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Should I return the 10-core?

H

highlypaid

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 24, 2020
20
8
Hey all,

Received my 10-core i9 with 5700XT GPU, 64gb user installed RAM, about a week ago.

It's a lovely machine, but I'm wondering if the community thinks that the 8-core might have roughly as good performance while having lower thermals, or if you think the thermals might be the same?

When playing Fortnite on Epic 3d resolution and some other settings a bit low, I stay at 60 FPS and the temps reach on average around 80-84 deg celsius. I recently spotted them dipping to high 70s sustained. Fans are not too loud. I'm not using this Mac primarily to game, but I do like to take some time off of work and school once in a while for a few hours per week to do some light gaming. I use it mainly for software development, user interface design and I also want to use it to learn Blender.

I've financed it with the Apple Card which is awesome, comes out to about $300 per month total. I accidentally ordered 16gb RAM and tried to change it but Apple support said it was too late to change my order about a day after I placed it. I didn't cancel so I'm essentially paying $15/month for the extra RAM that I'm not even using, and another $30 per month for the 10-core CPU.

Should I go through the hassle of returning this and waiting three weeks to get the 8-core? I have a backup 15 inch 2017 MacBook Pro which can get my work done in the meantime but it has the popping noise problem of the thermally-expanded body, alongside the broken butterfly keyboard (which I use a magic keyboard for).

Thank you for your feedback,

Highlypaid
 
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I guess it’s really up to you in the end. If your not taking advantage of the extra cores, then I would easily return it. Not only will you save $400 on the cpu upgrade but you can also ditch the ram upgrade as well. This years i7 is 20% foster than last years i9. The i7 is literally amazing and under no circumstances should people be buying the 10 core unless you 100% will take full advantage of the extra core count and under full sustained loads. The temps between them are both pretty identical so you won’t see any thermal benefit from going down to the i7.
 
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BuCkDoG said:
I guess it’s really up to you in the end. If your not taking advantage of the extra cores, then I would easily return it. Not only will you save $400 on the cpu upgrade but you can also ditch the ram upgrade as well. This years i7 is 20% foster than last years i9. The i7 is literally amazing and under no circumstances should people be buying the 10 core unless you 100% will take full advantage of the extra core count and under full sustained loads. The temps between them are both pretty identical so you won’t see any thermal benefit from going down to the i7.
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Thanks! The main issue is just the hassle of returning it but I feel like from what everyone is saying, you get more value from the i7. I was kind of disappointed that no thermal redesign was made for the i9. I will be running lots of heavy processes like virtual machines, Blender, Adobe Creative.
 
oneafour said:
For you yes. You dont provide any real reason to have a 10 core and it sounds like you're hurting to pay for it. Financing a toy like this is irresponsible imo.
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Thanks for the feedback! Not really hurting to pay for it but also trying to optimize my finances. I don’t finance anything else and I’m using this for work so I figure it’s a worthy thing to invest in. Also have been needing a new machine for a while, but I want to get the best value. Plan on upgrading to Apple Silicon when they drop so max life span of this cpu Im planning is about 1 year.
 
I would definitely return it. I'm confused why others advice against it.
Not only that you've ordered machine that you don't really need but you also paid more than needed.
Return it, get the 8core (which is better in a lot of tasks - there is a video from max about that if you want to see) and solve the ram issue.

How can anyone advice against it when you will end up with more money in your pocket is beyond me.

You have one more week or so and I would strongly advice that you return it. The extra pocket you can put in Apple stock (or whatever) and in few years most likely have more money available. (not to mention dividents you get)
Sure, it might be only 1 (or 2 if you add little more) stocks but it doesn't hurt to start.
 
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Things change. As much as we all want the AS to be amazing I think the 27" (or so) will probably be a bit later and I think it makes sense to wait for A15 or even better A16 (which is apparently 2022 late).

So, maybe the first version of AS won't be enough to justify the resale of this so why not have more money in your pocket now and wait it out to see when you need/want to change it.



highlypaid said:
Thanks for the feedback! Not really hurting to pay for it but also trying to optimize my finances. I don’t finance anything else and I’m using this for work so I figure it’s a worthy thing to invest in. Also have been needing a new machine for a while, but I want to get the best value. Plan on upgrading to Apple Silicon when they drop so max life span of this cpu Im planning is about 1 year.
Click to expand...
 
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I understand the impatience - waiting sucks! But I would return it. You could order the new one, keep using the current one for a bit and then return it so you’re not without your kickass computer too long.

But I would definitely return it if only because of the RAM snafu.
 
highlypaid said:
Hey all,

Received my 10-core i9 with 5700XT GPU, 64gb user installed RAM, about a week ago.

