Just wondering if the 10 GPU on the M2 MBA is worth it.. I do not do any video editing .. Will you see any difference in the display under regular use ( Netflix, Youtube ) Etc .. Or is the 10 Core more for editing etc ? TIA
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Purchase 8 Core or 10 Core GPU ?
- Thread starter harleymhs
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GPU usage, as you might have guessed, is more on 3D modelling, video editing (tho media engine plays bigger row there), and such, as well as Mac gaming that is virtually a non-factor. CPU performance is really what matters the most for majority of Mac users, much like PC environment where most can benefit from a powerful CPU but can get away with integrated graphics.
However, if your config gives 10 GPU cores, then consider it as an added bonus. Who knows if Apple will arbitrarily decide to bar feature based on GPU cores, if iPad stage manager controversy is of any indication.
However, if your config gives 10 GPU cores, then consider it as an added bonus. Who knows if Apple will arbitrarily decide to bar feature based on GPU cores, if iPad stage manager controversy is of any indication.
Can you elaborate? Are you saying that NOT getting the 10 core is a bad move?
No you’re not going to see any difference watching Netflix with two extra GPU cores. If you’re doing some sort of video editing or gaming then maybe a little bit of difference but no not watching Netflix or YouTube
That's not likely to be noticeable. My M1 MacBook Air only has 8 GPU cores and doesn't show any noticeable delays when I use a scaled 4K display.
I'd get the 10 core for games...and not much else. It's about half way between M1 and M1 Pro graphics performance. Which is quite amazing for a thin and light laptop.
Unfortunately it's not important outside of games and some video production. I've found the M1 8 core great for retro game emulation and the random games I've tried.
Unfortunately it's not important outside of games and some video production. I've found the M1 8 core great for retro game emulation and the random games I've tried.
There is no external monitors as in more than one with the MacBook Air. You’re limited to one. Everything about this laptop is designed around light and portable so if you need more power I would go for the MacBook Pro.
My iMac played YouTube videos perfectly in 4K on its 4.5 K display. That’s with the older M1 processor and 8 GPU cores because there was no 10 core option. I don’t see how it would be different on the M2 with 8 GPU cores. If anything RAM might be the concern because memory is shared between the CPU and GPU so more ram might help loading more pixels.
I picked the 10 core GPU just because I might play a little bit of WoW Classic on it. Even then I was kind of debating because it ran perfectly fine on my M1 iMac with 8 GPU cores. I might’ve been better off spending that $200 on a larger and maybe faster SSD.
It is not worth for me, so I went with 8 core GPU. We also have 2 MBAs M1 with 7-core GPU and havent found any issues with that either. In your case I would spend money on addtional memory then GPU cores.
I think you are full of ... I saw your post / response how you went back to SE from 13 Pro. How could you go from 5core GPU to 4core GPU?
8 to 10 GPU is too little really to make a difference so save your money or put it towards more RAM or storage where it matters more.
You won't be able to tell any difference between the two with said usage.
If you are wondering, then you won't notice the difference. Save cash.
If you're not in video editing you won't gain much with 2 additional GPU cores, buy more memory instead (IMHO)
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8 core GPU may generate a bit less heat (which is valuable in a fan-less design and could even cause the CPU cores to throttle less and later) and save some battery life. Even if I wanted the $20 fast-charging to make the 2 extra GPU cores effectively $80, I still would not go for that at this point. Waiting however to see if actual tests of reviewers prove me right or wrong.
Yes and no. If the original M2 is 10-core GPU, and it was binned down, then it'll produce same heat and consume same power. Only truly binned 8-core chips will offer such "advantage".
Is this another YouTube poster trying to scrap for content?? 🤷♂️
If you have no use for either 8 core 10 core GPU, why does it matter to you?
If you have no use for either 8 core 10 core GPU, why does it matter to you?
You probably won't notice any issues going with the 8 GPU core version of the M2. That being said, the difference in cost (once you add 512GB of storage, which you probably will want to do [given how it is on the M2 13" MacBook Pro], and at least 16GB of RAM [which you will very probably want to do if some of the reports about 8GB M2 configurations are to be believed]) between 8 GPU cores and 10 GPU cores won't be that much.
Unless you want to play some of these big games coming to Mac and have a 25% GPU increase, sounds like based on your use the binned 8 core is perfectly fine.
Higher resolution put more pressure on RAM than on the number of GPU cores. This was true back in 1980s and still true today.