Basic (binned) 10C/16GPU M2 Pro in MacBook Pro 14 - Good for a long run (and in general)?

[Ilzen&Mac]

Hey everybody!

Next day after the announcement I can finally put myself together to ask the following question. First of all, I am a happy owner of a newly ordered MacBook Pro 14 with a basic configuration M2 Pro CPU.

The wait was definetly worth it - first of all, here in Germany, the prices turned out to be not so bad at all! My goal was to get 32GB RAM and at least 1TB SSD. Since October 22 I was following the prices on the BTO-versions of the M1 Pro version, which basically held up to the 2699€ until yesterday. Now I was able to order the newest generation with 32GB RAM and 2TB for 3570€ + also request a 415€ trade-in to get rid of my current Early 2020 last Intel-based netbook-monster in a MacBook Air body. So, pricewise I couldn't be happier either.

My goal is to stay the happy owner for the next 5-10 years. I have lots of trust in the SoC RISC architectures and at the same time as a software developer need a tolerable performance, but not at costs of thermodynamics and battery life. The graphic performance is good but not critical to me (at least for now...).

So: My final choise (which also allowed me to pump up the rest of the configuration) was the basic version of the M2 Pro (10‑Core CPU, 16-Core GPU). I am somehow positive about that this should be a good compromise for the next years. The only thing that makes be a bit concerned is lots of ppl saying that those basic configs are basically the binned versions of the higher versions of the same CPU, which means certain cores / performance-over-time / heat emission etc. couldn't pass quality controls and the chip got "downgraded" through deactivating its certain areas.

Considering we don't know much what exactly Apple means with the "2nd Gen of the 5nm process" in M2 Pro/Max family, could this binning story be worth reconsidering my choice? Btw. I guess it was even a game of luck for me that M2 Pro/Max are not 3nm: The technology would be so new and could end up having flows (laws of physics + unavoidable at early stages), so I am more than happy to stay with the established 5nm technology.

I have also heard, sometmies with those binned chips you may even grab a jackpot and get a one that outperformed its official specs. But the worst scenarion is of course that it wouldn't work the way it should due to its (faulty?) nature.

I would defintely be glad to hear some opinions (or also experiences of the M1 Pro owners) to this!

 

[1BadManVan]

Hey everybody!

Next day after the announcement I can finally put myself together to ask the following question. First of all, I am a happy owner of a newly ordered MacBook Pro 14 with a basic configuration M2 Pro CPU.

The wait was definetly worth it - first of all, here in Germany, the prices turned out to be not so bad at all! My goal was to get 32GB RAM and at least 1TB SSD. Since October 22 I was following the prices on the BTO-versions of the M1 Pro version, which basically held up to the 2699€ until yesterday. Now I was able to order the newest generation with 32GB RAM and 2TB for 3570€ + also request a 415€ trade-in to get rid of my current Early 2020 last Intel-based netbook-monster in a MacBook Air body. So, pricewise I couldn't be happier either.

My goal is to stay the happy owner for the next 5-10 years. I have lots of trust in the SoC RISC architectures and at the same time as a software developer need a tolerable performance, but not at costs of thermodynamics and battery life. The graphic performance is good but not critical to me (at least for now...).

So: My final choise (which also allowed me to pump up the rest of the configuration) was the basic version of the M2 Pro (10‑Core CPU, 16-Core GPU). I am somehow positive about that this should be a good compromise for the next years. The only thing that makes be a bit concerned is lots of ppl saying that those basic configs are basically the binned versions of the higher versions of the same CPU, which means certain cores / performance-over-time / heat emission etc. couldn't pass quality controls and the chip got "downgraded" through deactivating its certain areas.

Considering we don't know much what exactly Apple means with the "2nd Gen of the 5nm process" in M2 Pro/Max family, could this binning story be worth reconsidering my choice? Btw. I guess it was even a game of luck for me that M2 Pro/Max are not 3nm: The technology would be so new and could end up having flows (laws of physics + unavoidable at early stages), so I am more than happy to stay with the established 5nm technology.

I have also heard, sometmies with those binned chips you may even grab a jackpot and get a one that outperformed its official specs. But the worst scenarion is of course that it wouldn't work the way it should due to its (faulty?) nature.

I would defintely be glad to hear some opinions (or also experiences of the M1 Pro owners) to this!

It’s all clickbait theory crap. You’ll be very happy with your choice. Plus if ordering through apple, they do allow you to return it for a full refund. Though I don’t know how things in Germany work

 

[maflynn]

I have also heard, sometmies with those binned chips you may even grab a jackpot and get a one that outperformed its official specs. But the worst scenarion is of course that it wouldn't work the way it should due to its (faulty?) nature

I think you're reading way too much into that binning scenario. You have just as much luck hitting the silicon lottery with Intel and AMD. We're not talking about huge increases, just minor increases/decreases.

I would defintely be glad to hear some opinions

Macs are beautifully designed and well made. Many people on this board have very old Macs, well over the 8 years. I can't say if one particular machine will have that longevity, but overall Apple has a good track record.

