Watch Apple's M1 MacBook Pro Obliterate 2020 Intel MacBook Pro in Speed Tests

[BeefCake 15]

I'm not sure I need it. I don't manage large files or do multiple RAM-intensive tasks.

This article talks about it https://9to5mac.com/2020/11/18/opinion-is-the-base-macbook-air-m1-8gb-powerful-enough-for-you/

 

[crawfish963]

This article talks about it https://9to5mac.com/2020/11/18/opinion-is-the-base-macbook-air-m1-8gb-powerful-enough-for-you/

I read that one. I think we have to start thinking outside of the box about what RAM is under this new architecture. If this were an Intel machine I would want 16 or even 32 just for future-proofing. With the way memory is managed under M1 chips, I think the people that will need 16 or more gigs of RAM will be the top pros doing pro music and video production, or those handling multiple very large files simultaneously.

I will never push this machine to the level done in that article.

 

[nikaru]

Let's see it drive 2 4k monitors at 120 HZ..

Shame on Apple they could not support dual monitors on their new computer in the WFH environment.

Ok, you are just complaining for nothing. We are talking about MacBook Air and the baseline 13 inch Macbook Pro. These are not devices ment for people using two monitors. If you are a professional user who needs two additional displays, you either have a tower PC, iMac Pro, Mac Pro or similar. 99,9% of the customers buying a 13 inch ultrabook would never conect more than one external dispaly. This is ridiculos. You want a workstation in fanless ultrabook form factor.

 

[dannys1]

But the test is comparing this model with the last. You’re complaining about a different issue.

It's just a bit misleading when it's easier to identify it as the entry level MacBook Pro that had 8th Gen Intel processors and wasn't updated.
The actual 2020 13" MBP is still available to purchase and might lead people to think it's being benchmarked against that.

 

[nikaru]

I've been using Apple Macs since the Apple Macintosh Classic! Never looked back. I used Windows PC's proffesionally (and still do) and during the years there have been moments that the Mac was 'way' ahead of the competition, but then the competition caught up and overtook the Mac at times, particularly in the Intel transition, where the difference in performance didn't really warrant the huge price difference (except for having beautiful engineered computers etc) Today, I'm really excited about the future of the Mac once again. These new CPU's are incredibly promising , set the Mac's apart again and I can't wait until they are being rolled out in redesigned iMacs, and onwards! The only reason I'm holding on to my cash now is the knowledge that it will be coming next year, if it was longer away I'd probably end up buying one of the M1 Macs first!

Completly agree. Currently, there is no PC ultrabook for 999$ that can beat the new MBA. A month ago, there were many cheaper and better options looking at performance alone. Not anymore. Cant wait to see the M1 performance scaled to 16 cores/30 watts beast in an iMac or the rumored mini MacPro. Save money for next year, this is just the begining.

 

[FNH15]

Well when I use my Core i7 2.6 MBP from 2012 (gen 3) to render a view in Archicad, the fans are so loud you don’t want to sit in front of it (mine is to the side as I use external monitor and keyboard for cad). Same for Photos app doing face recognition, iTunes reencoding songs during iPhone synch, handbrake encoding, etc.

So anything quieter would be welcome.

My 2018 spins its fans up when screensharing in Zoom and running Excel with moderately sized workbooks (it's also driving an external 4K monitor).
This is with turboboost off.

I usually keep my machines for around 7-8 years (until they're no longer supported by OS updates), but I genuinely can't wait to dump this 15" on the secondhand market when its Apple Silicon equivalent comes around. Hell, I don't even need the dedicated GPU anymore as apparently the M1 is faster than my 560X!

Intel thermals are awful.

 

[Taz Mangus]

From the same article

In multi-threaded scenarios, power highly depends on the workload. In memory-heavy workloads where the CPU utilisation isn’t as high, we’re seeing 18W active power, going up to around 22W in average workloads, and peaking around 27W in compute

It appears the max TDP can be between 22-24W, not 27W. From the article:

These figures are generally what you’d like to compare to “TDPs” of other platforms, although again to get an apples-to-apples comparison you’d need to further subtract some of the overhead as measured on the Mac mini here – my best guess would be a 20 to 24W range.

M1 it is not 10W TDP in the MacBook Pro and Mac Mini. Under heavy load the M1 is probably throttle to be closer to a 10W TDP in the MacBook Air. Still very impressive.

 

[deputy_doofy]

I thought the M1 macs didn't have fans?

ONLY the MacBook Air.

 

[Taz Mangus]

ONLY the MacBook Air.

M1 Mac Mini also has a fan.

 

[NT1440]

It appears the max TDP can be between 22-24W, not 27W. From the article:

M1 it is not 10W TDP in the MacBook Pro and Mac Mini. Under heavy load the M1 is probably throttle to be closer to a 10W TDP in the MacBook Air. Still very impressive.

CineBench R23 was running at 13 watts on the MBP according to a popular youtube tester someone posted yesterday. Way lower than I expected (I was thinking 20ish) while the previous pro was at 26 watts and roaring its fan.

