God, those GPU choices would be so preferable over Apples to me. Apart from FCPX, the 1060 is just hilariously above the Radeon Pro 560, even the 1050 in the 13" is.
What are you using a 13" laptop for that needs higher end graphics? Please don't tell me you're using FCP on it....
I don't understand the critique.
If they fit the power of a GTX 1050 in a 13" laptop, the retort of "please tell me you're not _____" is flipped on its head, is it not? You weren't doing those things because 13"s weren't powerful enough. A 1050 is pretty damn powerful. So use the smallest computer you can get away with, and a more powerful 13" laptop will let more people use that for more things.
And forget 13"ers - the 1050 in the 13" SB is more powerful then the Radeon Pro 560 in the top end 15 inch rMBP.
So the answer is..."Whatever you'd do on a 15" with a 1050 now". I give the nod to macOS, but Apples GPU choices have left me wanting. A 1060 in the 15" rMBP and 1050 in the 13 would be amazing, but instead we have the Radeon at half the 1060s performance and an Intel IGP at half the MX150s, which is about half the 1050s...
Yes, GPUs seem impressive but there is no integrated graphics processor in the 13" i7 and 15" models. They come with Nvidia discrete graphics only, as I understand from Intel's i7-8650U's specs and Microsoft's 15" specs:
Surface Book 2 13.5” PixelSense™ Display Intel® HD Graphics 620 integrated GPU (on Intel® i5-7300U model) NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 discrete GPU w/2GB GDDR5 graphics memory (on Intel® i7-8650U models)
The lack of integrated graphics in high end models is the bad news all reviews and comments seem unaware of. That means the discrete GPU will always be on, having a huge impact on battery life and the heat produced that will cause processor throttling in turn. In high-end Macbook Pros we benefit from having two GPUs since many years. macOS switches automatically between Intel GPU and discrete GPU to preserve battery and control the heat produced.
The i7-8650U models, with NVIDIA graphics in the keyboard, have a UHD 620. How else do you think the device works as a tablet when separate from the keyboard?...
Think before you post next time.
This is Microsoft that should think before posting their specs next time. I gave the link, read before posting, to my habits as a customer those mean to me that i7 laptops don't have integrated graphics.
On the other hand, even if the optional Intel 620 GPU exists in i7-8650U, if it is only active in tablet mode but not in laptop mode, then this is still bad news. Since MS doesn't even mention it, that means it is not used in laptop mode and the Nvidia is always on in laptop mode.
Think even deeper before posting.
No, it does not mean that. Like most laptops with integrated and discrete graphics, the Surface Book only uses the NVIDIA graphics when it requires extra performance, as it has done in previous models.
PCIe SSD is only available in 1TB configurations, the others are SATA SSD. We benefit from NVMExpress SSD even on entry level Retina Macbook.
They're all PCIe NVMe...
Seriously, I'm not wasting anymore time on you. You're either extremely ignorant, or you're just trying to be annoying on purpose (borderline trolling).
The Microsoft specs are there. When it is stated 1TB PCIe SSD among others without PCIe qualifiers, then that means the others are not PCIe. They know what they say. I know and trust Microsoft and its products I am intensively using.
Here is how Apple promotes PCIe with different configurations:
God, those GPU choices would be so preferable over Apples to me. Apart from FCPX, the 1060 is just hilariously above the Radeon Pro 560, even the 1050 in the 13" is.
So many arguments over trivial matters in this thread, when the only real argument that has meaning is the one about Johnny Ive gutting the MacBook Pro of pro features, which the Microsoft Surface Book 2 now has, including the equivalent of MagSafe, an SD card slot, and USBA ports that supplement USBC ports.
We love MacOS are not going to buy the Surface Book to no matter how great it is. And that’s why the reasonable among us are so pissed off at Apple for having ruined the MacBook Pro and pissed off at the Cupertino worshipers among us who praise the MacBook Pro even though it’s no longer worthy of praise.
It’s time for Apple to do the right thing, do an about-face, and restore important functionality they removed from the late 2016 and 2017 models. And they should go a step further and restore the 17 inch model to the MacBook Pro line too.
So many arguments over trivial matters in this thread, when the only real argument that has meaning is the one about Johnny Ive gutting the MacBook Pro of pro features, which the Microsoft Surface Book 2 now has, including the equivalent of MagSafe, an SD card slot, and USBA ports that supplement USBC ports.
