YouTuber Claims 15-Inch MacBook Pro With Upgraded Core i9 Chip is Severely Throttled Due to Thermal Issues

[k4ever]

Apple has boxed itself into a corner. The processors already ran too hot two revisions ago, and now they have no way of spec'ing further speed increases.

Meanwhile they will face even more pressure to spec even lighter and thinner designs from beta-boys who think a 3 lbs laptop is "too heavy."

LOL! Someone told me a year ago that my 5 pound, 17 inch gaming laptop was too heavy! I told him he needed to spend more time at the gym and away from his keyboard. I never heard back from him...

What happened to us? The 2012 15 inch MBP weighed 5.6 pounds. No one complained about how heavy it was back then...

 

[kodos]

I think there is a huge problem with the fan control. My base i7 (2.2Ghz) 15" was getting extremely hot on my lap (granted I was installing Parallels / Win10). It was really bad and I kept wondering -- when are the fans going to turn on?

Eventually they did and the chassis became bearable again. I think Apple is trying to push being quiet over heat/performance. I think that it is a bad tradeoff. My keyboard and my lap were really uncomfortable due to the heat. I cannot imagine what the i9 would do.

 

[k4ever]

Never said I was any better, nor am I whining. Pointing out flaws and issues without taking a proactive stance is whining. You don’t even have to work for Apple to do something about it. Speak with your wallet. Stop being Apple's customer. A decrease in revenue will send a message much better than simply being a whiny, snarky ***** on an Internet forum. But then again, it sounds to me that most of you don’t have enough backbone to do such a thing.

I agreed with you on some of your post. However, the one that was reference was below board. You don't have to work for Apple to take a stand against their flawed products. Glad you mentioned speaking with your wallet, but doing it in silence doesn't have the same effect as doing it in public and letting everyone know why.

 

[TH5620]

Apple is getting worst and worst since steve Jobs died

 

[Yebubbleman]

This article from AppleInsider seems to have more insightful analysis on this story: https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...acbook-pro-dramatically-hampering-performance

 

[handquake]

MobileTechReview and Lisa!!

 

[IllIllIll]

I agreed with you on some of your post. However, the one that was reference was below board. You don't have to work for Apple to take a stand against their flawed products. Glad you mentioned speaking with your wallet, but doing it in silence doesn't have the same effect as doing it in public and letting everyone know why.

The problem is, most people here will say they’re going to speak with their wallet but very few will actually do it - if AAPL’s revenues and stock price as of late is any indication. Toothless threats from people who talk trash on the Internet while giving Apple their money in real life.

 

[Evangeline]

I think there is a huge problem with the fan control. My base i7 (2.2Ghz) 15" was getting extremely hot on my lap (granted I was installing Parallels / Win10). It was really bad and I kept wondering -- when are the fans going to turn on?

The fans always run at about 60% even if you cant hear them, just FYI.

 

[Lone Deranger]

Yes I am.

Because there's no way people would like Apple unless they are on Apple's payroll!

In fact, I'm Tim Cook, or Phil Schiller, or both.

Then why do you voluntarily spend so much of your time defending a near trillion dollar corporation that, let’s be honest, doesn’t care about you at all? They just care about their profit margin. It sounds like a terrible waste of time that could be better spent at a local charity that needs all the help it can get.

Please save the sarcasm. This is a legitimate question.

 

[throAU]

Another review is in -- this time from Apple Insider.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...acbook-pro-dramatically-hampering-performance

Their conclusion the results of the i7 and i9 are not sufficiently different - and that should not be the case if the cooling was working.

To be honest i think apple (like intel) got caught with their pants down (even more than intel) on the i9 release. Not stating that as an excuse, more as an explanation.

AMD upped core counts. Intel shipped a panic response with the mobile i9 (basically a desktop i7-8700 that they've dropped the power on and lower clocks). Apple's chassis design can't handle it, but (rather than release a chassis that can) they want to be able to have "i9" on the options list to at least look like they're in the high end market on the spec sheet.

Hopefully this is a wake up call to apple that their "pro" designs are woefully inadequate in terms of the high end.

I mean seriously. The highest end Apple notebook you can buy right now is effectively slower than even the Macbook Pro 15" from last year in terms of CPU and way, way behind where the high end PC market was in terms of GPU about 18 months ago.

