MacBook Pro i9 throttling and performance

[Meads]

Originally Posted by TNM

All i know is, a windows laptop with that setup is a grand cheaper, but with 3 SSD inside to top it off (2 x 1TB NVME, 1 x 1TB sata), a 17" HD screen, a much better graphics card (1070), and a numeric keypad (essential for PT).

I gladly pay a grand more for MacOS. Not having to deal with Windows every day is worth $1/day, and I use a Mac at least for three years. So it's prob even less per day.
This is what people don't seem to consider when they make their comparison. When you buy a Mac you do not only pay for hardware. You also pay for software experience that is far superior to Microsoft. At least to those who make that conscious purchase decision.
To each their own, but I for one cannot bear to deal with Windows. I'd rather use DOS.

[xrekcor]

Originally Posted by Meads

...but I for one cannot bear to deal with Windows. I'd rather use DOS.

that is an interesting idea. I reckon you could build a pretty solid DAW (perhaps over time) in DOS..... if knew what you was doing, ****off windoze completely.

[RobertDorn]

just have an i9 2018 MPB in use for 2 days. Ran some pretty loaded sessions with multiple VI's and +/- 100 mix plugins loaded, 256 samples buffer size on PT 2018.4, runs smooth!! Fans do kick in, not very loud, but as I use laptop for more mobile/location producing and mixing I use a headphone 9 of 10 times so it doesn't bother me that much:)

[bobo mark]

Originally Posted by Meads

I gladly pay a grand more for MacOS. Not having to deal with Windows every day is worth $1/day, and I use a Mac at least for three years. So it's prob even less per day.
This is what people don't seem to consider when they make their comparison. When you buy a Mac you do not only pay for hardware. You also pay for software experience that is far superior to Microsoft. At least to those who make that conscious purchase decision.
To each their own, but I for one cannot bear to deal with Windows. I'd rather use DOS.

I run 9 Mac systems, from Macbook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac to Mac Pro 2010, Mac Pro 2013. and use Pro Tools from ver.1.15 (Yes, since1989 Sound Tools system) .

And I try to NOT to buy Mac anymore. In fact, after 30 years using Mac OS. I just bought Dell XPS 15 9560 4K (not the latest 9570). I am much much happier to use Window 10 now. before I bought XPS I can't find any reference to run UAD 8P or Pro Tools HDX sucessfully . We all assume Pro Tools must run on Macbook ... Pro Tools is super smooth on XPS, everything faster, except opening session. ( Im guessing PT load session to RAM while opening session on XPS, once session open less than 3 sec disc cache will green. it actually faster than my main machine Mac Pro 2013 12 cores, 64gig RAM)


Mac OS is become more more close system, Pro Tools need to catch up with OS, almost each OS will make trouble for Pro Tools .. and we pay for Mac OS update NOT Pro Tools ...

[xrekcor]

Originally Posted by bobo mark

And I try to NOT to buy Mac anymore. In fact, after 30 years using Mac OS. I just bought Dell XPS 15 9560 4K (not the latest 9570). I am much much happier to use Window 10 now........

Funny ive gone the other way. I’ve been the windoze guy since 3.1 I even remember the day my brother brought one of those mail order build it yourself IBM machines ya plugged into ya tv and your programs loaded from the tape deck (pre floppy disc) he wrote a version of space invaders as well as that tennis prg Pong? that had the local kids going grazy.... my bro went from nerd to legend after that lol

[LDS]

Originally Posted by TNM

Fix is out but it is still underperforming.. i am pretty sure it's a BS band aid to cover the VRM issue but could be wrong.. someone even said all they did was reduce turbo so it doesn't heat up as fast LOL..

without testing myself, how can one really be sure. Who knows.

All i know is, a windows laptop with that setup is a grand cheaper, but with 3 SSD inside to top it off (2 x 1TB NVME, 1 x 1TB sata), a 17" HD screen, a much better graphics card (1070), and a numeric keypad (essential for PT).

You'll be thoroughly upset when you try one out and realise that it is actually a highly useable computer with a mere 20 to 25% increase in performance compared to the same priced 2017 models.

The issue has absolutely been sensationalised out of all proportions. The Dell XPS15 9550, 9560 and 9570 all experience throttling issues, in some cases dropping to clock speeds of 0.78gHz or even worse... hitting thermal shutdown. How many IT news outlets or DUC/GS/music forum threads do you see about the XPS15? Nadda. Zilch. Zip. This really is a storm in a tea cup.

In reality, the new MacBook pros are extremely capable. If you can't do what you want on a MacBook Pro 2018, then no MacBook Pro is existence ever will do what you need. The mere fact that the new MBPs offer the option of 32gb of ram has some really major upsides for music production and sample heavy sessions. Compared to other MacBook pro's, this model has scaled a mountain... yet people seem insistent on focusing on the small stone it tripped over at the top. It is idiocy really. As a tool, it is really, really... REALLY capable.

