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MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

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Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#251

Post by nicoburns »

mynameisvlad wrote: post #239
nicoburns wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's no secret that Apple's M2 series processors are a pretty minor improvement over the M1 series. Expect much bigger improvements in the M3 series which will likely be using TSMC's 3nm process (and then probably only minor improvements again for the M4 series). It seems that Apple's ridiculously impressive consistent year-on-year gains up the M1 were in large part possible because they were behind the state of the…

Apple’s M1 chips already offered improvements compared to their previous generation Intel chips, and Intel hasn’t exactly been innovating in the last 2 years. By all accounts, they have been ahead of Intel, at the very least. I’m not exactly sure how Apple was “behind the state of the art” and has caught up. Can you explain?

> I’m not exactly sure how Apple was “behind the state of the art” and has caught up. Can you explain?

The M1 was when they caught up. They were behind the state of the art (of laptop/desktop chip performance) with their A series chips starting with the A4. They gradually caught up over the course of several years to the point that when they released the M1 chip (which was really not that different to the A15) they were slightly ahead.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#252

Post by nchi3 »

TacticalCoder wrote: post #84
dchuk wrote: post #14

It’s crazy how far ahead Apple is getting in the laptop game with these new chips. I have the first gen MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro (ok maybe they’re not winning the naming game), and it’s a perfect computer. Battery life is literally all day, every single action is instant, I have zero regard for many apps or tabs I have open. It’s just perfect. I have literally traveled with just a 30 watt anker brick for my phone…

> It’s crazy how far ahead Apple is getting in the laptop game with these new chips. For people who don't mind an ultra-brittle screen or who don't mind paying an extra 20% Apple tax to get their screen replaced when it breaks. Had a M1 Mac. Screen broke overnight. Meanwhile my LG Gram feels way more sturdy and hasn't let me down in years. M1 Mac lasted about 13 months. Not happy at all with Apple asking 680 EUR to r…

My workplace is all MacBooks, and a lot of employees have gone over to M1s, and I have not heard of a single case of this happening.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#253

Post by csdvrx »

throwawaylinux wrote: post #160
csdvrx wrote: post #56

That's when I realize how much my weird hardware preferences set me apart: I mostly care about an OLED screen and ECC ram. Then, a touchscreen supporting pen entry, and a good keyboard (with the edit keys like home/insert/pageup/pagedown directly accessible, bonus is there's also printscreen) especially if it's not a foldable or a tablet. Apple's got good CPU and battery life, but unless the core features are present…

What laptop do you use?

Thinkpads. I like the Fold https://csdvrx.github.io/ but it doesn't have ECC, so it's only 3/4 (the keyboard is not ideal, but it's a foldable, so I can bring my own keyboard, which grants the "keyboard" point)

The P7x P5x and some of the previous P1 have Xeons and ECC, so it's 4/4 core requirements.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#254

Post by wyclif »

garyrob wrote: post #223
optymizer wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hardware is indeed great. The software experience is getting worse imo, particularly when upgrading. It used to be rock solid for me. The m1 worked without any issues for 2 months. I upgraded yesterday to macOS Ventura: * Upgrade finished but laptop froze. Hard reset. * On first boot, the new System Settings failed to load icons, then froze. Trying to quit it froze the OS. Hard reset. * I left the laptop plugged…

My own experience is different. \Years ago I would wait at least 6 months or more before doing a mac upgrade because of the inevitable problems. With Ventura I didn't even wait for the first point release, and had no problems whatsoever. (I did have two complete backups handy just in case.) I'm not invaliding your experience, just mentioning that others have different experiences.

Same here. Traditionally, I always waited for the point one release before upgrading. This time with Ventura, for the first time I just updated to the point zero release and crossed my fingers. No problems, so I'm quite pleased.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#255

Post by bookofjoe »

shishy wrote: post #59
wrldos wrote: post #2

Pricing has gone crazy here in the UK. Paid £1899 for my M1 Pro. Same spec M2 Pro is £2199. Edit: at this rate when my previous gen one expires I'm going to think seriously about shifting back to ThinkPads...

I do get sticker shock at the prices, but I have to say I still use my 2015 MBP for dev work and it's been serving me well. That's quite the longevity... I'd hope if I got an M2 (thinking about upgrading in a year or two), that it lasts a similar duration. ~8 years, I wouldn't mind shelling out that price, especially since it pays me back so quickly (some consulting work). Have to check to see how reliable those thin…

Concur re: longevity: my 2012 MacBook Pro still runs perfectly. 11 years!

