I see people say this a lot. Carbon Fiber is the short name people use for Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic... plastic with the weave in the center. It is a very premium material, but expecting it to feel like metal is unfair. What were you expecting?
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MacBook Pro vs. Razer 15" vs. Dell XPS 15
- Thread starter maflynn
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I see people say this a lot. Carbon Fiber is the short name people use for Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic... plastic with the weave in the center. It is a very premium material, but expecting it to feel like metal is unfair. What were you expecting?
I don't own a notebook with a Max-Q GPU, so difficult to say with any accuracy. What I can say is if you have a very powerful notebook and you push it hard the fans are going to spin up. Apple pulls it off as it opts to run components at the very edge of their thermal envelope and in the case of the 15" a weak dGPU.
It's all relative, as under light to medium usage the notebook will remain quiet until one unleashes the performance. Throttling is more complex as it may be related to temperature and or powertrain. The 8750H is still a very new chip and some OEM's are power limiting the CPU, others are allowing the full 45W (PL-1) and up to 90W (PL-2) boost for short periods.
Quietest performance notebook that I have personally used is an Acer Predator 17 (7700HQ, GTX 1070, 32Gb), equally it's a large & heavy machine. Best bet is to take a flash drive and test out the notebooks in question if possible. You can evaluate the noise and more importantly the frequency of the fans, and observe any throttling tendencies if any.
One can also take steps to restrain the CPU / GPU to reduce performance and fan noise, or in some cases the notebook may have it's own performance profiles; underclock, balanced, overclock etc.
Q-6
Here's the MobelTech review and I've very pleased with what she had to say. I want to clear one thing up, I'm not still waffling, I've largely decided to get the Razer. The fact that its been out of stock has stopped me from pushing the order button.
One positive thing is it looks like you can change the refresh frequency from 144 down to 60 if that's your preference and that will be mine when not gaming. Lisa, seems to have a unit that was running hotter then others that I saw. When she was trying games it was near 90, but the other reviews had theirs pegged at 70. She also mentioned that running other apps, even pro apps, heat will not be a problem and that will be I think my primary purpose.
One positive thing is it looks like you can change the refresh frequency from 144 down to 60 if that's your preference and that will be mine when not gaming. Lisa, seems to have a unit that was running hotter then others that I saw. When she was trying games it was near 90, but the other reviews had theirs pegged at 70. She also mentioned that running other apps, even pro apps, heat will not be a problem and that will be I think my primary purpose.
I just have a feeling that you are gambling a bit too much here.
First, you are taking a gamble on the OS. Second, on the hardware and lastly on the customer support.
At least with Lenovo and Dell, you are only gambling on the first two cause it is possible that you will get good support from Lenovo and Dell. I have always got better support from these two than from Apple.
If I were you and if I ever decide that I can do without OSX, it will be a Thinkpad for me. I already have a T470 and I am very pleased with its build quality. It is more practical than any machine I have used. Not my primary machine though cause it does not have OSX.
If not the Thinkpad, then maybe a Dell Precision? This is a big maybe cause I fear it will be susceptible to the thermal management issues.
The safest route in my opinion is not buy physics defying thin-and-light machines and hope for longevity. The safest route is to do what @Queen6 did: buy a honking gaming laptop that respects the power inside it by providing plenty of cooling and ventilation.
Another alternative is forget buying a powerful laptop. Rather buy the cheapest Apple laptop you can buy and build a golden master DIY Hackintosh. You have power and mobility, just not in the same package but you get everything else OSX has to offer.
I have to disagree with your assessment. I have no issues, quelms with windows, so I'm not gambling with that. I feel more confident with the hardware, and I don't think I want to go with the Dell Precision route as it does not offer the configrations I'm looking to do. I am taking a chance on customer support.
There's a lot with Dell I don't personally like mostly subjective, however Dell can lock down it's notebooks very heavily and they can be very difficult, if not impossible to undo. I rather bet the new XPS 15 is great on paper, equally under sustained workload it will roll back it's performance. Just because you can get an Intel i9 8950K into the chassis, it's of little use without adequate powertrain and cooling with a regular 8750H out performing it in a performant chassis with good design.
