Macbook pro

[Techicolors]

Anyone here use the 2016+ macbook pro? i've been meaning to get one to learn CS but also the macOS, as i have never used macOS before. i've thought about other options, like a PC, but i'm not particularly sure how macOS will run on that device. 

 

i know the facts that it's overpriced, live the Donglelife, save the money to upgrade my rig, and so on. but like i said i never owned a macbook, nor used macOS

[shadowbyte]

my friend purchased the 2016 13 inch with touchbar, and it's a fantastic device. 

crazy good build quality, super light, and downright the best trackpad I've used (even better than the 2015 rmpb). The keyboard is definitely love it or hate it, but it's actually kind of mechanical once you get used to it, and feels quite nice.

the touchbar is almost useless, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to play pacman or watch nyan cat run across.

usb-c is the future, and although you'll need dongles now, it's crazy that with one dongle, you have all the functionality of a 'normal' laptop. I own a huawei matebook x personally with 2 usb-c ports, and it's nice that we can share the same charger.

overall, it's a fantastic device, but does thermal throttle quite heavily when rendering from fcpx or similar.

TL;DR

it's fantastic

don't get the touchbar

[Alec M]

Why get one though?

The macOS experience isn't really that great, and you're getting rid of a lot of compatibility with great games and applications on significantly limited hardware for the price.

Ge a Dell XPS or something like that that has a good GPU and CPU, and is built really well for the price.

[DrMacintosh]

I own one. What would you like to know? 

[CapitalistVN]

MacBook Pros are good, no arguing. USB-C are the future, although you need dongles, but it still includes Thunderbolt 3 and DisplayPort. It's CPU are great, it's powerful and have good integrated iGPU Iris Pro. Buying a PC can be cheaper, but it can't be both powerful and mobile at the same time. If you want to squeeze everything out of your Mac, buy a eGPU, because they have Thunderbolt 3, and it's all desktop experience again.

[hconverse02]

It's a sharp learning curve and most people are still at the bottom, but if you learn everything about macOS then it's really a nice, clean operating system.  As for the actual computer, my dad bought the 2017 macbook pro 13" and loves it.  Rendering and harder applications will thermal throttle like crazy and your lap will be on fire, but if you don't need to use fcpx much or like applications like @shadowbyte said, then it's really nice.  I've been on the macbook pro 2012 for 4 years and I feel like I would be ok moving to usb-c at this point.  It's faster and has mini-displayport capabilities, so I see it as a great option.  Again like @shadowbyte said, TL;DR, no touchbar, its a great laptop

[DrMacintosh]

14 minutes ago, Alec M said:

The macOS experience isn't really that great

Compared to the Windows experience? I would argue its significantly better. 

 

14 minutes ago, Alec M said:

and you're getting rid of a lot of compatibility with great games and applications on significantly limited hardware for the price.

No you don't. You get portability or you get power. MacBooks are a balance. If you want to play games you are going to be tethered to a wall 24/7, if you want to do actual work and play a little bit the MacBook is the best laptop to do that. 

 

15 minutes ago, Alec M said:

Ge a Dell XPS or something like that that has a good GPU and CPU, and is built really well for the price.

Good specs? Yes. Even remotely comparable build? Not a chance. 

[DrMacintosh]

3 minutes ago, hconverse02 said:

It's a sharp learning curve and most people are still at the bottom,

If you are familiar with iOS its a lot easier. The biggest difference truly is where you close applications (top left vs. top right)

[hconverse02]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

If you are familiar with iOS its a lot easier. The biggest difference truly is where you close applications (top left vs. top right)

I'm on both, and I rarely actually click the x in macOS, much more in windows, and honestly I like the macOS commands better than the windows ones.  Closing applications in windows is easier, because it's always in the upper right (fullscreen) and you can just chuck your mouse up there to close it.

[DrMacintosh]

2 minutes ago, hconverse02 said:

I'm on both, and I rarely actually click the x in macOS

You don't really need to. Much like iOS, macOS uses pretty good memory compression depending on what kind of apps we are talking about. 

 

2 minutes ago, hconverse02 said:

I like the macOS commands better than the windows ones.

I like macOS commands more as well since the command button makes more sense to me seeing as I am commanding the computer to do something but the placement of the key is slightly more ergonomic. 

 

 

[Techicolors]

33 minutes ago, shadowbyte said:

my friend purchased the 2016 13 inch with touchbar, and it's a fantastic device. 

crazy good build quality, super light, and downright the best trackpad I've used (even better than the 2015 rmpb). The keyboard is definitely love it or hate it, but it's actually kind of mechanical once you get used to it, and feels quite nice.

the touchbar is almost useless, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to play pacman or watch nyan cat run across.

usb-c is the future, and although you'll need dongles now, it's crazy that with one dongle, you have all the functionality of a 'normal' laptop. I own a huawei matebook x personally with 2 usb-c ports, and it's nice that we can share the same charger.

overall, it's a fantastic device, but does thermal throttle quite heavily when rendering from fcpx or similar.

TL;DR

it's fantastic

don't get the touchbar

didn't think the touchbar is all that useful. the touch ID is pretty nice 

 

34 minutes ago, Alec M said:

Why get one though?

The macOS experience isn't really that great, and you're getting rid of a lot of compatibility with great games and applications on significantly limited hardware for the price.

Ge a Dell XPS or something like that that has a good GPU and CPU, and is built really well for the price.

i don't intend to use this laptop for games. i do miss out on stuff visual code tho.

the Dell XPS i've looked into. it's my other choice

 

35 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

I own one. What would you like to know? 

do you use it to program? if so whats it like

hows the keyboard? i tried the switches in-store and takes some getting used to for me

 

do you need lots of dongles? 

[DrMacintosh]

11 minutes ago, Technicolors said:

do you use it to program? if so whats it like

No I don't however there is not reason for it to perform poorly based on specs 

 

11 minutes ago, Technicolors said:

hows the keyboard?

Pretty awesome. The only potential issue is getting debris under the keycaps. Removing the keycaps can be tricky as they are very thin and the switch can break if you don't remove the keycap the right way. 

 

11 minutes ago, Technicolors said:

do you need lots of dongles?

Nope. There are tons of dongles that can illuminate the need for you to carry more than one. 

 

These are the best of the best single dongle solutions. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/HooToo-Adapter-Charger-Charging-Output/dp/B019R9ILTG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1510028490&sr=8-5&keywords=USB+C+dock&dpID=415Ldkrng3L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Aluminum-Thunderbolt-Pass-Through-Charging/dp/B06XRVX3XM/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1510028490&sr=8-11&keywords=USB+C+dock 

 

imo the dongle life meme is a misconception of real life. I barely use standard USB ports at all since there is no need outside of the occasional flash drive and my external drive is USB-C 

[Pavilion]

The new Macbook Pro is a great device I really like the small footprint, but there is one thing that I couldn't get over it (Keyboard) the new MacBook pro has the worst keyboard that I have used in a laptop, I can't even describe it, I know some people like it, but I type a lot and daily and it's the worst typing experience if you can get over the keyboard then maybe you will like it.

[D13H4RD]

It's not not my favorite machine, not by a long shot, but if you can live with dongles, and are willing to learn how to master macOS, I think you'll probably enjoy it.

 

For me, the 2015 top-specced rMBP 15" fits the bill better for me, but that's me.