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The New MacBook Pro Features 'Fastest SSD Ever' In a Laptop (macrumors.com)
Last week, Apple refreshed the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models, bringing newer Intel processors and quieter keyboards. The new 13-inch MacBook Pro also just so happens to feature the fastest SSD ever in a laptop, according to benchmarks from Laptop Mag. Mac Rumors summarizes the findings: The site's tests were performed on the $2,499 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar equipped with a 2.7GHz quad-core 8th-generation Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, Intel Iris Plus 655, and a 512GB SSD. A file copy test of the SSD in the new MacBook Pro, which Apple says supports sequential read speeds of up to 3.2GB/s and sequential write speeds up to 2.2GB/s, led Laptop Mag to declare the SSD in the MacBook Pro "the fastest ever" in a laptop. Higher capacity SSDs may see even faster speeds on disk speeds tests. A BlackMagic Disk Speed test was also conducted, resulting in an average write speed of 2,682 MB/s.
On a Geekbench 4 CPU benchmark, the 13-inch MacBook Pro earned a score of 18,055 on the multi-core test, outperforming 13-inch machines from companies like Dell, HP, Asus, and Microsoft. That score beats out all 2017 MacBook Pro models and is faster than some iMac configurations. 15-inch MacBook Pro models with 6-core 8th-generation Intel chips will show even more impressive speeds. With that said, the 13-inch MacBook Pro didn't quite measure up to other machines when it came to GPU performance. "The 13-inch 2018 MacBook Pro uses Intel's Iris Plus Graphics 655 with 128MB of embedded DRAM and was unable to compete in a Dirt 3 graphics test, getting only 38.8 frames per second," reports Mac Rumors. "All Windows-based machines tested offered much better performance."
On a Geekbench 4 CPU benchmark, the 13-inch MacBook Pro earned a score of 18,055 on the multi-core test, outperforming 13-inch machines from companies like Dell, HP, Asus, and Microsoft. That score beats out all 2017 MacBook Pro models and is faster than some iMac configurations. 15-inch MacBook Pro models with 6-core 8th-generation Intel chips will show even more impressive speeds. With that said, the 13-inch MacBook Pro didn't quite measure up to other machines when it came to GPU performance. "The 13-inch 2018 MacBook Pro uses Intel's Iris Plus Graphics 655 with 128MB of embedded DRAM and was unable to compete in a Dirt 3 graphics test, getting only 38.8 frames per second," reports Mac Rumors. "All Windows-based machines tested offered much better performance."
I just brought my Mac in for 'service'. 2 year old machine, my keyboard had the known issues, my USB-C ports were failing, and then it stopped charging altogether. Fortunately the SSD seemed to be the one thing that was still working. The IO board was gone, and they acknowledged that the keyboard and ports needed replacing. Now, cheers to Apple for giving me an entirely new laptop body; but what happens when the same failures happen in two years and I DON'T have Apple Care? Total bullshit.
It's one hell of a display, though... I'm looking at it now, and it beats the crap out of any other laptop display I've seen.
Linux enables me to spend a great deal more on a laptop or a workstation actually. I see this anemic little SSD and chuckle. So what if it's "fast". I would rather have more storage.
I can get 2.5TB of SSD storage on a Linux laptop.
My old bruiser has 2.5TB of conventional storage. My "outdated" bruiser probably still has a better GPU than this Apple toy.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
If you had had the pleasure of working with any good Macs like the MacPlus, for example, you'd understand what he talks about. His point is that Apple stuff is crap nowadays, and I concur. It's such a crap.
A 5 year old computer is slower than a new one? I' m shocked.
Some research turns up that:
In other words, the files weren't copied. A hard link (similar to a shortcut for you Windows users) was created. The whole story is an error by non-techie journalists who noticed something wildly odd in their test results, and rather than spend 30 seconds researching it online like I did, decided "it must be because it's Apple!" and published it. The reality distortion field is alive and well.
Apple has been using Sandisk NAND lately as a bid to try to reduce dependence on Samsung. Both Sandisk and Toshiba SSDs (also used frequently by Apple) regularly benchmark slower than Samsung SSDs.
