime2008]

Yes here is one for ya:

ROG G703GI Desktop Replacement Gaming Laptop, Unlocked Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, Overclocked GTX 1080 8GB, 17.3” 144Hz 3ms G-SYNC Display, 1.5TB PCIe SSD + 2TB FireCuda, 64GB DDR4. And it's only $4,999.00. .

I beat you... neener.

Anyway, we are being unfair. You could get the one with two 256 GB m.2 drives and simply replace them with $800 2 TB 970 EVO's (which are 3500 MB/s) and still have room for a third one.

Sadly, most posters here will only nit-pick everything.

First, someone says that there are no other computers with specs like this running windows.

A smart individual shows a computer with better specs.

Apple defender: Well it doesn't have "_____"! What about battery life?! What about blah, blah, blah?!


It seems its impossible to please some folks, and no matter what computers you post which have superior specs, they will always have something to complain about. I guess it all boils down to preference. Some people don't mind having to replace keyboards, or having thermal throttling. While some people don't mind being able to upgrade their own device, and have flexibility in different options of hardware.

 

[Adorso87]

So a worse computer is cheaper?

Thank you!

A MBP with a smaller SSD, also costs way less than $6K.


LOOOOL!

Are you telling me the radeon card in that MBP is better than a GTX 1080? You could probably do more work in 2 hours on this thing than the radeon does in 24. As for the drive put 2 - 2TB m.2 sticks and raid them it will be 4TBs and almost twice the speed!!! And I'll tell you the same thing I said the the last guy about battery life. If you need it turn off the GTX 1080, Apple does it why is it any different here?

 

[lec0rsaire]

Can I do this one?


Two hours.


Except for making desktops portable...right?


Thank goodness it has a battery!


Do you even lift bro? Oh, wait, Apple doesn't have 17" option do they? Therefore, no one needs that much screen.


No, but you could put other crappy AMD products in it like they did with the 2018 MacBook Pros.


Maybe. When do kids start to find super-cars, mansions, and yachts appealing?


A mature adult doesn't feel threatened by the products they use.

You a tough guy, bro? Did you feel my comments make you feel insecure?
[doublepost=1531511448][/doublepost]

Interesting. How about you do what apple does and shut down the GTX 1080 so your machine runs on the Intel UHD 630 and extends your battery life? As for threadripper that is an awesome idea but will likely melt your lap considering it's server/workstation part and has no reason to be inside a laptop. I grabbed the most expensive mobile i9 configuration I could find and gave you the comparison so you would see what $5,000 bucks gets you in an innovative setting.

Aside from mobility you lose this argument time and time again. Apple is dumping old tech into its release and just widening the gap for people like me who need to go between both OS and Windows and can no longer do so easily. I could go on but it's not your fault apple is headed in this direction lol.

It doesn’t matter if the dGPU is working hard or not in that thing. The battery life will still be under 2 hours. They might’ve hit 2 hours repeating a video a local video or playing audio. Like I told the other guy, if it can’t be used without a socket, it is good for nothing. At home people can use a full desktop.