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#256

Post by mandmandam »

superkuh wrote: post #231
dchuk wrote: post #14

It’s crazy how far ahead Apple is getting in the laptop game with these new chips. I have the first gen MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro (ok maybe they’re not winning the naming game), and it’s a perfect computer. Battery life is literally all day, every single action is instant, I have zero regard for many apps or tabs I have open. It’s just perfect. I have literally traveled with just a 30 watt anker brick for my phone…

Things may be great on the high end of Apple's M1/M2 laptops given they actually have enough ram for simple tasks. But those are also insanely expensive. At the low end Apple is actively ripping off users providing computers which can't even edit photos. My father, a long time apple user, decided to get an Apple M1 to replace his old Apple macbook. He bought the M1 8GB model (without consulting me). Turns out that th…

... I think your dad got a funky laptop.

I've been on an 8GB M1 for two years, running Adobe CC the entire time. I've edited absolutely massive photos - Gigabyte TIFFs, batch processing, etc - and never had any crashes.

In fact I've done the above while playing HD video from YouTube with 40 tabs open and not experienced so much as a hiccup.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#257

Post by null_object »

optymizer wrote: post #153
dchuk wrote: post #14

It’s crazy how far ahead Apple is getting in the laptop game with these new chips. I have the first gen MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro (ok maybe they’re not winning the naming game), and it’s a perfect computer. Battery life is literally all day, every single action is instant, I have zero regard for many apps or tabs I have open. It’s just perfect. I have literally traveled with just a 30 watt anker brick for my phone…

The hardware is indeed great. The software experience is getting worse imo, particularly when upgrading. It used to be rock solid for me. The m1 worked without any issues for 2 months. I upgraded yesterday to macOS Ventura: * Upgrade finished but laptop froze. Hard reset. * On first boot, the new System Settings failed to load icons, then froze. Trying to quit it froze the OS. Hard reset. * I left the laptop plugged…

> The software experience is getting worse imo, particularly when upgrading.

Many people chiming-in about the absolutely rock-solid stability of the last few updates, and I'm adding my vote to that.

I have had zero system-crashes or freezes for maybe 2 or even 3 years now. I tend to wait to hear what other people's experiences are, but that waiting-time is getting shorter these days. And the update process is also getting smoother: almost never any need to fix update issues with apps.

If I go back 10 or 15 years, I remember regular kernel panics, tricky restarts into 'safe mode', spinning beachballs, clearing the PRAM (don't even remember what that was about anymore - but it was needed all the time), and so on. It was an ongoing task to keep the OS running.

So this idea that MacOS is "getting worse" is just complete amnesia, in my view. I have never worked with anything so stable and powerful in my entire developer experience over the last 25+ years.

If we're talking about the price of these machines (and especially the measly disks and RAM on the cheapest options) - that's another matter...

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#258

Post by judge2020 »

myself248 wrote: post #83
moonchrome wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was thinking about throwing some last gen parts into an old tower/PSU I have to build a desktop for inlaws since they are stuck on a 10year old hand down laptop. This is a good package at that price (599$) - power consumption is likely nothing, MacOS included in price, small and quiet - will comfortably browse the internet, play videos, etc. for the next 5+ years. I won't be able to repair it out of warranty so tha…

Shame I can't buy an M2 Max on an ATX mobo.

I imagine a lot of the performance of the M1 and thereafter is a direct result of moving the memory closer to the die. The power efficiency, sure, that's all engineering, but super close and fast memory right next to the CPU is only one step away from AMD's 3D v-cache that has (had) the 5800X3D beating out newer 7000 series AMD chips.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#260

Post by ynoxinul »

boplicity wrote: post #24
Mikeb85 wrote: post #10

Strange that Apple still isn't offering OLED screens when most other laptop makers are this year...

Apple laptops unfortunately give me severe eye strain and headaches; I don't know why. I'm on a laptop with a beautiful OLED screen now, and my eyes are much, much happier. I would switch back to Apple if they offered OLED. I doubt they will, though. They're keen on mini-led, which is inferior in my opinion.

I had the same problem. For me it was font antialiasing: eyes try to focus on the blurry text. After disabling the antialiasing I can stare at the screen for ages without any eye strain.
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