This isn’t even fair anymore - MacBook Pro M5

The M5 Processor's Launch and Initial Impressions [00:00]

• The new MacBook Pro is equipped with Apple's M5 processor, which is advertised as having the single fastest performance core on any processor.
• The launch was understated, with the new MacBook Pro being dropped without a formal event.
• The laptop comes with a 2-meter USB-C to MagSafe cable, a 70-watt charging brick (with an optional 96-watt upgrade for $20), and no Apple stickers.

This laptop in front of me is supposed to be the freaking bees. This is a MacBook Pro with Apple's brand new M5 processor, which they have touted to contain the single fastest performance core on any processor on the planet.

Design and External Features [00:36]

• The new MacBook Pro retains the exact same shape, color, and weight as the previous generation.
• Ports include MagSafe, dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, an SD card reader, another Thunderbolt 4 Type-C port, and an HDMI port, all identical to the last generation.
• Internal components like the keyboard, speakers, and webcam are also unchanged.

And it comes in the exact same color, exact same shape, and exact same weight as last generation. Maybe that's why Apple like didn't have an event to talk about this thing.

Wi-Fi Connectivity and Disappointment [02:29]

• A significant point of contention is the continued use of Wi-Fi 6E, despite Wi-Fi 7 being the standard on many high-end devices.
• Wi-Fi speed tests on the M5 MacBook show similar results to the M4, indicating a bottleneck that limits peak speeds below what's achievable on an iPhone.

That's because it also still only uses Wi-Fi 6E when Wi-Fi 7 is pretty much the standard on every high-end device, including the new iPhones.

M5 Chip Performance Claims [03:14]

• The primary innovation is the M5 chip, which is an entirely different series of car, or in CPU terms, it has a different architecture.
• Both M4 and M5 chips have 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores, and 10 GPU cores.
• Apple claims up to 15% faster multi-threaded performance, 30% better baseline GPU performance (45% for ray-traced apps), and potentially multiple times faster AI performance.

But in this case, the CPUs, they don't have more cylinders, or I guess cores in CPU speak. It's four performance cores and six efficiency cores on the M4 and the M5.

Storage Options and Cost [04:39]

• The base model has been tested, but upgrades are available, including a 4 TB SSD option, up from the previous 2 TB maximum.
• The cost of upgrading storage is highlighted as excessively expensive, with adding 3.5 TB costing $1,200.

The only thing that's really different this time around is that you can get a 4 TB SSD as the max instead of a 2 TB SSD. But to be honest, with how much Apple charges, $1,200 to add 3 1/2 tab more storage.

UG Green NAS Sponsorship and Solution [05:10]

• The video's sponsor, UG Green, is introduced to address the high cost of internal storage upgrades.
• The UG Green DH2300 NAS is presented as an affordable solution offering up to 60 TB of raw storage.
• It allows for easy setup, remote management, and speeds up to 125 MB/s via wired connection, positioning it as faster than cloud storage services.

It's super affordable, and after you slide in your choice of two hard drives, you'll likely end up with a heck of a lot more storage than you could fit in a MacBook.

Keyboard, Trackpad, Display, and Webcam [06:44]

• The keyboard and trackpad feel identical to the previous generation.
• The display is still the 14.2-inch ProMotion XDR panel with 1600 nits peak brightness in HDR and 1000 nits sustained.
• The 12-megapixel webcam appears to be the same, offering decent quality.

The keyboards, they're the same. I don't detect anything different about them. The trackpads feel the same.

Speakers and Minor Button Changes [08:02]

• The speakers sound largely the same, with a slight subjective improvement noted on the new laptop.
• A subtle change is observed in the "mute button" label, identified as a new physical feature. The function key label has also been updated.

I almost feel like the new laptop sounds like a tiny bit better, but maybe that's just because like the speakers aren't broken in.

Cinebench 2024 Performance Benchmark [09:04]

• The M5 processor achieves an incredibly high score in Cinebench 2024 single-threaded tests, nearly doubling the performance of an M1.
• Single-threaded performance reaches 200 points, significantly outperforming even top-tier desktop CPUs like the 9800X3D and 14900K.
• Multi-threaded performance also sees an improvement, with scores rising from around 1,000 to nearly 1,200.

Holy that is the highest number I have ever seen in Cinebench. Compared to an M1, it is quite literally almost double.

Blender, Puget Bench, and GPU Performance [10:34]

• In Blender's monster under the bed demo, the M5 shows good uplift, though not quite hitting the 15% claim.
• GPU rendering in Blender sees over a 35% performance increase.
• Puget Bench tests show about a 10% increase in Photoshop but over 30% in Adobe Premiere.
• Da Vinci Resolve saw a 25% generational improvement.

And when you get to the GPU, that's where it starts to go woo. The same Blender Monster render on GPU is over a 35% performance increase.

Gaming Performance Uplift [11:08]

• Gaming benefits from increased single-threaded performance, memory bandwidth, and cache improvements.
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider shows nearly a 90% performance uplift from the base M4 to the base M5.
• Cyberpunk 2077 saw a 42% uplift.
• The 3DMark Solar Bay Extreme test (ray-traced) shows the M5 over 50% faster.

The M5 was over 50% faster. It's astonishing. It is seriously I mean, I was stoked when the M4 chips came out.

Passmark Performance Test [12:12]

• The M5 achieves a single-threaded score of 6,000 in Passmark, significantly higher than consumer CPUs like the 14900K (4700) and 285K (5100).
• This reinforces the claim of the M5 being the fastest performance core available.

But the M5, 6,000. Holy

Power Efficiency and Battery Life [13:30]

• Despite performance gains, power efficiency remains a strong selling point for Apple laptops.
• In a single-core test, the M5 drew slightly more power (2.2 Wh) than the M4 (2.165 Wh) but completed the task faster.
• Battery life is rated for 24 hours by Apple, and in endurance tests, it achieved approximately 17 hours of streaming.

And in my testing, in an endurance test, so a lower brightness with the video optimization feature turned on, I got pretty much identical battery life, right around 17 hours streaming like a Blu-ray quality 1080p video.

AI Performance Enhancement [15:14]

• Apple's claims of enhanced AI performance are tested using an 8 billion parameter LLM model.
• The M5 delivers 27 tokens per second, compared to 21 tokens per second on the M4, a significant buff.
• The outputs from the AI prompts also showed structural differences, with the M5 producing faster and differently structured responses.

We've got more memory bandwidth. We have the neural accelerators, which I'm not sure would get used in LM Studio to be honest, but I've got the 8 billion parameter Quen 3 VL model that just came out a few days ago in 4bit mode because that fits pretty nicely within the 16 gigs of RAM that each of these computers have.

Overall Assessment and Conclusion [16:31]

• The M5 MacBook Pro is described as a monumentally fast CPU and a great laptop, potentially the best of the year.
• It's deemed superior to Windows laptops unless specific Windows-only applications are required, in which case Parallels is suggested.
• The main drawbacks are the high cost of RAM and storage upgrades.

Well, it might not look anything special, but inside it's got a heart of processing cores. Holy They've done it again. It's insanely fast. The battery life is ridiculous. It's just a great laptop. Nay, I say the best laptop of the year.