What I like about the gaming notebooks is they are designed for performance (mostly
) and the gaming community extremely vocal. Any OEM puts out a poor performer it's known quickly, avoided and it's successor generally significantly improved; Acer, Alienware, Aorus, Asus ROG, Gigabyte, MSI, Razor etc. all know this Asus S7BS8750 (GL703GS) seriously fast
Q-6
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Well...if this is the case, then choosing Apple (if you end up doing so) is almost masochistic
I will say that to anybody today. Previously, you chose Apple because you have an option to Windows. Today, you choose Apple only if you have no other options (e.g., when you are running OSX specific software)
You have so many better, sane hardware options outside of Apple; it's awesome!
With Razer, I feel you are chancing the hardware and customer support. I have seen the reviews of the Blade and the general impression is that it is good. But you have no long term reviews of this thing courtesy of it being so new.
Yes, it really boils down to whether I'm willing to live outside of Apple's ecosystem in some form. I have an iMac, so I'm not abandoning the platform but in buying a PC, I am embracing windows more then I had in quite some time. Now that I'm closer to pulling the trigger, the rubber is meeting the road so to speak. Talk is cheap, am I willing to put my money where my mouth is
I'm not waffling on the decision, but this morning I was contemplating IF apple does indeed update the keyboard and roll out a new MBP in September (or earlier), would I be willing to buy it?
It all boils down to peace of mind. Will I feel better at spending north of 3,000 dollars for a MBP vs spending north of 2,000 for a Razer? I would have to have faith and trust that Apple will introduce a new laptop with an improved keyboard. Not just that trust at the time of purchase but also having faith in the durability in the keyboard for my day to day usage
Even if Apple does update their keyboards this iteration, they will still screw up something else in the next iteration. One thing that is clear is that Apple does whatever it wants; not what the customers want and they are not beyond taking customer hostile decisions.
If you can live with Windows (and this is the key), why would you want to subject yourself to this? In other words, why be Apple's doormat (like I am currently)?
Because we're gluttons for punishment
Seriously, I truely do believe being on a Mac provides benefits, both tangible and intangible. If not I would not have purchased an iMac 3 1/2 years ago or a MBP 6 years ago. Yes times have changed especially since the unveiling of the retina MacBook Pro in 2012. While Apple enjoys the profits from the Macintosh line, their focus is on iOS products, no question and I also believe their long term goal is to see the iOS products cannibalize the Mac line.
The question now boils down to whether the current MacBook Pros, or a possible new MacBook Pro in late 2018 provides us customers with what we need and want. For me, I don't see spending almost 3k on a 2017 MBP given the issues.
Let's say they unveil a new MBP with allegedly better keyboard. It will take months after release before a solid consensus would emerge about whether that keyboard's reliability is any better than the current keyboard. Are you willing to wait that long?
Valid point. People will probably buy it purely on Apple's marketing speak and hope the issue is resolved.
At least six months if not a full revision, Apple's is just not trustworthy enough...
Q-6
No question, the only keyboard change that would give me peace of mind at the get go, is a return to the scissors mechanism.
Ran across a Rene Ritchie video on youtube titled "My MacBook Pro Suffered Key Death". There is an animation of the butterfly mechanism starting at about 6:05 into the video.
Also curious about whether there is natural production variation to the dimensions/shape of the butterfly that would contribute to higher applied stresses.
If this combination of factors does result in cracking/failure, No amount of compressed air will solve that problem. I hope that I am wrong, but check out the video and decide for yourself...
The 2015 MBP is starting to look a lot more appealing.
True but it is a total ripoff to buy them new. It will be an even greater ripoff when Apple introduces the 8th gen CPUs in their MBPs. At this point, either: a) hackintosh 2) leave MacOSX seem to be the best options.
I know my decision has been made; bought and then returned a Razer and then purchased a MBP, I thought this video would be helpful to those who are considering a Dell or Razer
I really do like MobileTechReview.
I really do like MobileTechReview.
The value of Apple's support is going to depend on how far from an Apple Store you live. If you live in Manhattan, the answer is not very far and there is one store which is open 24/7. You can bring your MacBook in for service at 1:00am and speak face to face to someone.