How efficient is the Iris Pro vs 750M at running external displays?

[6ix]

I know this has been asked before but I'm really having trouble to make up my mind. Money is not a concern, I'm more concerned about battery life and the GPU failing.

The most I do is just netflix, youtube, photoshop, and chat. In addition I'll most likely be running an external monitor so I don't know which one would be better. I may consider producing music in the future though.

Which one would you recommend I buy? I would wait for the Broadwell but it seems like it'll be a while before it's out.

Any insight would be appreciated

 

[yjchua95]

Hi everyone, I know there have been tons of threads regarding Intel Iris Pro vs the 750m but I was wondering which is more reliable?

I've read around here that dGPU is more likely to fail and the macbook probably won't last more than 2-3 years.

I don't really do anything GPU intensive but money is not a factor so I wouldn't mind getting the 750m just incase I ever end up needing it.

The most I do is just netflix, youtube, photoshop, and chat. In addition I'll most likely be running an external monitor so I don't know which one would be better. I may consider producing music in the future though.

Which one would you recommend I buy? I would wait for the Broadwell but it seems like it'll be a while before it's out.

Any insight would be appreciated

The GT 750M is much more power efficient compared to the crappy Radeon cards in the 2011 models.

Besides, the rMBP's thermal design is far better than that of the cMBP, with far better ventilation.

 

[Teuthos]

Though it's probably true that dGPUs are more prone to failure, running intensive stuff (gaming, video editing, heavy Photoshop work) on the iGPU will produce MUCH higher CPU temperature AND fan speeds than running with the dGPU.

I found that in graphically intensive tasks running with the iGPU results in roughly +10 degrees Celsius in temperature on the CPU and +1500 RPM on the fans (95 C CPU and 4500 RPM versus 85 c CPU / 65 c GPU and 3000 RPM when on discrete graphics. What this means is that the CPU will come under more stress, the CPU's thermal paste will come under more stress, the fans are more likely to break and more dust is likely to accumulate inside of the computer.

In general, the dGPU is highly preferable in intensive tasks.

 

[leman]

To answer your question one would need large amounts of empirical data on laptop failures. I do not think that anyone here has access to such data.

Alltogether, if there is a reliability issue with your laptop, this will most likely become evident within the first few years. So if your CPU/GPU does not fail within first 3 years, chances are good that it will last few years more. I would get Apple Care and not worry about it. But I would certainly not buy or avoid the 750M model just out of reliability considerations. I'd suggest that you only get it if you plan on doing GPU-heavy work (gaming, GPU-assisted scientific computing or rendering, video/image edition on ultra-high resolutions etc.).

 

[iamMacPerson]

The dGPU only kicks in when doing graphically intensive things such as video editing or photo editing (when plugged in to a monitor it's automatically running solely on the dGPU). For other tasks, i.e. browsing the web, checking email, etc, basically nothing GPU intensive, it runs on the iGPU for better battery life.

For instance, today I was editing a video in FCPX. Launching the app automatically kicks in the dGPU, as does Aperture. This is what you want.

If you do not see yourself doing anything GPU intensive, I'd just get the iGPU model. Since you are running Photoshop on an external monitor, get the 750m model. I would not worry about it dying. I have heard of many people still using 2008-2010 (early unibody) MBPs to this day with no problem.

The 2011s were all crap thanks to the Radeongate, meanwhile the cMBP from 2012, and Retinas from 2013 on seem to be pretty good. No widespread issues yet, but issues with the 2011s were found very early on (within a year). Considering the late-2013s shipped with the same GPUs and no major issues have been found, I'd say they are safe.

Do your self a favor though, buy a late-2013 refurb from Apple. They are usually a few hundred bucks cheaper then the current ones they sell, still have Haswell CPUs, Iris Pro GPUs and 750m dGPUs (on the higher end models). The only difference between the late 2013 and 2014 models are the processors in the latter are 200MHz faster.

Apple's refurbs are second to none; they get new casings and new batteries, along with a new serial number. The only things that are really different from a new one are the logic board was recertified by Apple, and you don't get the pretty retail packaging; it comes in a plain white box. You even get the same 1 year of AppleCare with 90 days of phone support, which can be extended to 3 years just like a new computer.

 

[6ix]

Thanks you everyone for the response. I have one more question, since the monitor can only run on dGPU does the laptop get hot? Does the iGPU have any trouble running an external monitor with photoshop ?

 

[saturnotaku]

Thanks you everyone for the response. I have one more question, since the monitor can only run on dGPU does the laptop get hot? Does the iGPU have any trouble running an external monitor with photoshop ?

The dGPU kicks in automatically when an external display is connected.

 

[marc55]

While a iGPU may not be needed for basic tasks such as web surfing, youtube, etc., is there a possibility that within the next couple of years or so, things like the above might be more graphically intensive, and the dGPU might be a hedge for future proofing?

Just asking as I have no experience, and am also confused as to which to order in my rMBP.

Thank you

 

[blooperz]

Thanks you everyone for the response. I have one more question, since the monitor can only run on dGPU does the laptop get hot? Does the iGPU have any trouble running an external monitor with photoshop ?

there's really no temperature difference between the models...if fact I think I've heard people on these forums say that the integrated only model runs hotter when pushed.