You could have bought a $500 laptop, tossed a $100 SSD in it, and been equally blown away.
I have an SSD and it boots instantly. Apps and game levels are near instantaneous. Speed isn't my problem. With games taking up 100GB now, even my 500GB SSD is constantly running out of space. When I do upgrade, I'll get a fast replacement, but size, not speed will be my primary requirement,
I'm not impressed by the Mac displays....they used to be very good but now they're just on par with offerings by every other manufacturer. I use a Mac at work and sitting next to a $500 laptop from Acer or Dell or anyone else it looks pretty much the same.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
My work laptop also has SSDs, and it doesn't install Windows 10 into a VM that fast - and it's a Lenovo W530; not exactly a slouch.
You're on the wrong side of the PCIe attached storage divide. The W530 has a weedy 6Gb/s SATA-III interface (my W510 has weedier SATA-II). The good Samsung drives can manage about 5x SATA-III speed on writes and more on reads.
Actually looking that up, I notived that the benchmark for the supposed "fastest SSD in a laptop" almost exactly matches the Samsung 970 EVO drive benchmarks.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
Well, yeah, because every decent manufacturer buys the same panels from Samsung that Apple is using. I don't know why anyone ever thought Apple's displays were some special magic that nobody else had access to... it's not like they make them in-house.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
SSDs are already really fucking fast... Marketing this is a moot point. Your average consumer (worst, your average APPLE consumer) won't be able to tell the difference, assuming there actually is one.
I remember power cycling my Win7 laptop from college just for shits and giggles, being very impressed with the differences from installing your OS on a SSD over a HDD. That was 8~ years ago.
I tend to rant.
All the details are missing. What technology is being utilized? Those speed results are common in comparing SATA to NVMe SSDs. All the laptops I see with a M.2 are shipped with a SATA SSD. I find it hard to believe any laptop with a NVMe SSD is only getting 399.4 MB/s write speed (Dell XPS 13). For NVMe, I see 2100 MB/s on the low end and 2600 MB/s on the high end (with X4). The "BlackMagic Disk Speed test for macOS" returned a score of 2,682 MB/s, which I admit is pretty fast for a laptop, but not "insane". A better question is what are the failure rates? NVMe SSDs get hot. What cooling technology breakthrough is Apple using? Is there an empty 2.5 inch bay for more storage and backup (like my HP)? Without proper cooling, NVMe SSDs are begging to fail.
But the counterargument is - who the hell needs a 4K or 5K display in a 13" laptop. Which could also be said of the "fastest SSD in any laptop".
We've long passed the time when desktop/laptop hardware improvements actually improve the experience of using the device - and we're rapidly approaching that time for mobile devices too. There may be some use cases that demand the best/fastest/highest resolution hardware money can buy - but it's not your average MacBook user's use case.
Which, I guess in a way is a shame. Improvements in commodity hardware led the way to improvements everywhere. Server hardware got cheaper because they could use RAID arrays of the same commodity hard drives that desktops - and later laptops - used, benefiting from the economies of scale that apply to consumer hardware, even though servers didn't sell at anywhere near those levels. But that party's over - and since most server platforms today scale horizontally, they have other ways of improving performance than relying on raw horsepower improvements.
Posted from my Android phone. Oh, I can change this? There, that's better...
Remember to separate price (objective) from value (subjective). If you don't value the lightness, the price increase is just a negative.
And, for a fair comparison and as by your statement ("make sure that all data matches"), the macbook should also match the alternative. I would expect a $3500 device to have a USB-A port, and would value that more than -300 g.
That said, I sometimes explain (and demonstrate) to my coworkers that their $1400 equivalent Lenovo T-series laptop is not, in fact, equivalent (2 cores instead of 4, lower CPU speed, SATA SSD, intel GPU) to my MBP (no touchbar). (It is easy to demonstrate; build times are consistently ~30% lower on my laptop than theirs, no hocus-pocus.) Equally specced out, the price difference turns out marginal, as you indicate. And then my smug glee turns into a frown as they go to IT and get 32 MB installed while I am stuck with 16.
