Originally had a 2.6 i7, 32gb of ram, 560x and 1tb SSD that I ordered in August. I had some strange problems, walked into the Apple store and left a day later with the exact same model but I got the i9. This machine is a beast for music, video, photography, lots of chrome tabs and more. It is truly awesome.
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The "I just ordered / bought / got my new/refurb MBP" thread [Merged]
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sorry i just find this funny.
Recieved my 13" i5 today, noticed it's a different shade of spacegray than the Mac Mini, its much brighter
oh wow, so far so good. it runs at 3.2 GHz under full load and seems to hold it well.
as much as i was unimpressed with the i9 i'm impressed with this i5.
edit: also idle fan speeds at 1300rpm this thing runs quiet. love it.
edit2: i thought my istat menus are malfunctioning... fans TURN OFF on idle. I cannot believe how they could get the 13" so right this year.
as much as i was unimpressed with the i9 i'm impressed with this i5.
edit: also idle fan speeds at 1300rpm
this thing runs quiet. love it.edit2: i thought my istat menus are malfunctioning... fans TURN OFF on idle. I cannot believe how they could get the 13" so right this year.
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So this isn't the 'just got' post, as that was exactly one week ago. I just wanted to follow up.
But one week in this MacBook Pro is quickly becoming my favorite Mac ever. It feels like a hybrid of all sorts of Macs that I've had in the past - but only the good parts - particularly the '09 MacBook Pro and '15 MacBook. I do wish they were on Coffee-Lake U like the ones with Touch Bar but I continue to be impressed with the overall subjective performance this machine impresses. I spent the evening playing Counter Strike without issue and the machine is basically silent through the process, the display is incredible and the battery life isn't just 'work day' it's 'all day' - and far exceeds any laptop I've owned with the exception of a Lenovo X240 with an extended barrel battery (and for the record, that thing would go an unreasonable 14 hours between charges for normal use). I'm actually really growing to like the keyboard. It almost feels like it breaks in and the bottoming out becomes softer over time or it really just does take time to get used to it. No it's no replacement for the ThinkPad or my mechanical for long form typing but I'm actually learning to enjoy it especially for the typical iMessage/Outlook/Account Search my job requires - the stability is very good for quick bursts of typing even if over the long term it's a more exhaustive keyboard to use. I expect for the vast majority of people it's absolutely fine. Of course the big thing is reliability. It's absurd I have to even think about that I might have to deal with that at some point. I miss the Delete key and Page Up and Page Down. Speakers are great. Wish it had an SD card slot. Don't like Apple's general hostility towards simple repairability. I don't need to replace the ram but the fact that replacing the battery or recovering data is such a hassle is absolutely confounding. But I guess that's just the usual Apple fair. A few things that make me scratch my head and ask 'Why did you do that?' but overall the experience with the hardware and software is beyond reproach.
I know some people have had some minor issues with Apple's QC recently but this has been as flawless as any product I've bought in the past. Compared to the Dell XPS 15, Samsung NoteBook 9, ThinkPad X1, and Surface Laptops and Books I've been trying to escape to for one reason or another none has had hardware this well assembled and with so few faults. It's not the best value per spec, and it's obviously imperfect due to some design choices, but from a pure user-experience standpoint I don't really have any complaints and that's the biggest compliment I can give a device - one that I end up just using and not thinking about. It's very easy to take for granted that's for sure.
So I guess this MacBook Pro is going to be sticking around the house for a while.