 

[kiranmk2]

The binned chips will have cores disabled - either because the extra cores were faulty or because, inevitably the base models sell the best so Apple needs lots of the lower end chips. In the old PC desktop days there were ways to get extra performance out (either overclocking through the BIOS or - bizarrely - drawing with pencil on the chip to connect various components), but these aren't possible on Macs.

The main thing to help you decide is what can you realistically see your needs being over the next 5 years? Is your work reliant on having lots of CPU/GPU grunt or just RAM and storage? Keeping a laptop for this long is a risk if you need high performance as you don't know how software and hardware will develop so some upgrades may turn out to be useless and a waste of money whilst some you will wish you had splashed out for. My advice would be to buy the spec that meets your needs now and for what you know you will need for the next few years rather than trying to guess a future-proofing.

 

[Ilzen&Mac]

It’s all clickbait theory crap. You’ll be very happy with your choice. Plus if ordering through apple, they do allow you to return it for a full refund. Though I don’t know how things in Germany work

Thank you for supporting my thoughts! Even though the binning is a normal practice in the industry I was just surprised that quite some bloggers on youtube etc. that actually present themselves as technical experts point this fact so much in a negative light. I myself was def more on the side of those, who actually point out the pros of a light CPU in a smaller body.

Haven’t seen much threads here from the basic M1 Pro owners having any complaints either...

Btw, the refunds are no problem in Germany! Will def try to load the new machine to the max at first to see what’s going on.

 

[Ilzen&Mac]

The binned chips will have cores disabled - either because the extra cores were faulty or because, inevitably the base models sell the best so Apple needs lots of the lower end chips. In the old PC desktop days there were ways to get extra performance out (either overclocking through the BIOS or - bizarrely - drawing with pencil on the chip to connect various components), but these aren't possible on Macs.

The main thing to help you decide is what can you realistically see your needs being over the next 5 years? Is your work reliant on having lots of CPU/GPU grunt or just RAM and storage? Keeping a laptop for this long is a risk if you need high performance as you don't know how software and hardware will develop so some upgrades may turn out to be useless and a waste of money whilst some you will wish you had splashed out for. My advice would be to buy the spec that meets your needs now and for what you know you will need for the next few years rather than trying to guess a future-proofing.

Wow, thank you for the interesting info! I have never heard the pencil part of the binning story
My current developing needs will def be covered for the next 3 years. The biggest need was indeed for more RAM and SSD as I also work with virtualisation and containers.

And I totally agree - the further path technologies will take cannot be foreseen! Good thing that this should have nothing to do with the binned processor. I am sticking up to my config decision

 

[kiranmk2]

There are two general approaches people take when buying new

• Buy what they need now (and know they will need for 1-2 years) and then upgrade when the computer no longer meets their needs. This is slightly more expensive and you have the hassle of selling it.
• Max out / "future-proof" the purchase and run it into the ground. Although this is easier (no need to sell anything) and cheaper, you have the hassle of trying to use a computer that is over 5 years old and risk spending money on upgrades you don't need

I've tended to go with the second approach but via second hand models anyway so the initial outlay isn't so bad (I benefit from the extra depreciation of upgrades compared to the base models)

 

[1BadManVan]

Thank you for supporting my thoughts! Even though the binning is a normal practice in the industry I was just surprised that quite some bloggers on youtube etc. that actually present themselves as technical experts point this fact so much in a negative light. I myself was def more on the side of those, who actually point out the pros of a light CPU in a smaller body.

Haven’t seen much threads here from the basic M1 Pro owners having any complaints either...

Btw, the refunds are no problem in Germany! Will def try to load the new machine to the max at first to see what’s going on.

Yeah, if you dig deep, you'll always fine someone with an opinion. But overall sentiment is these M series machines are beasts and the M2 are just that much better. I dont need any serious multithreaded horsepower for my needs so I got myself an M2 air and it flies, by far my favourite laptop ive ever owned.

 

[JPack]

The only thing that makes be a bit concerned is lots of ppl saying that those basic configs are basically the binned versions of the higher versions of the same CPU, which means certain cores / performance-over-time / heat emission etc. couldn't pass quality controls and the chip got "downgraded" through deactivating its certain areas.

No, they are not binned chips. Not in the sense that they are rejected.

Think about it for a moment. The majority of MBP units sold are M1/M2 Pro base model configs. It doesn't make sense for such a high volume product to rely on expensive binned chips. Not only would that method be expensive, it would make for an unreliable supply of basic configs. When was the last time you saw the basic configs run out of stock?

 

[Ilzen&Mac]

No, they are not binned chips. Not in the sense that they are rejected.

Think about it for a moment. The majority of MBP units sold are M1/M2 Pro base model configs. It doesn't make sense for such a high volume product to rely on expensive binned chips. Not only would that method be expensive, it would make for an unreliable supply of basic configs. When was the last time you saw the basic configs run out of stock?

That actually makes sence! Unfortunately I haven't seen any stats on if Apple actually orderes 2 batches for each family from TSMC or if everything runs as a single process and gets separated with binning...

Do you know if there are any official sources that confirm separte production lines for basic CPUs and custom ones? The fact that basic configuration never runs out of stock would indeed either mean that it's just produced like this OR that they have a very big % of failure which I of course cannot imagine The last scenario would be a total commercial suicide and Apple is the last company in the world that would live with something like this.