8 ms·

Had one for about 10 days, returned it for a variety of factors, but overall, it was a nice machine. But for my workload, I think I'll move to a 2015 if I can

Had one for about 10 days, returned it for a variety of factors, but overall, it was a nice machine. But for my workload, I think I'll move to a 2015 if I can get the config I want - should be ~ $1000 cheaper for about 95% of the benefit (some weight, some speed, retina screen, etc). $3700 ($3500 + tax) ended up feeling just a bit too much for the speed/value. Apparently, though, if I wait a bit longer, we might see a 32g model next year?

bpicolo 10y ago
3700 in what currency? I'm seeing 2900 USD fully specced (though definitely still absurd) edit: I was looking at the 13, oops
- sprite 10y ago
  The new 15 inch max specced is $4,299 + tax in the US.
  - bpicolo 10y ago
    Ah you're right, I had clicked the top end 13 on accident. That's just nuts. The upgrades are a real scam =/
    - rch 10y ago
      They've really done their homework though. Price sensitive buyers get to feel frugal for skipping upgrades, while others get to enjoy a premium good. For me it makes sense to max out the options, but just barely.
  - at-fates-hands 10y ago
    WOW. I could spec out a laptop (pick a vendor) with a 500SSD, i7, 32GB RAM and still be under 2K. I don't want to say their hardware is overpriced. . .but they're stuff is WAY over priced. http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-ZBook-Studio-G3-15-6-Core-i7-2-7GHz-32GB-RAM-512GB-SSD-M6V80AV-/232167317067 http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-ZBook-Studio-G3-15-6-Core-i7-2-7G... $1,350.00 - HP ZBook Studio G3 - 15.6" - Core i7 2.7GHz (6th Gen) - 32GB RAM - 512GB SSD (M6V80AV) It's a dealer refurb, but still. . .
    - bshimmin 10y ago
      You're seriously comparing a refurb on eBay..?
    - bpicolo 10y ago
      That said, 16 GB is sadly the norm. Dell XPS 15 caps there too. What the hell is going on here, though? Two different XPS 15 product pages: http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/xps-15-9550-laptop http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/xps-15-9550-la... http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-15-9550-laptop/pd http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-15-9550-laptop/pd From the former, you can't even get to a 16GB laptop, despite the same price points. What the hell is up with that? They target consumers with a crappier box at the same price, or what? Edit: I guess the 4k option is standard on the 1699 on the former page, and costs extra for the business version. That's pretty absurd though. The models are labeled exactly the same.
      - detaro 10y ago
        You can upgrade the Dell XPS 15 (9550) to 32 GB though. Only the XPS 13 has soldered-on RAM. And if I remember right, it is a user-servicable part, so no loss of warranty if you upgrade it yourself. EDIT: and price search sites show 32 GB models, so maybe you can have one upgraded directly from Dell somehow.
      - jasonlotito 10y ago
        Dell sells laptops that support higher caps. Apple does not. The issue is that consumers are limited by what Apple sells if they are reliant on MacOS. There is no competition for MacOS laptops.
    - elchief 10y ago
      my previous computer was an HP Elitebook with SSD and 32g ram, and it was a piece of crap compared to my 2015 MBP. Hot, loud, super heavy, no battery life, inelegant.
    - Bud 10y ago
      You aren't doing your homework here. Top spec on a MBP is not only a 2 TB SSD, four times what you are citing here; it's also a MUCH faster SSD than you can get on that HP at any price. The HP would get trounced in every benchmark available. It also has a markedly inferior display. Apples and oranges.
- mgkimsal 10y ago
  USD. 1TB 15" maxed out (well, except 1TB vs 2TB).
jxm262 10y ago
32g next year? This is the first I've heard of that. Do you have any references?
- mgkimsal 10y ago
  http://mashable.com/2016/11/01/macbook-pro-2017-32-gb/ http://mashable.com/2016/11/01/macbook-pro-2017-32-gb/ https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/31/2017-macbook-pro-rumors/ https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/31/2017-macbook-pro-rumors/ http://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/31/macbooks-2017-price-cuts-32gb-ram/ http://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/31/macbooks-2017-price-cuts... "updates" say that "cannonlake" just won't be out, and there's no plans from apple on this, but this was the rumor mill a month ago. I not necessarily ruling any of this out, and we'll see in 6 months.
  - slantyyz 10y ago
    They can make 32GB with current chipsets but chose not to for battery life. Given the outcry, they can put less efficient RAM in a newer model. The people asking for 32GB aren't newbies and presumably are willing to pay the price in battery life in exchange for the extra RAM. If I were in the market for a new Macbook Pro (I'm not), I'd be willing to make the sacrifice in battery life for the extra RAM, because I would try to make the MBP last for at least 5 years. For all the talk about USB-C only being a future-proof choice, limiting RAM to 16GB is not future-proofing.
    - Fnoord 10y ago
      > They can make 32GB with current chipsets but chose not to for battery life. This is false dichotomy. There are alternatives, parallel decisions. They could've decided to not sacrifice weight or size for battery power. This'd have made the MBP Pro, not Air like it is now. You used to buy a MBP for several years, so it'd need good battery power. The new MBPs are all less good with battery power, than the 2015 version. They're also so-called "future proof" with USB-C only yet you're gonna need adapters. Furthermore, you can't swap the SSD or the RAM so you're gonna need the amount you plan to use years forward (e.g. 2021). The USB-C move is contradicting to all the other moves. It doesn't add up, and people don't fall for it. That's why there's so much uproar on it. My theory is that Apple wants the MBP to be more like the iPhone/iPod/iPad: disposable hardware you replace every year or so, for professionals who earn a lot of money in the creative industry. Not programmers, not power users, not people who make an investment for several years. @ rayiner, hygiene.
sprite 10y ago
I really hope so. The 16gb ram limit is what's keeping me from pulling the trigger on one.
- samch 10y ago
  I'm in the same boat. My current MBP is a 2012 model, yet it has 16GB of RAM already. The biggest boost I would hope to see in a new MBP would come from increasing the RAM (I do a lot of work with large data sets and ETL, plus I run VMs concurrently with MacOS). There are now enough competitors (Dell and Lenovo for sure) with 32GB that I was among those who were genuinely surprised that Apple kept the cap at 16GB.
s_kilk 10y ago
> we might see a 32g model next year? Wasn't this year supposed to be when 32GB landed?
- toyg 10y ago
  And it would have landed, if Apple had not decided to arbitrarily shrink their batteries, hence requiring low-power options for their components (in this case, RAM) that are not available yet.
  - Bud 10y ago
    No, it wouldn't. And no, the slightly smaller battery was not "arbitrary". And thirdly, no, it's not that LPDDR isn't available; it's that this generation of Intel CPUs usable in a laptop don't support the current generation of LPDDR yet. In other words, it's Intel's fault, not Apple's, as posted above.
    - toyg 10y ago
      > this generation of Intel CPUs usable in a laptop Dell XPS says hi. I don't care if it doesn't have much battery life - give me the choice, dammit. If I wanted ultraportability and umpteen hours on battery, I would have bought an Air. > the slightly smaller battery was not "arbitrary" I must have missed the day a tank threatened to blow up Cupertino unless they reduced the battery size. Again, nobody asked them to have an MBP as thin as an Air. It was an arbitrary choice, and (IMHO, of course) a bad one.
      - TheCoelacanth 10y ago
        The XPS 15 has pretty solid battery life if you get one with the larger battery size and the FHD screen instead of the UHD screen.
- rbanffy 10y ago
  Would have been if Intel had released a 32GB capable mobile chip that's not slower than the last generation. Probably it got delayed after the overall shape and size were set in stone, so Apple had to go with the previous gen and work a miracle. Or it was a conscious decision since this shape/size will be the base of all laptops for the next few processor generations and will be supported for the next 10 years or so.

