Macbook Pro 2019 Benchmarks and First Impressions! Post yours!

[RumorConsumer]

I tend to think Apple should offer a clearer more concise portable Mac line, not solely variations of the Air. By all means produce; entry level, ultraportable, mainstream (current MBP IMHO) and Pro, equally if "Pro" delivery stops with sales and marketing barf, forget it. Professionals want reliability, performance, usability, sensible port solutions, certainly not tricks and bells.

If they want portability in the Apple ecosystem or for that matter any other, they will simply use a secondary if not tertiary device as I employ myself..

Q-6
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Time will tell, neither for, nor against. Either ways it will take time and for professional use the advantage will need to be very significant across the board.

Q-6

Have you seen the comparative benchmarks from the latest iPad Pro which has ZERO active cooling and is very very thin versus the Macbook Pros? Its astounding. Check this out if you haven't seen - https://sixcolors.com/post/2018/11/fun-with-charts-the-ipad-bests-the-macbook/

 

[getheo]

Thank you for your observations. Are you sure for the clock speeds? The 2018 i7 models were staying at 3.05Ghz frequency according to this video

~ 1.33.

Moreover, did you check the idle temperature?

 

[Queen6]

Have you seen the comparative benchmarks from the latest iPad Pro which has ZERO active cooling and is very very thin versus the Macbook Pros? Its astounding. Check this out if you haven't seen - https://sixcolors.com/post/2018/11/fun-with-charts-the-ipad-bests-the-macbook/

Yet without SW, just a nice toy. I'd like to see a real comparative bench test. GeekBench is just for big numbers and bar talk. When iPad can do this and run full applications I'll revisit, same apples to any ARM powered Mac...

Frankly I hope Apple does as Intel seriously needs a kick in the ass to get it moving and stop holding up progress.

Q-6

 

[Ploki]

it's decent, but for being an 8-core 9th gen i would expect it to be a lot better than the 6-core mini. it's barely better, and i doubt its better under sustained loads.

 

[uecker87]

Thank you for your observations. Are you sure for the clock speeds? The 2018 i7 models were staying at 3.05Ghz frequency according to this video

~ 1.33.

Moreover, did you check the idle temperature?

I was comparing the 2019 models. Not the 2018.

Idle temps were roughly the same. Mid 30s in our air conditioned office.

 

[Queen6]

it's decent, but for being an 8-core 9th gen i would expect it to be a lot better than the 6-core mini. it's barely better, and i doubt its better under sustained loads.

One of Asus's new 8 core i9 notebooks is the same, actually worse. I own the previous 17" model and it performs better I was kind of expecting a lot more given the chassis is proven. New ROG i9 model just barely passed 2700CB in R20, likely can get more performance out of the system, equally I don't see it exceeding my 2018 version by any significant factor if at all, given my 8570H can pull over 3100CB...

Q-6

 

[RumorConsumer]

Yet without SW, just a nice toy. I'd like to see a real comparative bench test. GeekBench is just for big numbers and bar talk. When iPad can do this and run full applications I'll revisit, same apples to any ARM powered Mac...
View attachment 841912 Frankly I hope Apple does as Intel seriously needs a kick in the ass to get it moving and stop holding up progress.

Q-6

You don’t think this WWDC points to a collision? I mean if you think roadmap it looks pretty clear to me they are unifying the codebase and pulling the silicon indoors.

 

[Queen6]

You don’t think this WWDC points to a collision? I mean if you think roadmap it looks pretty clear to me they are unifying the codebase and pulling the silicon indoors.

TBH for Apple it makes far more sense in the long run. Thinking that ARM Mac's will be more a staged release as the CPU's develop. Intel's way off it's promised timeline and all these security issues that are cropping up are hardly inspiring confidence...

Q-6

 

[anatwo]

Hi guys,

I‘ve got a MB Pro 15 2019 (i9,16G,512) in order to have a mobile workstation for Lightroom and Photoshop. The 8 core i9 processor should be able to run any of these applications on a high speed. What I see, is that some times even Lightroom has some small lugs while editing RAWs. Therefore the fan is running almost the whole time.
Did anybody else have such an experience or is something wrong with my Mac?
Thanks.

 

[donawalt]

I have had my 2019 MacBook Pro 5 days. I have the upgraded 2.4 GHz i9, 32GB, Vega 20.

So far, no crashes, Touchpad identical with 2018 versions, keyboard is GREAT, love it! No coil whine, display issues, throttling. Here are my benchmarks:

Cinebench: 3231 with power (all approx. ranges) at 54-55, CPU at 3.1, temp 95-97, utilization 99%. I ran it 4 consecutive times.
Blackmagic: Write 2669, Read 2688
Geekbench 5724/30887
Engine Heaven on the default setup (I didn't change anything) FPS 82.6, Score 2082, Min FPS 50.4, Max FPS 145.5.

