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Have you actually read this thread? The answer is None of the above. The Intel versions that you mention can also double as space heaters and Cessna aircraft simulators.

You would be better off buying the base model of a new MacBook Pro. CPU, GPU and thermal performance will all be better.

We in the Northeast can use them as leg warmers in the living room. I've been doing that this week as it just turned colder this week.
 
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The design of the new MBPs makes it relatively easy for me to stick to my current 16" for another few years, especially since the performance is still way more than enough for my workflow. My next Mac will definitely either be a Mini or iMac since I have no trust in the longevity of portable Macs anymore (Flexgate etc.) and since the new MBPs look just awful imo. It's not only the notch, it's the chunky side profile, the black keyboard, simply the overall design is a huge step backward and those machines already look dated compared to my Intel 16" or Dell XPS etc. Yes, spec-wise those machines are absolute beasts but you'll get the same and even better performance with the upcoming stationary Macs.

Fun fact: Seems like even with AS Apple is not able to fit the required performance in such thin devices like 2016-2020 Pros otherwise the new machines wouldn't be thicker again. So it was not all Intel's fault in the end, although they definitely deserve criticism they are facing right now.

My 2015 MacBook Pro 15 vs My 2021 MacBook Pro 16

Height: 0.71 inch vs 0.66 inch
Width: 14.13 inches vs 14.01 inches
Depth: 9.73 inches vs 9.77 inches
Weight: 4.49 pounds vs 4.7 pounds

So very little difference from my 2014 and 2015 MacBook Pros. I used to carry both of these into the office and use one for work and one for personal (on two separate networks). 12 years ago I used to carry my 2007 MacBook Pro along with another laptop with both weighing eight pounds. I had a custom bag made for the 2007 MacBook Pro 17 and I still use that bag today for carrying one or two MacBook Pros. In the old days, a typical laptop was around eight pounds. In the really old days, they were over 20 pounds.

I think that I can handle the 2021 MBP 16.
 
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While I'm very convinced already, I think next week will be a slaughterfest of reviews with Intel and MSFT stock going down. Maybe not that extreme, but it's still going to be wildly impressive. If you see what rave reviews the M1 already got (and how happy the users are at work who I got one), I expect nothing else.

But for VMs and native x86 programs, you're right. I hardly use any x86 specific stuff these days. I have a few things I need to do under Windows, both at work and at home. But for that, I set up a virtual machine on a server that I can reach over a VPN. It's a bit more of a hassle than starting up a VM locally, but it works very well. The only exception is apps that need a very responsive UI (e.g. gaming...). Then of course, a remote VM is not an option. But for admin or even apps that require lots of compute power, it's perfectly fine.

I think that Intel and Microsoft will do well in the near and intermediate term. Alder Lake is supposed to start shipping next week and Microsoft will be working on weaning corporate customers on to Windows 11 which will obsolete a lot of hardware. That Alder Lake will require new motherboards, RAM (you can technically use DDR4 and/or DDR5 but I expect lots of PCs to go to DDR5) - probably means a lot of new systems. Alder Lake will provide a jump in performance that will get people excited - just don't look at the amount of electricity that they will be using.
 
It will be interesting to see what happens with Intel 16 resale prices. I actually decided to stick around with my mine now that I've seen the new machines – despite not having the 5600M. I'm not happy about the plugged-in thermals, but things work well enough on battery and I like the touchbar. I don't think mini-LED is a good fit to dark-screen text editing either. More importantly I need to work with Linux/x86 VMs and also have a number of programs that only run on Windows/x86 VMs. I also like the fact that I can get an eGPU and have 2x the performance of the M1 Max tomorrow if I want/need. (I have some side projects using Metal graphics and GPU compute.)

I'm going to put my 2015 up for sale and was thinking of asking $500 for it. It has a new battery so that's $200. If I don't get it at that price, then a relative of a friend is looking for a laptop and I may just give it to him.
 
Glad I sold off my 16” Intel while people still wanted them. The new machines are all I had hoped the 16” would have been.

B
 
Ok so I really wanted to upgrade my 6 core i9 2017 15" macbook pro to the 16" Macbook Pro and I've waited until this event to make sure something better didn't come, well something better did but it's ugly as fook so I went to the apple store and purchased the older model. I know. It's gonna get discontinued soon, don't care.