I get it. It's thin and light and runs macOS. But that isn't enough for people with processing intensive work to do. The 13" covers that "Pro" market (need a lightweight portable with good screen and connectivity) now. The 15" needs a chassis capable of running proper high end hardware.
[doublepost=1531963985][/doublepost]

Never said I was any better, nor am I whining. Pointing out flaws and issues without taking a proactive stance is whining. You don’t even have to work for Apple to do something about it. Speak with your wallet. Stop being Apple's customer. A decrease in revenue will send a message much better than simply being a whiny, snarky ***** on an Internet forum. But then again, it sounds to me that most of you don’t have enough backbone to do such a thing.

What do you think we're doing?

The "whining" here is to ensure that other people don't buy it by mistake.

THIS is what we are doing. I didn't buy an early 2018 when my 2015 warranty expired because of design flaws. I'm not going to buy this either. I didn't buy an iMac or iMac pro or Mac pro because of design flaws. I spent equivalent money on the dual GPU desktop rig in my sig.

 

[throAU]

I think there is a huge problem with the fan control. My base i7 (2.2Ghz) 15" was getting extremely hot on my lap (granted I was installing Parallels / Win10). It was really bad and I kept wondering -- when are the fans going to turn on?

Eventually they did and the chassis became bearable again. I think Apple is trying to push being quiet over heat/performance. I think that it is a bad tradeoff. My keyboard and my lap were really uncomfortable due to the heat. I cannot imagine what the i9 would do.

The thing is, the fans and heatsinks in Apple's designs are also woefully inadequate at this point. They're trying to run them quiet because running them at the 6000 rpm required to get anywhere close to enough cooling on a chassis and heat sink this size is noisy as hell.

Bigger chassis, bigger fans, bigger heat sinks and more venting required. It's not rocket science, but its a trade-off Apple has thus far not been willing to make. Maybe, finally the bad reviews on this i9 might shock them into action.

They haven't had a universally loved Macbook for about 6-7 years now. They're currently well overpriced and under-performing. The standard "just buy a macbook pro" response I've told friends in the market for a laptop for the past 10 years (well, actually, until about 2017) no longer applies.

 

[jgbr]

 

[IllIllIll]

What do you think we're doing?

The "whining" here is to ensure that other people don't buy it by mistake.

THIS is what we are doing. I didn't buy an early 2018 when my 2015 warranty expired because of design flaws. I'm not going to buy this either. I didn't buy an iMac or iMac pro or Mac pro because of design flaws. I spent equivalent money on the dual GPU desktop rig in my sig.

I fully respect your reasons for not buying these things, but it’s presumptuous of you to think that your use case is the same as everyone else's. Why do you care so much about what other people do and how they spend their money?

 

[cmaier]

#fakenews

Many of these tests have now been debunked by good Apple people on Twitter who I trust.

Apple insider says it throttles

 

[brentsg]

I just used OCCT to load up 4 cores / 8 threads on a PowerSpec 1510 gaming laptop with a 7700HQ (2.8Ghz base clock). It instantly hit its maximum boost clock with all cores under load (3.4Ghz) and maintained average temps in the mid 60's C. I ran 3DMark a few times and it boosted to a constant 3.5Ghz (3.4Ghz for the CPU/physics test) across the board, with temps in the mid 50's and low 60's.

If it was a 6 core CPU then the comparison would be more meaningful.

Don't get me wrong, I have completely given up on Apple's computer business.. but this hysteria about shoving the high end i9 into a thin notebook and being outraged is hilarious. People apparently haven't been paying attention.

There haven't been any magical Intel node shrinks lately b/c Intel's been stuck. They shoved a couple extra cores into the same process node as before..

 

[k4ever]

So you paid $300 extra for a 2.9Ghz CPU with 4.8Ghz turbo that runs at well below its rated base clock and pretty much 100C constantly.

That makes me angry, so I'm sure you can't be happy. I was genuinely excited about this generation of MacBook Pro and was planning to move from my 2016 13" to a 15" mainly just for the larger screen.

Now I'm thinking not.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-n...nd-clearly-beaten-by-the-XPS-15.317264.0.html

This is … not good.

Ouch! There goes the excuse about not using optimized software. I'm sure those benchmarks and other tests weren't optimized for the Core i7 Dell XPS 15, yet it still beat the snot out of the Core i9 15 inch MBP due to the MBP's throttling issues. The XPS 15 with the older and slower processor was 18% faster than the brand new 15 inch MBP! This statement sums it up best:

"This is a real slap in the face for Apple, because some users of a so-called Pro laptop require steady CPU performance. Not everybody is just watching YouTube videos, browsing the web or writing mails."

Ouch!

 

[kstotlani]

For starters, he only talks about Apple.

