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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > My take on the new MacBook Pro

My take on the new MacBook Pro (Page 3)
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P
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Dec 8, 2016, 06:28 PM
 
The biggest disappointment so far with this machine is that there is no official way to connect a DisplayPort monitor such as the Apple's own Cinema Display. If you get the TB3 to TB2 adapter, you can physically connect them, but there will be no signal (which Apple acknowledges). As far as I can see, the only way to do so right now is to find a no-name USB-C to DisplayPort adapter. Such exist, but Apple doesn't sell them, and they are rare. The only USB-C to DisplayPort straight cable on Amazon is sold out with no information on when it returns. The TB3 docks - which was one of the reasons I bought this thing, I love having a dock to connect a laptop to when I'm at a desk - are not available yet.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Doc HM
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Dec 12, 2016, 05:35 PM
 
If Doom isn't to your taste then why not serenade your lovedones with your new MacBook Pro's built in Touch Bar piano

You Can Now Play Piano on the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar | Gizmodo UK
This space for Hire! Reasonable rates. Reach an audience of literally dozens!
     
OreoCookie
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Dec 13, 2016, 02:41 AM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
The biggest disappointment so far with this machine is that there is no official way to connect a DisplayPort monitor such as the Apple's own Cinema Display. If you get the TB3 to TB2 adapter, you can physically connect them, but there will be no signal (which Apple acknowledges). As far as I can see, the only way to do so right now is to find a no-name USB-C to DisplayPort adapter. Such exist, but Apple doesn't sell them, and they are rare. The only USB-C to DisplayPort straight cable on Amazon is sold out with no information on when it returns. The TB3 docks - which was one of the reasons I bought this thing, I love having a dock to connect a laptop to when I'm at a desk - are not available yet.
Apparently there is a two-cable-plus-adapter combo out there to make it work. But really, Apple should have thought of an official solution.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
     
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Dec 13, 2016, 03:28 AM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
Apparently there is a two-cable-plus-adapter combo out there to make it work. But really, Apple should have thought of an official solution.
The magic component there is the first one, which is - wait for it - out of stock. Alternatives are all (from the same article):

Several companies are also already making USB-C to Mini DisplayPort direct adapters that one reader reported to me worked great with his Cinema Display and a new MacBook Pro. These cost from $12 to $20. However, every version I can find ships directly from China via Amazon and other sites and the arrival date is late December to mid-January.
I think that Apple didn't think of it, because DisplayPort over USB 3.1 is actually a standard solution, so they probably didn't think they'd need to make an adapter.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
OreoCookie
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Dec 13, 2016, 04:03 AM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
The magic component there is the first one, which is - wait for it - out of stock.
Bummer. :/
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Dec 15, 2016, 04:33 PM
 
So I decided to pay for an HDMI adapter instead, just to get it working for now (will be getting a dock eventually anyway, and HDMI adapters are always useful), but now I have a new problem. My display actually supports 10-bit color per pixel, which I don't use, but it is still advertised by the display. Mac OS X has now decided that I absolutely want 10-bit color on, which limits update frequency over HDMI to 30Hz. Which is OK, HDMI 2.0 doesn't support more than 30 Hz at 4K with 10-bit color, but I would much rather have 4K, 8-bit color, 60Hz. Which there does not seem to be a setting for, at least when using HDMI, even if using SwitchRes X. Any ideas? The display resolution panel is utterly useless now, because all it shows me is control over the scaling.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
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Dec 15, 2016, 06:57 PM
 
Fixed. There was a stupid setting on the display that was mislabeled - setting "HDMI ULTRA HD Color" to On actually disabled the 10-bit color thing and made it all work as it should.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
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Dec 27, 2016, 06:09 PM
 
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Dec 27, 2016, 09:19 PM
 
Originally Posted by And.reg View Post
What I wish they had done with the touch bar is kept the function, volume, and escape keys... and have the touch bar above the row that they currently replaced, along with the option to cut power entirely to the touch bar, for improved battery life.
There isn't really vertical space for that. The size of the laptop is set by the height of the screen with a few millimeters extra for the camera at the top. If you add another key row, you have to reduce the size of the trackpad. Given the choice of physical F-keys or bigger trackpad, the trackpad wins hands down. I never use the F-keys. If you don't like the touchbar, you can still configure it to work like the old F-key row. Ot just put volume up/down as buttons. Really, it is almost infinitely adjustable.

Battery usage of that thing is likely negligible compared to what the computer in general uses. It is essentially an Apple watch display stretched out (pixel count is almost identical).

Originally Posted by And.reg View Post
Maybe in the 2017 Pro MacBooks they could make a wider, higher-res touch bar and put the Dock down there.
Putting the Dock there is an interesting idea, but again, I don't think it can fit vertically. I also suspect that it may be a weird effect when you push something there to open a stack that fans over the screen and you have to move your hand back to the trackpad to select it in step two.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
OreoCookie
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Dec 27, 2016, 09:50 PM
 
Originally Posted by And.reg View Post
What I wish they had done with the touch bar is kept the function, volume, and escape keys... and have the touch bar above the row that they currently replaced, along with the option to cut power entirely to the touch bar, for improved battery life.
The touch bar uses OLEDs, so it doesn't consume much power as there is no always-on backlight. Apart from perhaps the escape key, I think it'd be better to have all the other keys in the touch bar. It's a waste of space to always have those function buttons there, and have them in addition to the touch bar.
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reader50  (op)
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Dec 27, 2016, 10:55 PM
 
Note that the touch bar has it's own graphics controller chip. It is not driven by the normal GPUs.
     
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Dec 28, 2016, 07:05 AM
 
It has an entire SOC, it is effectively an Apple Watch minus the sensors and networking stuff.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
kiana mckylie
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Jan 12, 2017, 06:53 AM
 
Originally Posted by reader50 View Post
Note that the touch bar has it's own graphics controller chip. It is not driven by the normal GPUs.
Very useful to note down. Thanks!
     
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Sep 1, 2017, 07:16 AM
 
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Sep 1, 2017, 08:29 AM
 
IIRC, the menubar switch doesn't save. You have to flip it in System Preferences for it to stick over reboots.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
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Sep 8, 2017, 07:30 AM
 
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Sep 11, 2017, 05:53 PM
 
When you say you "turned off" and "turned on" your computer, did you shut down and reboot, or just put it to sleep (lid down) and wake it up (lid open). While it is "off" with the lid closed (after a bit, of course), it's not the same as shut down.

This might make a difference in what's happening.

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Sep 12, 2017, 08:24 PM
 
Thanks. That sort of indicates some problem with a preferences file, but I'm not sure which one...

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Sep 14, 2017, 07:16 AM
 
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Sep 14, 2017, 09:52 AM
 
"Get the most" out of the display by using the wrong color profile? You are effectively oversaturating the image in red and green.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
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Sep 14, 2017, 10:10 AM
 
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Sep 14, 2017, 06:28 PM
 
I didn't answer your question because I did not know the answer.

Even if you use the correct profile, the 2016 MBP will have more saturated colors than the 2015 model, which could not even display all of sRGB. What you are doing causes everything that is in the area covered by DCI-P3 but not covered by sRGB to look the same, i.e. with red or green at 100%. It will also increase the colors of everything inside sRGB, which is what you seem to like, but it is not the correct color.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
 
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