rMBP buying advice - Bootcamp - iGpu vs dGpu

S

Startseite

macrumors newbie
Hey Folks!

First time posting here, hope it's okay to create a new Post about an old topic.I'm studying at the moment and my old MacBook Pro Retina 15" 2012 died a month ago so i am looking ahead for a new MacBook Pro 15" because until 22. March i will get an decent student discount. I know it's not the best time for buying a Mac 'cause the release of Skylake in Summer but i will need a Laptop until Summer.

At the moment I am not sure which version the better option is for me.

I'm studying a technical subject and so i will have to use Bootcamp for the purpose of lack of OS X support of old programs and some self-written Codes. Also I am using Cad, FEM-Programs and others. So i thought the model with the iGpu (Intel Iris HD) would be the better choice for me due to the better battery lifte time in Windows. For daily life i prefer OSX a lot.

Im Student and so the Laptop should stand for 3 years minimum (better 4-5 years :D ) and I am not sure if the iGpu will make it that long.
There is no big difference between the two version ( wanna take the 500GB SSD and eventually the better cpu) if anyone knows how much difference there is in Bootcamp (with Windows 7 or 8 ) between the "iGpu only" and "iGpu+dGpu" model.

Hope u can help me! ;)
 
inb4 dGPU is an outdated artifact that is worthless.

Everyone just follows everyones lead around here, whether they are actually educated or not on the topic.

Pretty sure Socrates figured that out a long time ago.
 
In boot camp, if you go dgpu, it is always on. No automatic switching in boot camp. So, I would highly recommend the igpu version unless the programs you need to use would require the dgpu. The dgpu makes it run hotter at idle and cuts battery life in half. However, at full stress, the dgpu version is faster.
 
I've had a sour experience with my dGPU in my 2012 rMBPro honestly.

I almost regret my purchase, but that's just my outlook on it.
 
Just not true

close2reality said:
inb4 dGPU is an outdated artifact that is worthless.

Everyone just follows everyones lead around here, whether they are actually educated or not on the topic.

Pretty sure Socrates figured that out a long time ago.
Click to expand...

That dGPU was the best available mobile GPU in that power envelope at the time the Haswell macs were developed. It is still a fine dGPU and unless you are gaming is good for most things. Yes there have been better cards released since and NVIDIA have certainly upped their game on mobile GPU's but that doesn't mean that the one in the rMBP is suddenly bad....
 
Apple has a tragic record of MBP`s with dGPU, I recommend that you look at it in detail. If you don't absolutely need the dGPU it`s best to avoid as it is one of the major reasons why MBP`s fail and the repair cost is not cheap.

You can start here if you want;
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1848336/

Apple`s obsession of thin & light, form over function results in high power components running too hot, too fast and rapidly cooling this induces "Thermal Shock" and in general owners start to find issues arising 2-3 years after purchase with little or no recourse with Apple.

Even now Apple is extending warranty coverage of dGPU on 2012 & 2013 Retina`s as like as not they may begin to exhibit premature failure although the Retina`s cooling is significantly better, than previously 15" MBP`s.

The MBP with dGPU should be considered as buyer beware, the history and facts are simply far too substantial to disregard. As for me I have always been lucky, I run my 15" MBP`s elevated and used third party solutions to drive the cooling fans, spooling them up far sooner and more aggressive, unlike Apples ridiculous baseline of 90C (194F) for CPU Core temp, however a great many have not been so lucky and left with an expensive doorstop.....


Q-6
 
Last edited:
MagicBoy said:
What's the fault with your existing rMBP?
Click to expand...

OP should take it back to Apple as they are now covering the 2012 Retina, if it`s related to the dGPU Apple will conduct the repair free.

If it`s related to water or beer that`s another story :)

Q-6
 
Queen6 said:
OP should take it back to Apple as they are now covering the 2012 Retina, if it`s related to the dGPU Apple will conduct the repair free.

If it`s related to water or beer that`s another story :)

Q-6
Click to expand...

Well that's why I was asking... ;)

No point jumping to conclusions...
 
first...thanks for your opinions

the water god thought it was time to go for my rMBP :D
so there is no chance to repair it :(

Cause that i am looking for a new one...bad time i know :(

I knew that if i buy one with dGpu, that this one is always on in Bootcamp and thats why i had so bad batterylife time in windows.

well I guess the better opinion for me will be the iGpu because I use it for daily and university...so i hope it will stand a little bit gaming, browsing and some FEM-simulating (where only the CPU will be used hard)

Do u guys think it's worth 100€ for 300Mhz more? ;)
 
Startseite said:
first...thanks for your opinions

the water god thought it was time to go for my rMBP :D
so there is no chance to repair it :(

Cause that i am looking for a new one...bad time i know :(

I knew that if i buy one with dGpu, that this one is always on in Bootcamp and thats why i had so bad batterylife time in windows.

well I guess the better opinion for me will be the iGpu because I use it for daily and university...so i hope it will stand a little bit gaming, browsing and some FEM-simulating (where only the CPU will be used hard)

Do u guys think it's worth 100€ for 300Mhz more? ;)
Click to expand...

I don't think so. Invest in a bigger SSD. That would be helpful in the long run.
 
MagicBoy said:
No, unless you're crunching video on it a lot. Throw the $ at RAM or an SSD.
Click to expand...

The actual models have already 16GB and can't be upgraded and the 500Gb SSD is for sure...

will order it tomorrow :cool::cool:

just want to know what u guys say if it's worth to upgrade from i7-4770HQ (4×2,20 GHz) to i7-4870HQ (4×2,20 GHz)
 
Personally from my experience of using the rMBP I wouldn't. Only you can make that decision in your case.
 
Startseite said:
The actual models have already 16GB and can't be upgraded and the 500Gb SSD is for sure...

will order it tomorrow :cool::cool:

just want to know what u guys say if it's worth to upgrade from i7-4770HQ (4×2,20 GHz) to i7-4870HQ (4×2,20 GHz)
Click to expand...

look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haswell_(microarchitecture)#Mobile_processors

Graphics clocks are the same, so you're just paying for 300mhz. Doesn't seem worth the money to me, unless you really need a few percent faster CPU.
 
Startseite said:
well I guess the better opinion for me will be the iGpu because I use it for daily and university...so i hope it will stand a little bit gaming, browsing and some FEM-simulating (where only the CPU will be used hard)
Click to expand...
The difference in performance is really not that huge. For anything the Iris Pro is just too slow the 750M would be as well. In games it is slightly adjusted settings.
You also only get to use quicksync encoding with handbrake and such if you don't have a dGPU. There is just no way to get it otherwise. People always mention "if you need the dGPU for apps blabla." But if you want to encode some videos for smaller archiving quicksync is really fast and cuda just isn't very good or well supported with x264.
 
At the end of the day for a college student Macbook Pro 13inch is more than enough. I mean I survived 4 years of Engineering with my late 2011 Macbook ( 8Gb ram though ). Still gives at least 5 hours battery life, and works like a charm. 15 inch would be overkill but hell a lot future safe. And in the same way iGpu would be more future safe than the dGpu. So go ahead and buy it. :cool:
 
stephen1108 said:
I've had a sour experience with my dGPU in my 2012 rMBPro honestly.

I almost regret my purchase, but that's just my outlook on it.
Click to expand...

Check its not eligible for free repair, I think the 2012 model was one that is. I'll find the link

Link found. http://www.apple.com/uk/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

Think you could a free repair if you meet the criteria
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Back
Top