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The next MacBook Pro

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brucie1dog

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Purchased a new Mac Book Pro 15" in July.

2.8GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz

Unfortunately it doesn't have enough VRAM for my X-Plane flight simulator. Does anyone have any idea if there is a way to upgrade the VRAM (Apple says it can't be done) or when the new Mac Book Pro might come out and if it will have more VRAM?
 
brucie1dog said:
Purchased a new Mac Book Pro 15" in July.

2.8GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz

Unfortunately it doesn't have enough VRAM for my X-Plane flight simulator. Does anyone have any idea if there is a way to upgrade the VRAM (Apple says it can't be done) or when the new Mac Book Pro might come out and if it will have more VRAM?
Click to expand...

How much ram do you have, and is this the retina with dual graphics?

----------

You cannot change the ram once you buy it because of how the logic boards are configured to make things more efficient and of course more thin. If you really want to update you can sell it and then buy a new one but you are most likely to loose a couple hundred bucks
 
This is what I have

2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz
16GB 1600MHz memory
512GB PCIe-based flash storage 1
Intel Iris Pro Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB GDDR5 memory

Then I upgraded the processor to:
2.8GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz
 
brucie1dog said:
2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz
16GB 1600MHz memory
512GB PCIe-based flash storage 1
Intel Iris Pro Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB GDDR5 memory

Then I upgraded the processor to:
2.8GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz
Click to expand...

We have the exact same macbook except i didn't upgrade to 2.8, i feel like it should have enough Vram also i can load x-plane without any problems
 
brucie1dog said:
Purchased a new Mac Book Pro 15" in July.

2.8GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz

Unfortunately it doesn't have enough VRAM for my X-Plane flight simulator. Does anyone have any idea if there is a way to upgrade the VRAM (Apple says it can't be done) or when the new Mac Book Pro might come out and if it will have more VRAM?
Click to expand...

VRAM is never upgradable, even in desktop cards.

With that said, you're more than likely not running out of VRAM, simply running out of graphics power. The GT750M isn't that great a graphics card. If you intend to game a lot I'd consider something else than a Mac.
 
X-Plane

So you are an X-Plane user. Periodically I do get crashes where the program has quit and one of the plugins I use (Sky MAxx Pro) thinks it's two fold. One is that X-Plane is having issues with Yosemite (which they say will be corrected when X-Plane 10.35 comes out shortly) and also that I have a lot of custom scenery installed which eats up the VRAM.
 
brucie1dog said:
So you are an X-Plane user. Periodically I do get crashes where the program has quit and one of the plugins I use (Sky MAxx Pro) thinks it's two fold. One is that X-Plane is having issues with Yosemite (which they say will be corrected when X-Plane 10.35 comes out shortly) and also that I have a lot of custom scenery installed which eats up the VRAM.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Yosemite is causing problems for it. Even with the fully macs we have gaming isnt that good, because macs aren't made for gaming. But i use this laptop for school, photo editing, games, and just surfing the web. What do you use it for?
 
Mostly X-Plane and MS Office stuff for work, internet. I really like the Apple Care so I have been afraid to buy another brand of laptop. Do you have any recommendations on a laptop that would be better for X-Plane?
 
556fmjoe said:
That computer should be adequate according to the X-Plane system requirements: http://www.x-plane.com/desktop/system-requirements/

However, they do say that highly detailed scenery can require 4 GB of VRAM. Are you running everything at max settings?
Click to expand...

its requirements are 500mb of v-ram, for the basics

----------
brucie1dog said:
Mostly X-Plane and MS Office stuff for work, internet. I really like the Apple Care so I have been afraid to buy another brand of laptop. Do you have any recommendations on a laptop that would be better for X-Plane?
Click to expand...

not much of a windows person
 
I did a search on PC Laptops for gaming. This came up as one of the best ones out there. Since I am a technically challenged, I asking how much better would this be for X-Plane then y current Mac book Pro?

SUS ROG G751JY-DH71 17.3-inch Gaming Laptop, GeForce GTX 980M Graphics
by Asus
58 customer reviews | 59 answered questions
List Price: $2,499.00
Price: $2,278.00 & FREE Shipping. Details
You Save: $221.00 (9%)
Note: Signature required for this item at time of delivery. Details
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Want it tomorrow, Jan. 20? Order within 1 hr 31 mins and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Click to callGet advice about this product. Talk to a specialist now
Intel Core i7-4710HQ 2.5GHz (Turbo up to 3.5GHz)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 4GB
24 GB DDR3
1 TB 7200 rpm Hard Drive, 256 GB Solid-State Drive (PCIEG2)
17.3-inch Full HD IPS screen, Windows 8.1, Blu-ray Writer
 
brucie1dog said:
I did a search on PC Laptops for gaming. This came up as one of the best ones out there. Since I am a technically challenged, I asking how much better would this be for X-Plane then y current Mac book Pro?

