Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Gaming on 16 inch MacBook pro
- Thread starter icyfire
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Set a fan profile using Macsfancontrol in OS X before hitting into boot camp. If you’re really worried about heat too, use Throttlestop to disable turbo and also use vsync so you aren’t utilizing your GPU 100% by not having a frame limiter.
In COD MW I'm getting around 90fps at a scaled resolution slightly above 1080p. So crazy playing FPS's competitively on a laptop like this.
The AMD tech seems to work very well for stopping screen tearing. Feels like a slightly worse version of g-sync and is a massive improvement over the default drivers.
Has anyone hooked it up to a 144hz monitor yet? I assume we can use FreeSync 2?
The AMD tech seems to work very well for stopping screen tearing. Feels like a slightly worse version of g-sync and is a massive improvement over the default drivers.
Has anyone hooked it up to a 144hz monitor yet? I assume we can use FreeSync 2?
Last edited:
Hi, I’m about to pull the trigger on the MacBook Pro 17 5300 base model. I only play COD so, its good to hear your getting 90fps. what drivers are you using? Also Ill be playing during my free time at work so I’m also worried about the fans. How is it in your experience? @cap7ainclu7ch and anyone else
Just got my 2.4 i9/32GB/2TB/5500 8GB yesterday and happy to report that Halo Reach runs at a steady locked 60fps at native 16” display resolution, 100% resolution scale and the highest (“enhanced”) graphics settings. Windows 10 via boot camp, stock drivers from Apple.
Runs like a dream, I can’t wait to try some more games on it. My outgoing Late 2016 15 inch with the Pro 460 GPU could barely hold 40fps at 60% resolution scaling (so probably ~1080p) at the lowest settings.
Runs like a dream, I can’t wait to try some more games on it. My outgoing Late 2016 15 inch with the Pro 460 GPU could barely hold 40fps at 60% resolution scaling (so probably ~1080p) at the lowest settings.
Last edited:
Also, the fans are pretty loud - it is what it is. Gaming asks 100% of the CPU+GPU so expect to be drawing 100W and being at 100% thermal capacity during gameplay. I don't think it would necessarily be disturbing to others though, it just sounds like a soft white noise machine or something.
ah ok. I was just reading some reports, and some say it goes to about 40db, which is totally fine, to about 50+. I know it was different testing conditions. I only care because its work. Its good to know its doesnt sound too crazy
... why does this surprise you? It's a game that originally came out literally a decade ago for the xbox 360 lol. That's a super low bar to hit.
so we should expect, regardless of the configuration, gaming requires full gpu/cpu and fans blazing, nothing to see here? I though part of that equation is that gpu when 5500/8gb + 2.4 i9, the gpu throttles, and that's not expected.
I'm running the recent ones from that bootcampdriver site. It can easily play MW at decent settings. Fans are audible but its not really a high pitched annoying sound, its pretty low and unobtrusive, especially with game audio or a headset.
If you’re running a game more than 60fps, it’s better to use vsync so you can prevent your GPU or CPU from maxing itself out. You will drop temps a bit or have more stable framerate from your temps being lower and preventing throttling.
I have a friend with a base 16“ - I’ll see if we can get halo running on his but every MBP I’ve ever gamed on has always been at full tilt (Fans, high cpu/gpu usage) for just about any game I’ve tried.
I also don’t think there’s a massive difference between the stock and BTO options in terms of power consumption, temps, and fan noise. Usually the higher end chips are from better bins and can do more within the same TDP as the lower end chips, at least in the realm of things like the 2.3 vs the 2.4 i9 and the 5300 vs 5500.
Last edited:
thanks guys . yeah i actually dont mind going for the higher model with 5500 and i9 but like what was it 500 more... but i read it just gets hotter and louder and doesnt add much to gaming performance...
I really highly doubt you're going to notice a massive difference in heat and noise between the base and 5500/8core i9 models. There's no way a 6-core CPU and 45w-rated GPU (5300 and 5500m) are going to magically do computationally intensive tasks without ramping the fans. Regardless of configuration this is a top end MBP model with a much higher total wattage than any other portable Mac they sell. Both the base model and i9/5500 will pull ~100W under full load.
Hi where are people getting windows 10? I'm assuming I have to buy it. Is there a cheap place to buy a copy. Also should I go for pro or home version.
this one works well:
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.