Why he is not making a video for... let's say... Microsoft not updating the Surface Studio? Which is terribly outdated, even compared to the 2017 iMac which will certainly be updated soon?

Here you go.

He has tons of videos criticizing other notebooks and tons of videos saying super nice things about Apple products.

 

[jeremiah256]

Unreal engine tests results...

look out for the spikes.

Conclusion: when i9 is under heavy load, it throttles HARD, and in my case, can only maintain an avg clock speed of ~2.4ghz, 0.5ghz below the base 2.9ghz

Start up

View attachment 771419

Test 1 Production Lighting rendering, SL 1.0

View attachment 771421

Test 2 Production Lighting rendering, SL 0.1

View attachment 771422

Spike at the end

View attachment 771420

Thanks for doing this and posting. It’s definitely a kick to the family jewels, though.

 

[dspdoc]

Fair review. I really like that lady!

 

[Mockletoy]

Thanks for doing this and posting. It’s definitely a kick to the family jewels, though.

I'm seriously bummed out. This is the first time I've been excited about a Mac release in a good long while. I bought my current 2016 MacBook Pro just because the machine it was replacing was so old, not because I especially wanted it.

It seems sort of silly, to be honest. I'm starting to wonder if macOS is even worth the buy-in anymore.

Apple charged the guy you're replying to an extra $400 for a CPU "upgrade" that is 100% useless. Worse than useless. It can't even run reliably at its own minimum base clock. That has to be false advertising. Or something. It's wrong and shady and sad, that's for sure.

 

[pl1984]

Agree to disagree. Windows is a complete joke in my opinion. A total nightmare full of bugs that will never be resolved because there are too many variables.

Can you please provide specific details of those bugs?

 

[haruhiko]

I think there is a huge problem with the fan control. My base i7 (2.2Ghz) 15" was getting extremely hot on my lap (granted I was installing Parallels / Win10). It was really bad and I kept wondering -- when are the fans going to turn on?

Eventually they did and the chassis became bearable again. I think Apple is trying to push being quiet over heat/performance. I think that it is a bad tradeoff. My keyboard and my lap were really uncomfortable due to the heat. I cannot imagine what the i9 would do.

The photos app is the culprit since it's downloading all the original photos from iCloud photo library if you are using it.

 

[dspdoc]

I'm seriously bummed out. This is the first time I've been excited about a Mac release in a good long while. I bought my current 2016 MacBook Pro just because the machine it was replacing was so old, not because I especially wanted it.

It seems sort of silly, to be honest. I'm starting to wonder if macOS is even worth the buy-in anymore.

Apple charged the guy you're replying to an extra $400 for a CPU "upgrade" that is 100% useless. Worse than useless. It can't even run reliably at its own minimum base clock. That has to be false advertising. Or something. It's wrong and shady and sad, that's for sure.

This is why I think Apple should have never even attempted the i9 thing. Could have dodged this whole bullet. It’s just my opinion, but the i9 is already a furnace. It has no place in the current MBP form factor. I think the i7 is more than enough for any “pro” user. Seems Apple got a little over zealous at trying to impress their customers and shot themselves in the foot.

 

[pl1984]

GUI issues out the wazoo, blinking taskbar icons, freezing installs. There’s 3. Have dozens more. Done debating your love of Windows. It’s all yours, have at it!

What the hell are "GUI issues out the wazoo"? What do you mean by "blinking taskbar icons"? Freezing installs? How many times have you installed Windows and at what point did these installations freeze? I can't think of a single time an installation has frozen on me.

 

[k4ever]

The problem is, most people here will say they’re going to speak with their wallet but very few will actually do it - if AAPL’s revenues and stock price as of late is any indication. Toothless threats from people who talk trash on the Internet while giving Apple their money in real life.

Agreed, but I haven't given Apple my money since they stop making the iPod Touch. All of their other products have had some limitation that I just couldn't stomach for the price, so I chose to buy other products and hoped that Apple would get better. The first computer I ever used was an Apple IIc and I have loved some of what the company has done since then. However, I have had to consistently turn down one Apple product after another for the last ten years. Android phones were better (as indicated by their ridiculous 80% market share). iPads were and still are worthless, even though Apple is finally trying to make them more like real computers instead of things we buy and then give our children to keep them quite. The MBP was always the Apple product I wanted and still followed until Apple got greedy and screwed that up. Now what Apple is doing to the MBP is just plain incompetence.

You are right though, based on some of the comments here. There are still idiots who will complain, then still give Apple their money, then hope for better. This will never get better as long as people continue to pay Apple for their mistakes.