Enough for Tempt a PC Fan

Photo for an article titled Apples M1 MacBook Pro Is it urgent enough to make a PC fan think about switching

Photo: Joanna Nelius / Gizmodo

This is a good time to become a Mac user. The MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro have a stellar new processor that’s pretty damn zippy with native ARM apps for the same price as their predecessor Intel entry-level ones. I do all my work and play on a PC, but Apple ‘s M1 processor makes me wonder if I need a Windows PC for my next laptop. This is the first time in my years of computing – ever since my dad sat me in front of a keyboard as a child – that I ever thought of getting a Mac.

There are a couple things about macOS that I need to get used to again, and native app compatibility has a way before I officially decide to part ways with Windows, but at least not I would have to buy into Apple’s entire ecosystem since many of the apps I use on my PC, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Office, and the Adobe Creative Suite, are also on Mac. I can even play a game on a Mac now and enjoy it with cloud gaming platforms like GeForce Now and Stadia. It feels like for the first time in a while Apple won’t start competing against PC manufacturers when it comes to the price and specs of their latest Macs.

At its starting price of $ 1,300, the new basic 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with 8GB of DRAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 13.3-inch, 500-nit ISP display. The M1 itself is an 8-core CPU, with four cores dedicated to performance and the other four to power efficiency. It also has an 8-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine – all on the same chip as the CPU. The price goes up from there, depending on whether you want to add more RAM or get a bigger SSD, but even increasing the memory and storage capacity on the M1 MacBook Pro is a slightly better contract than gets his $ 1,800 or $ 2,000 Intel cousins.

The 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro with 16GB memory and 512GB SSD storage, which is a few steps up from the base model, will cost you $ 100 less than Apple’s same version with a 10th-gen Intel Core i5 processor. Want 16GB and 1TB SSD? The M1 model will cost you $ 1,900, where the Intel model will cost you $ 2,000. The outdoor M1 will outperform the 10th-gen Intel Core i5, too.

We put the hell criterion out of the M1 in a dive deeper here, and found that Apple ‘s new processor packs a lot more raw and practical performance than the Intel i 11th – gen Core i5-1135G7. And where it did go, it finally collapsed because the software was running through Rosetta 2 – an Apple program that translates Intel programs to run on the M1 – rather than natively. Needless to say, the new M1 Macs are a step up from the Intel versions. But it is easy to compare apples and apples. (Pun expect.) Where the latest MacBook Pro falls short is not only in conventional software compatibility, but in price and number of ports compared to what is usually offered on many Windows-based laptops.

Take the MSI Creator 15, for instance. It’s a laptop based content creator similar to the MacBook Pro that can also double as a gaming laptop. The one we reviewed recently came with a 10-gen Intel Core i7-10875H, RTX 2060 GPU, 16GB (8GB x 2) DDR4-2666MHz DRAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, and a 15.6-inch 1080p touchscreen display 60Hz – all for $ 1,900. Not only do you get better specs for the price compared to Apple’s 13-inch Intel MacBook Pro, but it’s the same price as the M1 MacBook Pro with 16GB of memory and a 1TB SSD.

That unique RTX 2060 GPU blows the pants off Apple’s integrated GPU, too. Looking at game-only performance, the RTX 2060 can take 70 frames per second off at 1080p on the highest graphics setting in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. To get anywhere near the same frame rate as Apple’s M1, you have to play the game at 720p resolution, and even then the graphics still have to be low. That GPU in the Creator 15 makes it more attractive for the price compared to the MacBook Pro – if gaming is important to you.

MSI’s Creator 15 also comes with many more ports: Ethernet, SD, HDMI, one USB-A, and two USB-C. One of those USB-C ports is also Thunderbolt 3 with PD cost. The MacBook Pro only has two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports. Yes, the ones that support charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3, and USB 3.1 Gen 2. But the Creator 15 has plenty of ports where you don’t have to buy a USB hub like you would with the MacBook Pro. It’s kind of weird to use a USB-C to USB adapter every time I want to install a flash driver or use an external mouse. At least USB hubs are cheap these days – if not Satechi-specific Apple USB-C Multiport Pro Adapter. Then instead of paying around $ 20 you hook it for $ 65.

Few PC laptops have displays as good as the MacBook Pro’s, however, and the ones that typically cost between $ 2,500- $ 3,000 – more if you go for the full version. Create a G7 at HP’s ZBook. But most don’t decide between a Mac and a PC for creative work. It’s usually a fancier screen that adds a lot more to the cost of a laptop PC with a creative focus – more than what a MacBook Pro costs, even an upgraded one. Yes, a Windows machine may have faster hardware and a better GPU, but when a program can run just as fast or faster from the original on the M1, none of that matters.

Photo for an article titled Apples M1 MacBook Pro Is it urgent enough to make a PC fan think about switching

Photo: Joanna Nelius / Gizmodo

Apple’s thermal design has been down pat for years, too. Where 10-gen Intel mobile CPUs can sometimes reach temperatures of 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) and make the chassis uncomfortably warm, Apple’s M1 MacBook Pro feels like it’s not even powered when he’s been crouching away for hours. It’s so nice not to hear fans whistling like a plane getting ready for takeoff when all I want to do is convert a video file.

Battery life is the best thing I’ve seen in any laptop, either. The MacBook Pro lasted about 30 minutes longer than the Lenovo IdeaPad slim 7, 18 hours to 17.5 hours. That is way beyond Apple’s latest Intel MacBook Pro that was paid for earlier this year, which lasted only 8.5 hours. You never have to worry about finding a place near your seat at Economy 101 or at your local coffee shop.

In the past, the MacBook Pro seemed like far too much for the specs. But from a performance-per-dollar perspective, Apple’s M1 would completely justify the price of new Macs – if they weren’t hampered by the current lack of software compatibility. Developers who have released beta versions of their programs, such as Adobe with the Premiere Pro, have not yet ported all their features from Intel to ARM. That happens slowly but surely, and Rosetta 2 bridges the gap, but if the software you rely on for your creative workflow can’t harness the power of the M1 still, the question of whether you should update is more complicated.

For Mac devotees or PC enthusiasts, throwing money down on a new M1 MacBook Pro is a tricky option. The software will get there, but how long will it take? There is also the question of how the Apple processors will develop themselves over time. As a hard-core PC user, it might take me one more generation to fully sell the MacBook Pro package, but even if it won me now, I would still pay More for a Mac than a PC of the same price would get me.

But if you’ve been a MacBook Pro user for years and have been waiting for an update, getting the M1 is unprofitable – especially if you don’t have to wait for certain programs to run. run natively on Apple Silicon.

SITE ME

  • Mind-blowing battery life
  • Competitive price compared to Apple’s Intel-based MacBooks, but not as high compared to some PC laptops
  • Cool running, quiet running
  • Unbelievable how some apps run through Rosetta 2

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