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No more 13'' MBP w/ a decent graphics?

W

whatboy12

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 12, 2012
2
0
I'm searching for a MBP around the 13'' (or smaller) range w/ an dedicated GPU. Like most others, I'm anticipating the release of Diablo III. I'm currently on the latest gen Macbook Air 11'', and although it "technically" runs on lowest settings, I have no doubt that I'll be experiencing much lag and fans at warp speed. And of course, there's the practicality issue of gaming on an 11'' screen.

However, I was surprised to see that Apple does not produce 13'' models with dedicated GPU's... I remember my old 13'' MBP (from 2010?) had some Nvidia card that was able to run L4D/Starcraft II just fine (albeit some lag). I have no doubt that the current 13'' MBPro's with the Intel HD-3000 cards (or whatever they are) wont be able to perform even with the upgraded CPU's.

My question is this: Will Apple be installing better GPUs into the next 13'' models? If so, will they be decent enough to run DIII and other Steam games (LFD, etc)?

Or did they phase them out for 13'' completely so that only the 15''-17'' will be the only ones with them? Portability is a very important feature for me, and I really don't see myself lugging a 15'' around. (I know it's just two more inches from the 13'', but I've gotten more than used to my 11'' kitten...) The desks at my lecture hall barely handled my old 13'' MBP that I had... 15'' would be disastrous.

Thoughts?
 
whatboy12 said:
I'm searching for a MBP around the 13'' (or smaller) range w/ an dedicated GPU. Like most others, I'm anticipating the release of Diablo III. I'm currently on the latest gen Macbook Air 11'', and although it "technically" runs on lowest settings, I have no doubt that I'll be experiencing much lag and fans at warp speed. And of course, there's the practicality issue of gaming on an 11'' screen.

However, I was surprised to see that Apple does not produce 13'' models with dedicated GPU's... I remember my old 13'' MBP (from 2010?) had some Nvidia card that was able to run L4D/Starcraft II just fine (albeit some lag). I have no doubt that the current 13'' MBPro's with the Intel HD-3000 cards (or whatever they are) wont be able to perform even with the upgraded CPU's.

My question is this: Will Apple be installing better GPUs into the next 13'' models? If so, will they be decent enough to run DIII and other Steam games (LFD, etc)?

Or did they phase them out for 13'' completely so that only the 15''-17'' will be the only ones with them? Portability is a very important feature for me, and I really don't see myself lugging a 15'' around. (I know it's just two more inches from the 13'', but I've gotten more than used to my 11'' kitten...) The desks at my lecture hall barely handled my old 13'' MBP that I had... 15'' would be disastrous.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
The 13" never had a discrete graphics option, so I would imagine it will continue to not have that option. Even the 13" with the nvidia card had an integrated nvidia card.
 
I think the only models to have dedicated graphics were the 15" late 2008 (early 09) macbook pro, and maybe the 17 inch from the same year
 
cmChimera said:
The 13" never had a discrete graphics option, so I would imagine it will continue to not have that option. Even the 13" with the nvidia card had an integrated nvidia card.
Click to expand...

hm... is that right? I always assumed the 13'' MBP that had Nvidia cards were dedicated. Maybe I was wrong. How do those compare with the current Intel 3000's?
 
13" mbp running old core 2 duo had Nvidia 320M back in 2010, which was a better GPU than the HD3000, but I'm not sure how it compares with the upcoming HD4000 on Ivy Bridge.
 
astroboy907 said:
I think the only models to have dedicated graphics were the 15" late 2008 (early 09) macbook pro, and maybe the 17 inch from the same year
Click to expand...

What? I don't even...this is just so wrong. All 15" and 17" MBP models have had dedicated GPU options.
 
No one can say for sure that the upcoming 13" MBP won't have dedicated graphics, but I wouldn't count on it. To the best of my knowledge the 13" never has. Could you continue to use your 11" Air for class and get a cheaper windows machine for gaming? If not and you really want a MBP with a dedicated GPU, you'll likely have to go with the 15". I'm sure you could get used to carrying it around. It's really not all that big. You also have the option of making do with the 11" Air for everything and getting an external monitor that's larger for when you're gaming.
 
If you want to game on a mac. You better get the 15" model, that 13" just wont cut it.
 
The new HD4000 will be more than capable at handling diablo 3 at medium settings. Most games these days look fine even on lowest settings. Blizzard are excellent in this regard since they make sure as many people as possible can enjoy the game, not just some nerds with 3inch thick laptops.
 
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whatboy12 said:
hm... is that right? I always assumed the 13'' MBP that had Nvidia cards were dedicated. Maybe I was wrong. How do those compare with the current Intel 3000's?
Click to expand...
The nVidia cards are about as good as the 3000 series from Intel. Slightly better at some things, slightly worse for others.
Swain said:
If you want to game on a mac. You better get the 15" model, that 13" just wont cut it.
Click to expand...

QFT. But really, if you want a 13" that can game, get a Dell/HP/Alienware MX11 (before you can't find them anymore). They all make laptops for < $1000 that have a dedicated graphics card in the 13" range.
 
mikeo007 said:
What? I don't even...this is just so wrong. All 15" and 17" MBP models have had dedicated GPU options.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 falls into that category. It was used on the 2006 Macbook Pros and has slightly better powers than the Intell GMA950.
 
The HD4000 will be more than capable of running Diablo 3. In fact I would say that even the HD3000 will be fine. Blizzard aren't exactly known for making graphically demanding games.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
QFT. But really, if you want a 13" that can game, get a Dell/HP/Alienware MX11 (before you can't find them anymore). They all make laptops for < $1000 that have a dedicated graphics card in the 13" range.
Click to expand...

Specs for the base 14" M14x ($1099):
FRt9h.jpg
 
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