It ran a little warm on the bottom for about 2-3 days, now it's cool - I suspect that was the indexing and setup etc.

I set it up from a Time Machine backup from my old MacBook Pro, there was about 1.2TB of data etc. it took around 4 hours.

This is really an awesome laptop. It may not be the top laptop in the industry in performance, but with its display, keyboard (I love the minimal travel I type a ton faster with it after using them for about 3 years), still excellent performance, sleek unibody, fast disk, and a much better OS than Windows, I am sold.

 

[kp98077]

I have had my 2019 MacBook Pro 5 days. I have the upgraded 2.4 GHz i9, 32GB, Vega 20.

So far, no crashes, Touchpad identical with 2018 versions, keyboard is GREAT, love it! No coil whine, display issues, throttling. Here are my benchmarks:

Cinebench: 3231 with power (all approx. ranges) at 54-55, CPU at 3.1, temp 95-97, utilization 99%. I ran it 4 consecutive times.
Blackmagic: Write 2669, Read 2688
Geekbench 5724/30887
Engine Heaven on the default setup (I didn't change anything) FPS 82.6, Score 2082, Min FPS 50.4, Max FPS 145.5.

It ran a little warm on the bottom for about 2-3 days, now it's cool - I suspect that was the indexing and setup etc.

I set it up from a Time Machine backup from my old MacBook Pro, there was about 1.2TB of data etc. it took around 4 hours.

This is really an awesome laptop. It may not be the top laptop in the industry in performance, but with its display, keyboard (I love the minimal travel I type a ton faster with it after using them for about 3 years), still excellent performance, sleek unibody, fast disk, and a much better OS than Windows, I am sold.

nice, yes my 15" ran warm for first few days, but it is fine now! super fast - amazing machine, especially the keyboard.... just have to decide which one to keep haha... love the 15", but nervous about travel with it if it would be too difficult... doesn't seem like it..13" is great too, loving the form factor, although why can't there be a 14!"

 

[donawalt]

I travel with my 15” a lot, no problems! I grew up with 10 pound Windows laptops though, so this is a feather lol.

 

[kp98077]

I travel with my 15” a lot, no problems! I grew up with 10 pound Windows laptops though, so this is a feather lol.

haha... true..

 

[Queen6]

Credit where credit is due

Closest I've been in years of picking up a new 15" MBP, just mindful that 2020 will be a redesign.

Q-6

 

[richinaus]

Credit where credit is due

Closest I've been in years of picking up a new 15" MBP, just mindful that 2020 will be a redesign.

Q-6

Wow so am I Q6. Very close indeed.

 

[Queen6]

Wow so am I Q6. Very close indeed.

Two schools of thought; known quantity versus the unknown. I am tending to lean towards the latter as Apple has taken a lot of flack for the 2016 MBP design and it does seem to be intent on being more focused on the Mac. Therefore I rather think the 2020 model will be a more concerted effort to get things right.

That said the model may also introduce a host of new issues as did the 2016 with the 2019 now being fairly settled. If I was to opt for a 2019 I think I'd be inclined only to pick up a base i9 as if the 2020 does prove to be a major upgrade I would be far more likely to invest in upgrades.

Q-6

 

[richinaus]

Two schools of thought; known quantity versus the unknown. I am tending to lean towards the latter as Apple has taken a lot of flack for the 2016 MBP design and it does seem to be intent on being more focused on the Mac. Therefore I rather think the 2020 model will be a more concerted effort to get things right.

That said the model may also introduce a host of new issues as did the 2016 with the 2019 now being fairly settled. If I was to opt for a 2019 I think I'd be inclined only to pick up a base i9 as if the 2020 does prove to be a major upgrade I would be far more likely to invest in upgrades.

Q-6

The 2019 is looking good now. I was thinking the same with next years updates and max that out. The only thing is ideally I would have 32gb but 16gb is workable and will invest into an egpu when we know a little more about Navi.

 

[anatwo]

nice, yes my 15" ran warm for first few days, but it is fine now! super fast - amazing machine, especially the keyboard.... just have to decide which one to keep haha... love the 15", but nervous about travel with it if it would be too difficult... doesn't seem like it..13" is great too, loving the form factor, although why can't there be a 14!"

Did you take a backup from your old machine or installed a new system?
In my case I took a TM backup and the fan noise was a kind of disturbing. Then I performed a complete reset and installed macOS. But it is still kind of noisy.