But one week in this MacBook Pro is quickly becoming my favorite Mac ever. It feels like a hybrid of all sorts of Macs that I've had in the past - but only the good parts - particularly the '09 MacBook Pro and '15 MacBook. I do wish they were on Coffee-Lake U like the ones with Touch Bar but I continue to be impressed with the overall subjective performance this machine impresses. I spent the evening playing Counter Strike without issue and the machine is basically silent through the process, the display is incredible and the battery life isn't just 'work day' it's 'all day' - and far exceeds any laptop I've owned with the exception of a Lenovo X240 with an extended barrel battery (and for the record, that thing would go an unreasonable 14 hours between charges for normal use). I'm actually really growing to like the keyboard. It almost feels like it breaks in and the bottoming out becomes softer over time or it really just does take time to get used to it. No it's no replacement for the ThinkPad or my mechanical for long form typing but I'm actually learning to enjoy it especially for the typical iMessage/Outlook/Account Search my job requires - the stability is very good for quick bursts of typing even if over the long term it's a more exhaustive keyboard to use. I expect for the vast majority of people it's absolutely fine. Of course the big thing is reliability. It's absurd I have to even think about that I might have to deal with that at some point. I miss the Delete key and Page Up and Page Down. Speakers are great. Wish it had an SD card slot. Don't like Apple's general hostility towards simple repairability. I don't need to replace the ram but the fact that replacing the battery or recovering data is such a hassle is absolutely confounding. But I guess that's just the usual Apple fair. A few things that make me scratch my head and ask 'Why did you do that?' but overall the experience with the hardware and software is beyond reproach.
I know some people have had some minor issues with Apple's QC recently but this has been as flawless as any product I've bought in the past. Compared to the Dell XPS 15, Samsung NoteBook 9, ThinkPad X1, and Surface Laptops and Books I've been trying to escape to for one reason or another none has had hardware this well assembled and with so few faults. It's not the best value per spec, and it's obviously imperfect due to some design choices, but from a pure user-experience standpoint I don't really have any complaints and that's the biggest compliment I can give a device - one that I end up just using and not thinking about. It's very easy to take for granted that's for sure.
So I guess this MacBook Pro is going to be sticking around the house for a while.
Great! Just take sure you put it though all possible paces before your return window closes.
Yup been making a point to type a lot and make sure the keyboard is holding up okay, blasting the speakers and all that sort of thing and so far so good!
General question for the forum. I've not found any real strong information on whether an eGPU will work well with the internal display under Mac OS. It seems most people buying the Gigabyte Gaming Box RX580 use external displays. I won't be getting an external display any time soon so I'm curious if this thing works with the internal display? TF2 can get a little framey in intense scenes.
Mine is arriving tomorrow (Well, I guess actually today, given when I’m posting this). Got the shipment authorization release taped to the door, in case I’m in a remote part of the house when it arrives. Went full up - maxed out every option.
I’m a long-time MAC guy. Bought one in January 1984, days after it was released. Wrote the first non-Apple software available to the general public (MacTEP).
Worked for Steve for a while at NeXT, then spent a few years at Apple.
I’m 72 years old, and this is possibly the last computer I’ll ever buy, so I figured “What the f***, let’s go whole hog”.
I’m a long-time MAC guy. Bought one in January 1984, days after it was released. Wrote the first non-Apple software available to the general public (MacTEP).
Worked for Steve for a while at NeXT, then spent a few years at Apple.
I’m 72 years old, and this is possibly the last computer I’ll ever buy, so I figured “What the f***, let’s go whole hog”.
Please report on whether your whole hog runs smoothly or experiences T2 spasms.
And don’t count yourself out at 72! People are living longer, and with current Apple quality control their computers will be living shorter!
And don’t count yourself out at 72! People are living longer, and with current Apple quality control their computers will be living shorter!
After 9 years with my macbook white late 2009 I had to let it go due to an issue with the keyboard (letter P not working unless I would have caps on)... and it was about time for a change!
I bought the nTB MBP 13'' with $200 discount (combining price match plus discount from my research institution) - final price after taxes was $1400, not bad! I'm so happy with it. Way faster than my old friend. I hope to keep this one for a very long time as well.
I bought the nTB MBP 13'' with $200 discount (combining price match plus discount from my research institution) - final price after taxes was $1400, not bad! I'm so happy with it. Way faster than my old friend. I hope to keep this one for a very long time as well.