[Guitarman002]

I have had my MacBook Pro 2018 and am very happy with performance. The fans are not loud as mentioned and to be honest I don't know that I have been able to get them to kick on but my Pro Tools 2018 sessions are much lighter in nature as far as numbers of tracks and plug ins. I agree that this machine will do most anything that you would want it to do with Pro Tools....it's going to be quite a few years before I'll need another upgrade.

[TNM]

Originally Posted by Meads

I gladly pay a grand more for MacOS. Not having to deal with Windows every day is worth $1/day, and I use a Mac at least for three years. So it's prob even less per day.
This is what people don't seem to consider when they make their comparison. When you buy a Mac you do not only pay for hardware. You also pay for software experience that is far superior to Microsoft. At least to those who make that conscious purchase decision.
To each their own, but I for one cannot bear to deal with Windows. I'd rather use DOS.

Sorry I explained that wrong.. it wasn't just the thousand dollars, I am saying if i bought it as is, what EXTRA it also got for the thousand cheaper.. the big bit being the 4 SSD's.. That's huge... To get that sort of storage on macbook takes it to 9 thousand here vs the 4 something for the windows one.. so much more than 1000 dollars.

Win 10 is pretty straightforward..

One thing that drives me crazy about mac is that it never remembers my finder view settings for various folders, and windows definitely doesn't have that issue. But other than that, i WAY prefer finder, and no bloatware at all is installed on OSX.. Even the OS itself, windows, is full of bloatware now...

Now, to go on a tangent about hell with dell..if anyone is interested in the story..,The last two days trying to buy a PC from them, was literally a humiliation that I have never experienced from apple, and it's actually pushed me back *towards* apple.. CAUSE.. every single time i have called apple in the last ten years, I have spoken to an Australian that can understand me, and me them. I can't even speak to an Australian salesmen at dell, it all goes to India. I love Indians as much as the next person, but I have a great difficulty understanding many of them speak English, and i get embarrassed to ask them to please speak slower and louder. Plus, the fact that apple is supporting Australian jobs of *some* kind, does appeal to me.

Before saying, "why would a Pro Tools user buy a hell?".. well..actually, they are blowing out their inspiron 27 all in one with ryzen 1700 and nvme boot drive inside, for 1898 AUD, reduced from just under 3K...It really is a good buy.
Also with an 8GB RX580 and 4K screen, and every review has praised the screen.

I was actually going to simply get it to have a windows machine that i could try, to see how I went along, and a Ryzen 1700 is way more powerful than any of my current machines anyway. Double for sure. So I thought for that price, with such a great screen and decent graphics, at worse I could use premiere on it for video editing, which would run SO much faster than on any other hardware I currently own anyway.. and i could game.
I couldn't see a downside to buying it even if i decided long term that I didn't want windows as my main DAW.. it also has a usb c and 6 USB ports which is very generous for a cheap all in one, and a HDMI input to be used as a dedicated screen. Also has on board ethernet, so i could even use it as a dedicated VE Pro horsepower slave.
This is the one here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKFlz4to3ks

All i find is good reviews for it, and the back cover comes off with two screws with access to sata slot (there's a 5400 rpm in there i'd put a sata ssd in that i already have waiting to be used, a sandisk 480gb), ram slots (would eventually put 32 in, comes with 16) and nvme slot (very good results for that one, so would just leave it as boot drive).

The screen is color accurate and is great for editing.. so I was all excited about it.

But yeah, by the end of the two days, simply trying to ask someone there if there was a way to ship it with 32GB and pay extra up front, and also to ask if there was a penalty if i upgraded warranty at end of first year instead of buying at point of sale.. What i had to go through for those two questions, soured the whole thing..Multiple phone calls, writing emails, live online chat.. The worst part being, that i called them yesterday saying I was ready to buy, the item was in my cart, but I just wanted to double check the warranty thing before i paid as well as also if i could simply install an extra 16gb of ram myself when the machine arrived.. they said "sales were busy and they'd get back to me".. There was a 5% coupon yesterday, "1399OFF", which brought it down to 1800, and as said, I had it all in my cart with coupon applied already, credit card in hand.. No one called back, so today when I woke up, I said "screw it", & went to just buy it anyway, but coupon no longer valid. I was upset, as 100 bucks is 100 bucks.

So i called them about *that* today, to say that i called yesterday, and was ready to buy and no one got back to me, and he refused to match the coupon but said he'd ask his manager and get back to me in an hour.. I waited 7 hours, no one rang, so *I* called AGAIN, and somehow got the SAME salesman Deepak, and I said I was over it by then and felt humiliated cause I was literally ready to buy it, and all i wanted to do was ask sales a simple question, and it was them not ringing me back that caused me to miss the coupon to begin with!..
And he said he understood, and that could he please have my business, and from completely ignoring me, it went to BEGGING me to give them a chance and that I was a "VIP".. and i kept on saying to him, but my original questions have STILL not been answered! And he said, what are those, and i said, i told you multiple times already but you kept interrupting me!
"Can i get 32gb ram, if not, can i upgrade it myself without voiding the warranty, as it's easily accessible"! He immediately told me that I would invalidate the entire machine warranty if i put ram in myself, but he could get it done for me before it was sent out. And i said, can i please get a quote on that, to know if i am willing to pay that much?, and he said, "that's another department entirely, so let me get your billing address and credit card and I can transfer you after that.."

