2018 i9 MacBook Pro throttling discussion [merged]

[The Mercurian]

Some people are stressed over 1 min faster or slower it wont kill you or change your life lol some comments are crazy no way would apple not test the i9

Agreed, that would be silly. However, would they release it anyway if after testing and finding out it's throttling more than expected or acceptable? Yeah.

Well there is really only 3 options:
1. These issues are somehow mistaken, or there is a glitch in the fan code or something
2. Apple tested the models and knew about the throttling problems but shipping them anyhow
3. Apple didn't test them extensively and they are only learning this now.

So, I'm not sure - which of these scenarios is worse? All of them are pretty damning for one reason or another.

 

[leman]

I tested my 2016 maxed out ,macbook pro, exporting a 4k file.. 2,9 Ghz

I don't see any throttling in your graph. When useful work is done (middle segment), the frequency is around a steady 3.4Ghz, just as the specs say.
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It is not clear from your data whether the machine finished it's task or shut down because the CPU hit 100+C

Why would it shut off? It is designed to run at 100C when its at maximal load. And it will throttle if it is about to get any hotter.

 

[Dovahkiing]

Why would it shut off? It is designed to run at 100C when its at maximal load. And it will throttle if it is about to get any hotter.

Designed to run at 100C?? You hit Tj and above! So I'm wondering whether the machine severely throttled to avoid damage....

 

[Queen6]

Thats what I mean as well Sorry, maybe the modal was a bit ambiguous. I wrote "should" as in "one would expect it to". What happened instead is that the semantics of TDP has changed behind the scenes. You got faster CPUs, but the speed is achieved by drawing more power as well. If these CPUs indeed draw over 100W under load, does it even make sense to market them as 45Watt models? This is literally putting a desktop CPU inside a laptop.

And of course one can make a larger laptop that could dissipate the heat. But that is not the point. The point is having fast CPUs that do not dub as tea boilers. Until now, Intel was rather good at it. Over the years, they managed significant increases in performance while decreasing power consumption. Right now, we are suffering from stagnation tech development and the need to sell new CPUs, so thats why all these weird shenanigans start happening.

I agree as the TDP is only at the base frequency, even then Intel reduced the base and max'd the Turbo...

Don't get me wrong the 8th Gen CPU's offer tremendous performance for notebooks, however they don't seem overly suited for thin & light machines, unless the cooling solution is extremely robust.

For my GL703GS (relatively thin & light for a 17") Asus opted for 12V fans with more blades than a regiment of Ninja's All credit as it works, equally never going to fit inside the likes of the MBP.

Q-6

 

[leman]

Designed to run at 100C?? You hit Tj and above! So I'm wondering whether the machine severely throttled to avoid damage....

Tjunction is described by intel as a maximal safe operating temperature. Apple has designed the cooling solution so that the CPU reaches but does not cross this temperature while maintaining reasonable turbo boost frequencies. At least this is what I have observed with Skylake and Kaby Lake. If you push the CPU even harder (e.g. by abusing hyperhreading), the frequency will go down to prevent overheating.

I run my laptop CPUs at or close to 100C quote often without any issues. Its what they are made to do.

 

[LeeW]

2. Apple tested the models and knew about the throttling problems but shipping them anyhow

That one gets my vote, although you and I may call it "Throttling Problems" Apple probably calls it a design feature

But again, we need to wait and see if this is just people jumping on a non-issue.

 

[ronincse]

Relax dude. You're not wrong in cancelling your order, but it does seem like you're being prematurely broad with your conclusions.

1) If you work primarily on Premiere Pro, then it probably "doesn't work faster than last years" for now. For what its worth I don't think this is the first time that Adobe software performs slower on a newer Mac when it just launched.
2) If your workflow is similar to this dude's, it's going to "work faster than last years".
3) If your workflow is similar to this dude's, it's going to "work faster than last years".

I love it how a single negative video, which tests a single app, causes all this uproar and cancellations yes a couple positive articles that are more in depth aren't even mentioned.

