Live data from Hacker News

MacBook Pro? No

shahidkamal.com

211–220 of 239 posts

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#211
post #83

I’m also stuck on an old MacBook Pro model. Can’t justify the price but after some research — namely trying to find an equivalent Lenovo or Hp or whatever — I reached the conclusion that it’s mostly Intel’s fault. Let me explain: Intel chipsets don’t support enough lanes to supply USB-c, GPU, SSD and anything else with no less than 4 of them. The extra “legacy port breakout” ruins the tally and that’s why Apple dropp…

Partial Correction - numbers - according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Pro#Technical_specific... 15"MBP use 2 TB3 chips, one per pair of USBc ports. This raises the total of PCIe lanes to 16 which corresponds to the max affordance of the i7 Cores used https://ark.intel.com/products/97185/Intel-Core-i7-7700HQ-Pr...

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#212
post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple choose the low voltage CPU, weaker GPU and super slim case at the expense of ports and computational power. Also 9 instead of say 6 hour battery life. The only thing "Pro" in MacBook Pro is the price. At the same price points you can get Lenovo, Dell or HP workstation class laptops.

As a professional computer toucher, I definitely value battery life because a dead laptop doesn't let me get work done

The "Professional" moniker signals improved workload capabilities more than it does mobility/battery life. Essentially, Apple needs to change "MacBook Pro" to "MacBook On-The-Go" and just admit they don't have a Professional device.

When you think of a person with the title "computing professional", is your first thought, "Gee, I bet this guy spends very little time around power outlets"? No. While that may be true in some cases, that is not what the word "professional" means in the English language.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#213
post #83

I’m also stuck on an old MacBook Pro model. Can’t justify the price but after some research — namely trying to find an equivalent Lenovo or Hp or whatever — I reached the conclusion that it’s mostly Intel’s fault. Let me explain: Intel chipsets don’t support enough lanes to supply USB-c, GPU, SSD and anything else with no less than 4 of them. The extra “legacy port breakout” ruins the tally and that’s why Apple dropp…

The chipset doesn’t have to provide all the functionality. There’s no reason they couldn’t add another USB controller chip like most PC motherboards. The RAM is technically Intel’s fault, even though it isn’t like Apple has no say in Intel’s roadmap. IMHO the 2015 MacBook Pro was the apogee of Apple design. It will be hard to beat.

Well where would you wire the extra controller to if not to a PCIe port? (it's in the name, Peripheral Component Interconnect ;)

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#214
This bums me out so much. I really, really love my 2015 MBP and 2013 MBAir and I'm afraid they were some of the last good releases. I hope apple can get their shit together before I'm in the market to get a new laptop.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#216
post #83

I’m also stuck on an old MacBook Pro model. Can’t justify the price but after some research — namely trying to find an equivalent Lenovo or Hp or whatever — I reached the conclusion that it’s mostly Intel’s fault. Let me explain: Intel chipsets don’t support enough lanes to supply USB-c, GPU, SSD and anything else with no less than 4 of them. The extra “legacy port breakout” ruins the tally and that’s why Apple dropp…

> Apple’s only homemade blunders are the asinine keyboard and the silly half assed attempt at touch-but-not-screen. The keyboard rules. Can confirm. Also some content creation apps I use (ex: Ableton) are starting to get useful treatment in the Touch Bar. > Oh and the stupid obsession with thin The thinner the laptop, the more stuff I can cram in my carry on. ymmv

2015 MacBook Pro - 0.71 x 14.13 x 9.73 = 97.6 cu in

2017 MacBook Pro - 0.61 x 13.75 x 9.48 = 79.5 cu in

The difference is 18 cubic inches, about the size of a 2 1/2" cube. I personally would take a few more hours of battery life, 32GB memory, SD card slot, etc in exchange for that volume on my carry on, even if I traveled as much as once a week.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#218
I'd never pay for new Apple equipment because buying used/refurbished is so much more economical.

This summer I got a used 2015 MBP for $1,050 from Amazon (and it still has AppleCare until September 2018!) Last summer, I got a used Mac Pro 2012 for around the same price. Both are running flawlessly right now. I wouldn't have bought the MBP without the AppleCare and I'm glad I didn't because the battery stopped charging past 40% after 6 months and Apple had to replace it with a new one. I could probably still sell this machine for > $1,000.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#219

So, what's the alternative? Razer blade? Can we use Windows 10 and be happy?

I've been doing Node.js, Postgres, Redis, React.js, Angular, Ruby, Python and pretty much anything that else that I've wanted to do on Windows for over a decade.

IMO and in my experience, if you can't be happy with Windows and make it work for you then you're probably too picky and/or biased.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#220
post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a professional computer toucher, I definitely value battery life because a dead laptop doesn't let me get work done

The "Professional" moniker signals improved workload capabilities more than it does mobility/battery life. Essentially, Apple needs to change "MacBook Pro" to "MacBook On-The-Go" and just admit they don't have a Professional device. When you think of a person with the title "computing professional", is your first thought, "Gee, I bet this guy spends very little time around power outlets"? No. While that may be true i…

> Essentially, Apple needs to change "MacBook Pro" to "MacBook On-The-Go" and just admit they don't have a Professional device.

The Verge's review[0] was not far off: it is a MacBook Air replacement... except the Air had insane battery life and that one definitely falls short.

[0]: https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/2/13490774/apple-macbook-pr...

Post reply on HN