What I'm thinking about here is the loss of connectivity options. Most laptops now do not have Ethernet, a couple of USB A ports, HDMI connectivity, a separate charging port. Instead, the result is dongle hell. There might be one or two USB C ports, one of which is for charging. Try to add a wireless mouse with one of those tiny USB A connectors and some other USB A device at the same time. Maybe it'll use unreliable Blue tooth. SSD connectors also seem to be disappearing. With the advent of routers with Giga bit Ethernet, Wi-Fi may not cut it for your home intranet much less Wi-Fi connectivity to a Giga bit, or slower, cable Internet connection. Other readers can think of losses in capability for their own situations.
There surely have been improvements in laptops such as higher quality screens, touch screens, two-and-one hardware, energy efficient electronics giving much longer on battery use, lighter weight, etc. But, laptops are generally meant to be easily portable. Thinner, lighter devices requiring a bulky dongles somewht reduce that advantage
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
People talk like that but at least custom drivers don't break constantly in Windows.
Hmm. Reports of Windows 10 borking people's factory custom drivers are frequent. Just had a customer bring in his quite expensive HP EliteBook following the double whammy of the Windows 10 1803 upgrade and an update to his Intel graphics driver. The laptop would not light up the screen when waking up from sleep mode.
I don't understand why people continue to pay such prices for mainstream technology.
$2500 spread over 5 years, is less than 1% of a developer's salary. If a Mac makes you more productive, then buying it is a no-brainer.
The build cost is irrelevant.
Americans, in particular, typically confuse Price and Value. They continually do stuff like count Ports, GBs, etc,to determine "value", even if strapped together with chewing gum and bailing wire, and a hodgepodge of sweatshop-produced Drivers into a "Product" that will be in a landfill in 2 or 3 years.
I want magsafe so my toddler won't destroy my mac while crawling around, a few usb ports I can use without a dongle, my F-keys, and a sane keyboard.
Now if they would just put all the ports they thoughtlessly ripped out back, put the magnetically coupled charging port back, and give it a reliable, fully-functional keyboard like they USED TO MAKE, they would have a laptop I might consider buying.
Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
Sadly I think the display is one of its most dated parts - it's hardly changed from the screen on my 2013 MacBook Pro. Which was great for its day, but falls far short of modern offerings.
Other laptops offer much higher resolutions like 3200x1800 or 3840x2160, real HDR, 120Hz frame rates, smaller bezels, touch sensitivity... the Alienware 13 even has OLED. While Apple is still serving up basically the same LCD "Retina" 2880x1440 displays for years now. They still have decent colour gamuts but nothing you can't get elsewhere. Frankly, if I didn't need macOS support then I'd be all over an XPS 15 instead, personally.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
Wrong. "Dropping $4k on a new laptop" IS a biggie. I make more than $150k a year. No wonder people don't have any money with attitudes like that. That $4000 laptop cost about $300 to make. It just has a huge markup that is making Apple very very rich. If you want to transfer your money to Apple, then you have a problem.
Oh my lord. I have Thinkpads that are 12 years old and still running. They have been put in bins and thrown around. You think commuting on the back of your bike should be a factor with a laptop?
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
SSD speed is the iPhone X "animoji" of the Mac. A selling point that is not one.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
I think the real reason is because MacBooks have kind of become the Windows of the laptop world, you get them because it's what everybody else has so it's the safe bet. They're everywhere across airport lounges to university campuses and they can run macOS, Linux and/or Windows, they have very limited configuration options so they are easy to manage, when they do break you can just take them into the official shop for repair rather than having to send them off, Apple has left the high performance and lowend markets to their competitors and provide a middling product for the majority. There isn't really a compelling reason to get one but there's not really a compelling reason not to either, they even mitigate the relatively poor value proposition with 0% interest financing options.
These days the people who don't have them are the people who either don't want them or are at the very low end of the price bracket that is really dominated by Chromebooks. In recent years the quality value proposition has died off too, they used to be way more reliable but my last 3 macbooks have had to go in for repair from creaky chassis to dead USB ports to rattling fans which really comes from poor quality control but at least when they do go wrong it's easy to get them fixed. For high performance computing there are way better options but for your average user the MacBook "Pro" covers pretty much everything.