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buy the 2014 version for £800 16 gb, or wait for a 2015 early 16 gb ram for prob £1000-900
or save up to a 2018 version ~£2500 with 16 gb ram? Please help
or save up to a 2018 version ~£2500 with 16 gb ram? Please help
Although I thought about waiting for the 2019 update, I did an impulse buy today of the 13" 2018 base model with Touch Bar. I'm coming from the 13" 2016 base model (also Touch Bar) - basically because I can return it within 14 days.
I really wanted to have the quad core CPU for mixing music because the 2016 model wasn't capable to handle the project size I usually have and I wanted to have a complementary device next to my maxed out 2017 iMac. So after setting the new MBP up as a new computer and installing everything and connecting my Audio Interface (UAD Apollo Twin), I must say, I'm feeling very good with the purchase so far. I didn't opt for the 16GB as I'm usually only doing full audio tracks mixing and don't have any midi or virtual sampled instruments in my projects. (actually producing/writing songs is a task for the iMac)
I loaded up a 60+ song I mixed recently on the iMac and it played back without any hitches. This comes with a lot of plugins as well.
Some more general observations from the first hours compared to the 2016 one:
+ the keyboard feels a lot better to me and is indeed less annoying to listen to
+ moving around in the OS, starting programs, using Safari... everything feels faster and more snappy
+ True Tone is awesome - everything is more easy on the eyes. Especially now in the evening
(+ battery life in the first hours feels waaaay better than on the 2016 model)
- the speakers are quite different. At this point I prefer the more direct sound of the 2016 model. The 2018 model sounds more muffled due to its low-end boost. It looses quite some definition in the high and mid frequencies but it sounds more rounded
- the 2018 model gets way more warm more quick
- while bouncing the aforementioned Logic project the fans also get way louder and they are audible from time to time during tasks, where there weren't audible on the 2016 one
I will see how much I like it in the coming 13 days but after day 1 I tend to keep it and sell the 2016 one.
I really wanted to have the quad core CPU for mixing music because the 2016 model wasn't capable to handle the project size I usually have and I wanted to have a complementary device next to my maxed out 2017 iMac. So after setting the new MBP up as a new computer and installing everything and connecting my Audio Interface (UAD Apollo Twin), I must say, I'm feeling very good with the purchase so far. I didn't opt for the 16GB as I'm usually only doing full audio tracks mixing and don't have any midi or virtual sampled instruments in my projects. (actually producing/writing songs is a task for the iMac)
I loaded up a 60+ song I mixed recently on the iMac and it played back without any hitches. This comes with a lot of plugins as well.
Some more general observations from the first hours compared to the 2016 one:
+ the keyboard feels a lot better to me and is indeed less annoying to listen to
+ moving around in the OS, starting programs, using Safari... everything feels faster and more snappy
+ True Tone is awesome - everything is more easy on the eyes. Especially now in the evening
(+ battery life in the first hours feels waaaay better than on the 2016 model)
- the speakers are quite different. At this point I prefer the more direct sound of the 2016 model. The 2018 model sounds more muffled due to its low-end boost. It looses quite some definition in the high and mid frequencies but it sounds more rounded
- the 2018 model gets way more warm more quick
- while bouncing the aforementioned Logic project the fans also get way louder and they are audible from time to time during tasks, where there weren't audible on the 2016 one
I will see how much I like it in the coming 13 days but after day 1 I tend to keep it and sell the 2016 one.
I've got a 2018 15 incher coming - very excited. I love the 13" I ordered but provided everything checks out on the 15" it'll be going back to Amazon.
