Macbook 2017 M3 vs i5 vs i7 - Impact on battery?

[Zenbold]

I'm about to purchase a 2017 Macbook and I'm confused about how the various processor options impact battery life, heat etc.

Is anyone with an i7 seeing great (~10hr) battery life?
My assumption was that the M3 would offer the best battery life....am I wrong?

Thanks!!

 

[Koudspeel]

No clue. All I can say is that my i7 2017 Macbook easily lasts 10hours. Sometimes it lasts even longer, kinda depends on what I'm doing with it.

 

[Buerkletucson]

I just ordered an 2017 Macbook i7.......I'm sure it has some impact, but I expect it to be minimal.

 

[daijholt]

I'm about to purchase a 2017 Macbook and I'm confused about how the various processor options impact battery life, heat etc.

Is anyone with an i7 seeing great (~10hr) battery life?
My assumption was that the M3 would offer the best battery life....am I wrong?

Thanks!!

Its not a true i7 like you'd get in the MacBook Pro, its still the Intel M7 series from the previous year but with a new name tag. They're now called "Y Series" processors.

 

[catlv]

As it was launched by Intel today, and available by OEM partners next month, any chance we see a Coffee Lake refresh on the MBs by year end?

 

[EugW]

As it was launched by Intel today, and available by OEM partners next month, any chance we see a Coffee Lake refresh on the MBs by year end?

I'd say it's just about nil.

Specifically, the 8th gen Y series was NOT launched yesterday. Expect an announcement for the new 8th gen Y series 8Yxx chips around early Q1 2018, with new 8th gen machines to show up in Q2 2018 or so.

 

[Mac128guy]

My 2017 m3 is a battery slayer! I'm getting up to 12 hours. It sips power - my energy monitor shows it's often using around 4 watts of power but it can go as low as 2.5 watts in idle.

 

[gitresethard]

I was wondering if anyone has an experience with the 2017 Macbook i7 16gb setup? I'm very keen to find out how long the battery can go (which brightness & apps), as I just ordered one last night and I plan to use it as my off-site work machine so battery life is very important to me.

I had the MB12" 2016 m5 and it could run the tools I need to get job done, and I was so impressed with it because the battery could last me 4hrs+ in full brightness but sadly the 8gb RAM in that machine just didn't cut it. Running 2 VMs was fine, running a third Ubuntu box froze the machine, so I decided to get the i7 16gb model this time. I use a 2017 15" MBTB with the 2.9ghz i7 CPU as my main machine, and this thing only lasts me about 4-5hrs max with 75% brightness with the same tasks, and I had to install a TurboBoost switch to turn off turboboost while I'm on battery. But if I will turn up the brightness to 100%, this machine will just last me literally 2 to 2.5hrs on battery and it is very disappointing. That's why I ordered a 12" machine, I still have to wait 1.5 weeks before I receive it though so I'm really trying to find out how long the battery on the i7 version lasts.

Thank you!

 

[deepakvrao]

My 2017 m3 is a battery slayer! I'm getting up to 12 hours. It sips power - my energy monitor shows it's often using around 4 watts of power but it can go as low as 2.5 watts in idle.

Where can you see the watts?

 

[EugW]

I was wondering if anyone has an experience with the 2017 Macbook i7 16gb setup? I'm very keen to find out how long the battery can go (which brightness & apps), as I just ordered one last night and I plan to use it as my off-site work machine so battery life is very important to me.

I had the MB12" 2016 m5 and it could run the tools I need to get job done, and I was so impressed with it because the battery could last me 4hrs+ in full brightness but sadly the 8gb RAM in that machine just didn't cut it. Running 2 VMs was fine, running a third Ubuntu box froze the machine, so I decided to get the i7 16gb model this time. I use a 2017 15" MBTB with the 2.9ghz i7 CPU as my main machine, and this thing only lasts me about 4-5hrs max with 75% brightness with the same tasks, and I had to install a TurboBoost switch to turn off turboboost while I'm on battery. But if I will turn up the brightness to 100%, this machine will just last me literally 2 to 2.5hrs on battery and it is very disappointing. That's why I ordered a 12" machine, I still have to wait 1.5 weeks before I receive it though so I'm really trying to find out how long the battery on the i7 version lasts.

