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.
Is Macbook Pro 16 with 5500M 4GB vs 8GB with everything else the same, performance very different?
- Thread starter asphere
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That was not just the ram of the GPU that different cpu and amount of ram are also a lot different. I want to know whatever to choose standard model or customize and wait are worth it. But thank anyway
OP asks for a direct comparison between two identical computers with ONLY the GPU different, so you blindly link a test of two completely different computers with different GPUs, different RAM, different versions of the i9, and different SSDs? Wtf.
So hopefully I can help. I was in the SAME situation as you, in fact I asked the same question lol I wanted the i9 2.3 but couldn't figure if 4GB of VRAM is enough or should I do 8BG, Adorama has the 4GB model $350 cheaper than the 8GB VRAM so it was a big difference in cost. So here what I did, I went to my local apple store with my flash drive, On the drive I had a 28 minute 4K 60FPS video I shot for my vlogs that was a Final cut file that had my timelines and music,cuts etc. The video was about 8GBs in size. I hit render on both computers, they both finished about the same time, the 8GB model finished just a few seconds faster, however I noted while the 4GB GPU was maxed out on VRAM the whole time while the 8GB model used about 6.5GB VRAM while exporting the movie. Since I will be using this for mainly video editing it was a no brainer to get the 8GB model for me. I know it not scientific and have numbers but hopefully that helped a bit.
Would have been a no brainer for me too, but the other way. A 28 minute clip only finished a few seconds faster? To me, that means the 8GB is not worth it.
I wonder if the extra RAM is more useful when editing complex projects and so forth, rather than during rendering.
From what I can tell from reviews, performance even between the 4 GB 5300M and the 8 GB 5500M is minimal. I would bet it's an even smaller difference between the two versions of the 5500M. I got the 4 GB version without any hesitation. But I upgrade every 2 years or so, so I'm not as fussed about "future proofing" and all that.
It really depends on what you do.
If for gaming, then even the 5300M and 5500M has virtually no difference (a few frames), any game you can't play with 5300, you can't do with 5500 as well. The graphic card is not powerful enough to play games on 4k to benefit from the extra vram.
If it is for video editing, again it depends on your workflow (software? format?) generally speaking the difference is negligible.
I would say just get the base model and add ram/storage, which is the most sensible option considering these machines all come with a soon-to-be outdated CPU.
If for gaming, then even the 5300M and 5500M has virtually no difference (a few frames), any game you can't play with 5300, you can't do with 5500 as well. The graphic card is not powerful enough to play games on 4k to benefit from the extra vram.
If it is for video editing, again it depends on your workflow (software? format?) generally speaking the difference is negligible.
I would say just get the base model and add ram/storage, which is the most sensible option considering these machines all come with a soon-to-be outdated CPU.
Correct but with the 4GB of VRAM it was maxed out while on the 8 GB VRAM it only used about 6GB so I still had headroom so if I had a more complex workflow with more timelines etc the 4GB would probably crawl while the 8GB could chew through it. This was the main reason I decided with the 8GB, That and I figured software will only have more requirements moving forward and I upgrade my laptops every 4-5 years.
[automerge]1574648540[/automerge]
Thats what im thinking as well, The project I uploaded just had 3 timelines and one of the time lines was just music. Some of my videos I have 6-8 timelines going from drone shots, multi cameras etc so I figured if the 4GB was already maxed out on the simple project I would much have the little ram boost just in case.
If I wanted to run LoL, I'd spend half the amount and get a proper gaming laptop.
WOW classic on 5300m. Full resolution, and setting around 4 gives me 40-50 fps. May upgrade to 5500m before the returning period is expired.
Regarding gaming, question is whether the extra 4GB will be used before the GPU maxes out. 8GB of VRAM is almost always necessary for 4K in modern games but the 5500M is obviously unable to deliver 4K. It could do 1440p in some games but probably at medium settings. 4GB are enough for most games even at 1440p (with a few exceptions like Far Cry 4 and GTA5).
You are more than happy to post reviews where they compare that exact differences. I have a hard time there is such a config out yet with cheapest cpu, smallest ssd and the most expensive gfx card.
Wow, that is exactly what I was looking for! LoL is the only game I paly to relax. What settings did you use? Resolution? Thank you!
Oh man can you try at 1920x1200? Damm, might upgrade after all... Please tell me more about this is it on Mac OS or Windows? WOW is my main game
Played wow classic for about 1hr today. Mac OS, can't bother install bootcamp ATM. Here are my settings:
At this setting round 45-60 fps depends on where I am at. Currently levelling at Tanaris averaging 52-60. At 100% resolution is around 35-50. Im very impressed TBH.
Get both and return one. I am sure 5500m will be much better, once all the drivers are up to date in windows. The price different are so small
I'm about to purchase a new 16" MacBook Pro too and had a similar question. I'm wondering whether the VRAM upgrade from 4GB to 8GB is worth it on the 5500M. Note that gaming is not a consideration at all. This would be used as a desktop replacement at work and would drive at least 2 4K displays, hence my concern with GPU performance. What would you do?