bpicolo 10y ago

3700 in what currency? I'm seeing 2900 USD fully specced (though definitely still absurd) edit: I was looking at the 13, oops

sprite 10y ago
The new 15 inch max specced is $4,299 + tax in the US.
- bpicolo 10y ago
  Ah you're right, I had clicked the top end 13 on accident. That's just nuts. The upgrades are a real scam =/
  - rch 10y ago
    They've really done their homework though. Price sensitive buyers get to feel frugal for skipping upgrades, while others get to enjoy a premium good. For me it makes sense to max out the options, but just barely.
- at-fates-hands 10y ago
  WOW. I could spec out a laptop (pick a vendor) with a 500SSD, i7, 32GB RAM and still be under 2K. I don't want to say their hardware is overpriced. . .but they're stuff is WAY over priced. http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-ZBook-Studio-G3-15-6-Core-i7-2-7GHz-32GB-RAM-512GB-SSD-M6V80AV-/232167317067 http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-ZBook-Studio-G3-15-6-Core-i7-2-7G... $1,350.00 - HP ZBook Studio G3 - 15.6" - Core i7 2.7GHz (6th Gen) - 32GB RAM - 512GB SSD (M6V80AV) It's a dealer refurb, but still. . .
  - bshimmin 10y ago
    You're seriously comparing a refurb on eBay..?
  - bpicolo 10y ago
    That said, 16 GB is sadly the norm. Dell XPS 15 caps there too. What the hell is going on here, though? Two different XPS 15 product pages: http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/xps-15-9550-laptop http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/xps-15-9550-la... http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-15-9550-laptop/pd http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-15-9550-laptop/pd From the former, you can't even get to a 16GB laptop, despite the same price points. What the hell is up with that? They target consumers with a crappier box at the same price, or what? Edit: I guess the 4k option is standard on the 1699 on the former page, and costs extra for the business version. That's pretty absurd though. The models are labeled exactly the same.
    - detaro 10y ago
      You can upgrade the Dell XPS 15 (9550) to 32 GB though. Only the XPS 13 has soldered-on RAM. And if I remember right, it is a user-servicable part, so no loss of warranty if you upgrade it yourself. EDIT: and price search sites show 32 GB models, so maybe you can have one upgraded directly from Dell somehow.
    - jasonlotito 10y ago
      Dell sells laptops that support higher caps. Apple does not. The issue is that consumers are limited by what Apple sells if they are reliant on MacOS. There is no competition for MacOS laptops.
  - elchief 10y ago
    my previous computer was an HP Elitebook with SSD and 32g ram, and it was a piece of crap compared to my 2015 MBP. Hot, loud, super heavy, no battery life, inelegant.
  - Bud 10y ago
    You aren't doing your homework here. Top spec on a MBP is not only a 2 TB SSD, four times what you are citing here; it's also a MUCH faster SSD than you can get on that HP at any price. The HP would get trounced in every benchmark available. It also has a markedly inferior display. Apples and oranges.
mgkimsal 10y ago
USD. 1TB 15" maxed out (well, except 1TB vs 2TB).