The 13" without touchbar is great but I really miss having the larger screen for Excel and writing reports and the CPU is just a little too light to not drop the ball while playing Team Fortress. The Iris performs great but, that game has never been good on dual core. I remember specifically upgrading from a Core 2 Duo to a Core 2 Quad for it. You'd think the march of time would be enough but the game has gotten so bloated and still can dog down way more than it reasonably should when you get the particles flying. It will also be nice to have the power in the future (especially the ram) as well as the better resale values and the ability to play Civ VII smoothly when that eventually hits. They say you can't notice the extra power between machines like these in normal usage but I also kind of disagree. It might be almost imperceptible but every 8th gen machine I've tried is noticeably faster.
So excited! Except for the touch bar. Still useless. Would have paid extra just to get rid of it.
The 13" without touchbar is great but I really miss having the larger screen for Excel and writing reports and the CPU is just a little too light to not drop the ball while playing Team Fortress. The Iris performs great but, that game has never been good on dual core. I remember specifically upgrading from a Core 2 Duo to a Core 2 Quad for it. You'd think the march of time would be enough but the game has gotten so bloated and still can dog down way more than it reasonably should when you get the particles flying. It will also be nice to have the power in the future (especially the ram) as well as the better resale values and the ability to play Civ VII smoothly when that eventually hits. They say you can't notice the extra power between machines like these in normal usage but I also kind of disagree. It might be almost imperceptible but every 8th gen machine I've tried is noticeably faster.
So excited! Except for the touch bar. Still useless. Would have paid extra just to get rid of it.
Well uh. I guess I'm going to keep rocking my Surface Pro 2 for a while. Although considering my vision problems if I'm going to suffer through that might as well just keep the 13" and deal with the lack of performance.
Because the MacBook Pro 15" Amazon sent me sure doesn't look like any MBP I've seen.
I called Amazon and they initiated the return and even wrote a letter to put in the box but I'm still worried they'll call me a liar and it'll be a whole ordeal.
It already is one. I was hoping to have this yesterday as the school semester is in full swing.
It's a MacBook GATEWAY if you're curious. Looks to be about 10 years old too. Grime and Windows Vista included in box!
Because the MacBook Pro 15" Amazon sent me sure doesn't look like any MBP I've seen.
I called Amazon and they initiated the return and even wrote a letter to put in the box but I'm still worried they'll call me a liar and it'll be a whole ordeal.
It already is one. I was hoping to have this yesterday as the school semester is in full swing.
It's a MacBook GATEWAY if you're curious. Looks to be about 10 years old too. Grime and Windows Vista included in box!
Attachments
Well uh. I guess I'm going to keep rocking my Surface Pro 2 for a while. Although considering my vision problems if I'm going to suffer through that might as well just keep the 13" and deal with the lack of performance.
Because the MacBook Pro 15" Amazon sent me sure doesn't look like any MBP I've seen.
I called Amazon and they initiated the return and even wrote a letter to put in the box but I'm still worried they'll call me a liar and it'll be a whole ordeal.
It already is one. I was hoping to have this yesterday as the school semester is in full swing.
It's a MacBook GATEWAY if you're curious. Looks to be about 10 years old too. Grime and Windows Vista included in box!
Haha. What? Did you order from an external seller on amazon?
Nope. Sold and shipped by Amazon. Although the box on the inside had a different address and was shipped to Amazon. Some 3rd party computer warehouse in Realto.
Really still upset this morning about it but I guess I’ll deal with it as it comes. I’ve been an Amazon customer with prime for about a good decade now. I hope they resolve it quickly.
That said I think I’ll buy my MacBook from the Apple Store now.
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After my deal on swappa fell thru... I ordered a 2.9ghz i9 Vega 20 1tb today from Apple.. will be delivered tomorrow! Looking forward to the improvements over the 560X...
