Just wanted to get an idea of what you guys think the next 15" rMBP will bring in terms of a dGPU. I'm thinking a summer broadwell/ NVIDIA 950m release, but they could go AMD after debuting the riMac. Could also drop it altogether. What are your thoughts?
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The GPU Options For The Next 15" rMBP
- Thread starter inhalexhale1
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For those models that have a dGPU, nVidia is still the best bet. AMD has basically stopped development of dedicated parts for notebooks, opting for integrated solutions in their chipsets.
It better be an nvidia 960m. The 960m has a lower tdp than the 750m so the chassis is definitely capable of handling it, and the power savings to maxwell is awesome as well. Sadly I feel like it's going to be the 950m.
The amd side of things is not going well. They use a lot of power and generate a lot of heat. I doubt they would go with AMD, and it boggles my mind that they went with AMD in the retina imac.
I don't think they'll drop the discreet graphics for integrated just yet. The 960m would be a huge boost over the 750m, and the 750m does outperform the integrated 5200 chip, and the 6200 will likely not have a big of a boost when you consider the 5100 -> 6100 transition having very similar performance.
It would be a silly time to cut out discreet graphics, as the gap between integrated and discreet will widen quite a bit with Nvidia's maxwell architecture, and especially since the chassis is easily capable of handling a discreet card.
The amd side of things is not going well. They use a lot of power and generate a lot of heat. I doubt they would go with AMD, and it boggles my mind that they went with AMD in the retina imac.
I don't think they'll drop the discreet graphics for integrated just yet. The 960m would be a huge boost over the 750m, and the 750m does outperform the integrated 5200 chip, and the 6200 will likely not have a big of a boost when you consider the 5100 -> 6100 transition having very similar performance.
It would be a silly time to cut out discreet graphics, as the gap between integrated and discreet will widen quite a bit with Nvidia's maxwell architecture, and especially since the chassis is easily capable of handling a discreet card.
This is a superbly informed reply, and I'd agree with all of it.
I have no idea why Apple went with AMD on the 5K iMac; considering it runs hot and performs worse than the 980M. I can't see Apple flipping to AMD for the MBP... AMD really doesn't even have anything available right now, anyway.
What do I *think* the next 15" rMBP will get? Probably a 2GB 950M. Which sucks, because as the above poster said; the 960M uses less energy than the current 750M, and is significantly more powerful. Let's put it this way; if they go 950M, I have no reason to upgrade... but if they go 960M, I'll upgrade Day One.
If the next rmbp comes with Skylake, I will bet on it having no dgpu at all.
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How is a 20-30% difference "very similar performance"?
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How is a 20-30% difference "very similar performance"?
Apple's philosophy with GPUs is very clear: pay more for less, don't expect the best even if you 1) pay for it and 2) it's practical.
When it comes to graphics, Apple has the philosophy of Ryanair; it's better to show the customer contempt and save pennies than it is to grudgingly give them better performance.
I think there's a good chance of this. As much as I'd love Apple to stick with dedicated GPUs, keep in mind that Apple are focused on lower power usage / better battery life. That and the reduced heat should help.
Plus consider the fun that Apple has had with the 2007 MacBook Pros and more recently the 2011s - I think they'd be pretty happy to avoid that happening again (though the cooling is substantially better on the rMBPs).
I don't disagree with this.
I've wanted a 13" MBP with a dedicated GPU since the dawn of time. The only time that was happened was the 9400M (which was kinda crappy) right before the Core i5s came out. :-(
I'd be really surprised if we get more than Intel Iris Pro this go around in the 15" chassis. Happy, but surprised.
Given there is just one model with dedicated graphics across the whole notebook lineup, it really seems they're fading it out. For most tasks, Intel's graphics are more than adequate, but as soon as you get into CUDA, CAD, or Gaming, you really need dedicated options.
If they do discrete, AMD wouldn't surprise me. They've used AMD now in the Mac Pro and 5K iMac, so perhaps AMD is willing to cut a better deal than nVidia...really hard to say.
It just nauseates me to think of spending $2k+ on a new notebook, only to get integrated graphics...All that said, I'd love to see the GTX 960M be available, so here's to hope!
Given there is just one model with dedicated graphics across the whole notebook lineup, it really seems they're fading it out. For most tasks, Intel's graphics are more than adequate, but as soon as you get into CUDA, CAD, or Gaming, you really need dedicated options.
If they do discrete, AMD wouldn't surprise me. They've used AMD now in the Mac Pro and 5K iMac, so perhaps AMD is willing to cut a better deal than nVidia...really hard to say.
It just nauseates me to think of spending $2k+ on a new notebook, only to get integrated graphics...All that said, I'd love to see the GTX 960M be available, so here's to hope!
The 9400M wasn't a truly discrete GPU, either. It shared up to 256MB of memory with the system. In the truest sense, there has never been a dGPU on the 13" model.
The last small form factor Apple laptops to use discrete GPUs were the 12" PowerBook G4s.
It's even more dismaying when Apple has not one but two consumer/low end notebook lines, but apparently the PRO has to make exactly the same sacrifices in performance.. even if it's unnecessary from an engineering or price perspective.
I expect a dGPU upgrade, since the rMBP 15" remains practically the same as of late-2013, but wouldn't expect it to be a the high-end model. The current 750M equivalent seems to be a good bet.
It would be a surprise if it came with DDR4 RAM and bto upgrades up to 32GB.
It would be a surprise if it came with DDR4 RAM and bto upgrades up to 32GB.