We love MacOS are not going to buy the Surface Book to no matter how great it is. And that’s why the reasonable among us are so pissed off at Apple for having ruined the MacBook Pro and pissed off at the Cupertino worshipers among us who praise the MacBook Pro even though it’s no longer worthy of praise.
It’s time for Apple to do the right thing, do an about-face, and restore important functionality they removed from the late 2016 and 2017 models. And they should go a step further and restore the 17 inch model to the MacBook Pro line too.
I have a 17" MacBook Pro mid 2010. Ports galore USB 2.0, FireWire 800, Expresscard slot, Mini Display port, DVD drive, MagSafe. Upgraded it with two SSDs. It's running High Sierra.
Guess what I just bought a new 15" MacBook Pro with 1TB a month ago. Is it gutted compared to my old MacBook Pro? Not in my opinion. The new machine is screaming fast. Has an amazing display. And yes I bought a dongle to be backward compatible with my old external drives. Some are USB 2.0, FireWire 800 and USB 3.0. Even a dongle for HDMI, power and USB. Yes I am a professional, yes I use Creative Cloud apps and yes I have been doing this for many years.
I'd rather Apple kept moving forward like the elimination floppy disks, DVD drives, old connections, etc. Everyone complains when they do it and then the rest of the industry does the same and the complaining stops.
God, those GPU choices would be so preferable over Apples to me. Apart from FCPX, the 1060 is just hilariously above the Radeon Pro 560, even the 1050 in the 13" is.
What are you using a 13" laptop for that needs higher end graphics? Please don't tell me you're using FCP on it....
I don't understand the critique.
If they fit the power of a GTX 1050 in a 13" laptop, the retort of "please tell me you're not _____" is flipped on its head, is it not? You weren't doing those things because 13"s weren't powerful enough. A 1050 is pretty damn powerful. So use the smallest computer you can get away with, and a more powerful 13" laptop will let more people use that for more things.
And forget 13"ers - the 1050 in the 13" SB is more powerful then the Radeon Pro 560 in the top end 15 inch rMBP.
So the answer is..."Whatever you'd do on a 15" with a 1050 now". I give the nod to macOS, but Apples GPU choices have left me wanting. A 1060 in the 15" rMBP and 1050 in the 13 would be amazing, but instead we have the Radeon at half the 1060s performance and an Intel IGP at half the MX150s, which is about half the 1050s...
Honestly, strange answers here, none of us wonder why the A series Apple chips keep getting more powerful, more power given adequate battery life and cooling is always welcome.
The 1060 mobile is in the 80W TDP range and the 1050 in the 40-50W TDP range. I really like my original SurfaceBook laptop as a windows laptop but I'd guess that they all throttle like crazy after a couple minutes. Even my new 2017 MBPs throttles pretty quick and the Radeon is in the 35-40W range.
So unless you're willing to get a larger desktop replacement laptop like the Dell Precisions it doesn't really matter what the specs say. These laptops all start throttling under heavy load and are thermally limited. TANSTAAFL. Neither Apple nor Microsoft can defy the laws of physics.
With TB3 and the ability to use an eGPU for heavy loads the MBP is much better than the new Surface offerings. By being able to move all that heat onto a desktop class GPU and cooling with a 400W PSU the minor performance hit of going over TB3 is well worth it.
Enough that I'm going to wait until 2018 for a refresh on my SurfaceBook and hope they have TB3 on the next model instead of just USB-C.
I have a 17" MacBook Pro mid 2010. Ports galore...
Guess what I just bought a new 15" MacBook Pro with 1TB a month ago. Is it gutted compared to my old MacBook Pro? Not in my opinion.
...yes I bought a dongle to be backward compatible with my old external drives. Some are USB 2.0, FireWire 800 and USB 3.0. Even a dongle for HDMI, power and USB. Yes I am a professional...
I'd rather Apple kept moving forward like the elimination floppy disks...
No matter how many times people bring up the comparison with floppy drives, a USBA port and an SD card slot are not floppy drives. No comparison. One proof? Consider the iMac which still has an SD card slot and USBA ports — yes, even the 2017 model! And you can’t say it’s because the iMac is bigger because the 15 inch MacBook Pro has plenty of space to accommodate both USBC and USPA and an SD card slot to.
USBC will not be ubiquitous for many years to come, no matter how hard Apple tries to force it upon the world. That’s why in the meantime, “pro“ notebooks from Apple should offer us built in functionality that bridges today with tomorrow. There’s plenty of space on the 15 inch MacBook Pro to do just that.
