A new video is making its way around the net, under the title “MacBook Pro 15 (2018) – Beware the Core i9”. The video (embedded below), is a reasonably measured analysis of one specific new MacBook Pro model, the highest end, spec’ed with a 2.9GHz 6-core Intel Core i9 processor.
Before we get into the video at all, the issues Dave Lee raises are specific to this configuration. I’ve seen not seen anything to make me believe the over-throttling Dave encountered occurs on lower-spec’ed models. Per usual, ping me if I’ve missed anything, or if you see someone encountering this issue with, say, a 2.6GHz 6-core i7.
On to specifics:
Dave runs an Adobe Premiere render on Mac and Windows, the Mac using the i9, and the Windows machine using an i7. Under high load:
– The Windows laptop (Intel i7) runs at an average clock speed of about 3.1GHz, temp of ~87°C
– The MacBook Pro (high end i9) runs at an average clock speed of 2.2GHz, temp of ~90°C
In this specific case, with this specific configuration, with this specific i9 chip, the MacBook Pro runs hotter and slower under intense load.
Dave then sticks his MacBook Pro in the freezer and repeats the experiment, and the thermal throttling is significantly reduced, as the Mac no longer has to throttle performance to keep the machine from overheating.
I’d be very interested in seeing this experiment repeated by other folks. Thermal throttling is not the villain here. It’s about the ability of the Mac itself to dissipate heat efficiently. Once the chip heats up, that’s when thermal throttling kicks in.
Watch the video, draw your own conclusions.
I read that this is due to the Adobe Premiere app not being optimized for the OS and the other editing apps do not have the problem. Again, I’m nowhere near as technical as other so that explanation could very well be wrong.
I’ve read that much thicker PC gaming laptops with the same chip have throttling issues, this is not a specific Apple issue but an Intel issue.
Yeah, I’m seeing this comment as well. It’s possible the thicker ones throttle less, but the issue here is Intel is struggling badly to move to 10nm and i9 pushes the *cough* thermal envelope.
That said, I’d like to see an e.g. AnandTech detailed comparison. If Apple’s throttling is noticeably worse than other brands or even other variants of the MBP, it might be a good reason to avoid the top i9 SKU which is more expensive.
Haven’t watched the video but: “In this specific case, with this specific configuration, with this specific i9 chip, the MacBook Pro runs hotter and slower under intense load”made me think of two things:
1) 3 degrees C isn’t significant
2) Slower clock rate yes. However some chip designs do as much clocked lower as others do clocked higher. What I’d like to know (but not enough to watch a video I don’t care about much 🙂 ) is whether the task is done faster, slower or in about the same amount of time on the Mac as on Windows.
Lastly, it would be interesting to limit variables and compare an i7 MacBook Pro vs the i9.
On #2, the i7-8750K and i9-8950HK are very, very similar, structurally; they’re both same-gen Coffee Lake CPUs.
The big differences are clock rate and the size of the L3 cache; I would not expect significant difference in performance-per-cycle, especially for anything that doesn’t stress the L3 cache.
(I’m interested in that last comparison, too, since the CPUs in question are the same TDP and should be in the same package in the MBP, thus telling us if it’s “Apple’s packaging runs too hot” vs. “the i9 hates heat even more than the i7 does”.)
I’m having flashbacks to the PowerPC days.
Apple reflexively goes for less noise/more heat when designing their computers. I run macs fan control on my mac mini because I object to having a device that gets warm to the touch at idle.
This reflex of Apple’s has led to computers that die early from overheating in the past (the cylindrical Mac Pro, for one). Looks like they just can’t stop themselves, even when their instinctive quest for quietness causes poor performance.
How effective are those ~$40 cooling pads in heat dissipation?
Every MacBook I’ve owned since 2008 has been thermally throttled at some point (usually most of the time when running Xcode). I think this is one of the reasons Apple has switched from reporting the burst speed to the sustained speed.
Good. The last thing I want is a blow dryer in my office, inches from my face. If I need to boost the fan some I will.
My current MacBook Pro runs under load cooler closed on a fan pad (43°c) than it does open without the pad (69°c).
The pad I’m running it on is only about $15 now (I think I paid $25). I like big, single fan and cheap.
i wonder the same thing. if the app actually updated to work with that hardware efficiently. i’d love to see this repeated with a presumably updated app like Final Cut
i mean it’s still a good warning for folks in the event that the software is not. they should be aware that they need to be careful using the app with that hardware until it’s been properly vetted.