Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

> 1. The MacBook only has 8GB of ram whereas the Ryzen has 16GB

But are they priced similarly?

> 2. Comparing x86 linux vs arm linux on a MacBook (which is still early days) rather than the most stable and mature OS for both

Hmm .. Doesn't "for both" negate the argument.




> But are they priced similarly?

Meaningless question when they don't sell the M2 chip separately

> Hmm .. Doesn't "for both" negate the argument

I guess "for each" would be better ? But OPs point still stands, if you put me on a race car you are not breaking any records no matter how good the car is


>> But are they priced similarly?

> Meaningless question when they don't sell the M2 chip separately

What does that have to do with the question "Does this X-dollar laptop outperform that X-dollar laptop?"


Simply, that you can’t compare laptops solely on a cost basis easily.

Does the Ryzen system come with a full aluminum enclosure?

Does it come with a screen with P3 color, 400 nits peak brightness, and HDR support?

What is the battery size on both machines, and how long do each last?

How thin is it? How light it it? How fast does it charge? How much does this affect you daily?

If it was only about CPU performance, I could grab the cheapest Clevo with a Core i9 and it would beat every other manufacturer in the “bang-buck” spec as you are defining it, but it would be an awful experience.


> Simply, that you can’t compare laptops solely on a cost basis easily.

But they aren't doing that!*

They're specifically comparing performance between two similarly-priced laptops[1]. That's what "benchmark" means.

If this was a review between the two laptops I'd agree with you, but it isn't a review, it's a benchmark suite.

> Does the Ryzen system come with a full aluminum enclosure?

> Does it come with a screen with P3 color, 400 nits peak brightness, and HDR support?

> What is the battery size on both machines, and how long do each last?

> How thin is it? How light it it? How fast does it charge? How much does this affect you daily?

All of these are valid questions, just not for a benchmark. The benchmark is one set of inputs a potential purchaser would take into account, with the other inputs being all those things you mentioned.

[1] I assume that they're similarly priced - I skipped the introduction and went straight to the benchmarks.


They aren't similarly priced though. It seems the Lenovo config is above $2000 according to https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadx/th...


Considering that I cannot purchase it, I don't know the actual end price.

Lenovo's prices aren't Apple's, this laptop may be sold for similar as Mac.


> But they aren't doing that!*

The person they replied to was


> Does the Ryzen system come with a full aluminum enclosure?

If you really want one you can get one.

But if you are buying a laptop on the basis of how shiny it is does the CPU performance really matter?

When I bought a car for my wife she picked it out on the basis of how cute it is. She isn't going to run around being upset that it doesn't have 0-60 time of a Subaru WRX. To her the Subaru is ugly.


Have you ever dropped a plastic laptop ? if you think the aluminium enclosure it's just pretty then I don't know what to tell you


I've dropped my MBP. And I dropped my ThinkPads.

There's a reason why I still buy ThinkPads - because aluminum is still heavier than magnesium and carbon fiber... and it isn't indestructible.


> Simply, that you can’t compare laptops solely on a cost basis easily.

Yes, people might be searching for the best performance, and cost comparison here is fair.

> If it was only about CPU performance, I could grab the cheapest Clevo with a Core i9 and it would beat every other manufacturer in the “bang-buck” spec as you are defining it, but it would be an awful experience.

Evey user has his/her requirements and things he/she is okay to comprmise on.


You are aware that that full aluminum enclosure is not a universally great this, right?

I have literally two laptops in front of me - ThinkPad made with carbon fiber and MacBook Pro 2021.

Aluminum laptop is heavier, clunkier and less pleasant to work with


Apple sells a M2 MacBook Pro which has better performance.

So it's not a meaningless question at all.


It's very meaningful when you want the best bang for the buck.


It’s still pretty silly because the price is the easiest thing to compare. Just show the prices of 2 systems as closely specced as possible and list power, thermal envelop blah blah. As it is, this doesn’t change my mind about if I’m making the right trade offs by getting the M2


> Meaningless question when they don't sell the M2 chip separately

AFAIK the 6850U also isn't sold separately.


> But are they priced similarly?

Final laptop price isn't that important when this is a CPU comparison, "Apple M2 vs. AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U"

> Hmm .. Doesn't "for both" negate the argument.

What I meant is that they don't use the OS which is most stable and most mature on each platform independently (i.e. some flavour of linux, or even windows, for the Ryzen and macOS for the M2). Either choice will introduce OS differences, but I believe that using the most optimized OS is the better choice as it allows each CPU to show off its best performance.


Depends on what you measure.

Hypothetically - a diesel BMW m3 may cost the same as a Camaro with a V8 engine, but what's the point of talking what engines they have... if you are purchasing these items for other reasons.


I agree, but this is a CPU benchmark. They don't benchmark the screen, or the ram speed, or the battery life, or anything else in the laptops. All they compare is the CPU


> Hmm .. Doesn't "for both" negate the argument.

Linux has supported AMD CPUs for decades and AMD has engineers creating kernel patches to ensure their CPUs work correctly on Linux.

Linux support for Apple chips is in its infancy and what little support it does have has been provided by a ragtag team of volunteers that have reversed engineered the M-series chips.

It's reasonable to assume that the AMD chip might be at a slight advantage on Linux.


Linux has supported ARM CPUs for decades too.

Linux has run on ARM since 2002. Apple OSX was first released for ARM in 2020. Apple iOS on ARM wasn't released until 2007.

Though I doubt that any of this is relevant for a CPU only benchmark. I'd bet the effect of compiler support overwhelms any other effects.


Build quality Higher res display Better mousepad etc. etc. etc. so you also can't really compare prices like that


In answer to your first question... https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadx/th... vs https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-air

So 1800 for the Lenovo vs 1200 for the Mac.

This is a meaningless comparison.


You've posted this a few times. But now the devices are actually available and X13 starts at $1097... That's $103 less than cheapest MacBook. What a difference 5 days makes, right?


For those not familiar with Lenovo's pricing, basically the sticker prices are insane but routinely get ~50% discounts after the products have been available for a few weeks. Those are brand new models that do not yet get steep discounts.

It makes comparing them on prices almost impossible.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: