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Are MacBook Pros Obsolete?

The Tiny Desktop

The Tiny Desktop

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 12, 2017
3
2
United States
I hate to point this out, but the 8th generation Kaby Lake Refresh is really humilating the Macbook Pro.

Color code: Where the comparisons are equal, I leave the color black.
Where one side is better: The color is blue.
Where one side is worse: The color is red.

Note: All links are to manufacturer sites, ONLY for spec verification. No tracking is involved.

Macbook Pro
I7-7700HQ
4C/8T
Freq. 2.8 GHz – Turbo to 3.8 GHz
RAM 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3
Storage 256GB
Screen 2880 x1800
Touch Bar
Graphics Radeon Pro 555 with 2GB of GDDR5
Camera Yes – 720p
Weight 4.02 lbs
Price $2399

HP Spectre x360 – 15t
i7-8550u
4C/8T
1.8 GHz – Turbo to 4.0 GHz
RAM 16 GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM
Storage 256GB
Screen 3840 x 2160
Touchscreen
NVIDIA GeForce MX150 (2 GB) GDDR5
Camera 1080p
Weight 4.42 lb
Price 1549.99

HP is coming in at over $700 less. Only the graphics card is better on the MacBook Pro.
The CPUs are roughly equivalent. the 8550u has a lower base frequency, but a higher turbo boost.

I do not know how Apple can justify those differentials.

HP will soon be coming out with a quad-core Spectre 13" models. Apple does not even offer quad-core on its MacBook Pro 13" models.

Apple has to stop this insanity.

PS: For those who think the lower base frequency affects performance -- Well, Mobile Tech Review just blasted that out of the water. The lower base frequency thermals do not throttle the Chip that much. Therefore the higher Turbo Boost may compensate. Remember Mobile Tech Review was using an i5, not an i7 8th gen. The i7-8550u would be much better than the i5 sampled by Mobile Tech Review.

 
Last edited:
Mortis360 said:
Does the HP run macOS? No.
Hardware isn't everything, software is also important.
Click to expand...
Unless you’re one of the tiny fraction of people who are immovably OS biased, it’s really not that big a deal. Indeed I bet far more people wouldn’t consider a Mac than wouldn’t consider a Windows PC... really don’t understand the mentality myself, both OSes have pros and cons over each other.

To answer the question though, no they’re not really obsolete, real world difference is likely far less than what’s implied by the specs. The macs are very overpriced currently, however. I mean there’s paying a premium for the built in software support, customer service etc and then there’s paying through the nose for an Apple logo on the lid of the machine...
 
If your premise is that Apple is playing it too conservatively when it comes to traditional component specs (e.g. CPU, RAM, GPU), then I agree. There was a brief span in the early 2010s when MBP's specs were actually very competitive. I miss those days.

That said, none of the HP laptops I've used have been in the same league as my MacBook Pro (late 2013) when it comes to hardware quality and battery life. I daresay it justifies the price difference.
 
What is the point of this? The Spectre x360 is a great computer. That said, I personally prefer the MacBook Pro as the platform that still makes me the most amount of money. Productivity potential is more important than raw specs for many Users.
 
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Pretty sure you can't compare a U series processor to the HQ and claim they are in any way equal. Also the RAM? I'd rather have low power and significantly better batter life, DDR4 is slightly faster, but significantly worse battery. Still no idea why people want touch screens on a desktop computer, that's a personal preference so surely no one can say one is better than the other. Also the resolution is more than enough for a 15" screen, any more again significantly effects battery life whilst giving next to no actual gain in quality, you're also missing the P3 colour gamut and brightness. Not to mention the speed differences of the SSD.

To be fair, PC makers often rely on people looking at the core specs to determine that something is better or worse than another, but in truth it's far more complicated than just looking at a raw number. That HP seems appropriately priced but isn't really comparable to a MBP. This would seem a better comparison for the price http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/omen-by-hp---15-ce051nr however not the same class of laptop, but note much better specs as the Spectre - because it's a massive brick of a machine.

Doesn't really matter if you have a 12 core Xenon or a dual core i5 at the end of the day, it's what you do with it and how you use it that matters most. No point having a Ferrari to just sit in traffic all day.
 
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I use a employer supplied windows 10 HP laptop at work, and a MacBook Pro at home. I’d happily pay the price difference just for the Apple trackpad. The HP one is basically unusable to the point that I can’t use the laptop without a mouse. I don’t hate Windows 10 like I did Windows 8 (which drove this previously staunch Windows guy to buy my first Mac) but on my own time I’d rather use MacOS.
 
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The 15W quad core KL refresh is a burst master (which it achieves partially by going beyond its TDP). But o yah it a bit harder and it will clock down. All tests I’ve seen show that these CPUs can’t maintain high levels of performance for prolonged periods.

Now, if the OP prefers a cheaper laptop with lower quality screen and less sustain performance for lighter workflows, that’s fine. It doesn’t make the MBP ovsolete though.
 
Falhófnir said:
Unless you’re one of the tiny fraction of people who are immovably OS biased, it’s really not that big a deal. Indeed I bet far more people wouldn’t consider a Mac than wouldn’t consider a Windows PC... really don’t understand the mentality myself, both OSes have pros and cons over each other.

To answer the question though, no they’re not really obsolete, real world difference is likely far less than what’s implied by the specs. The macs are very overpriced currently, however. I mean there’s paying a premium for the built in software support, customer service etc and then there’s paying through the nose for an Apple logo on the lid of the machine...
Click to expand...

Too bad the Apple logo does not glow anymore.
 
Lets do some quick math....1550$ for the HP right?? 5 years from now you might be able to fetch $400 if your lucky on craigslist or eBay for that piece of **** HP, and I seriously doubt it. After 3 years windows computers are just about as worthless as the Iran nuke deal. Meanwhile, I put a 2012 MacBook on craigslist last week (5 years old) and sold it for $850, I paid 1500 for it new.

My MacBook (which had normal wear and tear and was NOT a retina and did NOT have a SSD) depreciated $650 in 5 years!!!! Think about that for a second.....thats a little over $100 per year to use a MacBook Pro, top of the line at the time......
[doublepost=1508034060][/doublepost]To go even further, I bought that top of the line MacBook in 2012 and it only cost me about $10 per month.....and when it sold there was no haggling....guy called me in one day and brought CASH because it is a MacBook Pro. Good luck with your HP.
 
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The Tiny Desktop said:
I hate to point this out, but the 8th generation Kaby Lake Refresh is really humilating the Macbook Pro.

Color code: Where the comparisons are equal, I leave the color black.
Where one side is better: The color is blue.
Where one side is worse: The color is red.

Note: All links are to manufacturer sites, ONLY for spec verification. No tracking is involved.

Macbook Pro
I7-7700HQ
4C/8T
Freq. 2.8 GHz – Turbo to 3.8 GHz
RAM 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3
Storage 256GB
Screen 2880 x1800
Touch Bar
Graphics Radeon Pro 555 with 2GB of GDDR5
Camera Yes – 720p
Weight 4.02 lbs
Price $2399

HP Spectre x360 – 15t
i7-8550u
4C/8T
1.8 GHz – Turbo to 4.0 GHz
RAM 16 GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM
Storage 256GB
Screen 3840 x 2160
Touchscreen
NVIDIA GeForce MX150 (2 GB) GDDR5
Camera 1080p
Weight 4.42 lb
Price 1549.99

HP is coming in at over $700 less. Only the graphics card is better on the MacBook Pro.
The CPUs are roughly equivalent. the 8550u has a lower base frequency, but a higher turbo boost.

I do not know how Apple can justify those differentials.

HP will soon be coming out with a quad-core Spectre 13" models. Apple does not even offer quad-core on its MacBook Pro 13" models.

Apple has to stop this insanity.

PS: For those who think the lower base frequency affects performance -- Well, Mobile Tech Review just blasted that out of the water. The lower base frequency thermals do not throttle the Chip that much. Therefore the higher Turbo Boost may compensate. Remember Mobile Tech Review was using an i5, not an i7 8th gen. The i7-8550u would be much better than the i5 sampled by Mobile Tech Review.
Click to expand...
Yes, but with the HP you have to use Windows. I will pay a premium for great software (i.e., macOS).

I don't think speeds and feeds are relevant to all but a select group of users with specific needs.
 
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Glockworkorange said:
Yes, but with the HP you have to use Windows. I will pay a premium for great software (i.e., macOS).

I don't think speeds and feeds are relevant to all but a select group of users with specific needs.
Click to expand...

Can't HP computers be converted to Hackintosh?
 
Well OP, you could go out and buy a Ford Focus with a list of options... or you could buy a Range Rover which might lack some of those options even at 4+ times the price... but if you think comparing on paper between those two cars, or computers is the same, then I can't say you understand Apple's philosophy the way most on this forum do..
 
Totally agree with the OP. Apple simply CANNOT ignore the competition with regard to Kaby Lake R. They have to release a 13" refresh ASAP, or their sales are going to tank worse than they already are
 
Mortis360 said:
Does the HP run macOS? No.
Click to expand...
Actually it probably could.

As for me, in a sense I do think the rose is of the bloom in terms of any advantages that MPB have enjoyed in the past. Today, there are many other laptops that offer the same if not more features for less. One reason I was willing to buy a MBP, was due to its quality and longevity. I'm not so sure about that ideal any longer. I think Apple is more obsessed with making a thin product and increasing profits over making a great laptop.
 
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Runs Windows, no thank you. The thing that makes a Mac much better is the OS, also the fact that a Mac runs much smoother and last a lot longer than any PC I ever owned in the past.
 
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Dave245 said:
Runs Windows, no thank you. The thing that makes a Mac much better is the OS, also the fact that a Mac runs much smoother and last a lot longer than any PC I ever owned in the past.
Click to expand...

Personally if I go down the Dell route I'd probably put linux on it
 
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