Macbook Pro 13 inch vs 15 inch for Gaming
I am considering buying a new Macbook pro, either 13 inch or the lower end 15 inch one. The only thing thats getting in the way of my decision is the graphic card. I am not a huge gamer but I do play some games like Starcraft2, Sims3 and Diablo3 when it comes out. If the graphics are good on the 13 inch then I would love to buy the 13 inch, because the 15 inch is a little out of my price range. Anyways my question is, is the 13 inch macbook pro good enough for a mid level gamer? I also like to watch movies and shows on my laptop but i will probably get a bigger monitor in the future.
If you have to get a 13inch then you will need at least 8gb of ram which will increase the vram to 512mb and as I said this will make gaming for certain games possible, but settings will have to be at low. For example I have an early 2011 13inch and played diablo 3 at highest resolution, no shadows, and everything else at low and I had fps between 25-30. This made gaming possible, but not the greatest experience because things were blurry and it made the graphics look outdated. I now have a 15inch retina which has the discrete graphics and I can play diablo 3 at an even higher resolution than the 13inch with medium smooth shadows and all other settings at high and it runs at a consistent 30fps.
Similar Messages
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The MBP w/ Retina Display is 2.3GHz but the other without Retina Display is 2.6GHz. So I don't know which one would play games absolutely flawlessly. I wont have the screen resolution so high on the games though. So can someone reply and tell me which one I should get and why?
Mac's are generally not 3D gaming computers and laptops especially are not because 3D games require a upgraded video card to take advantage of newer games and more feature rich updates.
Only the Mac Pro can one change the video card, if one can find a upgrade for it.
If you really love 3D gaming, a Windows 7 3D gaming tower is your machine.
http://www.cbscores.com/index.php?sort=ogl&order=desc
3D gaming on a Mac is sort of a second hobby, it's rather short lived as one can't replace the video card once a year, only with a new machine purchase.
Most 3D games are for Windows anyway and Apple almost demands OS X be upgraded to newer verisons annually now, so that sort of throws a monkey wrench into a Mac gaming rig with software upgrades and all. On the other hand Windows 7 is supported for a decade.
Mac's just don't work well with 3D gaming, perhaps a Win 7 tower and a iPad or something. -
I have a MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008), Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53 GHz, 4GB Memory. and am currently running Snow Leopard 10.6.8.
I would like to know which is the most stable upgrade for my model? Mountain Lion, Mavericks or Yosemite?
When I had gone to the apple care centre in India a few months ago to upgrade my OSX to Mountain Lion, I was told that considering my macbook pro's specs, upgrading it would just make it less efficient, and that I should stick to Snow Leopard unless I consider buying a newer mac that would benefit from it. Is this true? I find it a bit hard to believe. Which update is most recommended?
I also notice that my mac has gotten considerably slower. While using chrome, it buffers and struggles with even just 5 tabs open. Could this have something to do with my current ios? As a precaution, I have always been making sure I have enough free space on disk i.e around 70 - 100 free out of 250GB.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.Mavericks is no longer available from the App Store, so your choice is Yosemite. One option is to create a new partition (~30- 50 GB), install the new OS, and ‘test drive’ it. If you like/don’t like it it, you can then remove the partition. Do a backup before you do anything. By doing this, if you don’t like it you won't have to go though the revert process.
Check to make sure your applications are compatible.
Application Compatibility
Applications Compatibility (2) -
I have a early 2011 Macbook pro 13 inch, I'm running Lion 10.7.4, and i want to upgrade to 10.8 Mountain Lion. Is it safe for my computer or are people experiencing problems with displays and Battery life?
Do Not post stuff about how Airplay doesnt work, because i dont have Apple TV and dont need to hear about it.If you have an external drive equal to or larger than your internal HD, clone your internal to it with either Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper. Test the clone to make sure it's bootable. Then upgrade either one. Try it out first.
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I want to buy a hard case for my macbook pro, but I don't know what year it is. When I use the serial number to try and find out, all it says is, "~VIN,MacBook Pro (15-inch Glossy)". When I type that into amazon for a case it gives me nothing!
Hi T,
Either of these will give you the info you seek:
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html -
Hi All,
My Mid-2010 Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch started having random kernel panics lately (more than 1 month of random kernel panics now), usually associated with request such as "open new tab in Safari" etc.
Since I installed 2x4GB RAM modules from Crucial when I bought my MBP (they are +- 2 years old now) and also exchanged my DVD-drive for an extra SSD that now runs the system (fully updated 10.7.4) I have a feeling that those kernel panics might be HW related.
I wanted to run Apple Hardware Test but found out that it is no longer supported on Lion. Since I don't have any optical drive to install AHT from (also I don't have the CDs with me atm), I found out that I can install an EFI Firmware update that enables internet-based (?) AHT.
