Apple MacBook Pro 13 (Mid 2017, i5, without Touch Bar) Review

[Redaktion]

Annoying fan. The MacBook Pro 13 without Touch Bar gets the Kaby Lake update as well. Thanks to the lower price, longer battery runtimes, and function keys, the entry-level model could potentially be the better choice for many users. However, you also get a slightly less powerful processor as well as an annoying fan.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Pro-13-Mid-2017-i5-without-Touch-Bar-Review.234282.0.html

[Alfonso]

I've got two questions, regarding first the noise, and second, to the power consumption.

First I'd like to ask the reviewer, Andreas, Klaus, if the noise of the fans are louder compared with the 13" rMBP 2015, because the early 2015 model has the asymmetric blades fan, and it seems a more quality fan than the new MacBook Pro fans... cost reduction?

However, although the fan on the new Mac seems louder (actually you title as "annoying fan" this review) than the 2015 model -also reviewed by you-, the noise levels measured under load are much lower.

MacBook Pro 13" 2015: Idle 29/29/29 dB (A). Load: 42.5/45.6 dB(A)
MacBook Pro 13" 2017: Idle 30/30/30 dB (A). Load: 32.9/39.3 dB (A)

Provided that dB are measured on a logarithmic scale, the distance between 42 dB from the 2015 model and the 32 dB from the 2017 nTB MacBook Pro is pretty significant, so... my question is, if I find my 2015 MacBook Pro pretty silent under a little load (1200rpms), will I be annoyed by that annoying fan? Is it louder because its sound frequency? Explain this part please.

And well, the second question I think that will be explained on further revisions of this review, is about battery life under load. Better than 2015 model? Any difference with the Skylake predecessor?

And... that's all, for now.
Thank you Andrea for your excellent reviews, because geeks like us don't get enough with a 10 minute review on YouTube, and want raw data :)

[Agent Smith]

I have the MacBook Pro version as reviewed in this review. I don't find the fan 'high pitched'. But this could be subjective since it is a frequency characteristic. I believe Andreas can't answer your question. Your best would be to find a friend or relative who happen to have this MBP without the Touch Bar and hear the fan yourself under load.

Fan profile is very linear with increasing and decreasing fan speed. This gives it a more fluid adaption to the ears. The other side of that spectrum I have had notebooks with fans kick in loud all of the sudden and then disappearing which I find very annoying.

Also Apple appears to set the CPU temperature threshold quite high before wanting to kick in the fans. So far I have noticed no instability during my day-to-day use.

Question for Andreas:
How do I know which display panel is used in my MBP? I am just curious to know whether Apple is doing a sort of display panel lotery with APPA033 or APPA034. Something they have done in the past with the Sandisk and Samsung SSD for example.

[Alfonso]

You can see panel model in Preferences> Screen > Color > Open profile. There, go down until the bottom end: manufacturer. There you go.

Question for Andreas: Does the Kaby Lake CPU throttle in this 2017 nTB MBP? I remember you said in the 2016 review that it didn't throttle at all, but I see Cinebench has lower score after some iterations of the benchmark.

On the other hand, it seems it reaches high temperatures quickly. Is it noticeable? Under medium load, do you think this is a hotter machine than 2015 or 2016 models?

Thank you!

[Fred]

Did the 2016 version without touch bar have this annoying fan noise? If not, I will try to find one of them.

[Greg]

The touch bar version review shows more sRGB coverage and a higher colour accuracy. Is this a trait of the touch bar versions, or of the 2 different panels do you think?

[tipoo]

Interesting about the fan noise, did they stop using the asymmetrically spaced fan in the bottom end one?

[andregomes]

When are you finishing this review? It's been a long time coming...

[jodiuh]

I have the MacBook Pro version as reviewed in this review. I don't find the fan 'high pitched'.

I picked on of these up from Best Buy recently and had a couple problems with it. I noticed the noise of the fan right away! It sounded just like an electric razor, like a Panasonic going @ 13K!!!

The replacement's 100% different. It absolutely does not flip out like the first one. So YMMV...but I find that typical of Apple stuff.

[Yuriy]

When will you finish this review?

[Alex34]

I think they are never going to finnish this review.

I was waiting several weeks back in july for this review to be ended, because I wanted to purchase one.

I finally did it -thought about completing the review by myself and sending it to notebookcheck-, and the truth is that the fan only kicks in when the CPU demand is high, with benchmarking software for instance. But the truth is, when the fan reaches the 4000rpm the high frequency pitch starts to be pretty noticeable (at least for young people). At 6000 rpms it is indeed annoying. Maximum fan rotation in this model is on 7000rpms. But as I said, with the heat of august and light tasks (such as media player, browsing or PDF reading) the fan was most of the time at 0 rpms. This is, fanless.

Also the batterylife is awesome, better than the 2015 macbook pro.

Hopefully this mini-review will complete the unfinished work and add another point of view. See ya.

[Lornie]

Bottom line, would you buy the non touch bar model if you had a choice between the two two MBP 2017 13?

Thanks for the outstanding work. 

[jodiuh]

Bottom line, would you buy the non touch bar model if you had a choice between the two two MBP 2017 13?

I did for one simple reason. No PWM detected on the non touch bar model. Although, I do very much appreciate having actual buttons for managing display and keyboard brightness and volume levels. AND, I scored the base model for $1100 out the door. :D

I've been extremely happy with it. I looked @ the Dell XPS 13, HP Spectre x360, and Microsoft Surface Laptop...none of them could compare to the overall package of the 13" base model MBP IMO.

[Oleg]

Are there any chances,  that PWM does not detected on non touch bar model, because of different measuring devices, used for tests?
For touch bar model  "We have used a more sensitive measuring device since the beginning of this year, which can detect higher frequencies".
Is it possible to update the test of non touch bar model, using new measuring device?

[jodiuh]

Are there any chances,  that PWM does not detected on non touch bar model, because of different measuring devices, used for tests?
For touch bar model  "We have used a more sensitive measuring device since the beginning of this year, which can detect higher frequencies".
Is it possible to update the test of non touch bar model, using new measuring device?

The non touchbar review is dated two weeks after the touchbar, so I would think the more sensitive testing device would have been used.

Unfortunately, Notebookcheck doesn't seem to be updating the review or replying here, so we may never know.