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Gaming on 16 inch MacBook pro

MrGunnyPT said:
If you wanna game on a Mac machine with games that require windows you just better off getting a eGPU and external SSD.

Cheaper option just build another rig really.
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Yeah, I've built a couple different desktop rigs this year and I just end up frustrated at the effort of it all to gain a few extra frames per second compared to the console versions of the same games (which actually subjectively look better to me on a 4K OLED at 60Hz compared to a 1440p 144Hz PC monitor).

I've sold/returned both rigs' worth of parts and my wife wants to kill me at the time wasted doing all of that, haha. I'm just much happier to actually PLAY on the console rather than troubleshoot constantly.

Sorry - not trying to turn anything into a PC vs. console debate, just admitting that while I initially wanted to Boot Camp this laptop and run some games, I just think it's too unstable for now.
 
CM_1986 said:
wrong. A workstation will.

any of the new p53’s with any of the RTX cards will eat a MBP like it’s nothing.
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I said "comparable". Yes, the P53 can be configured with a Quadro RTX 4000, which is basically a slightly crippled 2080 mobile which will be around 2x faster (at 2x power consumption). But the P53 is also 60% larger volume-wise, has a larger footprint (despite 15" vs 16" display), and is almost a cm thicker. Plus, it has smaller battery and weights more than 0,5 kg more. I am sure it is a great workstation, but quite a different beast compared to the MBP...
 
Installed boot camp and put my games on an external USB-C SSD. So far so good. I had a tower I built but recently gave it to my 12 year old neighbor as I rarely used it. I needed a new laptop and was hoping maybe I could randomly play a few games on low settings.
Instead I’ve been blown away. This thing will play CoD MW remastered, COD WW2, and Madden/FIFA on high settings for me and smoothly. I haven’t checked frame rates but I honestly don’t miss my PC tower. I would highly recommend. My configuration is the 6 core i7, 16 GB ram, and the 5500 w/ 8GB.
 
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anticipate said:
I am not much of a gamer these days (more Apple Arcade than PS4 Pro which I sold... though I miss VR - that is so much fun).

Anyway, I installed GTA V and was able to play at max settings at 1920X1200 with everything turned on BUT motion blur effects. It looks amazing and ran about 40-50 fps.

That's pretty nice for a non-gaming laptop.
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Right. I mainly play games on Xbox now, but I still enjoy playing Heroes or Starcraft from time to time. The base model seems to run those just fine on high settings. If I want to play a high end game, I can just play it on Xbox.
 
how do you guys deal with the thermal management under win10. The fans wont kick in until temp hits 100`C, which seems a bit extreme.. My laptop even idles around 70-80, as the fans wont do **** until 100´C.

I have now got stable latency via wifi under macOS, changed to 5GHz (vs 2.4GHz) and my ping issues have disappeared.
 
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Seppolainen said:
how do you guys deal with the thermal management under win10. The fans wont kick in until temp hits 100`C, which seems a bit extreme.. My laptop even idles around 70-80, as the fans wont do **** until 100´C.

I have now got stable latency via wifi under macOS, changed to 5GHz (vs 2.4GHz) and my ping issues have disappeared.
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I can tell you my answer, but you’re going to hate it. It’s just my personal solution.

AppleCare. Heyoooo!
 
Seppolainen said:
how do you guys deal with the thermal management under win10. The fans wont kick in until temp hits 100`C, which seems a bit extreme.. My laptop even idles around 70-80, as the fans wont do **** until 100´C.
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What’s the problem? It works as it’s supposed to.
 
its not working as it works in MacOS that's for sure. or if you meant that in a sarcastic way then sure.
 
Let me say... playing a first person shooter with a controller just is terrible.... so consoles to me... are not good anymore. ive had em all basically since the original nintendo. Build a PC to play games. Games go on sale more on PC, they are cheaper. In the long run you will save money if not by just the overall use of the computer. i feel gaming is not for laptops. There like time bombs....

If ya know how to build a PC proper you can make a cheap one running on less Watts than the PS4 Pro, and do way more for barely any extra cost. Hell... you could buy cheap... PS4 does not have that great of hardware.... Especially since consoles these days have Latency thats really annoying....

I used to love consoles... but no more.... Im not paying 80$ a game.... rediculous.... especially coming with half ass controls...
 
Has the issue of being unable to play full screen at 1080p in Bootcamp been fixed yet?
 
Is it even worth getting the 8GB GPU for future-proofing? I found out that I can essentially get the 8GB chip on the base model with education pricing for $80 more compared to the base 16" I bought previously.

I've seen online that there is really no difference in gaming between the 5300m and 5500m when they are compared (maybe 4-5 fps). Perhaps with better drivers, it would be better.

Is it even worth it to order the custom built one?
 
