Thunderbolt 3 Ports on Right Side of 13-Inch MacBook Pro Have Reduced PCI Express Bandwidth

[lowkey]

I don't think $3,500 is a bad deal once you compare what you are getting.


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Not saying it's a bad deal. Just saying for me it's way out of the ball park in terms of weight. I use my laptops as portable computers.

I think you are comparing apples to oranges.
One is a big, heavy, expensive (but potentially still good value) desktop replacement. The other is a lightweight, compact, portable laptop with the same CPU power.

Good to have choices though.

I'd like to have the choice of getting the 15" MBP without the toolbar and with only integrated graphics, because that's what would suit the Apps I use (pro audio apps that are CPU intensive but not video intensive.

I'd really love the 13" model with a quad i7 for increased mobility moving between work and home every day.

 

[smoking monkey]

1. The only thing I don't like is the "need" for even more adapters now. I could handle buying stuff for TB2 as I still had regular USB and could chain more USB ports of the TB2 ports. Now they have went for absurdly thin, removing standard USB / TB2, requiring that I juggle more dongles to achieve the same connectivity my 2015 model does.

2. As others have asked of Apple in the other thread, would it have hurt for them to make it slightly thicker, given us some legacy ports, more battery, and perhaps offer a BTO version with 32GB or more RAM?

1. things in the tech world change... fast. USB-C will be the standard for a while. It was going to happen next year if not this year. We were all going to have to change anyway. And is there really a need to buy a dongle? Can't you just buy a new cable? For eg. if you want HDMI you just get a USB-C ~ HDMI cable. It doesn't support ULTRA 4K HD yet, but it will soon enough. SD Card reader? Well, that's the price of moving forward I guess. A dongle it is. but Wireless transfers are getting more and more popular.

2. Some of this complaining makes me think that some people don't actually use their laptop as anything more than a living room to bedroom computer. IF that's the case, then thinner and lighter doesn't really matter.
BUT...for people like me who carry my computer every weekday and use it on the go constantly, smaller footprint and lighter weight is absolutely massive.

----------------

I love mag-safe, but being able to charge either side of the computer will be fantastic. Especially for people on the go. Besides, plenty of people hate cables and the fact that it won't matter and I can keep the cables as small as possible is fantastic.

As for the bandwidth. How many people are hooking up 4 devices on a 13inch laptop and need 4 full speed ports? There's a lot of bleating going on about something that has never been the case and seems likely not even possible considering size limitations.

The price? I don't find it different to what I paid in 2013. I find it better value considering the new tech in it, but my currency is strong against the dollar at the moment so that's good for me. I agree on prices though. the latest iphone is ridiculously expensive. Far too expensive considering the upgrades... So I didn't get it. That's cool, I'll wait for next year.

 

[cult hero]

People here are complainih about all the Thunderbolt bandwidth missing that they will never even come close to using.

That's the best part. Short of someone trying out a Razer Core on the wrong side of their laptop this is a nonissue. And the person doing that will certainly know what they're doing.

It's just another excuse for a bunch of kids to try and dictate to me what constitutes a "pro" machine. It's like a horde of jilted lovers. Okay guys, we get it. Go buy your Dell or Asus or Razer. Please do it now and go troll their forums. Geez.

 

[Analog Kid]

Reading through the comments, I think a lot of people are just fed up with the direction Apple is taking with hardware.
Razer has a really nice machine coming out soon. I have my eye on it.

http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade-pro

I don't want to dump on the Razer-- I agree it's a nice machine assuming you can turn off the disco lights when you're trying to work-- but I do find it a bit odd that in a thread where everyone is complaining that 2 of 4 Thunderbolt ports in one particular model have "reduced bandwidth" and can't quite reach their full 40Gbps, the alternative being discussed has a total of one Thunderbolt port and that's just fine.

And that shell looks familiar to me... Where have I seen that design before?

 

[dilbert99]

Let me guess... The sky now is now falling on hordes of trolls who will never notice any effect of this technical detail.

How many of the Chicken Littles actually need that bandwidth on even ONE port much less 3 to 4? And are actually in the market for the 13" Pro right now? How many were truly planning to get the 13" and hook up 4 TB3 devices that need that bandwidth? How many pay zero attention to far more significant positives, from screen quality to giant trackpad?

The melodramatic herd-weeping is quite entertaining

Don't get me wrong this is one of the best looking laptops out there but how does one remember or tell the difference between the speed of the port on both sides? When you pay Apple prices you expect the best/perfection.
[doublepost=1477720615][/doublepost]

Really? No one here? In this thread where they are talking about this specific issue, crying in rage whether they understand the details or not?

There are certainly pluses and minuses--for me included. But so many of things people are saying have surpassed parody level. Which is a shame, because Apple could use the feedback--but it just sounds insane half the time.

