Intel Iris Graphics Question

[Void5150]

Hello,

Is the Intel Iris Graphics for the MacBook Pro w/ Retina Display capable of gaming? In specific, the Company of Heroes series?

Thanks.

 

[Freyqq]

Hello,

Is the Intel Iris Graphics for the MacBook Pro w/ Retina Display capable of gaming? In specific, the Company of Heroes series?

Thanks.

It can be used for gaming, it's just not as good at it as the 750M.

 

[Bending Pixels]

For the umpteenth time...yes

 

[iKrivetko]

http://bit.ly/1qUHhWg

 

[poiihy]

I have rMBP with Iris Pro and it works well

 

[JPIndustrie]

The 15" Macbook Pro base model with Intel Iris Pro graphics works well if you're a casual gamer like me. I really only play iRacing and I am getting consistent 50-60 FPS on 1080p max settings, but then again I believe this racing simulator is optimized for intel graphics.

It is also a good choice for longevity as there have been problems with discrete graphics cards + Apple laptops in the past. I myself lost 2 macintoshes to bad discrete cards (admittedly after 5-6 years of use) so that was the deciding factor for me.

 

[Void5150]

Are discrete cards still a problem, however? I am now considering getting the 15 inch with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M (2GB GDDR5 memory).

I noticed it lists both Intel Iris Pro Graphics AND the 750M. If it has both, how does that work?

Also, I plan on dual booting my MacBook with Windows. Will the Windows side run well with the graphics card? Will it need special drivers? I plan on running 3DS Max and doing some rendering.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[Uggbits]

My normal answer would be yes. For most games the Iris Pro and the 650m/750m will perform within a setting or two, making the experience (if not raw framerates) a wash.

For Company of Heroes 2 the answer shifts, as this is one of the most demanding graphics engines I can think of (or most poorly optimized). In this case, like with anything that has a highly developed graphics engine the Nvidia cards can pull away due to the focus of their architectures. Look into the respective framerates of the game on each system, and ask yourself if you find that acceptable. Remember that for an RTS an 'average' framerate isn't as useful as the minimum, as large fight scenes are when you need performance the most, and the capacity of the card to deliver in those situations should at least be considered.

Hope this helps.

 

[yjchua95]

Are discrete cards still a problem, however? I am now considering getting the 15 inch with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M (2GB GDDR5 memory).

I noticed it lists both Intel Iris Pro Graphics AND the 750M. If it has both, how does that work?

Also, I plan on dual booting my MacBook with Windows. Will the Windows side run well with the graphics card? Will it need special drivers? I plan on running 3DS Max and doing some rendering.

Thanks for all your help!

When the need arises, OS X will automatically activate the GT 750M to increase performance (for instance when gaming or using Final Cut Pro X).

In Windows, the Iris Pro is disabled by the EFI, so it only has access to the GT 750M. You can just download the regular drivers from NVIDIA.

The GT 750M can help in rendering.

 

[Void5150]

My normal answer would be yes. For most games the Iris Pro and the 650m/750m will perform within a setting or two, making the experience (if not raw framerates) a wash.

For Company of Heroes 2 the answer shifts, as this is one of the most demanding graphics engines I can think of (or most poorly optimized). In this case, like with anything that has a highly developed graphics engine the Nvidia cards can pull away due to the focus of their architectures. Look into the respective framerates of the game on each system, and ask yourself if you find that acceptable. Remember that for an RTS an 'average' framerate isn't as useful as the minimum, as large fight scenes are when you need performance the most, and the capacity of the card to deliver in those situations should at least be considered.

Hope this helps.

What do you mean by a "wash"?

After some research, Company of Heroes 2 seems out of the question with the 750M. I'm not willing to run it on low settings.

Just to make sure: the first one and its expansion packs should run on high settings, right? The game came out in 2006.

Also, how about Starcraft 2? It seems it would run OK on multiplayer, since it comes available for Mac.

Thanks again, guys.

 

[Void5150]

Some more questions, on top of my last post.

Is Windows stable installed on a MacBook Pro? I'll be running 3DS Max on it. If I get Company of Heroes 1 / expansion packs, I'll be installing it on Windows so I can play online multiplayer.

Am I best getting Windows 7 with it? 8 is newer, but I've heard bad things. Will Windows 7 be outdated soon?

Is the 15 inch much bulkier than the 13 inch, besides screen size? I ask this because it must be very portable for me.

Thanks.