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MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1

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31–40 of 55 posts

Re: MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1

#31
post #4

The basic configuration still ships with 8GB of RAM. 16GB is $200 extra. I had an 8GB MacBook Pro in 2013. It wasn't enough then, it's absolutely inadequate now.

If you're not running VM's or opening hundreds of tabs in Chrome it's perfectly fine for everyday tasks. I'm using my 2016 MBP with 8 GB and have never had a problem except when trying to run multiple VM's. So 8 GB doesn't seem unreasonable as a minimum. You can upgrade if you need the extra, but a large number of buyers don't need it and prefer a cheaper base price.

Yeah but is this a pro machine? I'd have no problem with 8Gb on an "Air", but for a pro machine to be 16Gb max, it does seem inadequate

Re: MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1

#32
post #19
post #2

Summary: - 8 cores, 16 core neural engine. - GPU, RAM, Secure enclave and CPU integrated. - 5.x graphics performance. - 10h more battery life. - Thunderbolt/USB 4. Available from today, starts shipping next week. Price starts at $1299, or $1199 for education. Edit: 8GB RAM + 256GB SSD: $1299, 16GB RAM + 512GB SSD: 1499.

Seriously, it should be a crime to sell machines with 256GB SSD in 2020. All these starting prices look low, but those low end configurations will be a drag because of the RAM and storage decisions.

Makes more sense if you think of it like a Chromebook and use cloud storage and software.

Sadly Internet connectivity isn't that good for everyone, even in developed cities.

Re: MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1

#35
post #24
post #9

The 2.8x faster CPU claim is based on the following fine print: > Testing conducted by Apple in October 2020 using preproduction 13-inch MacBook Pro systems with Apple M1 chip, as well as production 1.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-based 13-inch MacBook Pro systems, all configured with 16GB RAM and 2TB SSD. Open source project built with prerelease Xcode 12.2 with Apple Clang 12.0.0, Ninja 1.10.0.git, and CMake 3.16.5.…

It's the Intel i7-8557u, which is pretty good. Twice the performance though? Likely in very specific benchmarks. Still, this is pretty impressive, and I say this as someone who will never buy Apple hardware.

> Twice the performance though? Likely in very specific benchmarks.

Keep in mind that the general performance of a given chip, and the performance of that chip in a thermally-constrained form-factor like a laptop, are very different things. Just because the i7-8557u is a decent CPU in a testbench, doesn't mean it didn't thermal-throttle itself under sustained load inside an MBP.

Re: MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1

#36
post #9

The 2.8x faster CPU claim is based on the following fine print: > Testing conducted by Apple in October 2020 using preproduction 13-inch MacBook Pro systems with Apple M1 chip, as well as production 1.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-based 13-inch MacBook Pro systems, all configured with 16GB RAM and 2TB SSD. Open source project built with prerelease Xcode 12.2 with Apple Clang 12.0.0, Ninja 1.10.0.git, and CMake 3.16.5.…

> it's still a bit disingenuous of Apple not to compare with the best of their previous models.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/11/apple-unleashes-m1/ Says: "“World’s fastest CPU core in low-power silicon”: Testing conducted by Apple in October 2020 using preproduction 13-inch MacBook Pro systems with Apple M1 chip and 16GB of RAM measuring peak single thread performance of workloads taken from select industry standard benchmarks, commercial applications, and open source applications. Comparison made against the highest-performing CPUs for notebooks, commercially available at the time of testing."

"highest-performing CPUs for notebooks, commercially available [in October 2020]" seems pretty good to me.

Re: MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1

#37

Is the "Pro" still appropriate?

I'm actually impressed by an ARM chip having so much performance. Although I shouldn't be, my smartphone has the processing power of an XBox One - unthinkable even 4 years ago, at least for me.

Everything being on such a small package must leave room for a lot of battery cells.

Re: MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1

#38
post #34

So, the baseline model has the M1 and the more expensive version has Intel i5. What's the point if the M1 is supposedly faster (or is it)?

A discrete GPU and more DRAM than can fit on the SoC package, neither of which the MBP13 now has access to.

I'm betting the M1 can't actually work with discrete GPUs (though it remains to be seen what happens if you plug an M1 Mac into an eGPU. What do Thunderbolt-supporting ARM devices generally do with an eGPU?)

Instead, discrete GPU support (and off-package [hierarchically-managed?] DRAM support) is waiting for the M1X-or-whatever, the next chip. Along with that chip, they'll refresh all the discrete-GPU product lines: the higher-end MBPs, the iMacs, and the Mac Pro.

(Personally, I'm betting that Apple will take this opportunity to get rid of truly discrete GPUs in their products, and instead partner with a graphics company like AMD to license IP cores to put in their higher-end SoCs. So you could see e.g. AMD's next-gen Vega with their Smart Access Memory tech, wired to Apple's SoC-internal UMA bus.)

Re: MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1

#39
post #2

Summary: - 8 cores, 16 core neural engine. - GPU, RAM, Secure enclave and CPU integrated. - 5.x graphics performance. - 10h more battery life. - Thunderbolt/USB 4. Available from today, starts shipping next week. Price starts at $1299, or $1199 for education. Edit: 8GB RAM + 256GB SSD: $1299, 16GB RAM + 512GB SSD: 1499.

I'm not seeing the "16GB RAM + 512GB SSD: 1499" configuration on the Buy page. The $1499 one says it has 8GB RAM, and any ones with more RAM say they have Intel chips, not the M1.

If I'm missing it or if there's some other way to get that config, do tell, since that's the config I'm interested in!

Re: MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1

#40
As someone dying to replace their 2017 15" Pro with something with a usable keyboard, I don't know if I'm convinced. Two fewer ports, a max of 16 GB of RAM, and no chassis redesign. Curious if anyone in a similar boat is planning on taking the plunge?
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