 

[Cusa]

uh oh.. I just got mine! i9, 32GB

 

[FFR]

I love it how a single negative video, which tests a single app, causes all this uproar and cancellations yes a couple positive articles that are more in depth aren't even mentioned.

What makes you think those posters were ever serious to begin with?

I’m still getting one.
I9 fully loaded.

 

[blackberrycubed]

Cancelled my macbook pro order cant spend £3000 on a machine that doesnt work faster than last years, i dont care about 1 or 2 min faster if the i9 doesnt work well apple have messed up again!!!! Even the gpu is a disgrace same rebrand from 2 years ago

what you going to do now ?

 

[Howard2k]

what you going to do now ?

Buy a car and vacation?

 

[M.Rizk]

I love it how a single negative video, which tests a single app, causes all this uproar and cancellations yes a couple positive articles that are more in depth aren't even mentioned.

Two so far. Although there is one posted in the last 3 pages showing different results (going to edit the first post once I am back home).

What makes you think those posters were ever serious to begin with?

I’m still getting one.
I9 fully loaded.

What makes you think they aren’t? I can’t speak for everyone but personally I never had plans to get the i9, I wanted the i7 2.6 GHz but since it is not much different from that i9 I am now worried that it might not even hold the base clock too.

 

[aevan]

For my GL703GS (relatively thin & light for a 17") Asus opted for 12V fans with more blades than a regiment of Ninja's All credit as it works, equally never going to fit inside the likes of the MBP.

Q-6

Of course, that is great if you want to lug a 17” which is exactly 1kg heavier than the 15” MBP, btw. This is not a small difference.

Again, this is fine and great if you want that kind of computer. Many do, but many don’t. This is why you have an Asus and I have a MacBook Pro.

I am not writing posts about how Asus doesn’t care about their customers when they make computers that weigh 3kg, because I understand that is a tradeoff some people are willing to make. Emphasis on some.

 

[The Mercurian]

Of course, that is great if you want to lug a 17” which is exactly 1kg heavier than the 15” MBP, btw. This is not a small difference.

Again, this is fine and great if you want that kind of computer. Many do, but many don’t. This is why you have an Asus and I have a MacBook Pro.

I am not writing posts about how Asus doesn’t care about their customers when they make computers that weigh 3kg, because I understand that is a tradeoff some people are willing to make. Emphasis on some.

This isn’t really the issue though. The issue is that Apple are charging big bucks for an upgrade that appears to work less well than the basic option

 

[Hitrate]

Guys, to those of you bashing the throttle criticism, it’s extremely important as it to some of us directly impacts performance if the machine runs too hot and you rely on it being able to run at certain speeds without glitches. No need to bash what you don’t understand or what doesn’t relate to you.

 

[LeeW]

Guys, to those of you bashing the throttle criticism...

Well you know, there is balance on this, some people are jumping to conclusions about the throttling based on little real-world evidence and the same amount are criticizing them for doing it.

 

[Ma2k5]

Well you know, there is balance on this, some people are jumping to conclusions about the throttling based on little real-world evidence and the same amount are criticizing them for doing it.

At the same time, everything starts off with a little real world evidence. The keyboard issues were once deemed as overblown.

I think people are trying to become informed - and yes some see it as an overreaction where people have cancelled orders, but can you blame them at this price point? Of course some will feel uneasy and will wait for a conclusion before committing to their purchase.

I am on the belief these issues are resolvable - but I can’t say that for certain, so I can’t definitively say that those are returning or cancelling their orders are wrong.

 

[Hitrate]

Well you know, there is balance on this, some people are jumping to conclusions about the throttling based on little real-world evidence and the same amount are criticizing them for doing it.

Jumping to conclusions is one thing, bashing the issue if it does exist, or as if it’s a non-issue, really should not be here as it sure as heck is and will be an issue to those of us that actually stress the real time computing performance of a system - again hence the Pro reference in the name, if you’re into MacBook airs, go to the MacBook Air forums

And yes I am waiting patiently (still) for real world tests before ordering.

