I have the Intel Core i9 in my 2019 MBP, and it gets so damn hot. How do the ones offered here compare? I'm not one to upgrade frequently, but the heat of this thing makes me go looking. Luckily, it sits on a stand on a desk with more 9s than github is up.

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wtallis 3 hours ago | parent [-]

A 2019 MacBook Pro would have an Intel Skylake processor (N-th re-release), made on Intel's stagnant 14nm process. The older Intel option for the StarFighter has its CPU cores made on an Intel process two generations newer, and the rest of the chiplets made by TSMC. The newer Intel option moves the CPU chiplet to TSMC as well. They're in a very different league for power efficiency than your current machine, both from the fab improvements and from having a microarchitecture that's not from 2015.

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dylan604 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Okay, but what does that mean for the temp of the case while sitting in one's lap. Can it be done without getting second degree burns?

	▲	oofabz 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Every generation of CPU has high-power and low-power variants. The i9 is a high power variant that generates a lot of heat but what you want is the low power variant. I recommend looking for a used laptop with a Core Ultra 7 165U (<$500) or a Core Ultra 7 268V (>$1000). Maybe an HP EliteBook. Either one would be faster than your old i9 and run much cooler.
	▲	wtallis 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Case temperature is very much at the discretion of the laptop OEM. Some OEMs take regulatory limits on skin temperature seriously and ship a well-tuned thermal control system that keeps the case at a comfortable temperature. Others push close to the legal limits to keep fan noise in check. Others ship plastic enclosures so they can get away with even higher temperatures (since plastic has lower thermal conductivity than metal, and thus a harder time cooking your thighs) at the expense of more noise. The StarFighter has a metal case, so when running at high power levels (45W sustained according to the spec sheet) it will either get uncomfortably hot somewhere on the case or at least a bit noisy from the fans, but since it's a bit thicker than the 2019 MacBook Pro it should be able to cool itself more effectively. But when running at the performance level you're used to the power draw should be plenty low enough to make temperature and fan noise not a problem: roughly double the peak CPU performance means you can turn down the power limits a lot and still have a better-performing machine.