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Macbook Pro 15" graphics questions

mattdust

mattdust

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 9, 2015
7
0
I will be buying a 15" macbook pro soon and have some questions regarding the difference between Iris Pro and the discreet 750m card. I would prefer the base 15" module just because of budgets, but my two main prerequisites is that I can run Final Cut Pro X and games like Rome II total war. In terms of games, the quality doesn't have to be amazing, but it needs to be playable.

P.S. I am coming from a Late 2009 21.5" iMac with ONLY 256 MBs of graphics
 
The Iris Pro iGPU should be plenty to handle video editing and older game titles.

Hope this helps.
 
mattdust said:
I will be buying a 15" macbook pro soon and have some questions regarding the difference between Iris Pro and the discreet 750m card. I would prefer the base 15" module just because of budgets, but my two main prerequisites is that I can run Final Cut Pro X and games like Rome II total war. In terms of games, the quality doesn't have to be amazing, but it needs to be playable.

P.S. I am coming from a Late 2009 21.5" iMac with ONLY 256 MBs of graphics
Click to expand...


I had a similar choice two weeks ago: buy the $1999 MBP 15" or the $2499 MBP 15" w/ dGPU. I cautiously chose the latter. I can tell you, I'm very happy I did.

I've used gfxCardStatus to force the Intel and the AMD separately and observe the UI / games / Final Cut / After Effects. The difference between the Intel Iris Pro and the AMD chip is significant -- enough where in hindsight, paying $2K+ for this computer without the AMD chip would have upset me. The Intel Iris Pro can handle OS X Yosemite to about 4 fullscreen apps, then it starts really getting rough and choppy.

I've only run a couple games (Cities: Skylines, CS:GO) but the AMD is the difference in Cities: Skylines being playable and not. CS:GO is playable on the Intel GPU.

To answer OPs question: The Intel Iris Pro will run Final Cut and older games, yes. But the difference in performance is significant enough IMO that I recommend saving up for the dGPU version for the extra cash. You also get 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD in that $500 increase. And if you're a student you get $200 off the dGPU version instead of just $100 on other models
 
I went with base and although I haven't tried gaming yet, I love my laptop lol.
 
mattdust said:
I will be buying a 15" macbook pro soon and have some questions regarding the difference between Iris Pro and the discreet 750m card. I would prefer the base 15" module just because of budgets, but my two main prerequisites is that I can run Final Cut Pro X and games like Rome II total war. In terms of games, the quality doesn't have to be amazing, but it needs to be playable.

P.S. I am coming from a Late 2009 21.5" iMac with ONLY 256 MBs of graphics
Click to expand...
If you edit seriously and professionally using FCP X, then you will definitely benefit from having the M370X GPU. FCP X really leverages GPU power to greatly speed up rendering and other editing stuff.
 
yjchua95 said:
If you edit seriously and professionally using FCP X, then you will definitely benefit from having the M370X GPU. FCP X really leverages GPU power to greatly speed up rendering and other editing stuff.
Click to expand...

Does the dGPU actually speed up the final rendering, for example when I'm compressing the material to an HD mp4 format? Or is it only useful when editing, applying effects etc.?
 
tadziak said:
Does the dGPU actually speed up the final rendering, for example when I'm compressing the material to an HD mp4 format? Or is it only useful when editing, applying effects etc.?
Click to expand...


To be honest that sort of thing is where it is most noticable....
 
Zakzilla said:
I had a similar choice two weeks ago: buy the $1999 MBP 15" or the $2499 MBP 15" w/ dGPU. I cautiously chose the latter. I can tell you, I'm very happy I did.

I've used gfxCardStatus to force the Intel and the AMD separately and observe the UI / games / Final Cut / After Effects. The difference between the Intel Iris Pro and the AMD chip is significant -- enough where in hindsight, paying $2K+ for this computer without the AMD chip would have upset me. The Intel Iris Pro can handle OS X Yosemite to about 4 fullscreen apps, then it starts really getting rough and choppy.

I've only run a couple games (Cities: Skylines, CS:GO) but the AMD is the difference in Cities: Skylines being playable and not. CS:GO is playable on the Intel GPU.

To answer OPs question: The Intel Iris Pro will run Final Cut and older games, yes. But the difference in performance is significant enough IMO that I recommend saving up for the dGPU version for the extra cash. You also get 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD in that $500 increase. And if you're a student you get $200 off the dGPU version instead of just $100 on other models
Click to expand...

I still think gaming isn't reason enough for buying the dGPU version. Yes, it runs modern games today, but only barely. Who knows how it will run games next years?

For me it was easier to just buy the base model, and a PS4 with the money difference.
 
thanks for the input guys! defiantly gives me something to think about. I don't doubt that the 2.5k model is better (and actually is what I want ideally) but the main question now is can I scrounge the cash to buy it.
 
Definitely get the dgpu model. I was in the same boat as you and decided to pull the trigger on it. Have not regretted my decision. Most of the time I don't need all the extra power of the m370x, but when you need it is definitely worth it.
 
Are the slight differences between 2015 and 2014 modules worth a $700 difference?
 
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