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Iris Pro and GeForce or just Iris Pro?

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0488568

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Original poster
Feb 17, 2008
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Hello,

Tomorrow I'll be purchasing a new macbook pro unless apple releases a new pro. Any who I need a laptop for software dev. I mostly do my work in visual studio but I also do some work with xcode. So the question is should I get the Iris Pro and the Geforce or just the Iris Pro. Its just 100€ more but I've read somewhere that while in bootcamp or fusion the geforce kicks in with no option to shot it off and it eats your battery life. I play no games and do no visual work. I would like as many monitors as possible as I also work with music production (hobby). So what do the experts recommend?

Thanks ahead for your comments.

-Cheers,
Fabricio
 
No reason to get the geforce. You can still run plenty of monitors on Iris Pro. Just as many afaik. It is basically an equally big GPU. The only difference is that nvidia got better drivers which win it the extra performance in games and openGL. For anything you mention the geforce is just extra hassle and worse battery life on presentation duty and such things.
 
Iris Pro :) same i have. Perfectly fine. Can even do some casual gaming with it, but using it mainly for development.
 
Hello,

Thank you for your answers and help.

I see two thunderports and an HDMI port. How many monitors can I have all at once? 3 + the lcd?

-Cheers,
Fabricio
 
fabriciom said:
Hello,

Thank you for your answers and help.

I see two thunderports and an HDMI port. How many monitors can I have all at once? 3 + the lcd?

-Cheers,
Fabricio
Click to expand...

"Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on up to two external displays, both in millions of colours"
 
I can't offer advice on whether to order a rMBP with either integrated or discrete options - my personal and all of the units in my company have the discrete card, but I've wondered about whether to consider a unit without the discrete card. I can drive 2 monitors - only one via DP @60Hz plus one with HDMI @30Hz, both at 4k - and the internal display.

There is one member - larrysing1963 - who's driving an LG 34"(?) monitor over Thunderbolt and one Dell 4k monitor (P2715Q, the same monitors I have, but I can drive only one at 4k) over Mini DisplayPort. As soon as I plug a second DisplayPort monitor in, one or the other DP monitor stops working - a very common complaint here in these forums.

I have wondered whether I should have stayed with an Iris Pro rMBP.

What I can offer advice on is wait, at least one more day. There's an Apple Event on Tuesday here in the US, and they're sure to announce at least one new piece of hardware. I am going to buy another rMBP, but I'm waiting until after the Apple Event...
 
Integrated only; Apple has a tragic record with portables with dGPU`s see for yourself https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1848336/

Just the latest in a very, very long line of threads over the years regarding the MacBook Pro and, dGPU failure, temperature, reliability etc. Doubtful ? one petition alone to Apple for dGPU failure has more than 30K subscribers, let alone those who are not tech savvy, and not aware of the issues at hand. The fact that Apple are now extending warranty for the MBP with dGPU from 2011 - 2013 taken in isolation speaks volumes, clearly Apple themselves know the Notebooks will not meet the minimum expectation...

The MBP with dGPU is a "buyer beware product"; if you need the dGPU for work purpose etc. then it makes sense as the cost of the machine will be rapidly recovered. If you don't need the dGPU avoid it, as there is a good chance it will fail after 2-3 years of use. If you want to game buy a console or build a cheap gaming PC, as gaming on the MacBook Pro is an expensive proposition.

Q-6
 
Last edited:
Queen6 said:
The MBP with dGPU is a "buyer beware product"; if you need the dGPU for work purpose etc. then it makes sense as the cost of the machine will be rapidly recovered. If you don't need the dGPU avoid it, as there is a good chance it will fail after 2-3 years of use. If you want to game buy a console or build a cheap gaming PC, as gaming on the MacBook Pro is an expensive proposition.

Q-6
Click to expand...


Personally I intend to buy the rMBP with dGPU as long as Apple gives me the choice. I do game on my rMBP via BootCamp primarily, of course it was not the main reason why I bought the computer. The dGPU was a candy I couldn't let it pass. I have always gamed on any prior computer I've owned, I wasn't aware of Apple recent history with dGPUs though. Although I would've probably done the same thing. I hope I do not have to regret.

I have owned my current rMBP for more than a year now, I am glad to say that I've had zero problems. It's been so far the best computer I've ever had, not the most powerful though. I may understand the bitter taste some people have experienced in the past with the dGPU so they feel to avoid any dGPUs Apple may ship in their products.
 
vbedia said:
Personally I intend to buy the rMBP with dGPU as long as Apple gives me the choice. I do game on my rMBP via BootCamp primarily, of course it was not the main reason why I bought the computer. The dGPU was a candy I couldn't let it pass. I have always gamed on any prior computer I've owned, I wasn't aware of Apple recent history with dGPUs though. Although I would've probably done the same thing. I hope I do not have to regret.

I have owned my current rMBP for more than a year now, I am glad to say that I've had zero problems. It's been so far the best computer I've ever had, not the most powerful though. I may understand the bitter taste some people have experienced in the past with the dGPU so they feel to avoid any dGPUs Apple may ship in their products.
Click to expand...

Personally all my MBP`s with dGPU`s have held up, however many tens of thousands have not been so lucky. As long as the information is out there people can make an informed decision, if it`s buried then more unsuspecting members of the public will continue to have to deal with a nonfunctional computer and all the associated problems dealing with it...

Right now the MBP with dGPU presents a greater risk of premature failure, only question is; are you aware and is it acceptable, in your case your happy to proceed, equally your aware of the potential issues :apple:

Q-6
 
Im leaning towards the Iris Pro but I'm afraid it will not be enought to power 2-3 monitors. Also I'm getting everything max out and would like the laptop to last at least 5 years.
 
fabriciom said:
Im leaning towards the Iris Pro but I'm afraid it will not be enought to power 2-3 monitors. Also I'm getting everything max out and would like the laptop to last at least 5 years.
Click to expand...

Get the one with the 750M if your intention is to do that, especially if you're doing 4K.

I've always used gfxcardstatus to disable the 750M in my rMBP when it's not needed, so it runs cool most of the time.
 
Just placed the order. I went with the Iris Pro since Apple raised the price in Spain (200€).
 
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