Decided to get the new 15" rMBP

[Kulfon]

Hello folks,

I am currently using a 4 year old Samsung Chronos 7 laptop. When I was thinking about which way to go 4 year ago I did not want to swallow the price difference between the Samsung and the MBP. I really regretted that I did not the MBP back then, but I kept using the laptop I had. I do photo editing mostly (Photoshop and Lightroom) and I need the best possible portable screen. I was waiting for an upgrade from Apple and it happened. I was a bit disappointed that it still comes with the 2 year old chip, but I seriously do not want to wait another year or so, it is a lot of time that I will lose. I have issues processing my files today and I think I am going to get the maxed out version of the MBP.

Any drawbacks? Thanks!

 

[ApoorvPrem]

Old MBPs have had dGpu issues that too frequently. That should be your only point of concern. Other than that its one solid machine. AMD just might have cracked the formula for the perfect MacBook GPU.

 

[Kulfon]

Old MBPs have had dGpu issues that too frequently. That should be your only point of concern. Other than that its one solid machine. AMD just might have cracked the formula for the perfect MacBook GPU.

Sorry, what is dGPU? How do I know is the new one doesn't have these issues?

 

[sebseb]

Sorry, what is dGPU? How do I know is the new one doesn't have these issues?

dGPU means dedicated Graphics Processing Unit. Nobody knows if the new one won't have any issues. It won't start causing problems till in its 2nd-3rd year. The problem happens when the solder cracks and looses connection, so it rarely has to do with the brand of dGPU. I had an nvidia and the solder cracked anyways. There's already a lot of topics on the maxed out 15" running hot. I recommend you get the machine and test it for yourself, if you don't like it you can always return it. I personally don't need the dedicated graphics card so I went with a maxed out base model.

Also to note, both models have 2 identical fans. So when you add the dedicated graphics as well, the system not only does it have to cool the intel chip but also another chip (the dGPU). While on the base model two fans just cool down the intel CPU/iGPU hence why it runs cooler.

 

[Kulfon]

dGPU means dedicated Graphics Processing Unit. Nobody knows if the new one won't have any issues. It won't start causing problems till in its 2nd-3rd year. The problem happens when the solder cracks and looses connection, so it rarely has to do with the brand of dGPU. I had an nvidia and the solder cracked anyways. There's already a lot of topics on the maxed out 15" running hot. I recommend you get the machine and test it for yourself, if you don't like it you can always return it. I personally don't need the dedicated graphics card so I went with a maxed out base model.

Also to note, both models have 2 identical fans. So when you add the dedicated graphics as well, the system not only does it have to cool the intel chip but also another chip (the dGPU). While on the base model two fans just cool down the intel CPU/iGPU hence why it runs cooler.

Thanks a lot. I am new to Mac. I have several friends who have maxed out MBPs 15" for 2-3 years and they always get the maxed out version for Photo editing and I did not hear any issues from them. I think I will go for it anyways, hopefully my photo editing will not kill the MBP

 

[SamuelShand]

i have to say that I have had the new 15" with dGPU for over 2 weeks now and have pushed the dGPU to its limits with games and work and from my personal experience the fans have handled the heat more so than any other dGPU macbook pro i have handled to date. it rarely goes above 70 and cools very quickly, most times with intensive tasks it goes no higher than 65.
previous experience with similar loads I have seen far higher temps.

who knows tho in 2-3 years if it will hold up, part of the fun i guess -_-

I am interested to see how it handles when the summer peaks here.

 

[davehutch]

I personally don't need the dedicated graphics card so I went with a maxed out base model.

Just curious about the pricing for you. I thought about the maxed out base model for a while and at full price, you could have had the maxed out dGPU for an extra £68-80 in the UK (£68 with edu discount) and then you could choose to only switch it on when required.

 

[sebseb]

Just curious about the pricing for you. I thought about the maxed out base model for a while and at full price, you could have had the maxed out dGPU for an extra £68-80 in the UK (£68 with edu discount) and then you could choose to only switch it on when required.

Oh yes making a decision on this macbook was a nightmare for me. I paid 2417$ for it with Tax and Educational discount and base model dGPU would cost me 2459$... So yes for 40$ I could have had the dGPU as well but all these topics about the fans being loud and heating up scared me so I bought the base but I needed 512GB space and for 90$ I thought oh well, let's upgrade CPU too.

My logic was, yes for 40$ I get 2 graphics card but also decrease the reliability of the machine. The dGPU might fail, might not.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Oh yes making a decision on this macbook was a nightmare for me. I paid 2417$ for it with Tax and Educational discount and base model dGPU would cost me 2459$... So yes for 40$ I could have had the dGPU as well but all these topics about the fans being loud and heating up scared me so I bought the base but I needed 512GB space and for 90$ I thought oh well, let's upgrade CPU too.

My logic was, yes for 40$ I get 2 graphics card but also decrease the reliability of the machine. The dGPU might fail, might not.

Any computer might fail or might not on any component at any time. It really shouldn't be the deciding factor in my opinion.

 

[TechnicallyTee]

Making a decision was also a nightmare for me as well. First went and picked up the Mid tier 13" rMBP and had that for a few days but I just couldn't fathom that there was another version that was bigger and better than what I had. So using my friends friends and family discount, I went and picked up the top 15" for $2293

 

[sebseb]

Any computer might fail or might not on any component at any time. It really shouldn't be the deciding factor in my opinion.

True but adding a dGPU increases the chance of failure. It might not even fail but also my wok is no graphics intense so why bother. I moved my gaming to a PS4 and I'm pretty sure it can handle solidworks, since my GT330 has no issues doing so and the intel iris pro is way faster.

I'll install El Capitan and see how it performs.

 

[Dark Void]

It's good to keep in mind that while the R9 M370X is a capable chip, it's still mid-ranged. That's not to degrade it any way, although if you plan on doing highly graphic intensive tasks such as modern AAA gaming, I would keep an open mind and not have such high expectations.

On the other hand, this chip is more than enough to handle software editing, and on the other end of that spectrum, I would look into benchmarks on the Iris Pro, as it is no slouch even while being an integrated chip. In my opinion, the only reason to go for the maxed out model is the GPU. The difference of the processor clock speeds will have have very negligible, if any, impact on performance. The doubling of the storage is handy, but not always necessary. The small difference between the processors, the 2GB dedicated GPU and the 512GB of storage almost seems worth an extra $500, but in my opinion, only if you want or need the GPU. Therefore, if the Iris Pro can handle what you want graphically, it would be wise to go with the base model, but if you want to "futureproof" it a bit more, perhaps the top shelf. In my perception this is that the decision comes down to.

Hope this helps.