I’ve gone for the 5300 and upped everything else. From all the things I’ve seen, the 5500 might actually be a negative. It causes more throttling in games apparently so yes maybe an 8% better frame rate but on certain games it can’t sustain it. I will not be doing any video rendering stuff and even if I did I’m sure I could wait a few extra seconds. Day to day should be cheaper and cooler.
 
badsimian said:
I’ve gone for the 5300 and upped everything else. From all the things I’ve seen, the 5500 might actually be a negative. It causes more throttling in games apparently so yes maybe an 8% better frame rate but on certain games it can’t sustain it. I will not be doing any video rendering stuff and even if I did I’m sure I could wait a few extra seconds. Day to day should be cheaper and cooler.
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Right. I don't do any video editing or rendering either. I only use laptops for word processing, spreadsheets, music, media, internet, and the occasional game. I have seen the benchmarks for both GPUs and wasn't sure if it was a driver issue or just the GPU throttling. I agree an extra $80-100 is not worth an extra 5 fps.
 
riptidewahoo said:
Yeah, I've built a couple different desktop rigs this year and I just end up frustrated at the effort of it all to gain a few extra frames per second compared to the console versions of the same games (which actually subjectively look better to me on a 4K OLED at 60Hz compared to a 1440p 144Hz PC monitor).

I've sold/returned both rigs' worth of parts and my wife wants to kill me at the time wasted doing all of that, haha. I'm just much happier to actually PLAY on the console rather than troubleshoot constantly.

Sorry - not trying to turn anything into a PC vs. console debate, just admitting that while I initially wanted to Boot Camp this laptop and run some games, I just think it's too unstable for now.
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I do 80% of my gaming on a PS4 Pro hooked to a LG OLED TV I know what you mean! I only play world of warcraft and Civ VI on the PC
 
So it looks like the 16 inch Macbook Pro is VR-ready, at least for Oculus Rift. Here's a guy running Stormland (toward the end of the video) on a base model with the 5500M 8 GB upgrade. It's pretty amazing actually. Bear in mind the drivers are painfully unoptimized. The "unofficial" red drivers should increase the performance further when released. I wonder if Oculus Link will ever work properly with this (so far it's juddery I heard, though not because of the GPU but due to lack of support for any AMD cards right now).
 
AHDuke99 said:
Is it even worth getting the 8GB GPU for future-proofing? I found out that I can essentially get the 8GB chip on the base model with education pricing for $80 more compared to the base 16" I bought previously.
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For games it's a bit difficult to say. On one hand all the benchmarks I've seen point to the 8GB version performing the same. On the other hand, VRAM just like RAM is one of these things where having too much is useless but not having enough really ruins the experience. So I went for the safe choice and got the 8GB, but I also do video/photo editing so it was easier to justify.

All and all for games all configs seem to perform similar... except, surprisingly the 2.4 i9 can sometimes have worse performances. It seems that when both the CPU and GPU are pushed the 2.4 i9 being able to go higher in frequency (and voltage?) can kind of hoard the limited ressources of the laptop to the detrement of the GPU. With a 96W package, it's better in that case to have a CPU that won't go quite as high because it leaves more room for the GPU it seems. (A French reviewer showcased the issue.)
 
NeroAugustus said:
For games it's a bit difficult to say. On one hand all the benchmarks I've seen point to the 8GB version performing the same. On the other hand, VRAM just like RAM is one of these things where having too much is useless but not having enough really ruins the experience. So I went for the safe choice and got the 8GB, but I also do video/photo editing so it was easier to justify.

All and all for games all configs seem to perform similar... except, surprisingly the 2.4 i9 can sometimes have worse performances. It seems that when both the CPU and GPU are pushed the 2.4 i9 being able to go higher in frequency (and voltage?) can kind of hoard the limited ressources of the laptop to the detrement of the GPU. With a 96W package, it's better in that case to have a CPU that won't go quite as high because it leaves more room for the GPU it seems. (A French reviewer showcased the issue.)
Click to expand...

This is why I am thinking of keeping the base mode. Given I don't video edit, music produce or render anything, the 5500m may not be worth the extra money. I have live with a 2011 MBP for over 8 years now, and I cannot find any evidence that the 5500m a huge upgrade over the base 5300m model. I'm sure it can be if you do high end graphics design, but I am an attorney, so I rarely do anything remotely similar to that.
 
AHDuke99 said:
This is why I am thinking of keeping the base mode. Given I don't video edit, music produce or render anything, the 5500m may not be worth the extra money. I have live with a 2011 MBP for over 8 years now, and I cannot find any evidence that the 5500m a huge upgrade over the base 5300m model. I'm sure it can be if you do high end graphics design, but I am an attorney, so I rarely do anything remotely similar to that.
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Stick to base model, I have been playing World of Warcraft and Diablo 3 on this so far so good.
 
Ordered two 16's
One being the base model with other the i9 32GB 5500 8GB.
In Remnant from the ashes the performance was much more stable with the base model and the system was running much cooler. Overall I think the redesign is great for the base model, the i9 with the 5500 is a bit much in this chassis.
 
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