Furthermore, just because some of your pros out there don’t need or want or care about it a built in SD card slot or USBA doesn’t mean that other pros out there don’t want it or don’t need it.
“Hey, I’m a pro and I don’t need it“ statements are often proclaimed in Mac-centric forms like this and only work to preach the status quo at Cupertino rather than exhibit empathy for your fellow Mac users who don’t share those same less-demanding sentiments.
The fact is that Apple willingly created 3 different MacBook product lines. That their decision, not ours. The lower end lines have always been targeted towards people who prefer thinnest and lightness, rather than ports. What Apple should have done was make the MacBook Air even more powerful but satisfy folks such as yourself by stripping away most of the ports and slots. At the same time they should’ve left the MacBook Pro filled with ports to continue to satisfy people like myself who prefer to have such functionality built it. Doing it that way would satisfaction to pre-much every Mac lover out there.
Comments
Here is how Apple promotes PCIe with different configurations:
"256GB PCIe-based onboard SSD
Configurable to 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSD"
https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/
There is no ambiguity here regarding the availability of PCIe on all available configurations.
Most laptops with dual GPU state BOTH of them in their specs. Yours states only the discrete GPU. Here is how Apple promotes dual GPU on 15" MBP:
"Radeon Pro 560 with 4GB of GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching
Intel HD Graphics 630"
https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/
Don't waste your time here, you already exhausted your 2-post trolling quota.
We love MacOS are not going to buy the Surface Book to no matter how great it is. And that’s why the reasonable among us are so pissed off at Apple for having ruined the MacBook Pro and pissed off at the Cupertino worshipers among us who praise the MacBook Pro even though it’s no longer worthy of praise.
It’s time for Apple to do the right thing, do an about-face, and restore important functionality they removed from the late 2016 and 2017 models. And they should go a step further and restore the 17 inch model to the MacBook Pro line too.
Guess what I just bought a new 15" MacBook Pro with 1TB a month ago. Is it gutted compared to my old MacBook Pro? Not in my opinion. The new machine is screaming fast. Has an amazing display. And yes I bought a dongle to be backward compatible with my old external drives. Some are USB 2.0, FireWire 800 and USB 3.0. Even a dongle for HDMI, power and USB. Yes I am a professional, yes I use Creative Cloud apps and yes I have been doing this for many years.
I'd rather Apple kept moving forward like the elimination floppy disks, DVD drives, old connections, etc. Everyone complains when they do it and then the rest of the industry does the same and the complaining stops.
Just my opinion.
So unless you're willing to get a larger desktop replacement laptop like the Dell Precisions it doesn't really matter what the specs say. These laptops all start throttling under heavy load and are thermally limited. TANSTAAFL. Neither Apple nor Microsoft can defy the laws of physics.
With TB3 and the ability to use an eGPU for heavy loads the MBP is much better than the new Surface offerings. By being able to move all that heat onto a desktop class GPU and cooling with a 400W PSU the minor performance hit of going over TB3 is well worth it.
Enough that I'm going to wait until 2018 for a refresh on my SurfaceBook and hope they have TB3 on the next model instead of just USB-C.
USBC will not be ubiquitous for many years to come, no matter how hard Apple tries to force it upon the world. That’s why in the meantime, “pro“ notebooks from Apple should offer us built in functionality that bridges today with tomorrow. There’s plenty of space on the 15 inch MacBook Pro to do just that.
Furthermore, just because some of your pros out there don’t need or want or care about it a built in SD card slot or USBA doesn’t mean that other pros out there don’t want it or don’t need it.
“Hey, I’m a pro and I don’t need it“ statements are often proclaimed in Mac-centric forms like this and only work to preach the status quo at Cupertino rather than exhibit empathy for your fellow Mac users who don’t share those same less-demanding sentiments.
The fact is that Apple willingly created 3 different MacBook product lines. That their decision, not ours. The lower end lines have always been targeted towards people who prefer thinnest and lightness, rather than ports. What Apple should have done was make the MacBook Air even more powerful but satisfy folks such as yourself by stripping away most of the ports and slots. At the same time they should’ve left the MacBook Pro filled with ports to continue to satisfy people like myself who prefer to have such functionality built it. Doing it that way would satisfaction to pre-much every Mac lover out there.