New 16" - Why should I upgrade the GPU?

[hipnetic]

I'm thinking about getting a new 16" to replace my late-2013 MBP 13". I have a pretty good idea of what I want/need in terms of CPU, RAM, and storage, but I'm not sure whether I should stick with the cheapest GPU option or upgrade to one of the better options.

I don't plan to play games on my MBP. I understand that video editing performance might see an improvement, but just how much of an improvement? And what other use cases would justify upgrading the GPU / GPU RAM?

Thanks!

 

[iModFrenzy]

I'm thinking about getting a new 16" to replace my late-2013 MBP 13". I have a pretty good idea of what I want/need in terms of CPU, RAM, and storage, but I'm not sure whether I should stick with the cheapest GPU option or upgrade to one of the better options.

I don't plan to play games on my MBP. I understand that video editing performance might see an improvement, but just how much of an improvement? And what other use cases would justify upgrading the GPU / GPU RAM?

Thanks!

I plan to edit some 1080p/4k footage so I figured the best GPU option would be useful in FCPX. However, I also sprung for the 8GB option because it was $100 more. At about 3k, $100 more for performance and future proofing didn't sound bad.

 

[casperes1996]

I don't plan to play games on my MBP. I understand that video editing performance might see an improvement, but just how much of an improvement? And what other use cases would justify upgrading the GPU / GPU RAM?

Thanks

In video editing, the GPU is probably the most important part of the system. It will be important. The VRAM situation depends a lot on circumstances. For video editing I’d say the difference is often nothing, but when it’s something, it’s a lot. Mostly the extra VRAM will be useful for things like Blender or CGI not regular editing though. For specific performance differences, Max Yuriev/Max Tech has some good comparisons.

For other tasks where the GPU upgrade can make sense, well, GPU compute, other 3D graphics tasks. But the 5300M is actually very capable and if you don’t feel like you do a lot of graphical tasks it’ll be very much enough.

 

[jerryk]

I'm thinking about getting a new 16" to replace my late-2013 MBP 13". I have a pretty good idea of what I want/need in terms of CPU, RAM, and storage, but I'm not sure whether I should stick with the cheapest GPU option or upgrade to one of the better options.

I don't plan to play games on my MBP. I understand that video editing performance might see an improvement, but just how much of an improvement? And what other use cases would justify upgrading the GPU / GPU RAM?

Thanks!

There are a number of YouTube videos that compare video editing with the different GPUs. There are lot of factors involved, so check out some of Max's. He seem to have done a lot of testing of the various configurations.

With that said, going to the top spec graphics is either $200 or $100 more depending upon the configuration you have. Seems like almost a no brainer to spend a little more to the 8 GB GPU if you are editing videos.

 

[thekev]

I think the other answers are a bit silly. You're using a 2013 macbook pro. That gpu is worthless garbage in relative terms, but clearly it has done its job so far. I would say that it matters what software you're using and whether specific features that you use are gpu accelerated. Check the software recommendations. In some cases you'll find that suggested vram is higher for x editing x resolution or whatever. Without more detailed information, everyone will just cushion their estimates, which tend to be biased in favor of cto type upgrades which may or may not offer any benefit to you.

 

[hipnetic]

Thanks for the replies so far. Just for clarification, I'm not really doing much video editing on my current MBP. I bought a Canon M50 a few months back so that I could mess around with video editing, but I haven't done much with it yet, and who knows how much I'll do in the future. My more realistic intensive use cases are going to be around software development, none of which are likely to be graphics intensive.

 

[casperes1996]

Thanks for the replies so far. Just for clarification, I'm not really doing much video editing on my current MBP. I bought a Canon M50 a few months back so that I could mess around with video editing, but I haven't done much with it yet, and who knows how much I'll do in the future. My more realistic intensive use cases are going to be around software development, none of which are likely to be graphics intensive.

You really don't need more than the 5300M. If you want the i9 and upgraded storage, I recommend going with the second base tier instead of upgrading the base with the 2.4GHz i9. The 2.3 and 2.4 are at most like 4% apart, so even with light usage, getting the GPU upgraded for the same cost is a better deal. Though otherwise the 5300M is great for you.

 

[Surfer13134]

For your use the 5300M is still one HELL of a GPU and even if you decide to tinker in video editing in the future it will still be able to handle it (Slower compared to the 5500, but still can do it). I would save your money and either use it for Apple Care or just pocket the savings.