If you need it now, you need it now, but it will be interesting to see if they release a new updated version of the 12" MacBook in 6 weeks. However, even if it does get updated, it would likely remain dual-core with 16 GB max, but the dual-core performance and battery life could be better. However, there are no solid rumours AFAIK for a June release. The update rumours for the MacBook Pro and iMac seem more solid.

I'm curious. How much memory do you use for a VM? I'm surprised you'd try to run 3 VMs on an 8 GB machine. I guess you were running 2 GB per VM? Interesting that it locked up with 3 VMs, but I can imagine even if it did work, it would be painful. Anyhoo, I got 16 GB not because I absolutely need it right now, but because I don't want any compromises going forward, esp. if I decide I want to use a 4 GB Windows VM later on and I tend to keep my laptops for 5+ years.

BTW, I'm typing this message on Ubuntu right now, but that's because it's on a decade old 2008 white MacBook. I can't run OS X because it doesn't support anything past 10.7.5. I was running Chrome OS it before but for some reason the WiFi drivers aren't great, and Netflix is flaky on it. Both of those problems are solved in Ubuntu. Also, the trackpad feel seems better in Ubuntu. The one issue I have though is right click. Right now I'm using a simulated right click but it is not ideal. It would be better if I could do something like a CTRL-click somehow. How are you dealing with the right click with the MacBook trackpad in Ubuntu?

Where can you see the watts?

You can install third party software that lists this.

 

[gitresethard]

If you need it now, you need it now, but it will be interesting to see if they release a new updated version of the 12" MacBook in 6 weeks. However, even if it does get updated, it would likely remain dual-core with 16 GB max, but the dual-core performance and battery life could be better. However, there are no solid rumours AFAIK for a June release. The update rumours for the MacBook Pro and iMac seem more solid.

I'm curious. How much memory do you use for a VM? I'm surprised you'd try to run 3 VMs on an 8 GB machine. I guess you were running 2 GB per VM? Interesting that it locked up with 3 VMs, but I can imagine even if it did work, it would be painful. Anyhoo, I got 16 GB not because I absolutely need it right now, but because I don't want any compromises going forward, esp. if I decide I want to use a 4 GB Windows VM later on and I tend to keep my laptops for 5+ years.

BTW, I'm typing this message on Ubuntu right now, but that's because it's on a decade old 2008 white MacBook. I can't run OS X because it doesn't support anything past 10.7.5. I was running Chrome OS it before but for some reason the WiFi drivers aren't great, and Netflix is flaky on it. Both of those problems are solved in Ubuntu. Also, the trackpad feel seems better in Ubuntu. The one issue I have though is right click. Right now I'm using a simulated right click but it is not ideal. It would be better if I could do something like a CTRL-click somehow. How are you dealing with the right click with the MacBook trackpad in Ubuntu?



You can install third party software that lists this.

I wish I could wait for the Cannon Lake Y version people are talking about too, but unfortunately I need the machine asap. If there's a quad core version too, I think that will be the perfect machine for me, or for the most of us.

Regarding the VMs, I forgot to point out that I'm running VMs for a Centos Server, and an Ubuntu Server. Both are alloted with 2gb ram. Unfortunately since the VMs I use are just servers, I only use them through the CLI so I've never really used the "right click" on them.

I think the 16gb RAM is a necessity for my use case, right now this machine I'm using only have around 850mb free out of 16gb. And so I was wondering how much impact the i7 + 16gb RAM would have on the 2017 Macbook? If I'll be honest, I prefer the 12" Macbook over the 2017 MBTB 15" if the macbook 12" has a quad core CPU. Then just replace my MBTB with an iMac.

 

[mj_]

The 12" MacBook doesn't have a quad-core CPU. Not even the 13" MacBook Pro does, only the 15" MacBook Pro does have quad-core CPUs.

The i7 is definitely going to have some sort of impact on battery life but it's very hard to tell how much because that depends on your individual situation. The more stress you put on the CPU the more power it is going to require in comparison, and the more the ratio will shift towards the CPU and away from the display. That said if battery life is really important to you I would probably stick to the base model m3 with 16GB of RAM and get a USB-C power bank to charge the MacBook on the go. My guess is that your VMs aren't going to require much processing power but would certainly profit from more RAM.

 

[EugW]

The 12" MacBook doesn't have a quad-core CPU. Not even the 13" MacBook Pro does, only the 15" MacBook Pro does have quad-core CPUs.

