Which MacBook Pro Should i get?

[fab5freddy]

I am on the fence about which MacBook Pro 15" inch i should get?
It's either the high end 15" inch with the dedicated graphics card,
or the next level down with an integrated graphics card.......

When will this high end model with a 2 graphics cards come in use ?

Does this help speed if i like to have 100 tabs open in Chrome ?

Cheers

 

[superlawyer15]

If you are buying for the long term then get the dGPU model.
After you factor in the upgraded CPU and the large SSD, the GPU is pretty much free.

 

[fab5freddy]

thanks, but where does the dGPU come in handy ? photoshop ?

 

[T5BRICK]

When will this high end model with a 2 graphics cards come in use ?

Anything that utilizes the extra GPU power.

Does this help speed if i like to have 100 tabs open in Chrome ?

No, that's something that would use a lot of RAM. I'd also suggest against using Chrome because it's a resource hog on OSX.

 

[Dark Void]

I saw your post in another users thread about being on the fence about the same decision and decided to do the ol' copy/pasta on yours. I hope this helps you out.

In terms of games (and other graphically intensive tasks), it depends on what you are referring to specifically. The Iris Pro can handle some older, yet still modern games but for anything else you're going to want the R9 M370X, which will still struggle on AAA titles. It is a mid ranged dedicated GPU. Use the search function on NotebookCheck in order to see benchmarks for specific titles on each of these GPUs. Just select the magnifying glass image on the menu bar and type in the name of each GPU separately, and the first link of the results provides the statistics. This will allow you to gauge which GPU you need. It is wise to keep in mind too, that the M370X is only offered in the higher end 15''.

Once you have the GPU selected (use NotebookCheck) the rest is negligible. .3GHz clock speed and double to storage isn't worth the price difference, in my opinion, if you won't be utilizing the dedicated GPU.

Unless you don't want to play a specific game that shows poor results on the benchmarks of the Iris Pro, I would grab the baseline model. It is more than enough to handle photo and video editing.

 

[fab5freddy]

If you have a habit of having 30 Applications open at once,
Is that the d-graphics card that comes in play there ?

 

[T5BRICK]

If you have a habit of having 30 Applications open at once,
Is that the d-graphics card that come in play there ?

No that's all RAM.

 

[fab5freddy]

ok, so when does the d-graphics card come into play ??

 

[Dark Void]

ok, so when does the d-graphics card come into play ??

Graphically intensive tasks such as 3D rendering or gaming.

 

[soupcan]

If you do light photo/video editing, light gaming or coding work, go with the entry level 15".

If you do more intensive photo/video editing, more recent games that you want to run at higher details or do heavy rendering stuff like 3D animation stuff get the dGPU.

 

[Orr]

If you are buying for the long term then get the dGPU model.

Bollocks. Typically terrible MR advice. A severely outdated dGPU will not make your machine outlast the base model w/ just Iris Pro. The recent track record has shown if anything, that your odds of longevity are increased w/out the overpriced dGPU.

 

[superlawyer15]

Bollocks. Typically terrible MR advice. A severely outdated dGPU will not make your machine outlast the base model w/ just Iris Pro. The recent track record has shown if anything, that your odds of longevity are increased w/out the overpriced dGPU.

The dGPU ends up costing you only $100
..and it will outlive iris by better keeping up with future software that's more demanding

 

[krishmk]

The dGPU ends up costing you only $100
..and it will outlive iris by better keeping up with future software that's more demanding

IN what world the SSD/PCIe cost more than $1 for 1GB? Apple does not give out anything for free or even low cost (as you say) unless they make 150% margin on anything.. quite evident in their profit margins and cash they piled up.

 

[dingdong]

I think dGPU is best suited for people who do semi/pro video editing and graphics related work. Anything else will be sufficient with baseline model.
For gaming just get PS4 or PC rig

 

[Royksöpp]

They both come with 16gb stock so that should be enough if you want to go tab crazy.

 

[superlawyer15]

IN what world the SSD/PCIe cost more than $1 for 1GB? Apple does not give out anything for free or even low cost (as you say) unless they make 150% margin on anything.. quite evident in their profit margins and cash they piled up.

SSDs that perform like the one in the rMBP do cost >$1/gb

Go look at any PCIe SSD on newegg or any other site like that.

 

[yjchua95]

IN what world the SSD/PCIe cost more than $1 for 1GB? Apple does not give out anything for free or even low cost (as you say) unless they make 150% margin on anything.. quite evident in their profit margins and cash they piled up.

In the PCIe world, this happens.

Just look up the SM951 pricing that Samsung gives to OEMs. Apple's SSDs are based on the SM951.

 

[mickeydean]

IN what world the SSD/PCIe cost more than $1 for 1GB? Apple does not give out anything for free or even low cost (as you say) unless they make 150% margin on anything.. quite evident in their profit margins and cash they piled up.

This is a bit like saying "who charges more than $1000 per 1 passenger seat?" when comparing a Ferrari and a Toyota. Apple uses one of the fastest SSD's in the 15" retina macbook pros. I can't agree with their pricing for most things but the macbook pro when you compare to a similarly spec'ed PC is actually a good buy. Most PC's are cheaper but for the same specs that difference is miniscule. That is before considering the improvement in build quality, support, and OS X.