Tests Confirm Apple's Throttling Fix Improves Performance for 2018 MacBook Pro Models [Updated]

[0095059]

Dont most games give you the option for framerate caps via vsync? I dont play a terrible number of games myself. Unsure if the power benefits scale with this tyoe of vsync.
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Terrible response times. Disappointing it took a class action threat to do something about it.

During Discovery well find out how big of an issue it actually is I guess.

You are correct, those options are available with Windows PC / DirectX. The move into mobile, whether it's Windows, Android, or iOS, sacrifices the driver capabilities of your graphics card in favor of a consistent OS performance. Also, probably because the GPU is integrated into the logic board.

I don't know a lot about GPUs or writing games, but the features available for DirectX are not present on macOS unless the developer explicitly writes code to expose those features.

 

[ThatGuyInLa]

A BMW really isn't $25,000 more car than a Honda. It's just a better conceived version of the same thing.

Don't like the price for what you get from a MBP? Go buy your Honda. Maybe a Kia? Kia's have better warranties than either.

People complaining about Apple's prices shouldn't be here. They'd be happier someplace else.

 

[0095059]

For what its worth, what I'm suggesting is not a new concept. Nvidia has been providing apps for their Graphics Cards for years that allow you to limit the GPU.

I'm just suggesting bringing a concept that was exclusive to desktop PCs to the mobile environment (MacBooks, iOS).

If I remember correctly, the Nvidia interface could force your game to run in a lower resolution, like 640x480.

 

[peter2]

The main problem with ALL current Apple computers is that you actually cannot run them at 100% loads without throttling/excessive heat and/or excessive fan noise. Just try to run some scientific computation and see for yourselves. The current MB Pro will be perhaps OK after the transition to 8nm or 6nm manufacturing process... which is as usual with Apple: they always push the non-sensical thin mantra too early -- including for iMacs, where truly no one gives a damn whether the screen is 1 or 10 cm thick. The last Mac that runs at full load and you don't even notice is the cheese grater Mac Pro.

Anyway, I really wonder how a manufacturer can test a computer and not find out about the throttling "bug". Does Apple testing consist of Facebook & Instagram? ;-)

 

[0095059]

Riptide GP 2 for iOS exposes some graphical capabilities to give you a better experience:

Most games do not offer this option.

 

[dazzer21-2]

"Geekbench Labs founder John Poole tested the 2018 Core i9 MacBook Pro after the patch and found that it was faster with a more stable processor frequency. It was slightly slower than the 2018 Core i7 MacBook Pro."

I wouldn't remotely, in ANY capacity after investing in the new i9 machine, want to hear the words "It was slightly slower than the 2018 Core i7 MacBook Pro"

 

[peter2]

This still won't shut the Apple haters up.

I think most people complaining about Macs are actually those who love(d) them for a very long time and are frustrated how Apple is ruining something that used to be close to perfection (in terms of usability for real work). Your Apple "haters" hate Apple's decision to sacrifice usability for thinness. The fact that you can run a notebook at 50% instead of 30% load without listening to a helicopter starting up / watching your lap burn makes almost no difference. (Of course, I am exaggerating a bit, but not too much :-( ).

 

[0095059]

A BMW really isn't $25,000 more car than a Honda. It's just a better conceived version of the same thing.

Don't like the price for what you get from a MBP? Go buy your Honda. Maybe a Kia? Kia's have better warranties than either.

People complaining about Apple's prices shouldn't be here. They'd be happier someplace else.

Here's a question for you:

If you're on a plane without outlets, would you rather have the MacBook Pro with Retina and 2K resolutions to watch 1 HD video (2 hours) utilizing the CPU 100%, or a cheap windows laptop in SD to watch 4 videos (8 hours)?

For me, I'd prefer 8 hours of low resolution content, than 2 hours of high resolution content and 6 hours of nothing.

So, I think in the case of CPU throttling, each situation is unique to what you expect from your machine.

In your example, a BMW isn't much more luxurious than driving a Kia to a grocery store that is 5 minutes away. The luxury of a BMW only becomes apparent when you commute often for long distances.