jxm262 10y ago

32g next year? This is the first I've heard of that. Do you have any references?

mgkimsal 10y ago
http://mashable.com/2016/11/01/macbook-pro-2017-32-gb/ http://mashable.com/2016/11/01/macbook-pro-2017-32-gb/ https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/31/2017-macbook-pro-rumors/ https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/31/2017-macbook-pro-rumors/ http://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/31/macbooks-2017-price-cuts-32gb-ram/ http://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/31/macbooks-2017-price-cuts... "updates" say that "cannonlake" just won't be out, and there's no plans from apple on this, but this was the rumor mill a month ago. I not necessarily ruling any of this out, and we'll see in 6 months.
- slantyyz 10y ago
  They can make 32GB with current chipsets but chose not to for battery life. Given the outcry, they can put less efficient RAM in a newer model. The people asking for 32GB aren't newbies and presumably are willing to pay the price in battery life in exchange for the extra RAM. If I were in the market for a new Macbook Pro (I'm not), I'd be willing to make the sacrifice in battery life for the extra RAM, because I would try to make the MBP last for at least 5 years. For all the talk about USB-C only being a future-proof choice, limiting RAM to 16GB is not future-proofing.
  - Fnoord 10y ago
    > They can make 32GB with current chipsets but chose not to for battery life. This is false dichotomy. There are alternatives, parallel decisions. They could've decided to not sacrifice weight or size for battery power. This'd have made the MBP Pro, not Air like it is now. You used to buy a MBP for several years, so it'd need good battery power. The new MBPs are all less good with battery power, than the 2015 version. They're also so-called "future proof" with USB-C only yet you're gonna need adapters. Furthermore, you can't swap the SSD or the RAM so you're gonna need the amount you plan to use years forward (e.g. 2021). The USB-C move is contradicting to all the other moves. It doesn't add up, and people don't fall for it. That's why there's so much uproar on it. My theory is that Apple wants the MBP to be more like the iPhone/iPod/iPad: disposable hardware you replace every year or so, for professionals who earn a lot of money in the creative industry. Not programmers, not power users, not people who make an investment for several years. @ rayiner, hygiene.

sprite 10y ago

I really hope so. The 16gb ram limit is what's keeping me from pulling the trigger on one.

samch 10y ago
I'm in the same boat. My current MBP is a 2012 model, yet it has 16GB of RAM already. The biggest boost I would hope to see in a new MBP would come from increasing the RAM (I do a lot of work with large data sets and ETL, plus I run VMs concurrently with MacOS). There are now enough competitors (Dell and Lenovo for sure) with 32GB that I was among those who were genuinely surprised that Apple kept the cap at 16GB.

s_kilk 10y ago

> we might see a 32g model next year? Wasn't this year supposed to be when 32GB landed?

toyg 10y ago
And it would have landed, if Apple had not decided to arbitrarily shrink their batteries, hence requiring low-power options for their components (in this case, RAM) that are not available yet.
- Bud 10y ago
  No, it wouldn't. And no, the slightly smaller battery was not "arbitrary". And thirdly, no, it's not that LPDDR isn't available; it's that this generation of Intel CPUs usable in a laptop don't support the current generation of LPDDR yet. In other words, it's Intel's fault, not Apple's, as posted above.
  - toyg 10y ago
    > this generation of Intel CPUs usable in a laptop Dell XPS says hi. I don't care if it doesn't have much battery life - give me the choice, dammit. If I wanted ultraportability and umpteen hours on battery, I would have bought an Air. > the slightly smaller battery was not "arbitrary" I must have missed the day a tank threatened to blow up Cupertino unless they reduced the battery size. Again, nobody asked them to have an MBP as thin as an Air. It was an arbitrary choice, and (IMHO, of course) a bad one.
    - TheCoelacanth 10y ago
      The XPS 15 has pretty solid battery life if you get one with the larger battery size and the FHD screen instead of the UHD screen.
rbanffy 10y ago
Would have been if Intel had released a 32GB capable mobile chip that's not slower than the last generation. Probably it got delayed after the overall shape and size were set in stone, so Apple had to go with the previous gen and work a miracle. Or it was a conscious decision since this shape/size will be the base of all laptops for the next few processor generations and will be supported for the next 10 years or so.