 

[fatalogic]

I mean I was going to wait a few months to see how these new keyboards hold up but if the i9 has trouble maintaining base clock then why would one spend the money on it.

 

[mr.anthonyramos]

Do you have more context then that though, such as what was the total time for that job on each machine so we know what percentage gained? Also, what type of RAW file? There is a pretty big difference between 20MP and 50MP for example.

I’m about ready to cancel my i9 order, I have a maxed out 2017 that my only complaint with is sometimes not enough RAM at 16GB, hence my upgrade to a i9 / 32GB otherwise my current machine is fine, especially considering I run a maxed out 10 core iMac Pro for truly heavy lifting.

These are uncompressed ARW files from multiple Sony A7R3. Each file was about 80mb. Didn’t time it exactly but more or less it took his i7 around 7 minutes and it took mine just over 5 minutes.

Again, machines restarted before the test, my MacBook Pro was not plugged in and had around 80% battery. The i7 was plugged in and was at 100%.

Hope this helps.

 

[LeeW]

I think people are trying to become informed - and yes some see it as an overreaction where people have cancelled orders, but can you blame them at this price point? Of course some will feel uneasy and will wait for a conclusion before committing to their purchase.

Indeed, however, we know the realities of Apple right now, if anyone is sensitive to pricing and new Apple products performing as well as they should then don't buy the minute they are released. Is it right to say that? No, but hey, it's the world of Apple right now, no secret.

again hence the Pro reference in the name, if you’re into MacBook airs, go to the MacBook Air forums

I got my new MBP yesterday, all good with it thanks.

 

[mr.anthonyramos]

At the same time, everything starts off with a little real world evidence. The keyboard issues were once deemed as overblown

I personally think this was overblown. My office has around 40 2016-2017 MacBooks with the butterfly switch keyboard. As of today take a guess how many have been sent in for repair. One. For a non-keyboard related repair.

We are all hipsters and eat pizzas and chips and drink cokes at our desks. I eat saltine crackers all the time. At least 2 small packs a day in front of my computer and I have yet to experience dead keys.

So I can honestly say, just based on my office, Apple’s keyboard actually works. Whether I love the keyboard, that’s a totally different story.

 

[ronincse]

Jumping to conclusions is one thing, bashing the issue if it does exist, or as if it’s a non-issue, really should not be here as it sure as heck is and will be an issue to those of us that actually stress the real time computing performance of a system - again hence the Pro reference in the name, if you’re into MacBook airs, go to the MacBook Air forums

And yes I am waiting patiently (still) for real world tests before ordering.

What do you do to stress the CPU of the system? Just curious.

So if there is in fact a throttling issue that causes this i9 to actually run slower than a 8th or even 7th gen i7 doing the same things then yes that is an issue. If the issue is that the i9 throttles at all then that is NOT an issue as that is what mobile CPUs have been designed to do for years now.

So far we can't come to that conclusion with the information we have as the D2D video was just a poor test. Too many people are jumping to conclusions based on a single data point.

 

[OC40]

Indeed, however, we know the realities of Apple right now, if anyone is sensitive to pricing and new Apple products performing as well as they should then don't buy the minute they are released. Is it right to say that? No, but hey, it's the world of Apple right now, no secret.



I got my new MBP yesterday, all good with it thanks.

Which mbp did you purchase? Thanks.

 

[Macshroomer]

These are uncompressed ARW files from multiple Sony A7R3. Each file was about 80mb. Didn’t time it exactly but more or less it took his i7 around 7 minutes and it took mine just over 5 minutes.

Again, machines restarted before the test, my MacBook Pro was not plugged in and had around 80% battery. The i7 was plugged in and was at 100%.

Hope this helps.

Perfect, thank you for that, that number alone plus double the ram make it a still very worthy upgrade for me.

I am more of a director / producer for motion work but I will still need occasional use of FCP and Premiere, my gut feeling is that it needs more time to play out and I can do those things on my iMac Pro.

I’ll stick with my order for now.