How is the Iris 655 GPU performance in comparison?

[bd4]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently using a 15" MBP from 2015 with the Intel Iris Pro 5200 GPU. However, I noticed that the performance is not enough for me. I don't use graphic intensive tasks, but I usually connect the MacBook to an external 4K screen and even basic macOS things are getting really laggy, especially when I use the scaling option ('looks like 2560x1440').

So I wonder if the Iris 655 GPU in the 13" MBP 2018 would perform significantly better or if I do need to get a 15" MBP with dGPU for better performance.

Thanks for your comments!

 

[leman]

The Iris Plus 655 is faster than the 5200 Iris Pro, but not by much (20-30%). That said, GPU performance doesn't directly translate to how well the computer will perform on an external monitor. I haven't noticed any difference in running a 4K monitor with my 2016 15" vs. my coworker's 2016/2017 13". Maybe someone running the new 13" with a 4K monitor can comment...

 

[mikethebigo]

According to Geekbench OpenCL, the Iris Pro 5200 scored 26,067. From what I have found online, the Iris Plus 655 in the i5 is scoring around 3,200 and the one in the i7 is scoring over 36,000. The difference is due to the different clock speeds of the GPUs. So you will see an improvement, up to about 30% like the above poster mentioned for the i7 model.

I had a 13" early 2015 MBP, it was the first MBP that supported 4k at 60 Hz external monitors. It did the job, but would drop frames and struggle with animations like you pointed out. The 2018 does much better with it, seems smoother. Not talking gaming or anything though!

 

[UnexpectedHuman]

The 655 should be about the same speed in the real world as the IrisPro 5200, give or take driver differences.

What is a bit depressing is that the UHD630 in the 15" models is way slower than the Iris Pro 5200 in my older 2013 laptop (the dual GPU model, with Iris Pro and Nvidia 750M). With automatic graphics switching enabled, this means that the UI is generally laggier and more jerky on a mid-spec 2018 laptop than a mid-spec 2013. Dragging translucent terminal windows (Homebrew) with the "More Space" display scaling being a prime example...