Apple surprised its fans on Thursday morning with the quiet announcement of the new MacBook Pro models. The 2018 laptops received all the expected upgrades, like faster processors, more RAM, extra. My MacBook Pro 2017 i7 Quad Core throttles while gaming in Windows. It’s really a thermal limitation. The most concrete action you can take is to manually peg the fan speeds to maximum while gaming. Is it possible to play games on the 2018 MacBook Pro? This is a question a lot of people have been asking. Can my Mac play the latest games, what resolution will they play at, at what frame rate. Logitech's G602 is the best wireless mouse for clicking with the speed and efficiency needed to get through the toughest dungeon, beat the baddest boss, or out-skill the most talented sporting opponent. Mac Pro is a very capable gaming device. I assumed and believed what everyone said, its 5 year old architecture would be slow and that gaming would be impossible. Overall I am able to run most.
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Buyers GuideBeing tech bloggers, we travel everywhere with our laptops and know how hot they can get, especially when we're running programs with heavy proccesing use. We have tested many and found the perfect way to cool the heat from your MacBook Pro.The Thermaltake Massive TM is a feature-rich cooling fan that has powerful fans, a turbo boost extra cooling option, temperature sensors, and much more. It's the most well-rounded cooling pad without being too expensive. It's just right!
Our pick
Thermaltake Massive TM
The perfect cooling fan for most people.
The Massive TM has lots of fantastic features, like a temperature gauge, adjustable feet, and a turbo boost so you can cool things down when you're working extra hard. It's also adjustable for better positioning while you type.
The Massive TM is the perfect cooling pad
The Massive TM by Thermaltake is a desktop-style cooling pad that's ideal for any size Mac laptop, from the 12-inch MacBook to the 15-inch MacBook Pro (and 17-inch notebooks, too), thanks to adjustable sizers that keep your device in place. It has two separate fans that draw cool air in from the bottom and push warm air out through the sides. You can set up automatic cooling with four separate heat sensors, or you can regulate the temperature manually, including giving it a turbo cooling boost. It also sports retractable feet, so you can adjust the angle of your laptop.
Reasons to buy
- Adjustable typing positioning
- Fits almost all size laptops
- Targeted cooling for different areas
- Turbo boost cooling for extra hot spots
- Temperature sensor for auto on/off
Reasons not to buy
- Pricier than most
- Portability limitations
What makes the Massive TM the best
I've been using my Massive TM for a while now and I've really been putting it through its paces. The one thing that makes it stand out from other cooling pads is its ability to track how warm my MacBook Pro is getting and then allow me to turbo boost the cooling process if things get out of hand.
The pad is large — maybe even a little too large. It's big enough to fit a 17-inch notebook, so my 13-inch MacBook Pro has plenty of space. The aluminum panel on top has four adjustable posts that you can slide around to fit your laptop. This keeps my MacBook Pro snugly in place without anchoring it on the cooling pad. The pegs are also spring-loaded, so if you accidentally set your notebook on top of one, it just flattens out instead of making your keyboard crooked.
When you set your laptop on the cooling pad, it senses the temperature. There are four sensor probes, so you can isolate any problem areas. When the fans are running, it'll cool your device by as much as 20 degrees. If you notice that, even with the regular fans running, your laptop isn't cooling down (like, if you're working extra hard with a particularly heavy processing program) you can hit the Turbo button and it will speed up the fans and send a burst of air upward.
Probably my favorite aspect of the Massive TM is the temperature display panel.
When the fans are running, they are relatively quiet as far as cooling fans go. I'm not saying they are whisper quiet, but you won't have to turn up the volume on your computer when they are running.
There are also retractable feet at the bottom of the pad, which allow you to adjust the angle that your laptop sits. The feet themselves have adjustable height, too. So, if you need a sharper angle, like to watch a movie, you can really get some tilt.
The fan is powered by a USB cable. It comes with a very short (I think it's about 8-inches) USB-to-USB cable. If you have the 2016 or later MacBook Pro, you'll need a USB A to USB C adapter, or at least a really long USB to USB cable so you can plug it into a power outlet.
