New MacBook Pro Update

[davidgp]

1-4 TB drives prices are falling weekly so unless your old MBP has crapped out I will wait for the Nov-Dec MBP release. My thoughts are a better case, different keyboard, better cooling system, cheaper storage and if not well then I’ll bite the bullet once all the user reviews shake out.

As much you will see a price drop for the MPB in November... but I will be really surprised if Apple updated the MBP in short period. Apple usually takes 9 months to 1 year cycles to update the MBP, even if new GPUs or processors are available. For example, this 6 core laptop processors have been available since March by Intel (if memory does not fail me)... Apple took its 6 months to update it.

[nemophoto]

This all sounds good. 32gb ram. Faster 6 core processor for the top models. But I'm gonna wait. See what apple does with the mac pro in 2019. We're almost there. See what the mac mini and imac updates look like.

Whatever they come out with, be prepared to spend way more than the components are really worth. Like $5K for an iMac Pro. From what I’ve read, not a lot of significant updates coming along. Very small steps for which you will pay dearly.

The cost of the Macs available is so ridiculous, I just updated all the components of my wife’s mid-2010. With a 1TB SSD, added USB 3.0 ports, newer Radeon video card and a CPU replacement, it’ll be twice as fast as the old. The older Mac desktops were nice in that respect. You can update things more easily than newer Macs. Maybe that the reason they went to the trash can and closed systems like the iMac?


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[davidgp]

Ok, looks like Apple is going to release a firmware update to fix the throttling problems: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/07/we-tested-throttling-on-the-macbook-pro-now-apple-says-it-has-a-firmware-fix

[Wayne Fox]

Some preliminary info on the new MacBook Pro.  I have had some challenges because when at home I want to start it up from my external 4x1TB Raid 0 SSD, but it requires a special version of 10.13.6 which isn’t on the normal apple update servers yet so it’s been a little challenge.  It also can only be installed on hard drives formatted with Apples new AFPS, so I have to wipe and format to AFPS an external 4TB single drive, clone the raid over, then wipe it and reformat to AFPS, setup the raid, then clone everything back to it. Not the fastest process around. (also by default you cannot boot the laptop from an external drive, you have to startup in recovery mode and change some security settings to allow it).

According to some preliminary tests, it’s a pretty big step up from the 2017. I ran DigiLoyds Huge photoshop test, and it times in at 75 seconds, the 3.1 ghz 2017 MacBook Pro runs the same test  172 seconds (according to DigiLloyd). 

It seems to manage the 2 30” NEC displays, and everything seems to be running similar to the Mac Pro, no real laginess in LR or Photoshop that I’ve noticed.  Lots more testing to do, once I get the external startup disk ready to go I can run all of DigiLloyds test as well as geek bench and a couple of others to see how much I lose if I move to it as my only Mac.

Also was running Intel Power Gadget, and the CPU averaged above 3.0 ghz, peaking at 4.1 frequently, dipping to about 2.5 somtimes.  Temp’s peaked at 100, during a 20 second stretch which also saw sustained speeds between 3.5 and 4.0 ghz.  Seemed the update has reducing the throttling (at least on the CPU). need to get some other software so I can see what’s happening with the GPU. When not stressed the temp stays between 70-80 C.

[Wayne Fox]

For those interested, a few more tests and updates.

I’ve added an external GPU with a Radeon RX Vega 56 8176 MB card.  I also ran the tests on my own 2017 MacBook Pro which was basically formatted identically.

2017 MacBook Pro, 3.1 ghz i7 4 core, 16gb 2133mhz DDR3 RAM, 2 TB SSD, internal Radeon Pro 560 4mb
Digilloyd Photoshop huge, avg 149 /Seconds
SSD test (Black Magic) Write >1900 MB/s, read >2100 MB/s


2018 MacBook Pro, 2.9 ghz i9 6 core, 32 gb 2400 MHz DDR4 ram, 2 TB SSD, external Radeon RX Vega 56 8MB GPU
Digilloyd Photoshop Huge, avg 54 Seconds
SSD test (Black Magic) Write >2500 MB/s, read >2700 MB/s

I ran 10 iterations, and the variance was less than a second. After the supplemental update there is no thermal throttling,  I used a manual fan control to run the fans at 100% which runs the CPU cooler, with no difference in speed.