If I like, I’ll return it/exchange it when I’m in Delaware in 10 days. To get that money back on the tax lol
If I like, I’ll return it/exchange it when I’m in Delaware in 10 days. To get that money back on the tax lol
2015 15 inch Retina MacBook Pro, 2.5 Ghz, AMD Graphics, 500 GB SSD. Condition is good to very good. $1,125. It comes with a 90-day warranty. It was advertised as 2.8 Ghz though so I emailed back that I was annoyed. I'm actually happy with it as it is but hope that they knock some off the price. They had another unit for $50 less but it had a screen artifact - it looks like something hit the screen and there's a spot about 1/2 in in diameter that's brighter than the rest of the screen.
I haven't heard anything bad about this model. Not even that the AMD video is prone to giving out. This was a former corporate model (I have one from my company) and it wasn't taken care of as well as my 2014 rMBP but it's not bad and certainly good enough for my purposes.
I've looked at the 2016, 2017, 2018 models and wouldn't touch the 2016 and 2017 models and I'm not sure on the 2018. So was this a decent price? Too high? Just right?
One thing that I want to do is run 2 QHD monitors off of it and also use the internal display at 1920x1200. I cannot do this on the 2014 rMBP - it lowers the resolution on one of the QHD monitors and also on the internal display. The 2015 rMBP supports 4K and 5K so I'm hoping that it can support 2XQHD + WUXGA.
The ad was on Craigslist for a day and it was for a used PC shop that took in corporate laptops and computers and refurbs them. They are not a retail outlet; I'd guess that they wholesale them after cleaning them up. I'd also guess that they get them pretty cheap as companies can write them off after a few years. I didn't have a lot of time but I felt like a kid in a candy store with lots of used Apple hardware (also Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.).
The place is in a bad part of town and you just pull into a parking lot next to the building in what looks to be something out of a superhero movie. Then you hit a buzzer on a wall next to a door where all of the indications of the few companies there are faded. Someone comes down, walks you up a few flights of stairs and you're in essentially a large factory floor with hardware all over the place but generally arrayed neatly. I would probably enjoy working some hours in a place like that. They can fix old hardware too - but the guy told me that it may or may not be worth fixing old hardware. I have an old 2008 17 inch MBP with a bad display and would like to get that fixed but he said that repairs are generally with used parts and nobody knows how long they will last. At least there's a place to fix stuff though.
I haven't heard anything bad about this model. Not even that the AMD video is prone to giving out. This was a former corporate model (I have one from my company) and it wasn't taken care of as well as my 2014 rMBP but it's not bad and certainly good enough for my purposes.
I've looked at the 2016, 2017, 2018 models and wouldn't touch the 2016 and 2017 models and I'm not sure on the 2018. So was this a decent price? Too high? Just right?
One thing that I want to do is run 2 QHD monitors off of it and also use the internal display at 1920x1200. I cannot do this on the 2014 rMBP - it lowers the resolution on one of the QHD monitors and also on the internal display. The 2015 rMBP supports 4K and 5K so I'm hoping that it can support 2XQHD + WUXGA.
The ad was on Craigslist for a day and it was for a used PC shop that took in corporate laptops and computers and refurbs them. They are not a retail outlet; I'd guess that they wholesale them after cleaning them up. I'd also guess that they get them pretty cheap as companies can write them off after a few years. I didn't have a lot of time but I felt like a kid in a candy store with lots of used Apple hardware (also Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.).
The place is in a bad part of town and you just pull into a parking lot next to the building in what looks to be something out of a superhero movie. Then you hit a buzzer on a wall next to a door where all of the indications of the few companies there are faded. Someone comes down, walks you up a few flights of stairs and you're in essentially a large factory floor with hardware all over the place but generally arrayed neatly. I would probably enjoy working some hours in a place like that. They can fix old hardware too - but the guy told me that it may or may not be worth fixing old hardware. I have an old 2008 17 inch MBP with a bad display and would like to get that fixed but he said that repairs are generally with used parts and nobody knows how long they will last. At least there's a place to fix stuff though.