The i7 is definitely going to have some sort of impact on battery life but it's very hard to tell how much because that depends on your individual situation. The more stress you put on the CPU the more power it is going to require in comparison, and the more the ratio will shift towards the CPU and away from the display. That said if battery life is really important to you I would probably stick to the base model m3 with 16GB of RAM and get a USB-C power bank to charge the MacBook on the go. My guess is that your VMs aren't going to require much processing power but would certainly profit from more RAM.

According to this review of a Windows machine, their i5-7Y54 used the least idle power.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Eve-V-m3-i5-i7-Convertible-Review.264092.0.html

The i7-7Y75 used the most at idle, and the m3-7Y30 (not 32) was in between, although it was very close between the m3 and i5.

Interestingly though, at maximum load, the i7 actually used the least power, and the i5 used the most. Again close though.

 

[gitresethard]

According to this review of a Windows machine, their i5-7Y54 used the least idle power.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Eve-V-m3-i5-i7-Convertible-Review.264092.0.html

The i7-7Y75 used the most at idle, and the m3-7Y30 (not 32) was in between, although it was very close between the m3 and i5.

View attachment 759624

Interestingly though, at maximum load, the i7 actually used the least power, and the i5 used the most. Again close though.

Thanks for sharing this! It looks like there's not much difference between the 3 CPUs in terms of performance and battery life based on that article.

Since the machines used on the test were Windows, do you reckon we could expect even better (or different) battery performance on High Sierra?

 

[EugW]

Thanks for sharing this! It looks like there's not much difference between the 3 CPUs in terms of performance and battery life based on that article.

Since the machines used on the test were Windows, do you reckon we could expect even better (or different) battery performance on High Sierra?

Dunno. I’d be guessing. But in that test the i7 has the worst battery life.

Note though there may be some variation in the power characteristics in individual chips.

 

[gitresethard]

Dunno. I’d be guessing. But in that test the i7 has the worst battery life.

View attachment 759627

Note though there may be some variation in the power characteristics in individual chips.

That's very interesting, I'd love to run the same test they were doing (wifi v1.3 it seems to be called) when I receive my machine, in High Sierra but I can't find the scripts they are using to do that. I guess I'm happy to stick with the i7, I remember promising to myself to get an i7 version when I was using my old 2016 m5 mb12 because most of the performance.

Also, sorry but what do you mean by "there may be some variation in the power characteristics in individual chips." ?

Thank you

 

[EugW]

That's very interesting, I'd love to run the same test they were doing (wifi v1.3 it seems to be called) when I receive my machine, in High Sierra but I can't find the scripts they are using to do that. I guess I'm happy to stick with the i7, I remember promising to myself to get an i7 version when I was using my old 2016 m5 mb12 because most of the performance.

Also, sorry but what do you mean by "there may be some variation in the power characteristics in individual chips." ?

Not all i7-7Y75 chips will necessarily perform the exact same way in terms of power utilization.

 

[gitresethard]

After a week of using my 2017 12" Macbook i7 16gb ram machine, I can consistently get 5hrs+ of battery life at 100% brightness and running all my software development related tools, including a vagrant provisioned vm. I'm very happy with this machine! it is so much snappier than the old 2016 rMB 8gb ram m5 I had.

I think this is my favourite mac machine (12" macbook), I like this better than my 2017 15" mbpro. How I wish I just got an iMac instead of the mbpro.

The retina display on the 2017 15" mbpro looks wayyyy better than the 2017 12" macbook btw, and for me the butterfly2 on my mbpro is better than the butterfly2 in my macbook.

 

[EugW]

After a week of using my 2017 12" Macbook i7 16gb ram machine, I can consistently get 5hrs+ of battery life at 100% brightness and running all my software development related tools, including a vagrant provisioned vm. I'm very happy with this machine! it is so much snappier than the old 2016 rMB 8gb ram m5 I had.

Snappier overall, or specifically with your usage? With a vm it should be faster for sure since you've moved from 8 GB to 16 GB, but I'm already very happy with the OS feel and light usage performance with my 16 GB m3. I felt the 2016 m5 was already fast enough, and the 2017 m3 is very close to the 2016 m5 in benchmarks.

I didn't want to spend the cash on both a CPU upgrade and a memory upgrade so I went for the memory.