I’ve been using this extensively in place of my 2013 MacPro, and really am not sensing any difference between the two. It’s been a long time coming but I think I finally have a laptop that is fast enough so I can eliminate using two computers.

[Kevin Raber]

Thanks, Wayne.  So, maybe it is time for the update.  Now the questions is the extra 3 grand for the 4TB ssd worth it?

[davidgp]

For those interested, a few more tests and updates.

I’ve added an external GPU with a Radeon RX Vega 56 8176 MB card.  I also ran the tests on my own 2017 MacBook Pro which was basically formatted identically.

2017 MacBook Pro, 3.1 ghz i7 4 core, 16gb 2133mhz DDR3 RAM, 2 TB SSD, internal Radeon Pro 560 4mb
Digilloyd Photoshop huge, avg 149 /Seconds
SSD test (Black Magic) Write >1900 MB/s, read >2100 MB/s


2018 MacBook Pro, 2.9 ghz i9 6 core, 32 gb 2400 MHz DDR4 ram, external Radeon RX Vega 56 8MB GPU
Digilloyd Photoshop Huge, avg 54 Seconds
SSD test (Black Magic) Write >2500 MB/s, read >2700 MB/s

I ran 10 iterations, and the variance was less than a second. After the supplemental update there is no thermal throttling,  I used a manual fan control to run the fans at 100% which runs the CPU cooler, with no difference in speed.

I’ve been using this extensively in place of my 2013 MacPro, and really am not sensing any difference between the two. It’s been a long time coming but I think I finally have a laptop that is fast enough so I can eliminate using two computers.

Hi Wayne,

Did you check if the external GPU was used a lot in Photoshop? Just curious how much Photoshop makes usage of a GPU.

P.D.: Also I was thinking that if the internal GPU was not used, since it shared the same heat dissipation system as the CPU, it allowed the CPU to run faster since it was not generating too much heat the internal GPU that make the CPU starting to throttle because of it.

Regards,

David

[Wayne Fox]

Thanks, Wayne.  So, maybe it is time for the update.  Now the questions is the extra 3 grand for the 4TB ssd worth it?

sry, forgot to mention that.  I didn’t think so, so I stayed with the 2TB SSD. That is one of my challenges, to manage what I have on my local drive vs. what I’ve kept on my MacPro 4TB ssd.  Still working on a strategy.

[Wayne Fox]

Hi Wayne,

Did you check if the external GPU was used a lot in Photoshop? Just curious how much Photoshop makes usage of a GPU.

P.D.: Also I was thinking that if the internal GPU was not used, since it shared the same heat dissipation system as the CPU, it allowed the CPU to run faster since it was not generating too much heat the internal GPU that make the CPU starting to throttle because of it.

Regards,

David

I’m planning on doing some more testing over the weekend. I’m not sure the eGPU does much for that particular photoshop test, I don’t believe PS is utilizing the GPU for most functions yet. I’ll run the test without the eGPU later today and compare. Maybe I can figure out a way to see if it helps LR classic.

I mainly added the eGPU for working with Final Cut and Screenflow, video seems to be where the eGPU can make a big difference.

[davidgp]

I’m planning on doing some more testing over the weekend. I’m not sure the eGPU does much for that particular photoshop test, I don’t believe PS is utilizing the GPU for most functions yet. I’ll run the test without the eGPU later today and compare. Maybe I can figure out a way to see if it helps LR classic.

I mainly added the eGPU for working with Final Cut and Screenflow, video seems to be where the eGPU can make a big difference.

Yes... for Final Cut I saw some tests were there is a big difference with eGPU



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