2015 MBP - Radeon or no dGPU?

[Hoff]

Deciding the specs of my first-ever Mac. 2015 MBP.

I do mainly 3D modeling and photo-rendering. Most of my software can only utilize NVIDIA GeForce (CUDA) graphics cards. So for that, the AMD Radeon has no benefit. And may be a hindrance.

I plan to use the MacBook Pro as is for a while. And add an eGPU with GeForce GTX 1070 when the time comes.

Knowing that, is it still better to get a MBP with the Radeon GPU card inside? Or no dGPU and only Intel Iris?

I heard eGPUs work easier on MacBook Pros with no dGPU.

organicCPU said some Photoshop functions are gone with no dGPU.

What else would I be missing with no dGPU? (and not yet any eGPU)

Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

[organicCPU]

organicCPU said some Photoshop functions are gone with no dGPU.

Most obviously the 3D features in Photoshop (CS6) are missing without dGPU.

 

[Bravo3013]

I do not know about missing features in Photoshop without dGPU, but I can confirm that it is easier to setup an eGPU on a machine that doesn't have a dGPU (It is possible to setup an eGPU on a machine with dGPU, but be prepared to do some extra steps to make it work). Also a machine without dGPU has one less component that can break and better battery life. If you however need graphical performance on the go, a dGPU will be the best choice.

 

[Hoff]

it is easier to setup an eGPU on a machine that doesn't have a dGPU (It is possible to setup an eGPU on a machine with dGPU, but be prepared to do some extra steps to make it work).

Can anyone give any indication of the difficulty or steps involved in setting up eGPU on a MBP with dGPU vs without a dGPU?

 

[Hoff]

Anybody know roughly the battery life with and without dGPU?