At http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4904# , the link from MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) links to MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 2.6 which is for Early 2010 models only and doesn't allow me to run the installation process. I'm looking for an EFI update to enable Apple Hardware Test on my Mid-2010 Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch.
Is there an update that can do this? Is there a wrong hyperlink on Apple page or am I searching for a wrong update?
Also, even though this should probably be in a separate topic, can anyone please point me to the right direction for a good Apple Kernel Panic how-to-read-those topic?
Thank you very much in advance.Hey Cris from London,
I would try out the recommended steps in the following link:
OS X Mavericks: If your Mac runs slowly
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13895
Let us know if any of the steps within resolved the issue.
Welcome to Apple Support Communities!
Take care,
Delgadoh -
Can anyone point me to the correct type of RAM to purchase for a MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009)?
I have a MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009) that recently had some problems and I was forced to reinstall OSX and ended up upgrading to Yosemite (I was previously using Mavericks). Unfortunately I did not realize how much OSX 10.10 would slow down my computer, so I'm looking to upgrade my RAM from 4GB to 8GB to help resolve this. However, I don't really have a good idea what type of RAM I need aside from the fact that it needs to be 1066 MHz. I was hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction as to what the exact type of RAM I need to purchase or possibly link me to a site where I could buy what I require. I know some people claim third party RAM doesn't work as well as memory that is made and/or sold by apple but I would prefer to go with whatever is cheapest.
A 15" mid-2009 MBP RAM specifications are: 204-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM.
As has been pointed out, OWC is an excellent source for Mac compatible RAM. Crucial is another first rate source for Mac RAM. RAM from either vendor will work just as well as any purchased from Apple with the bonus of being less expensive and having a lifetime guarantee.
Ciao. -
I bought 2 new memory card to 4 grams each - replace them in your MacBook Pro 13-inch but it will not turn on - If you are installing a card for 2 and one for 4 d all works - tell me what could be the problem
I assume that you have installed new RAM in your MBP.
It would be helpful if you indicated the EXACT model/year MBP that you have.
What the the RAM specifications that you are trying to install?
Ciao. -
MacBook Pro 13 inch (mid 2012) v MacBook Pro 15 inch (mid 2014) for After Effects and Premiere
Hi everyone,
I'm interested in working with After Effects CS6 and Premiere CS6 probably creating quite heavily layered files and experimenting with and combining effects. (I also work with Photoshop and Illustrator.)
My workplace allows me to use a 2.5 GHz Intel Dual Core i5 / MacBook Pro 13 inch (mid 2012, non retina) with hard disk and integrated graphics card (Intel HD Graphics 4000 512MB). I understand this Mac can be maxed out at 16GB of RAM. (Official Apple specs I realise say 8GB RAM is the max for this computer but I've looked into this thoroughly and have confirmed that 16GB is in fact possible.)
I'm considering purchasing one of the new Haswell based MacBook Pro (mid 2014) models for myself.
If I do, I'll get the retina 15 inch / Intel Quad Core i7 / 16GB RAM / Intel Iris Pro Graphics / NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M / 1TB Flash Storage.
I realise there is a big difference between these two machines in terms of their specs - the 15 inch with the dedicated GPU will be far more suited to motion graphics work than the lower spec machine with integrated graphics card.
Currently, my understanding is that After Effects CS6 and Premiere CS6 do not support the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M but from research on the net I believe it's possible to add this video card to the list of supported cards within the respective applications, forcing them to recognise and use it.
Having read about the upcoming Broadwell chip, which I think may be capable of supporting 32GB RAM (possibly coming in Q2 2015 from the various websites I've visited) I wonder if it is worth holding off my purchase, and maxing out my older 13 inch laptop in order to run After Effects and Premiere for the time being.
If I waited for Broadwell based 15 inch MacBooks I think its likely they'll be expandable to 32GB RAM, making the computer a better long term investment.
eg if Adobe increase minimum/recommended memory requirements for their software in the next few years. While I don't know for sure this will happen, it does seem quite likely at some stage. The 2014 15 inch MacBook - while an excellent computer at the moment - could potentially be slightly limited with regard to future Adobe software releases as its max RAM is 16GB.
I realise I could potentially look at a high end iMac if memory is a concern, but I prefer the portability of a laptop so I'm restricting myself to portable options for the moment.
What I'm wondering is -
If I install the 13 inch 2.5GHz i5 laptop with 16GB RAM as is possible, how would it perform when running After Effects and Premiere? It currently has 4GB and it very quickly runs out of memory meaning playback of goes very slowly when previewing complex files in the timeline. This necessitates rendering of small test sections of the timeline to see it at the correct frame rate. Would the move from 4GB RAM to 16GB RAM give me a noticeable improvement in this regard? If so then this is tempting as I don't have to pay for it - I think my workplace will cover the cost of extra RAM. And then I can wait till next year to buy my own high end laptop.
