Apple's MacBook Pro 14 cannot handle the M5 Max
notebookcheck.net41 points by virgildotcodes a day ago
41 points by virgildotcodes a day ago
Is the article trying to discuss a thermal issue? It spends the entire time discussing reduced watt consumption over time which would sound like a good thing to most people and then at the very end it has one sentence about needing improved cooling.
I think it's an entire article about thermal throttling that never once mentions it.
it doesn't seem to actually identify thermal throttling as the issue with any evidence -- what if it's 'just' power throttling?
that would be even more dissapointing of course, but all that's given in the article is the wattage chart
actually, in the article linked at the top they say this: "The situation is much worse on the smaller MacBook Pro 14 with the M5 Max, where the maximum power input is capped at 97 Watts (even when you use Apple's 140W PSU or an even more powerful 180W USB-C PSU), which results in a battery loss of 15 % during our one-hour stress test."
so it really does sound like a power throttling thisng to me https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-tries-to-hide-that-the-p...
Except in another linked page https://www.notebookcheck.net/M5-Max-with-inconsistent-perfo... they also mention a thermal issue.
Either way, this article is almost entirely about a symptom without root cause analysis.
It is saying low wattage isn’t a good thing to most people because it caps the power of the M5 Max.
So the solution is to work over a bucket of dry ice! ( ͡ ° ͜ʖ ͡ °)
If I remember correctly a previous MacBook air could have improved thermal dissipation by adding some thermal tape and turning the case into a heatsink.
This does beg the question. For the 14" mbp, can those stands that heatsink the chasis give enough thermal headroom to compensate for the size difference, without relying on internally thermal padding the heatpipes to the chasis, and making it uncomfortable to use on a lap?
It's one thing to have trouble with the Intel CPUs, but that they still cannot sufficiently power and cool their ARM chips, especially in the most expensive models, is disappointing.
This laptop may simply not be for you. I only work for 2 seconds per day, so it actually fits my workflow perfectly.