 

[wallysb01]

Two schools of thought; known quantity versus the unknown. I am tending to lean towards the latter as Apple has taken a lot of flack for the 2016 MBP design and it does seem to be intent on being more focused on the Mac. Therefore I rather think the 2020 model will be a more concerted effort to get things right.

That said the model may also introduce a host of new issues as did the 2016 with the 2019 now being fairly settled. If I was to opt for a 2019 I think I'd be inclined only to pick up a base i9 as if the 2020 does prove to be a major upgrade I would be far more likely to invest in upgrades.

Q-6

I’m in the same place. My 2015 is getting long in the tooth and while I could really use the speed up and more RAM , I am finding effective work arounds now. The other thing is 2020 will likely bring, finally, 10nm from Intel (Sunny cove was it? I mix these up) and LPDDR4, so it could be a good generational spot to hit. It’s always possible to wait a bit and see what kinds of rumors we see in 3-6 months time. Maybe we’ll see a chassis... that would give a ton of clues for the professional user. Honestly I wouldn’t give a crap about OLED or 15 vs 16 screens. I’m worried about the keyboard and the cooling.

 

[StuKatz1]

Credit where credit is due

Closest I've been in years of picking up a new 15" MBP, just mindful that 2020 will be a redesign.

Q-6

Think with your head not your emotions

 

[Queen6]

The 2019 is looking good now. I was thinking the same with next years updates and max that out. The only thing is ideally I would have 32gb but 16gb is workable and will invest into an egpu when we know a little more about Navi.

I'd far prefer 32Gb, however once you start dipping into Apple's upgrades the price rapidly escalates. By far the biggest concern is the keyboard as it's simply too soon to determine if Apple has fully resolved the issue.

The performance is now far more acceptable given the form factor. As for the dGPU an eGPU is the obvious solution as such a thin chassis is unlikely to ever support a high performance chip.

Q-6

 

[donawalt]

Did you take a backup from your old machine or installed a new system?
In my case I took a TM backup and the fan noise was a kind of disturbing. Then I performed a complete reset and installed macOS. But it is still kind of noisy.

I restored from a TM backup as part of the setup. On mine I never hear the noise unless I am doing something intense that I know demands it. It's really been super quiet too.

 

[maflynn]

Credit where credit is due

Closest I've been in years of picking up a new 15" MBP, just mindful that 2020 will be a redesign.

Q-6

The 2019 MBP is certainly improved over the 2018 in number of ways and as always Apple continues to design something that is very beautiful. Overall, however, I'm not really tempted, for me there's a number of factors that push the 2019 MBP into the do not buy category. These are all personal and by no means universal and everyone should avoid the MBP because my reasons. Keyboard, both the look and feel and the peace of mind regarding the durability/longevity. Value for my money, I get more computer for less imo, and sealed vs upgradeable. There are aspects that I miss with macOS, to be sure, but by the same token, if I move off windows, back to the Mac there will be things I miss with the Windows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ For me and my work, windows is certainly a better fit, though my preference and enjoyment of the Mac and macOS has kept me in the fold all these years.

 

[x-evil-x]

Interesting that Apple is using a better thermal paste in the 2019's. They are improving little things that do help.
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TBH for Apple it makes far more sense in the long run. Thinking that ARM Mac's will be more a staged release as the CPU's develop. Intel's way off it's promised timeline and all these security issues that are cropping up are hardly inspiring confidence...

Q-6

Im sure apple has been testing what they can make for computers. The chips they make are amazing and run really well for the phones and iPads I don't see why they can't make big improvements and have a cooler running machine with their own hardware all in house. If apple does do a redesign and release their own chips next year ill consider selling my 2019.

 

[donawalt]

Im sure apple has been testing what they can make for computers. The chips they make are amazing and run really well for the phones and iPads I don't see why they can't make big improvements and have a cooler running machine with their own hardware all in house. If apple does do a redesign and release their own chips next year ill consider selling my 2019.

I wonder what will happen with Windows support under Mac - both Boot Camp and VMs such as Parallels. I have 3 apps that require Windows, I use Parallels and it's great. What makes this all work is an Intel instruction set, seems that would be a ton of work for the Apple ARM to also emulate Intel instruction set - maybe? Or do they put an Intel CPU in there as a co-processor for emulation only, which wouldn't have to be as "state of the art" as the ARM that drives MacOS directly? I think it needs a solution, as even if 5% - 10% of the world runs some sort of Windows capability on their Mac, imagine if that population was cut out - issues like the keyboard problem probably only affected 2% of the worldwide users and that's a very big story.