And that was just too much for me, I mean i am really condensing the story here too mind you.. and i said, "I'm going now, i have completely lost interest, you have driven me back to apple - I told the first person i spoke to yesterday that this was my first pc in ten years and how i was looking at leaving apple, and this is the experience I had.. See ya..". And i hung up.

I was so annoyed, but now I am annoyed at myself as after all that, he was going to do the price.. But the way my calls never got returned even once, how i had to email them proof that i had called the day before with a screenshot from my phone's call history!, how i was told installing my own ram would kill warranty (which i later found out online is completely false, it only means i lose ram warranty from dell.. well. duh! I would have ram warranty from the ram supplier lol!)
How i just felt like i was nothing but garbage to them, as i wasn't a business buying an expensive computer or lots of computers for an office.. well.. was just too much.. I had just lost interest, like the excitement of it was totally killed off by their contempt and lack of knowledge. Did I just get someone really bad or are Dell known for this??
The google australia dell reviews are 1.5 stars out of 5 overall.. so maybe it wasn't just me? And all the complaints are about service.

The other thing i found out is, if something goes wrong with a dell, they ask for remote access to your machine to diagnose, and i would never, ever allow that. So maybe that in itself would mean i'd have been denied warranty anyway.
Regardless, after all that, I do wish i had gotten it, simply because of the price.. I can't put together a system like that for that money, not even close to it, not with those components and a 4K screen.. and i would have had 15 days change of mind anyway like apple do.. So i could have used it non stop for 2 weeks and maybe i would have hated it or maybe would have really loved it and kept it.

To put it in perspective, for $1800 for that machine.. i paid $4500 for my imac in 2011 with 2600 3.4ghz quad core, 16GB ram, 256 SSD and 2TB 7200 Rpm. 1440P vs 4K.
And i can't game on the imac at all, not any current titles.. Really should have bought the helldell to game at 1080P which the RX580 can do perfectly (not 4K), to video edit, the screen itself, and to simply experience windows 10 in a pre built ready to go machine where i needed to do nothing to at least get going. Other than turn it on and install my DAWs. It's so weird that I wanted that machine SO much, and it was the company selling them that stopped me from getting it, they put me off to such a degree lol!

[TNM]

Originally Posted by LDS

You'll be thoroughly upset when you try one out and realise that it is actually a highly useable computer with a mere 20 to 25% increase in performance compared to the same priced 2017 models.

The issue has absolutely been sensationalised out of all proportions. The Dell XPS15 9550, 9560 and 9570 all experience throttling issues, in some cases dropping to clock speeds of 0.78gHz or even worse... hitting thermal shutdown. How many IT news outlets or DUC/GS/music forum threads do you see about the XPS15? Nadda. Zilch. Zip. This really is a storm in a tea cup.

In reality, the new MacBook pros are extremely capable. If you can't do what you want on a MacBook Pro 2018, then no MacBook Pro is existence ever will do what you need. The mere fact that the new MBPs offer the option of 32gb of ram has some really major upsides for music production and sample heavy sessions. Compared to other MacBook pro's, this model has scaled a mountain... yet people seem insistent on focusing on the small stone it tripped over at the top. It is idiocy really. As a tool, it is really, really... REALLY capable.

Sorry you have me confused with someone else.. My next computer is a desktop, whether apple or win. I will keep my current macbook till it no longer works.. :)
It's the imac int he sig I am replacing, the one in my main studio room where i do 99% of my composing. I use the macbook to beta test plugins for some companies, and install demos.. my studio machine has never had something installed on it I don't use hehe.

If i got a 6 core laptop i would get one that does NOT throttle, like the Dell G7 or Acer 500 17".... Yes XPS and other thin ones with 6 cores throttle..

Fluctuating mhz of the CPU is one of the leading reasons one will get an overload stop playback error or pops and clicks in any DAW. :)

Oh, and PS, I will never buy another laptop without a numeric keypad again. Ever. As long as I use pro tools that is. If i switch entirely to Cubase, i am not so fussed about it.

[Meads]

Originally Posted by TNM

And i can't game on the imac at all, not any current titles..

Seriously, I couldn't care less about gaming. I need a computer for work. And if I spend 10k on a computer that makes my life easier in that regard, I gladly pay that, and I do not care if it can't game, give *******s or make a mean coffee.
I don't know why people always come up with gaming in discussions like that. Everybody can have their hobby, but I'm not starting to bring up kite surfing or stamp collecting in a thread like this.