Do you really think that Apple is listening any more?

 

[TMRJIJ]

You're reading a god damn echo chamber of whine, like most web site comment boards on any subject.
The positive commenters eventually get fed up of the constant whining and decide to move on with their lives.
I've been on the net since 1985 (before the web existed) and there were always some negativity, but these days its just a constant reactionary bitch fest almost everywhere. Back then, even the negativity tended to be narrow and intense (flame wars) rather than at large and pervasive.
Some sites have controlled this with strict moderation, but it takes constant monitoring to do so.

This site definitely needs it.
[doublepost=1477720702][/doublepost]

Crappy move but it probably saved the company 12 cents, so understandable with Timmy at the helm.

How? Intel designed the chip that way, not Apple.

 

[Analog Kid]

How about Apple just build devices properly with no inconsistencies. Four ports at full TB. It's a no brainer. It's a PRO product if you didn't realize.

The irony being that a true "pro" will know which ports to use for their daisy chain of RAIDs and which ports to use for their mouse... If you're whining about two of four ports on one model not having full bandwidth, you're an amateur.

 

[dilbert99]

Port transitions always hurt.

Only at Apple. They shouldn't need to hurt, you just include at least 1 USB-A port. Apple say they enrich your experience which obviously isn't the case here.
[doublepost=1477721090][/doublepost]

This site definitely needs it.

Wrong solution to the problem. If this site is getting worse for trolling, why do we think this might be?
Apple could certainly fix this site by innovating and giving us what we want.

To me Apple will go down in history that takes everything away.

 

[darkbrain85]

People here are complainih about all the Thunderbolt bandwidth missing that they will never even come close to using.

Yes! 99% of us will never use the Full TB3 Bandwith.
I think the full USB 3 bandwith is no Problem at all.

There ist no problem with this Ports. We have to see Benchmarks to know how limited the bandwith ist.
USB 3.1 has 10 GBit/s bandwith, which ist really fast! It is fast enough for nearly every external SSD or HDD. So where is the Problem?

If the 1% of us wants to connect a super fast and super expensive RAID Thunderbolt SSD Storage over Thunderbolt 3, than they can do it with two Ports. So you guys can use two full Speed 40 GBit Thunderbolt Ports with multiple devices on each. But your Storage must have a bandwith of 5 GIGABYTE per SECOND to use the full Bandwith...

Facepalm?

 

[Sedulous]

The irony being that a true "pro" will know which ports to use for their daisy chain of RAIDs and which ports to use for their mouse... If you're whining about two of four ports on one model not having full bandwidth, you're an amateur.

Maybe they should have used the same CPU as the 15". This is supposed to be the Pro line... uncompromised computing. The watered down stuff is supposed to be on the MacBook. The ultraportable AIR was supposed to be the "thinner!"™ product line. Instead, all the product lines are a confused mess.

 

[Oppenheim]

This is exactly why they should have been first with kabylake. Instead they're last with Skylake.

They fudged this machine under pressure to release.

Bad decisions = bad outcomes.

 

[PortableLover]

Courage for you.

 

[darkbrain85]

Maybe they should have used the same CPU as the 15". This is supposed to be the Pro line... uncompromised computing. The watered down stuff is supposed to be on the MacBook. The ultraportable AIR was supposed to be the "thinner!"™ product line. Instead, all the product lines are a confused mess.

Yes, it is the "pro" line... This Notebooks are more Powerfull than the most of us will ever need.
Please think about the maximum Bandwith which is available to connect external devices! It's really crazy fast! Editing 4K Movies ist no problem over USB 3.1 on an external SSD. So why should it be difficult with limited TB3 Bandwith? Limited will probably mean 20 Gbit's or something. Go, buy a Dell or something with Windows and use your worktime for Windows Updates.

 

[chrisone]

Does anybody know if I can use the USB-C to thunderbolt2 and then plug in a Mini DisplayPort-cable from my display?

I think(?) this was possible on Thunderbolt2, but it's not clear from Apple's overview what would be the best way to use a MiniDisplayPort for the new MacBook Pro...

Any advice?

 

[darkbrain85]

Does anybody know if I can use the USB-C to thunderbolt2 and then plug in a Mini DisplayPort-cable from my display?

I think(?) this was possible on Thunderbolt2, but it's not clear from Apple's overview what would be the best way to use a MiniDisplayPort for the new MacBook Pro...

Any advice?

Yes, this will work!

 

[AlekseyS]

Would not it better to leave at least 1xUSB3, 1xThunderbolt 2 & SD slot on the right side instead of 2 "reduced speed USB-C" ?
How think machine can be pro anymore if Pro-people have a lot of expensive external devices ...

 

[djeeyore25]

No worries. Soon there will be a $49 adapter to even out the bandwidths.