 

[MrGimper]

I find all the posts stating that people should apologise to Apple, and calling everyone "haters" rather comical.

Kudos for releasing a fix so quickly.... but they DID release a gimped product. Lucky everyone in user land is so hyped to test Apple products, or they may have gotten away with it....

 

[fokmik]

Here's a question for you:

If you're on a plane without outlets, would you rather have the MacBook Pro with Retina and 2K resolutions to watch 1 HD video (2 hours) utilizing the CPU 100%, or a cheap windows laptop in SD to watch 4 videos (8 hours)?

For me, I'd prefer 8 hours of low resolution content, than 2 hours of high resolution content and 6 hours of nothing.

So, I think in the case of CPU throttling, each situation is unique to what you expect from your machine.

In your example, a BMW isn't much more luxurious than driving a Kia to a grocery store that is 5 minutes away. The luxury of a BMW only becomes apparent when you commute often for long distances.

i get over 9 hours watching videos..what the hell man? you have a bad unit or battery if this is your case

 

[Piggie]

Why would Apple test it with unoptomised apps?

If you built a car, would you only ever test it on super smooth roads before putting it on sale to the general public?

Any anyway, you are only speaking of low power demanding apps.
If you do high power stuff, as I do, 3D rendering, it will suck every ounce of power from the system it can get.
That's not unoptimized, it just needs every single bit of power it can draw to do it's job.

 

[0095059]

i get over 9 hours watching videos..what the hell man? you have a bad unit or battery if this is your case

Sorry, it was a hypothetical question.

Apple has done a great job with video playback in regard to battery life on all of their OS.

Perhaps the example is better suited to gaming.

I'm not aware of any Apple product than can sustain 8 hours of high-CPU activity like gaming using the battery.

While I thoroughly enjoy Retina and the 120fps of my iPad Pro, I wouldn't mind a lesser experience when I don't have the option to charge my battery.

My immediate thought is plane flights. I wind up bringing an external battery for charging.

But maybe a better situation is waiting for a delayed train. You didn't anticipate the delay, so you only have your device.

There isn't a great option for reducing battery consumption.

A "game mode" would be designed for that situation.

 

[newyorksole]

A BMW really isn't $25,000 more car than a Honda. It's just a better conceived version of the same thing.

Don't like the price for what you get from a MBP? Go buy your Honda. Maybe a Kia? Kia's have better warranties than either.

People complaining about Apple's prices shouldn't be here. They'd be happier someplace else.

Yeah but people love to complain about Apple. It’s a very unique predicament that they’re in.

They’ve changed a lot (some for the better and some for the worse) and people have loved Apple/Steve for so long and are so deep into the ecosystem that it’s hard to switch.

I do think some people complain a little TOO much, but some of the criticism is justified. Also, there are wayyy more car options than laptop options.

 

[Piggie]

Because one cannot possibly test out every possible usage of a product. Apple is already criticized for lack of frequent updates, so you can’t have both.

What they can't run a tiny handful of popular well known benchmark/stress tests that they KNOW 100% users/reviewers will run before they launch the product.

I'm sure you would, and I'm sure I would.

Are Apple that incompetent ?

 

[makr]

That's great then

 

[newyorksole]

What they can't run a tiny handful of popular well known benchmark/stress tests that they KNOW 100% users/reviewers will run before they launch the product.

I'm sure you would, and I'm sure I would.

Are Apple that incompetent ?

To be honest I would kill to know what goes on behind the scenes at Apple. All of their resources and brilliant engineers, someone MUST’VE seen this whole thing becoming a future issue.

Like you said, all of the testing they do and they didn’t catch this? It’s kind of wild. I really wonder what the discussions looked like behind the scenes and if anyone was blamed.

 

[clangers23]

Yeah but people love to complain about Apple. It’s a very unique predicament that they’re in.

They’ve changed a lot (some for the better and some for the worse) and people have loved Apple/Steve for so long and are so deep into the ecosystem that it’s hard to switch.

