OS Neutral New 15 inch rMBP dedicated graphics card for gaming?

[edddeduck]

Just buy a MacBook Air and get a desktop for $1000, will be more than enough to max out any game at 1080p.

This is only a good solution if you are willing to take the compromise on the MacBookAir not being that powerful for other Mac tasks compared to a rMBP.

It's not always the best solution if you want a Mac that will last a long time and so you can play games. Just offering another viewpoint, I can see both sides on this one

 

[Eightarmedpet]

If you have the GDDR5 version which I have in my MacBook Pro it's a beast for sure. I can play games like DayZ and other top notch games at high or almost high settings.

Rare version? Honest question - is the GDDR5 version the one used in MBP s?
My older 650m equipped struggles with dayz. Any vids or screen shots from yours? I'm slightly obsessed with the game...

 

[edddeduck]

Rare version? Honest question - is the GDDR5 version the one used in MBP s?
My older 650m equipped struggles with dayz. Any vids or screen shots from yours? I'm slightly obsessed with the game...

The 650M shipped with 1GB VRAM and is an older performing card. The 750M is a newer card and also has double the VRAM.

 

[cluthz]

Rare version? Honest question - is the GDDR5 version the one used in MBP s?
My older 650m equipped struggles with dayz. Any vids or screen shots from yours? I'm slightly obsessed with the game...

Yes it has GDDR5.

 

[Eightarmedpet]

The 650M shipped with 1GB VRAM and is an older performing card. The 750M is a newer card and also has double the VRAM.

Cheers chaps. I'm clueless when it comes to gpu things really. Aiming to replace my rMBP with something that can handle Dayz better, sounds crazy I know, and I know a PC would be a cheaper option, but I use my mac for 90% paid work, 10% Dayz.
I'll keep my eyes on any updates but thinking retina imac or base macpro ATM.

 

[AppleCommander]

Don't waste your time with a MBP and PC gaming. Build a PC for games and get a MacBook Air for everything else.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Even if the GPU was really good, I wouldn't game on a rMBP. They get hot, fans are annoying, and dust built-up inside with no way to clean it out.

 

[Eightarmedpet]

Don't waste your time with a MBP and PC gaming. Build a PC for games and get a MacBook Air for everything else.

Sigh... No. Maybe it's my mistake and I simply wasn't clear enough, I don't want two machines.

There is probably a better thread for discussing this, but I'm swinging towards a retina imac.

 

[soulsyphon]

Sigh... No. Maybe it's my mistake and I simply wasn't clear enough, I don't want two machines.

There is probably a better thread for discussing this, but I'm swinging towards a retina imac.

retina imac is a good choice, but like i said, lower your res to 1080p in gaming... and it will look a bit more blurry since its not native res.

imacs dont over heat either... well the one i had from 2011 didn't

 

[cluthz]

retina imac is a good choice, but like i said, lower your res to 1080p in gaming... and it will look a bit more blurry since its not native res.

imacs dont over heat either... well the one i had from 2011 didn't

Linustechtips claimed they had extensive thermal throttling on the newest iMac, not sure if that applies to everyone.

 

[Eightarmedpet]

retina imac is a good choice, but like i said, lower your res to 1080p in gaming... and it will look a bit more blurry since its not native res.

imacs dont over heat either... well the one i had from 2011 didn't

Thanks, think that's the plan... Never expected any 5k gaming.
Still yet to find any examples of dayz on the retina iMac sadly. Also, sorry for the thread derail, As you were...

 

[edddeduck]

Linustechtips claimed they had extensive thermal throttling on the newest iMac, not sure if that applies to everyone.

I'd take that with a pinch of salt, the thermal throttling etc was all based on Windows testing where the drivers etc are not tuned to deal with Apple's hardware.

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic...-imac-5k-iswitched-part-4/page-3#entry4127148

I suspect it is more just someone not setting up the fans etc correctly on Windows, I Know on the Mac I have not noticed any major throttling of CPU etc that said OS X has better fan control for Apple hardware than Windows will

Just offering an alternate viewpoint

 

[cluthz]

I'd take that with a pinch of salt, the thermal throttling etc was all based on Windows testing where the drivers etc are not tuned to deal with Apple's hardware.

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic...-imac-5k-iswitched-part-4/page-3#entry4127148

I suspect it is more just someone not setting up the fans etc correctly on Windows, I Know on the Mac I have not noticed any major throttling of CPU etc that said OS X has better fan control for Apple hardware than Windows will

Just offering an alternate viewpoint

I'm glad and not surprised that you get the full non-throttled performance in OSX!

I have no first hand experience with the 5k iMac, except looking at one in a apple store. Since the OP did ask about bootcamp gaming as well, I thought it was worth mentioning. My experiences with the 4790k is that it's mostly a quite cool chip, and I guess it's only about for apple to update fan profiles in bootcamp to make it not throttle. With my budget 120MM AIO water cooler the 4790k stays in the lower 60's °C, even with stress testing

The 4790k, throttled or not, is still a beastly CPU and should never pose a bottleneck in any game. I went from a 2500k to the 4790k, and to be honest in gaming neither of them was bottlenecking my GTX 780 (Gigabyte GHz Edition, which is boosting to 1142MHz even at stock).

That being said, in games going from a 2500k to a 4790k didn't make much sense, but in creative apps, like Adobe Premiere, the 4790k is just a beast.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Currently it is 750M now. How is that for gaming?

What is likely the new graphics card for the rMBP coming out later this year? Will it be a huge upgrade in terms of gaming? This includes gaming in bootcamp with windows.

I'd wait until this next round of MBP updates. 750m is fine if you're casual or playing any title that is currently out for Mac. Since most Windows games are likely not yet retina-optimized anyway, it's not really worth buying a retina if you want games that are not out for OS X. As someone else suggested, either a lesser model of MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air AND a gaming tower will be the best setup you can buy for having the best of both worlds.