SUS ROG G751JY-DH71 17.3-inch Gaming Laptop, GeForce GTX 980M Graphics
by Asus
58 customer reviews | 59 answered questions
List Price: $2,499.00
Price: $2,278.00 & FREE Shipping. Details
You Save: $221.00 (9%)
Note: Signature required for this item at time of delivery. Details
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Want it tomorrow, Jan. 20? Order within 1 hr 31 mins and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Click to callGet advice about this product. Talk to a specialist now
Intel Core i7-4710HQ 2.5GHz (Turbo up to 3.5GHz)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 4GB
24 GB DDR3
1 TB 7200 rpm Hard Drive, 256 GB Solid-State Drive (PCIEG2)
17.3-inch Full HD IPS screen, Windows 8.1, Blu-ray Writer
Click to expand...

Scroll down, you'll see a graphics card comparison. For gaming, a good graphics card is pretty much the only thing that matters.

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-980M-vs-GeForce-GT-750M-Mac
 
Your problem is definitely not with the MBP, its with the X-plane and its developers. Its insane that X-plane would require such ridiculous amounts of memory,the guys that have dveloped the engine must have never heard about LOD and proper memory optimisations. They just load the bulk of GB-large textures in the memory for no good reason and then explain to you that your hardware is not good enough to cope with their naive algorithms. Any modern game features more detailed rendering scenes with a fraction of VRAM usage. I think it is quite sad how customers who purchased X-plane let themselves be so ridiculously exploited by the company.
 
brucie1dog said:
I did a search on PC Laptops for gaming. This came up as one of the best ones out there. Since I am a technically challenged, I asking how much better would this be for X-Plane then y current Mac book Pro?

SUS ROG G751JY-DH71 17.3-inch Gaming Laptop, GeForce GTX 980M Graphics
by Asus
58 customer reviews | 59 answered questions
List Price: $2,499.00
Price: $2,278.00 & FREE Shipping. Details
You Save: $221.00 (9%)
Note: Signature required for this item at time of delivery. Details
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Want it tomorrow, Jan. 20? Order within 1 hr 31 mins and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Click to callGet advice about this product. Talk to a specialist now
Intel Core i7-4710HQ 2.5GHz (Turbo up to 3.5GHz)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 4GB
24 GB DDR3
1 TB 7200 rpm Hard Drive, 256 GB Solid-State Drive (PCIEG2)
17.3-inch Full HD IPS screen, Windows 8.1, Blu-ray Writer
Click to expand...

That should handle it quite well. Asus makes some good laptops when you get to their higher end stuff.
 
brucie1dog said:
Purchased a new Mac Book Pro 15" in July.

2.8GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz

Unfortunately it doesn't have enough VRAM for my X-Plane flight simulator. Does anyone have any idea if there is a way to upgrade the VRAM (Apple says it can't be done) or when the new Mac Book Pro might come out and if it will have more VRAM?
Click to expand...

How can it not have enough VRAM for X plane? It has 2GB. X Plane can get by on integrated graphics. The recommended settings have 2GB of VRAM.
 
Thank you for the comparison Snaky69. I am heavily addicted to X-Plane and have been for a few years. The problem for me is, the more realistic you want to make the simulation the more custom scenery and plugins you ad. When you start adding all the additions it starts to slow or crash the simulation. I hate to admit it but I'd sacrifice a lot of other things to get a smoother running X-Plane.
 
Last edited:
brucie1dog said:
Thank you for the comparison Snaky69. I am heavily addicted to X-Plane and have been for a few years. The problem for me is, the more realistic you want tomato the simulation the more custom scenery and plugins you ad. When you start adding all the additions it starts to slow or crash the simulation. I hate to admit it but I'd sacrifice a lot of other things to get a smoother running X-Plane.
Click to expand...

Honestly, if you're that addicted: I'd look into getting a decent gaming desktop exclusively for this. Any properly built gaming desktop is going to run circles around a laptop performance wise.
 
brucie1dog said:
Thank you for the comparison Snaky69. I am heavily addicted to X-Plane and have been for a few years. The problem for me is, the more realistic you want to make the simulation the more custom scenery and plugins you ad. When you start adding all the additions it starts to slow or crash the simulation. I hate to admit it but I'd sacrifice a lot of other things to get a smoother running X-Plane.
Click to expand...

Then I would get another computer. I agree with you that it SHOULD WORK because you spent probably 3500 bucks.

But consider getting a PC desktop.
 
brucie1dog said:
Thank you for the comparison Snaky69. I am heavily addicted to X-Plane and have been for a few years. The problem for me is, the more realistic you want to make the simulation the more custom scenery and plugins you ad. When you start adding all the additions it starts to slow or crash the simulation. I hate to admit it but I'd sacrifice a lot of other things to get a smoother running X-Plane.
Click to expand...

what plugins do you add to x-plane i don't have the full version
 
I agree, get a PC desktop equipped with the GTX 970 or 965, best bang for your buck and can easily handle X-plane.
 
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