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Waiting for gen 2 of rMB?

F

Fuzzball84

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 19, 2015
3,033
7,036
I know this will be a contentious issue...

I decided against buying the rMB last night... I have tried a few rMB in Apple and BB stores to make my mind up... I am going to stick with my 11 inch 2014 air and Pro and wait for gen 2 of the rMB...

Im sold on the size, screen, keyboard, trackpad etc even the ports, I think its fine given its intended usage model

Im not sold on the general performance (and I mean for web browsing, word, excel etc... light use)

What hit me is that when i went over to the Surface 3 and played about for a few minutes I instantly realized how laggy the UI is with the rMB (even with latest updates). The Surface 3 was fluid and responsive in its use for general interaction including web browsing, documents, window resizing, scrolling etc and the machine was still cool. Every rMB I have used starts to warm up significantly with the lightest of interaction.

This is just my 2 cents... what are other peoples opinions? anyone else decided to wait out for the second rMB? or see what happens of the rMBP?
 
Ill let you know tomorrow when mine comes. Im gonna wipe it and do a fresh install then write a 12 page assignment on it.
 
Once Spotlight is done indexing and FileVault is done encrypting, the rMB is fine for light usage. Note that the Core M is more powerful than the Atom used in the Surface 3 (though less powerful than the processor used in the Surface Pro 3). Granted, the Surface 3 has a lower resolution, but I'd expect the two to be similar. Interestingly, Windows 8.1 actually posts better graphics numbers on the MacBook than OS X, probably because it makes better use of the HD 5300.
 
Mcdevidr said:
Ill let you know tomorrow when mine comes. Im gonna wipe it and do a fresh install then write a 12 page assignment on it.
Click to expand...

Great, I will look forward to that. One thing I'm still real interested in is the battery runtime..

My mind could change lol

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KPOM said:
Once Spotlight is done indexing and FileVault is done encrypting, the rMB is fine for light usage. Note that the Core M is more powerful than the Atom used in the Surface 3 (though less powerful than the processor used in the Surface Pro 3). Granted, the Surface 3 has a lower resolution, but I'd expect the two to be similar. Interestingly, Windows 8.1 actually posts better graphics numbers on the MacBook than OS X, probably because it makes better use of the HD 5300.
Click to expand...

This is another thing I'm paying attention to... whether the UI interaction could be improved with further updates from apple to improve graphics drivers etc. That would really sell the rMB to me.
 
I have the 1.2GHz/512 rMB.

I will admit that the first two days of usage of the rMB was very subpar. I came from using a 2013 MacBook Air 11" and the performance of that was suitable for my needs. The first few hours of using the rMB, I was very unimpressed with it's performance, and the "sluggish-ness" of it kind of bothered me, and made me re-think about my purchase. I saw a lot of beach balls, the app bouncing on the dock 20+ times, general overall slowness (or the mouse cursor not being responsive), etc. I'm usually not that impatient, but this was starting to get on my nerves.

But after a couple of days of usage and getting all my programs and settings settled in, I don't really experience the sluggish performance anymore. I figured that maybe between the filevault encryption and spotlight indexing, it was taxing the CPU and slowing down performance. But as of right now, I'm happy to say that the rMB actually performs just as well or better than my 2013 MBA 11". Everything has started to get snappier and I now don't regret my purchase. I think I will keep playing with this for another week and make my final decision soon.

I'm trying really hard to push the limits of the machine now, by installing more and more programs, like VMWare Fusion, various games, etc. I will hit some "slowness" when doing new things, but it happens very briefly now. I do realize this isn't a top performing machine, so I know it's limits--but everyday I try to stretch them as much as I can and I am surprised at how well it handles them. I don't do anything too intensive. I'm a web developer so I have at least 10-15+ apps running all at the same time; Photoshop, Microsoft Office, and VMWare Fusion (mainly for testing the IE browser in Windows). I run every browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) because I have to for web dev, and so far, I have yet to have this machine hiccup on me as of now. It did in the first few days of owning it, I will admit. Saw a lot of beach balls, struggling, and slowdowns, but now, not so much anymore. It's as if the machine has "learned" to adapt to my somewhat aggressive needs. Now the programs that used to be slow the first time I loaded them, load instantly.

That being said, I think that if anyone is seriously considering on purchasing this machine, you will need at least a week to play around with it before you can make your final decision; just a few hours isn't enough. But keep in mind that there are thresholds to the machine; it's by no means a desktop replacement (like for high graphics games, editing 4k video files, etc.). If your needs are quite simple, then this machine is good enough for you. But if your needs are more demanding and require a lot of processing power, then don't buy this machine; it wasn't advertised to handle such tasks. I would say I'm between the simple user and the advanced user; I don't do RAW photo editing, music/movie producing, or play games heavily. I surf the web, write some code, hack system files and run some programs on terminal (I'm a linux user at heart), watch an occasional movie now and then (1080p MKV's or Hulu/Netflix), use a Microsoft product or two (Office and IE on VMWare), and that's about it. I'm a happy camper.