It's a lovely machine, but I'm wondering if the community thinks that the 8-core might have roughly as good performance while having lower thermals, or if you think the thermals might be the same?

When playing Fortnite on Epic 3d resolution and some other settings a bit low, I stay at 60 FPS and the temps reach on average around 80-84 deg celsius. I recently spotted them dipping to high 70s sustained. Fans are not too loud. I'm not using this Mac primarily to game, but I do like to take some time off of work and school once in a while for a few hours per week to do some light gaming. I use it mainly for software development, user interface design and I also want to use it to learn Blender.

I've financed it with the Apple Card which is awesome, comes out to about $300 per month total. I accidentally ordered 16gb RAM and tried to change it but Apple support said it was too late to change my order about a day after I placed it. I didn't cancel so I'm essentially paying $15/month for the extra RAM that I'm not even using, and another $30 per month for the 10-core CPU.

Should I go through the hassle of returning this and waiting three weeks to get the 8-core? I have a backup 15 inch 2017 MacBook Pro which can get my work done in the meantime but it has the popping noise problem of the thermally-expanded body, alongside the broken butterfly keyboard (which I use a magic keyboard for).

Thank you for your feedback,

Highlypaid
Click to expand...
highlypaid said:
Thanks for the feedback! Not really hurting to pay for it but also trying to optimize my finances. I don’t finance anything else and I’m using this for work so I figure it’s a worthy thing to invest in. Also have been needing a new machine for a while, but I want to get the best value. Plan on upgrading to Apple Silicon when they drop so max life span of this cpu Im planning is about 1 year.
Click to expand...


It sounds like you have multiple workflows that you'll be using the machine for wherein the 10th Gen 10-Core Core i9 would be useful. If Fortnite was your only really heavy use of this machine, I'd say that you could scale down to the 6-core Core i5 and be fine. That said, while doing the buy-then-sell-then-buy-again-when-the-new-models-come-out song on an iPad or a MacBook Pro is totally viable and only a minor pain in the a$$, doing it for a desktop, especially when you're having to pay it off over time seems like it's not. If you're only planning on keeping this for a year and/or to bide your time until the Apple Silicon successor to the 2020 27" iMac comes out, then I'd have either bought a lower-end iMac (maybe even a fully maxed out 21.5" iMac) or the 16" MacBook Pro instead as what you bought sort of seems like overkill if you're only needing to get by for another year.

Plus even with Macs holding their resale value well, yes, a more expensive Mac will yield more money than a less expensive Mac, but you'll have to put proportionately more money down.

Suffice it to say, I might just keep what you have and focus on selling the MacBook Pro you just upgraded from (and using that to finance whatever Apple Silicon 13" MacBook Pro replacement that is coming out later this year.
 
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i bought my imac 3 days before the new one was announced, i right away called apple and it was soooooooo easy to return it. As long as it is in thier return period window, no questions asked, and they pay for the shippping
 
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BobbyJet said:
i bought my imac 3 days before the new one was announced, i right away called apple and it was soooooooo easy to return it. As long as it is in thier return period window, no questions asked, and they pay for the shippping
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think printing a return label and scheduling a pickup from home is usually less of a hassle than bringing it to a store.
 
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highlypaid said:
Thanks for the feedback! Not really hurting to pay for it but also trying to optimize my finances. I don’t finance anything else and I’m using this for work so I figure it’s a worthy thing to invest in. Also have been needing a new machine for a while, but I want to get the best value. Plan on upgrading to Apple Silicon when they drop so max life span of this cpu Im planning is about 1 year.
Click to expand...

Doesn’t blender use cycles which is GPU rendering?
The only time you are probably going to use the CPU to capacity is CPU rendering. I do a lot of modelling and rendering and never ever touch the limits of either CPU or GPU except in rendering tasks [gaming would be similar I imagine].

So how much are you using blender for and how sophisticated?

If you intend to move to AS in a year, I wouldnt bother with the top specs for now, and return it.
Get the I7, save the cash and then move to AS next year.
Returns are super easy btw - no ‘hassle’
 
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macpro2000 said:
Sorry man, although it really doesn't take that long. I just ordered 5 BTO and they are all shipped and due to arrive within 10 days of ordering.
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Yeah true, well I have to wait for the money to go back on my Apple Card first, so maybe 5-8 day wait before I purchase again.
 
I mean... just be happy with your 10 core dude!!! I know I will be this Friday when mine arrives. 😀

Here's a more recent video that talks about thermals... Seems to be no worries from this guy!

 
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You don't need the 10 core. Honestly man, very very few people are actually going to have it pay for itself. That 400 extra dollars is a lot of money, heck that's a iPhone SE.

Buy the 8 core. If it arrives before the return window closes on the 10 core then who cares, you managed just fine without it for a while, you'll be fine with a few gap days.
 
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