 

[deputy_doofy]

Man, I feel bad for anyone who bought a mac earlier this year.

That would be me. Bought an early 2020 MBA with an i7. Debating whether to trade it in and just have them both.

 

[deputy_doofy]

I found this real-world comparison video extremely comprehensive and useful too.

It's 2007 all over again!

M1 vs i7 would have been better.

 

[MysticCow]

I used to do the Command-Shift-A, Command-A, Command-O from Finder sometimes just to see how long it would take for my system to stabilize and actually allow me to quit everything open. It's a ridiculous but highly sustained workload that intentionally slows the system to a crawl.

And the M1 handles this without even breaking a sweat? No fans at all turned on while doing something on an intentional level of evil to it?

Apple, I'm now sold on it. Take my money on two gold 8C/8G MacBook Airs with a RAM upgrade. Just shut up and take my money...

 

[PlainBelliedSneetch]

I am proposing the CPU as it also says in the article that power draw at the outlet [power outlet] is 31-32 watts.

The point is, it is not a 10 watt CPU which seems to be the claim

Wow Apple truely is magical. They have managed to only consume 7 watts on RAM, SSD, WiFi, PMIC, etc. And then NPU and GPU don’t draw any power.

 

[rgbrock1]

I believe the MacBook Air does not, however the MacBook Pro does.

The M1 Mac mini has a fan as well.

 

[rgbrock1]

Impressive. Wonder what I can get on the used market for my 2020 MBP 13"? I bet less than I could a few weeks ago.

$1,100 from macofalltrades. I know, I just sold mine to them so I can purchased the M1 Mac mini. (My 2020 13" MBP is the i5/4xTB3/512GB/16GB model.)

 

[rgbrock1]

I've been using Apple products since the Apple IIc—37 years ago—and I haven't been this excited about Apple's lineup in at least a decade, if not ever. I bought an M1 Macbook Air because I couldn't resist, even though I plan to upgrade to the 14.1" when it comes out in a year. I also have an iMac Pro for more intensive work... I can't even imagine how ridiculously powerful the Silicon machine that replaces that will be. I also got an iPhone 12 Pro Max because of the camera, and it's just insane. Woo hoo!

You know that Apple IIc you referred to? I have one in my attic, wrapped up protectively. Last time I turned it on, about 3 years ago, it booted up just fine!

 

[peter2]

That’s all nice but the memory available in the M1 models is simply not sufficient (just start doing some mild scientific computations and any of the M1 macs will quickly lag behind the Intels, swapping data to the SSD).

Also, Apple is known to lag behind selling machcines with ancient Intel chips. A more relevant comparison these days would be Intel’s gen 11 chip vs. the M1.

Just my 5 cents...

 

[jerryk]

You know that Apple IIc you referred to? I have one in my attic, wrapped up protectively. Last time I turned it on, about 3 years ago, it booted up just fine!

Still have my 512k fat mac, 10 MB SCSI drive, and associate printer.

 

[choreo]

Do Adobe CC Apps launch instantly as well, or just Apple Apps?

 

[peter2]

Brutal

Intel should be embarrassed. Andy Grove is screaming from his grave how they pissed away his core values

That’s an 8th gen Intel CPU... at the time when 11th gen is on the market. The one to be ashamed to sell that relic in 2020 is Apple, I would say ;-).

 

[Daniva]

A giant step forward. The first real Apple "innovation" since 2011 october 5

 

[nburwell]

I'm so tempted to buy the M1 MBP and sell my 2019 MBP. Though I primarily use the machine for Lightroom and Photoshop which won't be updated to run natively on M1 until early 2021. But still -- decisions, decisions.

 

[peter2]

I want to see the M1 go up against the 2019 8 core Mac Pro

So these guys see they just threw $6000 to the wind to be wasted by an M1 ARM chip.

2019 Mac Pro going into rapid extinction

You mean against the Mac Pro with up to 786 GB of RAM (8-core MP limit)? ;-)
What I would like to see is how Apple handles the RAM availability on the future Mac Pros (even other macs). I doubt they will manufacture CPU’s with, say, 1.5TB RAM on the chip, which the current Mac Pro can handle with RAM in the provided slots.

 

[EugW]

I read that one. I think we have to start thinking outside of the box about what RAM is under this new architecture. If this were an Intel machine I would want 16 or even 32 just for future-proofing. With the way memory is managed under M1 chips, I think the people that will need 16 or more gigs of RAM will be the top pros doing pro music and video production, or those handling multiple very large files simultaneously.

I will never push this machine to the level done in that article.

I don't agree with your logic. While 8 GB may be limiting for some people on Intel, getting 32 GB on an Intel MacBook just for future proofing for a moderate user like yourself is probably just foolish, unless you plan on keeping it until 2030 or something. That is way, way overkill by the sounds of it, and would remain so for years to come.

Will 8 GB suit your needs? Maybe, but for the incremental cost, it still makes sense for many to get the 16 GB tier.

There are definite advantages to Apple's new design, not the least of which is the super fast SSD speed, but it's not magic.