Intel mac users, stay away

[Miles Fu]

For most office work, even single-core performance isn't that important if you're talking about the amount of work done. My current use systems have GB5 single core scores ranging form 836 to 1,786. I use these systems interchangeably with no detriment to the amount of work done. The ones with higher scores may save a fraction of a second or be more responsive but it doesn't matter in terms of effectiveness.

Fully agree. most of the time, not 'We wait for the CPU' but 'CPU waits for us'.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I have it on a MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018) with the 2.6GHz Core i7-8850H, 32GB of RAM and the Radeon Pro 560X (and Intel UHD 630, of course). Animations are not as snappy as they were before. But I'm also running it on the oldest 15-inch machine supported (and it's not like the last two generations of 15-inch MacBook Pro weren't performance-limited by "thinnovation"). It's otherwise fine.

I would be sad if performance sucked on a decent MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) configuration. Though, it's also only a matter of time before Apple stops building macOS for Intel Macs at all.

 

[conmee]

I nuke my 2019 15” MBP every time I install a new macOS. After a full backup, I delete saved fingerprints, logout of iCloud/Messages/etc, reset SMC and NVRAM, boot new OS from bootable USB, partition/format drive and install everything fresh. I then import my music and email, reinstall apps. It’s a laborious process but I only do it once a year and I’ve never had any major problems or had to track down gremlins or incompatibilites.

Having said all that, 15.0 runs just as well or better than 11.0 thru 14.x.x. Animations seem no less snappy, all my VMs run well in Parallels, Affinity and Office apps are fine. I run in clamshell mode with a Brydge vertical stand and Brydge TB3 hub with a couple USB-A spinning drives, a SSD drive, SD card reader and DisplayPort running a 4K display with Logitech Brio 4K camera, Apple Trackpad, Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse. No excessive fan noise unless I’m running 3 VMs or one Teams session (Teams sucks resources-wise). Still not as snappy as Mojave, which I keep on a bootable SSD.

I’m actually happy I’ve got three more years of support for my Intel Mac. This should get me far enough along that my workflow and reliance on some x86 stuff declines and I can line up for an M6 when the time comes.

 

[H2SO4]

The tiger just ate me, but maybe you'll be fine so...

Ok, that's funny.

 

[dinobear]

MacBook Pro 16" 64gb ram, 5600m gpu.
Feels the same speed as previous OS. Not as fast and snappy as when it came installed with El Capitan. I think every year's upgrade slows it down slightly. But not noticeable each year.

I think I'm going to upgrade in 2025. This is the longest time I've used a single computer for this many year for full-time work 8hr/day. I got very good use out of it and made many year's salary working on it. Good stuff.

 

[jdos2]

So far, the only difficulty I've been having is getting MacPorts to build libxmi - which is erroring on a gcc issue (X86_64 architecture issues - someone's not using the right flags somewhere). preventing me from building Hugin (which doesn't work from the download) and Wireshark (litmus test - the download does work). Otherwise, everything has been working well.

 

[steve333]

My desktop icons keep re-arranging themselves after I shut down and re'start. That's something new.
Safari is just as bad as before, with the scroll bar disappearing every so often and having to refresh the page using facebook.

 

[MrScratchHook]

My desktop icons keep re-arranging themselves after I shut down and re'start. That's something new.
Safari is just as bad as before, with the scroll bar disappearing every so often and having to refresh the page using facebook.

might wanna lock your icons in place aka clean up, that happens to me on sonoma, i just deal with since im not even supposed to be running it on a mac pro 5,1

 

[antiprotest]

What do people use iPhone mirroring for? Can everyone give me some examples?

I have found that if I have a bluetooth audio device connected to Mac, then if I want to play something from the iPhone through that audio device, I can use iPhone mirroring without having to switch the bluetooth connection to the iPhone and disconnecting from the Mac first.

 

[steve333]

might wanna lock your icons in place aka clean up, that happens to me on sonoma, i just deal with since im not even supposed to be running it on a mac pro 5,1

I always use cleanup, didn't help

 

[Dimvol]