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After many years of watching and waiting (and now just being sick of waiting/using my work laptop at home) I have taken the plunge and ordered a 2018 MBP (2.7Ghz, 16GB, 1TB). Decided with 3yrs of AppleCare I could probably skirt past whatever FlexGate/keyboard issues I encounter as well...
I am really excited as I'm coming from a mid-2010 MBP as my home computer (which has become basically unusable) and my work laptop which is an early 2015 MBA.
I'm assuming not much has changed in terms of setup using a Time Machine backup, but really excited to get up and running and have a far nicer screen/weight/battery experience! I am expecting this to be a pretty amazing speed/UI upgrade too, and very much looking forward to what a fresh laptop feels like for the first time in years!
I am really excited as I'm coming from a mid-2010 MBP as my home computer (which has become basically unusable) and my work laptop which is an early 2015 MBA.
I'm assuming not much has changed in terms of setup using a Time Machine backup, but really excited to get up and running and have a far nicer screen/weight/battery experience! I am expecting this to be a pretty amazing speed/UI upgrade too, and very much looking forward to what a fresh laptop feels like for the first time in years!
If nothing else the display and speakers will rock your world coming from either of your daily drivers.
AppleCare is for two years on top of the normal one year warranty.
Do you plan on replacing the computer when your warranty ends ?
Welp - I have yet to hear anything from Amazon about that issue but I have had a 15" for a few days; I ordered it from Costco.
And I really like it although I can't help but feel slightly disappointed? I guess I'm not sure what I expected. I think having tried both, it really makes a great case for the 13", I think it's 90% of the computer the 15" is for 60% of the cost. I love the 15" form factor however and the improvements to the keyboard and speakers are noticeable. The keyboard damping on this 3rd gen is much easier on the fingers.
I don't need much power however I was hoping the 560x would be the standout reason the 15" would have value to me and I have to say - I think that's where my disappointment comes from. On paper it should be much much faster but it's still too slow to really have any meaningful impact on the performance of the stuff I like to goof off with. Team Fortress has a more stable frame rate but that's probably more down to the CPU improvements. Detail settings can be kept pretty much the same just with some bumps in resolution.
This is all a long winded way to say I love it but have buyers remorse at the moment. Buy a 13" and a monitor. Or if you want a 15" jump on the $1999 deal at Costco ASAP.
And I really like it although I can't help but feel slightly disappointed? I guess I'm not sure what I expected. I think having tried both, it really makes a great case for the 13", I think it's 90% of the computer the 15" is for 60% of the cost. I love the 15" form factor however and the improvements to the keyboard and speakers are noticeable. The keyboard damping on this 3rd gen is much easier on the fingers.
I don't need much power however I was hoping the 560x would be the standout reason the 15" would have value to me and I have to say - I think that's where my disappointment comes from. On paper it should be much much faster but it's still too slow to really have any meaningful impact on the performance of the stuff I like to goof off with. Team Fortress has a more stable frame rate but that's probably more down to the CPU improvements. Detail settings can be kept pretty much the same just with some bumps in resolution.
This is all a long winded way to say I love it but have buyers remorse at the moment. Buy a 13" and a monitor. Or if you want a 15" jump on the $1999 deal at Costco ASAP.
Awesome choice, that's what I have. Great laptop. Speed is out of this world. Mine has no flickering. Thermals are fine. Keyboard is great. Wish the screen was slightly more uniform, but it's not too bad. You will love yours.
Got a Macbook Escape model for a decent price on Swappa. it's less computer than my 2017 15" was but I simply don't need that much computer.
Tried a Chromebook for a while. Turns out I need more than a Chromebook and less than a 15" MBP. The Air was tempting but I think the 13" MBP is a bit better.
Tried a Chromebook for a while. Turns out I need more than a Chromebook and less than a 15" MBP. The Air was tempting but I think the 13" MBP is a bit better.
Update on the matter:
I returned it. The quad core is nice but in the end it didn't feel right for the price.
I can wait until the 2019 MBPs or probably even the 2020 models.