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asoksevil

macrumors 6502
Jun 7, 2010
483
158
London, UK
Well, I think I can say that I'm fairly tech savvy. Basically the Core M (m3 up to m7) is always the same chip. However, after the manufacturing process Intel runs quality tests for each chip, and briefly said, picks the best CPU samples for the m7 line, because those can sustain slightly higher heat stress, and thus can be clocked higher.

Let's just assume for simplicity's sake; Intel were a road construction company. So bumpy roads get lower speed limits, while well paved roads become sort of German Autobahn. And that's how Intel basically does it its CPU pricing.

The m3 has a few 'bumpy roads', while m5 has much less, and the m7 has 'racing track' qualities. Back in the CPU world, it means that the m3 and m5 chips will be clocked lower and throttle their Turbo Boost compared the m7. The m7 behaves like a crazy race driver in a sports car. Driving for short bursts at max speed, before its motor overheats, then dropping back to cool down, but in the end it's faster for short sprints.

Due to the passive cooling solution constraints eventually all Core Ms will throttle back to the base frequency or even below in order to prevent physical damage to the chip.

If you however do rendering for hours, or converting videos etc. the m7 won't be that significantly faster compared to the m5, unless you cool it down externally. I remember how "Linus Tech" demonstrated that in a funny way by putting the last year's MacBook into a cold water bath.


I believe, the m7 only makes sense for people, who want to do light Photoshop work or simple raw photo editing, because that's the case where the additional 400 Hz at Turbo Boost (m5 vs. m7) can make the overall editing experience feel slightly snappier (e.g. adjusting brightness/contrast sliders etc.). For the web, office or mailing tasks even the Core m3 is perfectly fine.

Most people wouldn't notice any difference in speed if their MacBook was swapped out for a lower clocked model overnight. Maxed out CPUs are just phallic symbols of our modern time. ;)

I'm concluding my post with Intel's raw spec spreadsheet for clarity though. Please note that Apple is natively overclocking the base frequency on all Core m CPUs — like they did on all previous Broadwell MacBooks last year.

View attachment 627845

It seems the major constraint isn't the power itself, but the cooling system. The M3 and M7 might be closer in real tasks as both of them suffer from the same heat issues and having a little bit more of base frequency won't make a huge difference.
 

rixard

macrumors member
Nov 9, 2012
33
11
Sweden
So, I ordered a m7/512/space grey from the swedish Apple Store on thr 19th, as soon as all the 404's were sorted out. Yesterday I noticed that my tracking page on Apple's site showed my order of the Macbook + the digital adapter + a cancelled Macbook order. Has that ever happened to anyone else? It didn't look like that on the 19th or early 20th.

The specs and everything is identical. Did Apples POS system bug out?

Below is an image of the status/tracking. The top two are processing and the bottom one is cancelled/aborted.

Anyone had this happened to them?

2vjtthy.png
 
Last edited:

Mollan

macrumors regular
Jul 29, 2013
117
76
The Netherlands/Italy
I was waiting for this update to buy the rMB12 to use on mobility and planes, beside my MBPr15 i7.
Unfortunately I am not fully satisfied by this upgrade (480p camera again?!) and the prices did not go down.

I was just considering to wait the WWDC to check the new MBPr13 and then decide.
Of course they will be thinner than the current version (with a MBA-like design?), so the weight, already low, will go down to less than 1.2 Kg, which is a really small difference to the 0.92 Kg of the rMB.

Battery life, power and ports will be significantly better than the rMB, and the prices will be aligned (or will they increase the MBPr prices to force people buy the rMB?) to the rMB. The killer think would be to release a 14 and 16 inches MBPr, increasing the price and making space for every Mac.

We'll see in a month :)
 

mackie8

Suspended
Nov 6, 2014
898
663
i think we have same case ... i ordered before the announcement of new gen ..
my order in still pending for payment because im waiting for call from bank for installment...
now.. i got email that they have updated my order since it was not dispatch yet .. they upgraded it to new gen since they just release it..... and when i check my pending order they adjusted the price to much lesser... there is a cancelled macbook order and a new one with new price...

im so happy when i saw it... i called up apple and confirm the special discount...
 

rixard

macrumors member
Nov 9, 2012
33
11
Sweden
i think we have same case ... i ordered before the announcement of new gen ..
my order in still pending for payment because im waiting for call from bank for installment...
now.. i got email that they have updated my order since it was not dispatch yet .. they upgraded it to new gen since they just release it..... and when i check my pending order they adjusted the price to much lesser... there is a cancelled macbook order and a new one with new price...

im so happy when i saw it... i called up apple and confirm the special discount...

Yes, but I ordered after the announcement, when the site went up again. I just called Apple and everything is in order - but I got no explanation as to why my status page looks like this.
 