Came to the same sad conclusion after installing Sequoia on Imac 2017. The decrease in performance in games is noticeable. System processes analyzing media content and photos load the processor above 100 percent. I left the computer alone for a while - the fan started howling. I waited a week for these processes to calm down. They didn't. The screensaver has long been beyond the Intel processor's capabilities. Also overheating and fan noise. Somewhere I read a review that Sequoia is more responsive than Sonoma. I have the opposite impression. It is heavy, slows down work significantly. For Apple silicone this may not be difficult, but Intel clearly can't cope. Kaby Lake does not pull. 32 GB of memory do not make the task easier. So I agree with the author of the topic. Although everyone will have to experience it for themselves.
I would like to install Sequoia on MBP 14.3 (2017) but there are other problems. The screen brightness is not adjusted, the backlight does not turn on after waking up, there are problems with the rights for applications. I am tired of waiting for mercy and hoping that someone will do something. Sonoma works and there, thanks.
The decrease in productivity is not felt. This is confirmed by tests. The idle temperature is higher by 8-10 degrees Celsius. Some optimists see a process kernel task that takes up to 25% of the computing power. In addition to the fact that it takes up to two terabytes of virtual memory and contains up to half a million errors. And something else (picture included). For some reason, no one notices all these "little things". Sequoia works, hurray. Why is it needed at such a price?
P.S. The kernel task process is not Sequoia. It is Intel Power Gadget + iStat Menus. They have long been impossible to use.

 

[mackard]

For intel mac's i think ventura is the last good os. I think the human beings as users transcend fan heckling.. so its just a sad fact that apple need to start applying planned obsolescence to M1/M2.. forget about intel. The bloat is targeting making perfectly good APPLE SILICON machines feel slow. Intel is long forgotten. And what they would need to do to the os to slow down apple silicon would completely destroy anything intel.

Anyways, some tips for holdouts like me:
- The intel integrated gpu on the last mbp's are too slow for anything but default resolution, if you want to run at higher screen space, simply download a resolution tool and run the displays in 1x, non retina mode. My 2019 i9 runs ui as snappy as when i bought it in single retina mode. Given catalina could do the exact same work in full retina without a problem you have to ask the question.

- Ventura is the probably the last version of macos for intel. Reasons, it includes the last real feature apple added to the os, universal control. Low power mode seems more efficient on ventura than it does on monterey. If you're looking for a razer sharp build, 13.6.4 is amazing, but i have to admit the latest builds are doing fine. If you play games, i also found that native games performance for the 5500m with steam games was better on ventura than monterey.

I still love my macs with no notches, and they're smaller. In 2024, i even regret trading in a perfectly maintained butterfly keyboard 2018 macbook pro for the 16 i'm running.. the butterfly keyboards feel so expensive even to the quite decent keyboards they currently offer.

 

[Miles Fu]

For intel mac's i think ventura is the last good os. I think the human beings as users transcend fan heckling.. so its just a sad fact that apple need to start applying planned obsolescence to M1/M2.. forget about intel. The bloat is targeting making perfectly good APPLE SILICON machines feel slow. Intel is long forgotten. And what they would need to do to the os to slow down apple silicon would completely destroy anything intel.

Anyways, some tips for holdouts like me:
- The intel integrated gpu on the last mbp's are too slow for anything but default resolution, if you want to run at higher screen space, simply download a resolution tool and run the displays in 1x, non retina mode. My 2019 i9 runs ui as snappy as when i bought it in single retina mode. Given catalina could do the exact same work in full retina without a problem you have to ask the question.

- Ventura is the probably the last version of macos for intel. Reasons, it includes the last real feature apple added to the os, universal control. Low power mode seems more efficient on ventura than it does on monterey. If you're looking for a razer sharp build, 13.6.4 is amazing, but i have to admit the latest builds are doing fine. If you play games, i also found that native games performance for the 5500m with steam games was better on ventura than monterey.

I still love my macs with no notches, and they're smaller. In 2024, i even regret trading in a perfectly maintained butterfly keyboard 2018 macbook pro for the 16 i'm running.. the butterfly keyboards feel so expensive even to the quite decent keyboards they currently offer.

I still love my 2019 i9 16' MBP too, but I like Sonoma more than Ventura, as I have some problem with the external monitor on Verntura but without that issue on Sonoma.

I just clean re-installed 14.7 on my MBP, runs very well.

 

[JUMA55]

You guys are making it very hard. I'm torn between sticking with Sequoia or going back to Ventura.

 

[ewitte]

Never really the best idea to jump on a new OS as soon as it comes out especially with older hardware. When we had the Mac client, we always ran the PREVIOUS OS upgrade once a new one came out.

 

[Miles Fu]

Never really the best idea to jump on a new OS as soon as it comes out especially with older hardware. When we had the Mac client, we always ran the PREVIOUS OS upgrade once a new one came out.

some time just don't want to wait and eager to try the new OS, but I agree with you that this is a better strategy.

 

[Schnauzer World]

You guys are making it very hard. I'm torn between sticking with Sequoia or going back to Ventura.

2020 Intel mac here, went back to Sonoma 14.7 and not upgrading anymore. Everything works and has everything I need.

 

[JUMA55]

2020 Intel mac here, went back to Sonoma 14.7 and not upgrading anymore. Everything works and has everything I need.

2019 iMac here. You might be correct about Sonoma.