I do think some people complain a little TOO much, but some of the criticism is justified. Also, there are wayyy more car options than laptop options.

They are far too expensive in reality, I own one, love it but it's a luxury item effectively. As with high end cars it's mostly about product placement and perceived brand value. Apple aren't forcing anyone to buy one, there are plenty of alternatives on the market of similar or superior technical capabilities. Apple still offer the best integrated solution for me and I'd buy one for the quality of touchpad alone.

 

[0095059]

Something to think about is that most people who use iPhones without a power source nearby are occupying their time for 20 - 40 minutes, or the average commute to work or school.

If you're walking, you are probably listening to music. (iPod)

If you're at home, you can recharge your device.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I tend to play video games when I have to wait a long time.

 

[newyorksole]

They are far too expensive in reality, I own one, love it but it's a luxury item effectively. As with high end cars it's mostly about product placement and perceived brand value. Apple aren't forcing anyone to buy one, there are plenty of alternatives on the market of similar or superior technical capabilities. Apple still offer the best integrated solution for me and I'd buy one for the quality of touchpad alone.

It’s a tough argument because one could say “you get what you pay for.”

It’s a package deal. You’re getting a powerful notebook/desktop, secure/stable operating system, nice design, great customer service/support, (for the most part), first party software and services, a fluid ecosystem and Apple Stores that have free workshops, troubleshooting/diagnosing etc.

Certain things Apple sells are luxury (like those insanely overpriced Watch bands and leather sleeves.)

But $1300 for a Retina 4K iMac 21.5” is pretty reasonable and so are a bunch of other products. And if you compare the specs/features of some of Apple’s hardware to competitors you’ll often see the prices aren’t totally far off.

 

[shavou]

Hey guys, by looking at @Aea graphs (amazing job by the way, thank you so much), it still seems that the best setting on the MBP i9 is to limit the power to 55W (with Volta) after having applied the update...
I'm comparing the green line (factory post-patch) with the orange line (55W power limit post-patch)

Graph can be found here for reference:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...olta-fan-control.2128797/page-5#post-26283222

What do you think?

 

[maflynn]

Yet Dell still has yet to fix their i9 throttling issues. But no one is going to talk about that, right?

Actually many dell owners are.

 

[nihil0]

I have to laugh so much - from all haters, from all know-it-alls, from all people who canceled their pre-orders from i9 version and bought i7

Show me another tech company that is able to come up with such fixes in such short time and acknowledge them

 

[maflynn]

Moore law seems so 1990 now...

How is Moore's law even related to this? Moore's law is about the doubling of transistors, not performance.
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Show me another tech company that is able to come up with such fixes in such short time and acknowledge them

How about a company that releases a laptop that isn't missing something so vital as a digital key. I'm no hater, but apple screwed up. Btw, I owned a Razer 15" before buying this MBP, and that didn't have any of the issues I'm dealing with, so there's your example if you wanted one

 

[mrzz]

Yet Dell still has yet to fix their i9 throttling issues. But no one is going to talk about that, right?

Would be nice to mention as well that Dell XPS 15" is almost 50% cheaper. There is no place for similar issues for bloody expensive MBP.

 

[clangers23]

It’s a tough argument because one could say “you get what you pay for.”

It’s a package deal. You’re getting a powerful notebook/desktop, secure/stable operating system, nice design, great customer service/support, (for the most part), first party software and services, a fluid ecosystem and Apple Stores that have free workshops, troubleshooting/diagnosing etc.

Certain things Apple sells are luxury (like those insanely overpriced Watch bands and leather sleeves.)

But $1300 for a Retina 4K iMac 21.5” is pretty reasonable and so are a bunch of other products. And if you compare the specs/features of some of Apple’s hardware to competitors you’ll often see the prices aren’t totally far off.

I agree entirely, ironically the iMac Pro is in many ways the best value product they sell. I'm just referring to the MBP which since 2016 has definitely been placed more up market. There's a gap Apple need to fill around the price of the Macbook Air now with a fully functional consumer laptop rather than an ultraportable 12" Macbook.