Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch & Intel HD Graphics Performance

[tomatoketchup]

I am looking at the tech-specs of the latest MacBook Pro 13' entry model.

CPU: 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
Memory: 4GB
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000

It looks like a great little machine with nice specs that I think will be adequate for my needs. I think I will buy it!
But the Intel HD Graphics have me worried! So I am asking:

How is the performance of Intel HD Graphics 4000 (or similar from the previous MacBook Pro 13' model) on Mac OS X in the following scenarios:

• Basic gaming: Not the latest and greatest games but games like:
  • Portal 2 (and the rest of the Half-Life 2 series), definitely not the most graphic-intensive game but it sure looks pretty!
  • Doom 3 (a bit old now but still nice graphics, and frankly I don't play the latest 3D games anymore)
  • Relative light games that require 3D acceleration like:
    • Limbo,
    • Braid,
    • Tales of Monkey Island.
• 3D content creation programs like Blender 3D. Is the UI responsive with Intel HD Graphics 4000? Or is it impossible to work? I am not a heavy user of Blender 3D but I would like my new machine to have nice performance with my favorite 3D content creation suite.
• GPU Acceleration in Web-Browsers like Firefox? How does WebGL works? How fast is the <canvas> acceleration:
  • Firefox 4: hardware acceleration, click the "Hardware Acceleration Stress Test" link

You could point to benchmark data. But I would really appreciate if you could inform me out of your personal experience how well does a modern MacBook Pro 13' with Intel HD Graphics 4000 (or similar) performs under the scenarios I mentioned. Is it a good machine for this kind of usage? Or should I get something with NVIDIA graphics? Also if you take the Canvas Hardware Acceleration Stress Test with your browser (Safari, Firefox, Chrome or all if possible) could you please tell me how many FPS do you get with your Intel HD Graphics 4000 powered machine?

Thank you in advance.

 

[WD007]

stress test

i clicked the link but it took me to an article.... I will run the test and let you know how it comes back but how do i do it...sorry i have never run a stress test but i too play the same games and i just got my MBP 13 Ivy Bridge and would like to know what the test shows and report back to you as well for the good of everybody.

thanks

 

[tomatoketchup]

It is just bellow the embedded YouTube video.

I am sure this <canvas> stress test runs great in Firefox with a good GPU.
I think it also runs great in Safari too but I am not sure.
It's a simple test that checks that <canvas> drawing is accelerated.
Nothing really fancy or very scientific...

Also if you play any game (like any from those I mentioned) please report how it performs.

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

[WD007]

hey I will run the test today and let you know

But I did play Civilazation V. You didn't mention it but it plays great. Half Life 2 portal plays well as well. I will get the specs I ran it at for you. the other games I do not play. So I can not attest to that. As far as the computer itself I am a bit concerned. I was reading where an SSD will not work as well or be of any substantial benefit on the new Ivy Bridge model 13. There is an article a guy posted in the MAC Forum that has me a bit concerned. As I was hoping to add an SSd to improve boot times and access to programs and photos etc. As I do a lot of photo and some video editing.. So that is 1 thing I would like to find more about. Also I haven't seen any reviews for RAM that will work on the new Ivy Bridge Models yet I guess hopefully someone will do a teardown and report back in the next week or so as I would like to goto 8GB from the 4 I have. Anyway I will post back when I run the test after meeting this morning.

W.

 

[ssn637]

Just found this review over at Notebook Check of the Dell Vostro 3360 notebook, which includes an Intel ULV CPU and HD 4000 graphics.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-Vostro-3360-Notebook.76737.0.html

The graphics performance is more or less equivalent to the NVidia GeForce 320M, so we should expect somewhat better results on the 35W TDP processors. Probably not enough to justify an upgrade on its own, but don't forget the CPU performance is almost twice that of the Core2Duo models.

 

[tomatoketchup]

Thanks for the replies guys!

So I guess the Intel HD Graphics 4000 chipset inside the MacBook Pro 13' offers adequate performance for basic 3D gaming. That's good to know!

I guess it would offer acceptable performance for Blender 3D and other 3D content creation suites. If you know anything from your personal experience please mention it in this thread.

Thanks again guys. I am thinking I am going to buy a new MacBook Pro 13' soon and with Mountain Lion around the corner I can't wait!