MBP 16" with new Radeon 5600M GPU: good for editing 4K?

[malch]

Hi there,
I've been wondering if I should get a Mac Mini with an external GPU so that I can edit 4K video. But with the just-announced GPU (Radeon 5600M) in the 16" MacBook Pro, maybe I'd be better off with it???
Either way, I'd need to get a Thunderbolt-connected 4 or 5-bay external enclosure for 3.5" hard drives.
Are there video editors on this forum who would be kind enough to offer their thoughts on this?
Thanks in advance,
malch

 

[Patcell]

So, I didn't even know about the new GPU... very interesting. It looks like it may be a pretty substantial increase in performance over the 5500M, but it sure it pricey...

From my understanding, even Final Cut Pro does not make super great use of external GPUs as of yet (not sure if a software update can fix some of that). My gut tells me the 16" Pro with the new GPU is probably the better option for video editing over the Mac mini with eGPU.

It'll be interesting to see what king of performance boost the 5600M brings.

 

[LinkRS]

Hi there,
I've been wondering if I should get a Mac Mini with an external GPU so that I can edit 4K video. But with the just-announced GPU (Radeon 5600M) in the 16" MacBook Pro, maybe I'd be better off with it???
Either way, I'd need to get a Thunderbolt-connected 4 or 5-bay external enclosure for 3.5" hard drives.
Are there video editors on this forum who would be kind enough to offer their thoughts on this?
Thanks in advance,
malch

I am not sure anyone outside Apple knows at this point. Here is a video testing the original 16" Macbook Pro (5300M 4 GB):

Another one talking about video editing in general with this MacBook Pro:

And finally, here is one that just came out today, discussing the expected future of the 16" MPB due to upgrade announced today:

Good luck!

Rich S.

 

[apple_unreal]

I got a new mac mini maxed out, 64 of ram, 1TB HD. An external eGPU with a razor core v1 and AMD Radeon XT. I was editing some corporate videos in 4K for a friend on Premiere. It felt like crap. if you are going to edit in 4K, use proxies. The videos were just fine until I had to use graphics. It go slow as hell.

I have seen plenty of videos on Youtube. If you are going to do 3D render a eGPU is good. But fro video editing... I would get the Mac Book Pro, the internal bus is 3 times as fast as the Thunderbolt.

 

[christcc2]

Here's a great quick in depth piece on the 5600M:

AMD Announces Radeon Pro 5600M Navi GPU with HBM2 - Inside Apple's MacBook Pro 16"

www.anandtech.com

 

[Dhock_Holiday]

The upgrade costs an exorbitant amount of money, for that much cash you can get a RX 5700XT and upgrade that in October when new GPUs are released.

 

[c0ppo]

It's basically a $1000+ upgrade for a mid range GPU. Even for Apple tax, this is way too much.

 

[leman]

It's basically a $1000+ upgrade for a mid range GPU. Even for Apple tax, this is way too much.

It depends. In the Professional market the price is not that bad. For example, a comparable Dell Precision 5750 is $700 more. Of course. If you are after raw GPU performance you’d just buy a gaming laptop but that’s a different thing. The 5600M Pro is a unique piece, I don’t think there is another Navi around with HBM2. So it’s a truly custom part with probably ultra-low yields and some expensive engineering involved.

 

[c0ppo]

It depends. In the Professional market the price is not that bad. For example, a comparable Dell Precision 5750 is $700 more. Of course. If you are after raw GPU performance you’d just buy a gaming laptop but that’s a different thing. The 5600M Pro is a unique piece, I don’t think there is another Navi around with HBM2. So it’s a truly custom part with probably ultra-low yields and some expensive engineering involved.

It can be a custom part. It probably is. Expensive engineering? Wouldn't know.
But the fact that we do know, it's a mid range GPU. And Apple is charging for it way more than 2080Ti is worth in other laptops. And that GPU would eat Navi for lunch.

Yes, I do understand that 2080Ti is more power hungry and all that. But I'm just giving an example of performance and price.

Other way to look at it, 5600m and 1660Ti are close in performance. And 1660Ti is really cheap GPU by todays standards. 5600M would be great, if it came in higher end MBP16 without additional tax. There is no way in hell that GPU is $1000+. It's just pure greed on Apples part. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[malch]

I want to thank you all for your very helpful advice. If there's a consensus, I'd say that people think the new gpu option is a very good one, although pricey. Question for Dhock_Holiday: you say—
"The upgrade costs an exorbitant amount of money, for that much cash you can get a RX 5700XT and upgrade that in October when new GPUs are released"
Are you suggesting I get the MBP 16" without this expensive ($700) gpu upgrade, and instead get an external enclosure (eg. Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Bos 650, $299) and an RX 5700XT (quick search on amazon seems to show that they cost about $400)?
That's quite a bit more expensive, although I agree, it would allow me to get a newer, faster gpu in the future, instead of being stuck with the 5600M.
thanks again everyone,
malch

 

[Dhock_Holiday]

I want to thank you all for your very helpful advice. If there's a consensus, I'd say that people think the new gpu option is a very good one, although pricey. Question for Dhock_Holiday: you say—
"The upgrade costs an exorbitant amount of money, for that much cash you can get a RX 5700XT and upgrade that in October when new GPUs are released"
Are you suggesting I get the MBP 16" without this expensive ($700) gpu upgrade, and instead get an external enclosure (eg. Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Bos 650, $299) and an RX 5700XT (quick search on amazon seems to show that they cost about $400)?
That's quite a bit more expensive, although I agree, it would allow me to get a newer, faster gpu in the future, instead of being stuck with the 5600M.
thanks again everyone,
malch

Don't forget that you have the ability to re-coupe money when you sell the 5700XT down the road, GPU's hold their value incredibly well

 

[limo79]

It is much more efficient to buy real workstation with latest NVIDIA graphics.

 

[leman]

It is much more efficient to buy real workstation with latest NVIDIA graphics.

Depends on what you are after. If you just care about raw performance, yes, there are way better options out there. If you want a portable package with a good battery life (like the MBP), you don't have many choices. I suppose you can always get a Razor Blade but it comes with its own limitations (and of course, forget about battery).

P.S. I think, the important point is that there is now a high-performance GPU option for the MBP. It’s not what many people have imagined, but that’s how Apple does things and it is the fastest GPU in a Mac laptop ever, in both absolute and relative terms, period. Apple and AMD went though some trouble to offer this option. This is the only Navi chip with HBM2 on the market currently as far as I know. I take it as an I dictation that Apple at least shows more interest in these things than they did before.