My only gripe with the machine right now is the lack of the ability to power the macbook and output via displayport, but that will be solved in due time. For everything else, it seems to fit my needs completely.

So, if you're wondering if you should wait for gen 2 of the rMB; I would say that it depends on if you really need the current rMB or not. If you don't need it, then you should wait, because gen 2 will obviously be better. I remember the very first MacBook Air, and it had a whole slew of problems that later got resolved and refined to the product it is now today.

But if you want to live on the bleeding edge, always expect to make some sacrifices. That's true with everything new, especially technology.
 
Fuzzball84 said:
This is just my 2 cents... what are other peoples opinions? anyone else decided to wait out for the second rMB? or see what happens of the rMBP?
Click to expand...

The 2016 redesigned MacBook Pro will borrow heavily from the design of the 12" MacBook so I am going to wait for that. It will be 2-3mm thinner than the current Pro models and will pack a 'proper' 15w/28w Skylake based CPU, not a fanless solution.

The second generation 12" MacBook will be exactly the same as the current model but will have the Skylake CPU that it was actually designed for. The Broadwell part inside the current machine will look like an absolute joke compared the the Skylake chip. I think it's going to annoy quite a lot of first-gen adopters, especially as it's not that far away from release.

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nj-mac-user said:
I can't tell if this thread is a trolling attempt or not.
Click to expand...

Trolling? He asks a good valid question.
 
Steve121178 said:
The 2016 redesigned MacBook Pro will borrow heavily from the design of the 12" MacBook so I am going to wait for that. It will be 2-3mm thinner than the current Pro models and will pack a 'proper' 15w/28w Skylake based CPU, not a fanless solution.

The second generation 12" MacBook will be exactly the same as the current model but will have the Skylake CPU that it was actually designed for. The Broadwell part inside the current machine will look like an absolute joke compared the the Skylake chip. I think it's going to annoy quite a lot of first-gen adopters, especially as it's not that far away from release.

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Trolling? He asks a good valid question.
Click to expand...

That was my thought exactly, that this machine looks like an ideal candidate for a skylake variant of the Core-M. Considering intels focus on power efficiency, we could have a really cool running rMB in the near future. I just have a feeling that this rMB is going to have a short run considering skylake is not far from release...

Thats what has really made me stop and say to myself, just wait for gen 2 to arrive...
 
Fuzzball84 said:
considering skylake is not far from release...
Click to expand...

I really hope you're right, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

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Steve121178 said:
It will be 2-3mm thinner than the current Pro models and will pack a 'proper' 15w/28w Skylake based CPU, not a fanless solution.
Click to expand...

That's a very bold guess. I have a hard time imagining Apple doing something that radical, especially in a single year's design cycle. On the other hand, never say never. To some extent it will probably depend on how the 2015 rMB fares in terms of sales and reliability.
 
I'm open to upgrading to the rMB gen 2 if the performance is the similar to my 2.6/8/256 MBPr.
 
As an early adopter it won't annoy me at all because technology is always a gamble as there is something new always around the corner.

I think that people seem to have a dislike for the macbook. Even if this variant of the macbook had skylake then the focus would be more about the ports even if it had more ports then it would be something else.

Pretty much the price of admission for the early adopter is high. I paid it in 2007 for the iPhone and will pay it over and over again each time.

While your waiting the second gen. I will be enjoying my first gen
 
JediZenMaster said:
As an early adopter it won't annoy me at all because technology is always a gamble as there is something new always around the corner.

I think that people seem to have a dislike for the macbook. Even if this variant of the macbook had skylake then the focus would be more about the ports even if it had more ports then it would be something else.

Pretty much the price of admission for the early adopter is high. I paid it in 2007 for the iPhone and will pay it over and over again each time.

While your waiting the second gen. I will be enjoying my first gen
Click to expand...

Your rMB should have no issue running AIM. :)
 
Newtons Apple said:
Might be a couple of years as until the chip makers can make faster CPU chips that use even less power and making even less heat.

Until then it will not greatly improve for fanless systems.
Click to expand...

It doesn't have to use less power or generate less heat, as long as it increases performance. Core M Skylake chips will be out later this year and will bring significant performance increases. The only question is how long it will be before Apple implements the new chips.
 