 

[ikir]

cmon whiners here doesn't even know what they're talking about. Considering you can charge with any port, even 1 single Thunderbolt port is just incredible and you have 4!! Reduced bandwidth means only very rare device can suffer from this like an eGPU. People are whining here without knowing how much fast is TB3
[doublepost=1477723897][/doublepost]

Would not it better to leave at least 1xUSB3, 1xThunderbolt 2 & SD slot on the right side instead of 2 "reduced speed USB-C" ?
How think machine can be pro anymore if Pro-people have a lot of expensive external devices ...

There is no space for bigger ports, and there is no USB-c reduced speed. Turn on brain, re read and keep in mind what is pci bandwidth.

 

[bladerunner2000]

Razer has a really nice machine coming out soon. I have my eye on it.

http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade-pro

Holy macro... those are amazing specs, everything the MacBook Pro should be at it's ridiculous pricepoint. I'm not in the market for a laptop, but that Razer laptop makes things really easy.

 

[Analog Kid]

Maybe they should have used the same CPU as the 15". This is supposed to be the Pro line... uncompromised computing. The watered down stuff is supposed to be on the MacBook. The ultraportable AIR was supposed to be the "thinner!"™ product line. Instead, all the product lines are a confused mess.

There is no such thing as "uncompromised". Engineering is compromising.

 

[iBug2]

No one here is a troll for expressing discontent for this new laptop. I've had every iBook and Macbook since 2005, and this is the first one I won't be upgrading to based on the rapacious pricing, and miniscule update (slower processor in the base model, and less battery life).

Nothing about this device is "pro."

Really? Mac Pro has 3 fully functioning TB2 paths divided among 6 ports. Use all 6 and your bandwidth is halved. The old Mac Pro never had 4 16x PCI-e slots, only 2 16x. The other 2 were 4x. That was 1/4 the bandwidth.

 

[smoledman]

I couldn't believe looking at the specs, no gigabit Ethernet port. Then I looked and found that the previous gen MBPr also had no Ethernet port. Maybe that's when Apple jumped the shark and no longer is 'pro'. Sorry but all wireless is not a great option. Besides if I have a ready Ethernet port available why shouldn't I have this option?
[doublepost=1477726007][/doublepost]

Would not it better to leave at least 1xUSB3, 1xThunderbolt 2 & SD slot on the right side instead of 2 "reduced speed USB-C" ?
How think machine can be pro anymore if Pro-people have a lot of expensive external devices ...

Dongles-galore. MBPs will be this Medusa-like thing in Starbucks! Not such a pretty sight anymore.

Anyways what you suggested would be too sane for the Apple designers who value form over function.

FFS, no SDXC slot, no Ethernet, not a single USB 3.0 port. How is this 'pro'?
[doublepost=1477726159][/doublepost]

Yes! 99% of us will never use the Full TB3 Bandwith.
I think the full USB 3 bandwith is no Problem at all.

There ist no problem with this Ports. We have to see Benchmarks to know how limited the bandwith ist.
USB 3.1 has 10 GBit/s bandwith, which ist really fast! It is fast enough for nearly every external SSD or HDD. So where is the Problem?

If the 1% of us wants to connect a super fast and super expensive RAID Thunderbolt SSD Storage over Thunderbolt 3, than they can do it with two Ports. So you guys can use two full Speed 40 GBit Thunderbolt Ports with multiple devices on each. But your Storage must have a bandwith of 5 GIGABYTE per SECOND to use the full Bandwith...

Facepalm?

Of course you can. Just plug in a 64GB SDXC to your new Macbook Pro and... oh wait. F me.

 

[Tiger8]

But Apple never cut corners! They only give us premium products!

 

[Max Portakabin]

I couldn't believe looking at the specs, no gigabit Ethernet port. Then I looked and found that the previous gen MBPr also had no Ethernet port. Maybe that's when Apple jumped the shark and no longer is 'pro'. Sorry but all wireless is not a great option. Besides if I have a ready Ethernet port available why shouldn't I have this option?
[doublepost=1477726007][/doublepost]

Dongles-galore. MBPs will be this Medusa-like thing in Starbucks! Not such a pretty sight anymore.

Anyways what you suggested would be too sane for the Apple designers who value form over function.

FFS, no SDXC slot, no Ethernet, not a single USB 3.0 port. How is this 'pro'?
[doublepost=1477726159][/doublepost]

Of course you can. Just plug in a 64GB SDXC to your new Macbook Pro and... oh wait. F me.

Someone will call you a child for wanting Ethernet. Looks like loads of overtime in Cupertino this weekend.

 

[iBug2]

Holy macro... those are amazing specs, everything the MacBook Pro should be at it's ridiculous pricepoint. I'm not in the market for a laptop, but that Razer laptop makes things really easy.

Wow, no Kaby Lake on that? Let's go boo the Razer forums.