Brookzy

macrumors 601
May 30, 2010
4,985
5,577
UK
yea baby, maybe tomorrow :D
Still preparing for shipment but managed to find the UPS tracking by the track by reference feature - and it's not scheduled for delivery until Wednesday unfortunately. Six days seems a bit long, even from China.
 

caparsons

macrumors member
Sep 21, 2014
40
46
I placed my order for a 12" 1.2GHz/512GB SG Macbook yesterday afternoon, and paid for expedited shipping. Initially Apple stated that it would be delivered between the 27-29. Today I got an update, and UPS is planning on getting it to me by the 25th!
 
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NazgulRR

macrumors 6502
Oct 4, 2010
423
83
Still preparing for shipment but managed to find the UPS tracking by the track by reference feature - and it's not scheduled for delivery until Wednesday unfortunately. Six days seems a bit long, even from China.

How did you do that? The W order number into UPS tracking? Mine doesn't work. It also is preparing for dispatch as of this morning.

EDIT: Nevermind, shipped by DPD, delivery eta tomorrow. Base model:)
 
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Brookzy

macrumors 601
May 30, 2010
4,985
5,577
UK
How did you do that? The W order number into UPS tracking? Mine doesn't work. It also is preparing for dispatch as of this morning.

Wonder if I can just cancel and just pop down to Covent Garden to pick one up instead...
If you use the track by reference option on the UPS site and it should appear. :)

Mine has just despatched so yours probably won't be long.

I would have cancelled and gone to pick one up but thought I'd wait and go with the m7.

Plus you can't cancel once it's preparing to ship.
 

meboy

macrumors 6502
Apr 12, 2012
411
327
It would be wise to Not rely on benchmarks for core M that boosts and throttles.

They are Not comparable with core i chips with fans.

Anandtech did a good article a while back that highlighted just how all over the place the Real World performance is on the core M chips, different tasks and thermals.

The benchmarks may show them being on par with core i but they are definitely not.
 

Jinjin

macrumors G3
Mar 22, 2011
8,332
13,269
London, UK.
Still preparing for shipment but managed to find the UPS tracking by the track by reference feature - and it's not scheduled for delivery until Wednesday unfortunately. Six days seems a bit long, even from China.
I had set up UPS Alerts a few years ago so had a text saying I had a delivery due Tuesday but a few hours later another text saying Wednesday. M7/512 ordered.

Last seen:

Shanghai, CN
04/21/2016 10:16 P.M.
Arrival Scan
 

joscejrod

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 16, 2015
512
358
My m7/256 ssd hasn't been shipped yet... I ordered it last Tuesday.

Note: It would be very interesting to compare writting/reading speeds between 256 and 512 ssd units. Maybe they're different..
 

Brookzy

macrumors 601
May 30, 2010
4,985
5,577
UK
My m7/256 ssd hasn't been shipped yet... I ordered it last Tuesday.

Note: It would be very interesting to compare writting/reading speeds between 256 and 512 ssd units. Maybe they're different..
Yes I would be very interested in that too - I expect a small difference but if it's significant (e.g. as significant as the difference between 16GB and 128GB on the 6S) then I may be tempted to return and re-order the m7/512.
 

Prospekt

macrumors 6502
Jul 5, 2009
307
185
Picked up gold m5 version today. It was a dud..graphics card seemed bugged. They replaced it no questions asked and the new one is much better
 
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munakib

macrumors 6502a
May 22, 2011
564
129
"great" would be an exaggeration IMO, but it is a slight improvement which is good news for ppl moving from i5's.
25


256 ssd seems to be marginally faster, so both options are good. A great improvement over last year models.
 

solaris

macrumors 6502a
Apr 19, 2004
706
98
Oslo, Norway
So, I ordered a m7/512/space grey from the swedish Apple Store on thr 19th, as soon as all the 404's were sorted out. Yesterday I noticed that my tracking page on Apple's site showed my order of the Macbook + the digital adapter + a cancelled Macbook order. Has that ever happened to anyone else? It didn't look like that on the 19th or early 20th.

The specs and everything is identical. Did Apples POS system bug out?

Below is an image of the status/tracking. The top two are processing and the bottom one is cancelled/aborted.

Anyone had this happened to them?
http://i65.tinypic.com/2vjtthy.png
Exact same thing here! I ordered an m7/256 from the Norwegian Apple Store on Wednesday, and now I have two machines listed - one cancelled and one active. Strange.
 
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mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,744
6,130
Exact same thing here! I ordered an m7/256 from the Norwegian Apple Store on Wednesday, and now I have two machines listed - one cancelled and one active. Strange.

I am sure it is probably just a glitch in the system. When I ordered the SE, I had something similar happen.
 
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