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Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

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Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#141

Post by satysin »

joshstrange wrote: post #60

This appears to be working as expected. Here is a graph [0] of the Intel Power Gadget while I ran Cinebench. They are not the same length because it took longer before the update and I cut out the parts before and after. Pretty striking difference IMHO and it never went below base clock after the update. I was worried about my i9 but I'm not anymore. Also if anyone is wondering it went from 780cb -> 860cb but I would…

Hmm my i7 8850H gets 1024cb[0] so I would expect your i9 to do better than 860cb even with some other stuff going on at the same time.

https://i.imgur.com/o83CM33.png

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#142

Post by gamblor956 »

toasterlovin wrote: post #102
gamblor956 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple settled a fairly large lawsuit related to Antennagate and was forced to send out a bumper case to affected users so they could hold the phone the "Jobs" way and get reception rather than the way you would normally hold...literally any other phone before, during, or since Antennagate, including newer iPhone models.

They settled for $15/phone or a free case (they had already offered a free case to customers of their own accord). They kept the iPhone 4 around for 2 years after it was no longer their marquee model. Surely if Antennagate was actually a problem for a significant portion of customers they would have stopped selling it as soon as possible (aka, upon release of the 4S). But they didn't.

I think you severely underestimate the difficulty in retooling supply chains for relatively minor issues. It wasn't worth the cost of doing what you suggest when the issue could easily be fixed with a free bumper or by getting people to hold the phone in a non-ergonomic manner.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#143

Post by gamblor956 »

reaperducer wrote: post #100
gamblor956 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple settled a fairly large lawsuit related to Antennagate and was forced to send out a bumper case to affected users so they could hold the phone the "Jobs" way and get reception rather than the way you would normally hold...literally any other phone before, during, or since Antennagate, including newer iPhone models.

TBH, the "Jobs" way was the normal way that most people held a phone. It was the people who smothered the whole handset in some kind of crazy death grip that had attenuation problems. I got my bumper in the mail, but never needed or used it.

Most of the people I know who had iPhones had issues with the iphone 4 antenna, and only one or two of them are death-grippers. The problem was Apple's poor design, which Apple itself acknowledged by settling the case, offering free bumpers, and redesigning the antenna in future models.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#144

Post by joshstrange »

satysin wrote: post #141
joshstrange wrote: post #60

This appears to be working as expected. Here is a graph [0] of the Intel Power Gadget while I ran Cinebench. They are not the same length because it took longer before the update and I cut out the parts before and after. Pretty striking difference IMHO and it never went below base clock after the update. I was worried about my i9 but I'm not anymore. Also if anyone is wondering it went from 780cb -> 860cb but I would…

Hmm my i7 8850H gets 1024cb[0] so I would expect your i9 to do better than 860cb even with some other stuff going on at the same time. https://i.imgur.com/o83CM33.png

I don’t doubt it can do better, I just have a bunch running in the background and this was right after startup (after applying the patch).

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#145

Post by breatheoften »

opencl wrote: post #92
sgillen wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article made it seem like this only affected a small number of units? Their quality control probably doesn’t look at every single unit. Although it’s interesting that they didn’t find it at all, since reading HN and reddit gave me the impression it was very widespread.

Apple always claims their issues affect a small number of units. I have seen zero people that tested the i9 MBP and did not see major throttling. The issue is clearly the result of a fundamental defect in how they were managing power and thermals.

The official explanation seems to be that the key management defect which lead to thermal management problems did not occur in the development machines used during the engineering process. This seems possible as presumably every machine used internally goes through a different provisioning process than those released into customer hands ... Thus the claimed cause of the problem seems to indicate that the flaw did not affect the internal benchmarks they ran. It would be _very_ concerning if the benchmarks they ran for engineering/marketing production were insufficient to catch this issue.

I think the official explanation seems pretty likely. If the flaw had been present in the machines used for benchmarking than either their benchmarks didn’t catch the issue (unlikely) or the benchmarking numbers were fabricated which also seems unlikely as it would invite an infeasible amount of legal risk for an organization of apples size and mindshare ...

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#146

Post by STRML »

hajile wrote: post #29
blacksmith_tb wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did (quietly) roll out improvements[1] to the keyboard, though time will tell if they actually help enough... 1: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/7/19/17590100/a...

They need to improve the key travel. If I wanted to type on a flat board, I'd get a Yoga Book. https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/tablets/android-tablets/yoga-bo...

Anecdotally, the 2018 key travel feels better than the 2017. But I can't stand the touch bar even after a year with it.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#147

Post by S_A_P »

I didn’t follow my own advice and I bought a new top spec i9 MacBook Pro. I’ve an iMac pro with a persistent issue that causes kernel panics. Apple is gathering information about the issue and I’ve had a few calls with an engineer. So far it isn’t fixed.

When I got my i9 mbp I noticed the fan was quite active and it was fast, but not significantly better than my 2014 mbp quad core. I just updated with the fix this morning and so far I notice way less fan usage and it did seem to be a bit snappier. I will run some benchmarks later and see where it lands. If it isn’t working I’m about ready to abandon platform. Sucks because my entire music studio is Mac based.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#148

Post by always_good »

reaperducer wrote: post #106
coldtea wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't see how you can get more cooling with a firmware change when the fans are already going at full speed It's not about what you do when the temperature if at its peaks and the fans are going at full speed, it's about how you avoid getting there. > How is this going to impact some of those bad solder joints MacBooks are famous for? When did MacBooks became famous for "bad solder joints"?

When did MacBooks became famous for "bad solder joints"? Have you noticed how low the bar is for "famous" these days? Whether it's some FaceTube "star" or tech "scandal" du jour, everything is massive these days and everyone on the planet is affected. Somehow, there are no small issues anymore.

My friend and I have a hobby of linking each other to headlines of "The Internet is Outraged about " where the article body embeds 10 random tweets.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#149

Post by toasterlovin »

gamblor956 wrote: post #142
toasterlovin wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They settled for $15/phone or a free case (they had already offered a free case to customers of their own accord). They kept the iPhone 4 around for 2 years after it was no longer their marquee model. Surely if Antennagate was actually a problem for a significant portion of customers they would have stopped selling it as soon as possible (aka, upon release of the 4S). But they didn't.

I think you severely underestimate the difficulty in retooling supply chains for relatively minor issues. It wasn't worth the cost of doing what you suggest when the issue could easily be fixed with a free bumper or by getting people to hold the phone in a non-ergonomic manner.

> It wasn't worth the cost of doing what you suggest when the issue could easily be fixed with a free bumper or by getting people to hold the phone in a non-ergonomic manner.

Exactly. It wasn't that big of a deal.

I mean, we haven't even gotten into how a bunch of other phones which were on sale at the time exhibited the exact same behavior.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#150

Post by x2f10 »

dpkonofa wrote: post #97
bradenb wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't part of the definition of a laptop that it should be able to be used comfortably resting on the user's lap?

That's why they're explicitly not referred to as laptops but notebook computers. It's the reason Apple calls them MacBooks only and not laptops.

You have to be kidding.

What you're referring to is a branding tactic. It has nothing to do with some subconscious direction on how to use the device. It's not only reasonable, but expected, that customers will use the device in their laps... no matter what the naming convention. Come on.

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