I think this is my favourite mac machine (12" macbook), I like this better than my 2017 15" mbpro. How I wish I just got an iMac instead of the mbpro.

The retina display on the 2017 15" mbpro looks wayyyy better than the 2017 12" macbook btw, and for me the butterfly2 on my mbpro is better than the butterfly2 in my macbook.

Yes, the MBP's screen does look better, but I'm very satisfied with the screen on the 12" MB. However, the keyboard and trackpad on the MBP are also better. At least the 2017 MB keyboard is OK now though. It was much worse in the 2016 MB.

 

[gitresethard]

Snappier overall, or specifically with your usage?

Subjectively speaking, I'd say snappier overall (I can't back this up with any numbers though so I could be wrong). I think the faster SSD might have added to the snappiness as well though.

Yes, the MBP's screen does look better, but I'm very satisfied with the screen on the 12" MB. However, the keyboard and trackpad on the MBP are also better. At least the 2017 MB keyboard is OK now though.

With regards to the keyboard, yes it is better than the 2016 version (2017 macbook 12") and I can live with it. I honestly love the 2ndGen Butterfly keyboards on the MBPro. For me, this is the best keyboard I've ever used in terms of the experience. I heard stories that they easily get compromised by debris and so on, so that would suck if/when that happens to me. This is the 11th Macbook I've owned, I've also used the Magic Keyboard 1 and 2 and still using the Magic Keyboard 2 at work, but I still prefer the MBPro Butterfly 2 keyboard. For my gaming PC I use the Kraken BlackWidow, I type slowest on that keyboard. I normally type at around 90-95wpm, but on this new Butterfly 2, I could reach 102wpm plus I enjoy the sound and the feel of it. I also notice that the spacing of the keys are smaller compared to the 2015 MBPro 15" that I use at work at the moment. With regards to battery life though, the 15" beats my 12" with the way I use them. With the same workload and work setup, the 15" can last up to around 6hrs of real work use but at 75% brightness, and turbo-boost disabled. The 12" Macbook i7 16gb ram lasts 5hrs+ but at 100% brightness and turbo-boost enabled. I tried disabling the Turboboost on my 12" but it slowed my unit tests down considerably, unlike on the 15" mbpro. Disabling Turboboost on my 15" Mbpro gives me around 20-30mins extra battery life, and no big difference on my unit tests so I thought disabling the turboboost is okay for my use case (from 2.1s enabled, to 2.8s disabled - time it takes to finish the same unit test). The biggest battery killer on the 15" though is the screen, it will only last me 2hrs if I use 100% brightness.

 

[EugW]

Subjectively speaking, I'd say snappier overall (I can't back this up with any numbers though so I could be wrong). I think the faster SSD might have added to the snappiness as well though.


With regards to the keyboard, yes it is better than the 2016 version (2017 macbook 12") and I can live with it. I honestly love the 2ndGen Butterfly keyboards on the MBPro. For me, this is the best keyboard I've ever used in terms of the experience. I heard stories that they easily get compromised by debris and so on, so that would suck if/when that happens to me. This is the 11th Macbook I've owned, I've also used the Magic Keyboard 1 and 2 and still using the Magic Keyboard 2 at work, but I still prefer the MBPro Butterfly 2 keyboard. For my gaming PC I use the Kraken BlackWidow, I type slowest on that keyboard. I normally type at around 90-95wpm, but on this new Butterfly 2, I could reach 102wpm plus I enjoy the sound and the feel of it. I also notice that the spacing of the keys are smaller compared to the 2015 MBPro 15" that I use at work at the moment. With regards to battery life though, the 15" beats my 12" with the way I use them. With the same workload and work setup, the 15" can last up to around 6hrs of real work use but at 75% brightness, and turbo-boost disabled. The 12" Macbook i7 16gb ram lasts 5hrs+ but at 100% brightness and turbo-boost enabled. I tried disabling the Turboboost on my 12" but it slowed my unit tests down considerably, unlike on the 15" mbpro. Disabling Turboboost on my 15" Mbpro gives me around 20-30mins extra battery life, and no big difference on my unit tests so I thought disabling the turboboost is okay for my use case (from 2.1s enabled, to 2.8s disabled). The biggest battery killer on the 15" though is the screen, it will only last me 2hrs if I use 100% brightness.

Of the current Macs, my favourite keyboard is the iMac's.