 

[6ix]

there's really no temperature difference between the models...if fact I think I've heard people on these forums say that the integrated only model runs hotter when pushed.

Is the 750m better for external displays?

 

[yjchua95]

Is the 750m better for external displays?

If you're driving both the internal and external display together while rendering, then yes, it would be.

Considering that both iGPU-only and iGPU+dGPU variants cost almost the same when specced up to 2.5/16/512, the 750M is almost a freebie. I'd just go with the dGPU for the peace of mind.

This is the rMBP we're talking about, so since no NVIDIAgate has surfaced yet, I'd be ready to jump for it.

The mid-2010 GT 330M and the 2011 Radeon 6xx0M series started failing within the first year, and increased exponentially in the third year. Since the rMBPs haven't shown any signs of failing yet (except unstable NVIDIA 650M drivers in Yosemite, doesn't seem to affect the 750M), I think it's safe to say that the coast is clear.

 

[6ix]

If you're driving both the internal and external display together while rendering, then yes, it would be.

Considering that both iGPU-only and iGPU+dGPU variants cost almost the same when specced up to 2.5/16/512, the 750M is almost a freebie. I'd just go with the dGPU for the peace of mind.

This is the rMBP we're talking about, so since no NVIDIAgate has surfaced yet, I'd be ready to jump for it.

The mid-2010 GT 330M and the 2011 Radeon 6xx0M series started failing within the first year, and increased exponentially in the third year. Since the rMBPs haven't shown any signs of failing yet (except unstable NVIDIA 650M drivers in Yosemite, doesn't seem to affect the 750M), I think it's safe to say that the coast is clear.

Literally the only thing turning me off it is 'fan noise' and battery life because some apps force dGPU on. Do you know how the battery life is under dGPU usage?

I don't think I'll ever do any rendering though besides just 2d/photoshop.

 

[yjchua95]

Literally the only thing turning me off it is 'fan noise' and battery life because some apps force dGPU on. Do you know how the battery life is under dGPU usage?

I don't think I'll ever do any rendering though besides just 2d/photoshop.

Fan noise and battery life issues are nonexistent for me. In fact, I find that if I force the iGPU to be active, there's more heat.

Activating the dGPU spreads the workload out across two chips, reducing heat.

I have the model with the 750M and get about 7.5-8 hours on average, with light Photoshop, Safari, Pages and Spotify.

You can always use gfxcardstatus to disable the dGPU when not doing anything heavy.

 

[6ix]

Fan noise and battery life issues are nonexistent for me. In fact, I find that if I force the iGPU to be active, there's more heat.

Activating the dGPU spreads the workload out across two chips, reducing heat.

I have the model with the 750M and get about 7.5-8 hours on average, with light Photoshop, Safari, Pages and Spotify.

You can always use gfxcardstatus to disable the dGPU when not doing anything heavy.

ok you sold me, I ordered with dGPU

 

[leman]

While a iGPU may not be needed for basic tasks such as web surfing, youtube, etc., is there a possibility that within the next couple of years or so, things like the above might be more graphically intensive, and the dGPU might be a hedge for future proofing?

No, there is not. Unless you want to play browser-based 3D games.

 

[yjchua95]

ok you sold me, I ordered with dGPU

Congrats, enjoy your new baby

 

[SarcasticJoe]

While a iGPU may not be needed for basic tasks such as web surfing, youtube, etc., is there a possibility that within the next couple of years or so, things like the above might be more graphically intensive, and the dGPU might be a hedge for future proofing?

Just asking as I have no experience, and am also confused as to which to order in my rMBP.

Thank you

I really don't think we're going to be needing beefy dedicated GPU's like the 750M (iGPU stands for "Integrated GPU" BTW) for basic stuff like browsing the web and watching videos. In that respect where actually moving in the other direction, resource intensive standards like Flash and Silverlight are giving way to less intensive standards like HTML5 and even JavaScript is constantly getting more and more efficient thanks to better and better JavaScript engines in browsers.

Literally the only place where I can see a really big jump in demands is in video if services decide to go in for displaying 4k video in Flash player, but that's pretty unlikely as Flash is a more or less a dying standard.

 

[JTravers]

Fan noise and battery life issues are nonexistent for me. In fact, I find that if I force the iGPU to be active, there's more heat.



Activating the dGPU spreads the workload out across two chips, reducing heat.



I have the model with the 750M and get about 7.5-8 hours on average, with light Photoshop, Safari, Pages and Spotify.



You can always use gfxcardstatus to disable the dGPU when not doing anything heavy.

Interesting. I have a late 2013 rMBP 15 with a dGPU and can't get anywhere near 7.5-8 hours. At what brightness are you running your display? I have it at about 50% and can't get more than around 4-5 hours. I probably have way too many Safari and Chrome tabs open chewing up the CPU time.

 

[yjchua95]

Interesting. I have a late 2013 rMBP 15 with a dGPU and can't get anywhere near 7.5-8 hours. At what brightness are you running your display? I have it at about 50% and can't get more than around 4-5 hours. I probably have way too many Safari and Chrome tabs open chewing up the CPU time.

Chrome. Found your problem.

Chrome is a massive resource hog that drains your battery and eats up CPU power.

I use Safari and I don't have Flash enabled.

Spotify is played through external audio. I run at 35-50% brightness. Ambient temperature is 23ºC, so fans never spin up.