Point of this post is that I got the 5600m and hooked it up via USB-C to my 4K dell monitor. No fan noise. I also ran this against my 2015 in cinebench R23 and the fans barely came on. The 2015 fans were going like a banshee. I thought the 16" fans were broken.

So this thing is quiet, and doesn't get hot so I don't know what people are complaining about. Is it because I got the 5600m?

It's the 8 core i9 with 32gb ram and 2tb HD with 5600m model.
 
So this thing is quiet, and doesn't get hot so I don't know what people are complaining about. Is it because I got the 5600m?

It's the 8 core i9 with 32gb ram and 2tb HD with 5600m model.
Could be 5600m -- I've got an 8-core i9, 32gb ram, 1tb ssd, 5500m, and this thing is hot and noisy even when not hooked up to a monitor.
 
I find my entry 16" MBP now runs better under Monterey 12.0.1. With one external 4K monitor and the lid open, the temperature is not too bad. Radeon high side is no longer stuck at a high value.
 
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I find my entry 16" MBP now runs better under Monterey 12.0.1. With one external 4K monitor and the lid open, the temperature is not too bad. Radeon high side is no longer stuck at a high value.
How low it goes? I think the same is happening with windows amd drivers, because on YT channels reviewers for many weeks are saying that the amd gpus are working much cooler than before.
 
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How low it goes? I think the same is happening with windows amd drivers, because on YT channels reviewers for many weeks are saying that the amd gpus are working much cooler than before.

I didn't even have it in low power mode before. Now that I have, with a 4K external screen and the lid open, the temperature is between 50-55C with just internet browsing and the fan speed is as low as 1700rpm.
 
I have updated today to Monterey a bit earlier, obviously though the beta programme. I have an i7 with 5300M and I'm a bit disappointed by the new low power mode feature. I'll explain with some details below.

Setup: 2 x DELL P2419HC monitors connected via USB-C

Low Power Mode OFF
  • Clamshell mode - 13-15W
  • Lid Open - 13-15W
Low Power Mode ON
  • Clamshell mode - 3-5W
  • Lid Open - 5-7W
In BigSur in Clamshell mode I was getting 5-7W without compromising on CPU performance. I don't know about you but if your using clamshell you might get the same results as me, a bigger power draw (13-15) for the same way of working. If you're working with your lid open you'll definitely see some improvements.

LE: I was getting those numbers on idle.
 
Exactly, I have never seen such a low readings with 2 monitors…
That was my case too, I run two exact FHD 24" monitors and in clamshell mode, I was able to run at around 8W. Now I have to enable low power mode or it runs at 15W in the same config.

I have updated today to Monterey a bit earlier, obviously though the beta programme. I have an i7 with 5300M and I'm a bit disappointed by the new low power mode feature. I'll explain with some details below.

Setup: 2 x DELL P2419HC monitors connected via USB-C

Low Power Mode OFF
  • Clamshell mode - 13-15W
  • Lid Open - 13-15W
Low Power Mode ON
  • Clamshell mode - 3-5W
  • Lid Open - 5-7W
In BigSur in Clamshell mode I was getting 5-7W without compromising on CPU performance. I don't know about you but if your using clamshell you might get the same results as me, a bigger power draw (13-15) for the same way of working. If you're working with your lid open you'll definitely see some improvements.

LE: I was getting those numbers on idle.
I'm on the same boat, so I just put my 16" on sale :| Will upgrade to 14" or M1.
 
That was my case too, I run two exact FHD 24" monitors and in clamshell mode, I was able to run at around 8W. Now I have to enable low power mode or it runs at 15W in the same config.


I'm on the same boat, so I just put my 16" on sale :| Will upgrade to 14" or M1.
Omg, they fixed and broke something at the same time, what a disaster …. I’ll backup the big sur if this will happen I’ll get back to it when there will be identical issues with just only one monitor…
 
Omg, they fixed and broke something at the same time, what a disaster …. I’ll backup the big sur if this will happen I’ll get back to it when there will be identical issues with just only one monitor…
Yeah, basically I keep LPM always turned ON to keep it quiet, I own this machine for almost 2 years waiting for propper fix, and I'm done with it, will try to sell it.
 
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