I already ordered the 450 because at the time i only had the money for it, but now i do. I could cancel and order a new one, however I dont really play games and if I do its for games like League of Legends and CS GO, so theyre not very demanding. I dont do any photo/video editing either. The most important app I use is Ableton Live, but that doesnt require a gpu. At the price I bought it at, the 460 is only about $180 more than the 450 but i read that it has twice the performance. Would I be fine with the 450?
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Benefit of getting the Radeon Pro 460 over the 450 if i dont game/video edit?
- Thread starter dk808
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Think of it this way as well.
It's fine now, but if the machine survives six years and a few upgrades, is that gpu still going to cut it.
If you suspect to exchange the machine in less than a handful of years, you should be fine. If you want to invest in something that lasts long enough to perform smoothly, it's maybe worth a bit more.
It's fine now, but if the machine survives six years and a few upgrades, is that gpu still going to cut it.
If you suspect to exchange the machine in less than a handful of years, you should be fine. If you want to invest in something that lasts long enough to perform smoothly, it's maybe worth a bit more.
Thats what i was thinking, but whats going to change for me in those next years? Unless youtube and chrome undergoes some massive overhaul I dont think i need something that powerful
When I had my older 2011 Macbook Pro, with 256MB of video RAM, new features in Photoshop required 512MB and would not work.
I believe the 450 has 2GB of video RAM, while the 460 has 4GB. So, you never know what will be the future "minimum" will be, especially if you plan on keeping whatever you buy for a while.
I believe the 450 has 2GB of video RAM, while the 460 has 4GB. So, you never know what will be the future "minimum" will be, especially if you plan on keeping whatever you buy for a while.
Sure, but, macOS will upgrade, demanding more. My iMac is struggling a lot more, and it's just an OS update. If I put snow leopard on it again, it will fly. But it has new features and improvements, and performance improvements on some parts that I use. I wish I had invested in a better card.
And yes, video playback will go up as well. Even if you think it's just youtube. As time goes by and youtube and your bandwidth improves, you might process higher quality video automatically. And Chrome used to be so snappy and small footprint, it's a lot bigger now and more demanding. Javascript on web sites and much more complex css / svg / etc drawing cycles from the gpu/cpu as well.
Things change. And it's one reason why we feel the urge to upgrade.
If you have just the on board chip intel, I would strongly recommend upgrading to the one with the 460.
But the only reason to go from 455 to 460 is the double memory, and better performance, on a chip we all wish was a different one.
One thing I've learned over time with Apple products is that if you can choose to get a better video card for a hundred bucks, just do it. It's an investment you can't reconsider later.
But maybe I am just used to doing more graphics intense things with the system, and might have a different approach. Plus, others will simply have a different opinion about it.
I for one have a system and keep it until it basically breaks or doesn't let me do what i need from it anymore. Bought this mac in early 2009. I am so ready to replace it.
The only problem for me is that I kind of wanted the lower end gpu because im worried about heat/fan noise. Sadly there are no review models or anything out so we cant know until they actually release
You could compare an older model mac gpu with the 460 here; http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-M370X-Mac-vs-Radeon-Pro-460
Please don't do that. The difference is minimal. Or go all the way 460 or stick with the 450, somewhere in the middle you are not getting the best of any good world
I maxed out everything but the SSD only because I got the Education discount which saves around 500.00 and no TAX.
Yea, i mean my current mid 2010 13 inch mbp has a Nvidia geforce 320m with 256 mb vram. I dont have much problems with the OS, and upgrading the ssd and ram helped the most. I dont think the graphics card is that important. Its been 6 years for me and it still works pretty good for the most part
I tend to agree with this, if the gpu isn't a reason to buy the system, and you're not heavy loading it a lot to save time and whatever, the 450 is just fine.
The salient points are:
Is it possible to play either game at maximum resolution (2560-by-1600), with all details maxed out, at whatever framerate you consider optimal for play (60 fps/ 120 fps, whatever)
If it is possible, are the lower spec video cards capable of this feat?
Do you see a 4K or 5K display in your future? (If so, get a 460-- 4k/5k needs all the help that you can get. Remember, the imac 5k machines have 2.9 Teraflop cards, and the cognoscenti regard those as underpowered )
Being able to play a game at the highest resolution--just because you can is a pretty good feeling. It gives you a bit of breathing space, too should your favorite games get fancier graphics.
Is it possible to play either game at maximum resolution (2560-by-1600), with all details maxed out, at whatever framerate you consider optimal for play (60 fps/ 120 fps, whatever)
If it is possible, are the lower spec video cards capable of this feat?
Do you see a 4K or 5K display in your future? (If so, get a 460-- 4k/5k needs all the help that you can get. Remember, the imac 5k machines have 2.9 Teraflop cards, and the cognoscenti regard those as underpowered )
Being able to play a game at the highest resolution--just because you can is a pretty good feeling. It gives you a bit of breathing space, too should your favorite games get fancier graphics.
I agree here.
Just ordered one w a 450 for photo editing as I don't see that much need for a GPU for my use.