Probably my favorite aspect of the Massive TM is the temperature display panel. You always know whether your laptop is running hot, thanks to the LED display. If you're in the middle of a game and notice that your MacBook Pro is running at about 85 degrees, you can turn on the fans and cool it down.
Alternatives to the Massive TM
If the Massive TM doesn't quite fit your style or meet your needs, there are a couple of other high-quality cooling pads you should check out instead.
Runner-up
CM Storm SF-15
Massive cooling with massive size
If you want to spend a bit more and get a cooling pad that can cool even the hottest MacBooks, then check out the Cooler Master SF-15. Just don't plan on taking it anywhere.
If you're doing any intense video editing or anything that's going to cause your MacBook's temperature to rise, the CM Storm SF-15 will cool it down and then some (it's not called 'Storm' for nothing). It's easily one of the most powerful laptop coolers around. Because it's built to cool gaming PCs, that power comes at the price of portability. It's thicker and heavier than your MacBook Pro, but will work hard to keep it cool.
Value pick
Cooler Master NotePal X-Slim
Macbook Pro 2018 For Gaming
Basic cooling pad with no frills gets the job done.
For its price, you really can't go wrong with the Cooler Master NotePal X-Slim.
The Cooler Master NotePal X-Slim has more than 10,000 reviews on Amazon, with nearly 80% of them being 4 or 5-star reviews. This cooling pad may only have one fan, but it makes up for that with its low price. Its slim design makes it portable and its height adjustment settings provide customizable typing angles. It's perfect if you're on a budget.
For travel
Havit HV-F2056
Portable enough to slip into your laptop bag with plenty of cooling power.
This is the perfect MacBook Pro cooling pad for traveling. It's got three fans for wide-spread cooling and an ultra-slim profile.
Apple Mac Pro 2018
The Havit's minimalist design makes it ideal for travel with your MacBook Pro. It's ultra-slim, but can still handle laptops up to 17 inches. It also comes equipped with additional USB ports so you can use it as a portable hub.
Bottom line
Mac Pro 2018 Specs
With all of its convenient features, the Thermaltake Massive TM is easily the best cooler/cooling pad for your MacBook Pro. If you're in the market for one, the Massive TM should be your first consideration, since it's effective, ergonomic, and does it's job well.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Lory Gil works on her laptop about 50% of her day and knows just how hot the MacBook Pro can get. She's a big fan of keepin' things cool.
Luke Filipowicz is one of the coolest people around and knows a thing or two about how to stay that way, especially when it comes to laptops.
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If you've been holding your breath for a new version of the Mac Pro, your prayers will be answered — by next year, that is.
At a small roundtable discussion in Cupertino this month, Apple execs Phil Schiller, Craig Federighi and John Ternus spoke with a group of journalists about the roadmap for various Apple products. While the meeting wasn't put together to unveil a specific product, Apple let slip that it's working on a re-imagined version of its Mac Pro desktop in order to answer the demands of its most hardcore power users.
'We're in the process of completely rethinking the Mac Pro,' Schiller told Mashable. Apple noted that while the current Mac Pro introduced a compact, quiet and thermal-friendly design, it also turned off certain customers who needed more customization and power.
The company noticed that many Pro users migrated to iMac all-in-ones, which helped Apple get a sense of what those users wanted out of a desktop. Naturally, Apple's execs didn't say a ton about the new Mac Pro, simply telling Mashable that the PC will 'speak to a wider set of users and be configurable' and that it will likely be out around 2018.
MORE: The Best All-in-One PCs
Speaking of the iMac, fans of Apple's all-in-ones can look forward to more powerful configurations of the desktop later this year.
'We're going to begin making configurations of iMac specifically with the pro customer in mind,' Schiller told Buzzfeed.
If you don't feel like waiting until next year for the reimagined Mac Pro, you'll be able to buy beefed-up versions of the current cylindrical model. According to Mashable, the starting $2,999 model will now feature a six-core Xeon processor (up from four) and dual Fire Pro D500 graphics cards, up from the D300s in older models. Stepping up to the $3,999 configuration will get you an 8-core CPU and dual D700 graphics cards.
Macbook Pro 2018 Gaming Test
Source: Mashable, Buzzfeed