JediZenMaster said:
As an early adopter it won't annoy me at all because technology is always a gamble as there is something new always around the corner.

I think that people seem to have a dislike for the macbook. Even if this variant of the macbook had skylake then the focus would be more about the ports even if it had more ports then it would be something else.

Pretty much the price of admission for the early adopter is high. I paid it in 2007 for the iPhone and will pay it over and over again each time.

While your waiting the second gen. I will be enjoying my first gen
Click to expand...

I do think its great technology, just in my case I feel I'm fine with my Macbook air and pro... until gen 2 :)

Enjoy your rMB :)

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Vanilla Face said:
It doesn't have to use less power or generate less heat, as long as it increases performance. Core M Skylake chips will be out later this year and will bring significant performance increases. The only question is how long it will be before Apple implements the new chips.
Click to expand...

I'd bet they will continue driving power consumption down while improving performance... this will mean less heat generated as a byproduct and translate into longer battery life.

I carry my macbook air in my backpack and it amazes me that these days i can have maybe 33% battery remaining and not worry too much about getting a few good hours of productivity (word,excel, web browsing etc). Its a world of difference from 5+ years ago, I always had to make sure the charger was with me lol
 
Vanilla Face said:
It doesn't have to use less power or generate less heat, as long as it increases performance. Core M Skylake chips will be out later this year and will bring significant performance increases. The only question is how long it will be before Apple implements the new chips.
Click to expand...

Right now increased performance comes with more heat. Everyone promisses "significant performance increases" but we seldom see but a little bump.

Still think it will be a few more generations (years) before we see a low powered CPU that performs like a i7.
 
Vanilla Face said:
It doesn't have to use less power or generate less heat, as long as it increases performance. Core M Skylake chips will be out later this year and will bring significant performance increases. The only question is how long it will be before Apple implements the new chips.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I think the recent past indicates that Intel's timetable is a very big question, too.

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Newtons Apple said:
Right now increased performance comes with more heat. Everyone promisses "significant performance increases" but we seldom see but a little bump.

Still think it will be a few more generations (years) before we see a low powered CPU that performs like a i7.
Click to expand...

I don't design CPUs for a living, but that's got to be right, even with Moore's Law and its corollaries.

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JediZenMaster said:
As an early adopter it won't annoy me at all because technology is always a gamble as there is something new always around the corner.

I think that people seem to have a dislike for the macbook. Even if this variant of the macbook had skylake then the focus would be more about the ports even if it had more ports then it would be something else.

Pretty much the price of admission for the early adopter is high. I paid it in 2007 for the iPhone and will pay it over and over again each time.

While your waiting the second gen. I will be enjoying my first gen
Click to expand...

Too few people remember what the original 2008 MBA cost and what it had (or, rather, didn't have) for features/specs. And yet now we have the MBA as it's been for the last three or so years, an object of cult worship. What if no one had been willing to take the Gen 1 bet on the 2008 Air? - there would not have been any of the subsequent updates. :eek:
 
newellj said:
Unfortunately, I think the recent past indicates that Intel's timetable is a very big question, too.

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I don't design CPUs for a living, but that's got to be right, even with Moore's Law and its corollaries.

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Too few people remember what the original 2008 MBA cost and what it had (or, rather, didn't have) for features/specs. And yet now we have the MBA as it's been for the last three or so years, an object of cult worship. What if no one had been willing to take the Gen 1 bet on the 2008 Air? - there would not have been any of the subsequent updates. :eek:
Click to expand...

I agree with you on that, unfortunately this time I'm not going to be one of the early adopters :(

The great thing is, that usually after the first gen has a redesign, that the subsequent model is usually a great improvement, and something someone can buy and have a long run with.
 
KPOM said:
Once Spotlight is done indexing and FileVault is done encrypting, the rMB is fine for light usage. Note that the Core M is more powerful than the Atom used in the Surface 3 (though less powerful than the processor used in the Surface Pro 3). Granted, the Surface 3 has a lower resolution, but I'd expect the two to be similar. Interestingly, Windows 8.1 actually posts better graphics numbers on the MacBook than OS X, probably because it makes better use of the HD 5300.
Click to expand...

You make it sound like these things take forever. They don't. Certainly on a store machine all of that is done.
 
Fuzzball84 said:
I agree with you on that, unfortunately this time I'm not going to be one of the early adopters :(

The great thing is, that usually after the first gen has a redesign, that the subsequent model is usually a great improvement, and something someone can buy and have a long run with.
Click to expand...

Food for thought - I'd argue that the 2008 MBA didn't really get perfected until 2013, and even significant improvements took two (IIRC) revisions after the 2008 introduction. :eek:
 
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