The 15 inch 2.8GHz i7 quad processor has Iris Pro and dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GT750M with 2GB RAM. I would be paying the full cost myself.
I realise rendering would be faster with this Mac but would I see a noticeable improvement over the maxed out 13 inch laptop when previewing multi layered After Effects and Premiere compositions / sequences within the timeline? I like the idea of being able to preview footage in real time as I'm editing as it saves time and I think it makes the process easier generally.
Any thoughts welcome and thanks very much in advance for your time and advice.
Kind regards,
John"It currently has 4GB and it very quickly runs out of memory meaning playback of goes very slowly when previewing complex files in the timeline."
"In this case yes, I can most certainly see a performance increase as your machine is still not too old and a RAM increase will help it for sure I just can't tell you by how much.
I own the same machine as yours (except for mine having 2.9ghz and i7, and 8GB of ram) so I think it's safe to say for me that the RAM increase will help you for sure."
That statement of mine answers your question you just asked -
I have a macbook pro 15 inch mid 2012 and I want to change the hard drive, what specifications do I need to search for?
Does a Seagate - 1TB Internal Serial ATA III/Serial ATA II Solid State Hybrid Drive for Laptops - Multi with the following specifications may work??
Height
4 inches
Width
2.75 inches
Weight
3.5 ounces
Color Category
Multi
Minimum System Requirements
PC: Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8; MacBook®, MacBook Pro or Mac Mini: Intel®
processor; OS X; Linux; internal Serial ATA III or Serial ATA II support -
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011) It turns on for less than 60 sec thens shutsoff by itself, it won't load to recovery hd partition, won't load to mac OS and already replaced with new MLB, but the problem still persist.. able to run ASD EFI but ASD OS wont work.please help thanks in advance
Holy crap, I got it to work.
Essentially, I just waited until DiskWarrior reached Step 9 and told it to skip the step before it had a chance to freeze. It skipped successfully, moved on, rebuilt and replaced the faulty directory files.
So far the computer is booting like normal, I can log in, and I'm currently copying all of the data to an external as I type this.
I still have no idea why the computer wouldn't mount or boot to any drive, but I guess I'll deal with that later. -
Internal Hard drive for macBook pro 13 inch.
Hello everybody :")
How are you? I hope that everyone is fine.
I have come today i need your opinion and your advice to me about my (HDD)
i need to buy new HD for my book pro .
Can you answer my questions and give me advice
frist i will write for you my MBP information :
MacBook Pro 13 inch - 4 GB memory - the old HD is 320 GB 5400 rpm - Processor i5 dual core .
made in 2010
* note :Almost i'm not interested in (SSD) because the price is expensive SSD to storage capacity that can i give it .
HDD was excellent with me .
-What are the types of HDD which advise me?
- what best HDD for macbook pro ? ( toshiba or WD )
- how I choose from among types of HDD ?
-How do I know what types are compatible with my device? Is there site or previous experience advise can help me !
What your opinion about this kind:
Seagate Momentus XT 750 GB 7200RPM
are good for my MBP ?
I care about the quality, performance and more than speed.
Thank you in advance
I hope to help me soonDi.grad
toshiba 1.tb and 7200 RPM ?
Those are same as use by Apple in the non-retina macbook Pro, Ive got piles of them, only a Hitachi is better.
Toshiba HD are a hair noisy even by Toshiba own admission, but no big deal.
I would NEVER buy from OWC merely for the reasons that their prices are miserable.
Here you go, $65
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOSHIBA-MQ01ABD100-1TB-5400-RPM-8MB-Cache-2-5-SATA-3-0Gb -s-Internal-Notebook-/121107538930?pt=US_Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item1c32 9263f2
same as used by APPLE in their own. -
My isight built in camera is only turning on for few second on my MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2011 with osx Yosemite) when I use any camera needed app. Please help me. Its getting a little annoying.
If restarting Mac or reinstalling OS X does not correct this symptom, you likely have a hardware problem. Contact Apple Support or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for service.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac OSX 10.10.1 -
Is there a maximum RAM capacity for a Macbook Pro 13 inch Mid 2009?
My questions is essentially, is there a maximum RAM capacity for a Macbook Pro 13 inch Mid 2009? I'm aware there are two RAM slots in my machine, but in past experiences with other laptops/desktop computers (not Apple) there was a default maximum which couldn't be overidden despite how much RAM was inserted.
You can upgrade up to 8GB using 2 x 4GB 204-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 modules. That's the maximum (unlike 2011 and later models which Apple tells you can only hold 8GB but can actually run 16GB).
If you do order RAM, order from a Mac memory specialist - Crucial, OWC, Corsair, etc.
Good luck,
Clinton -
So I bought my MacBook Pro 13 inch with AppleCare protection about 2 weeks ago and from the moment it came out of the box I noticed that the battery was draining very quickly. Perhaps in the midst of my excitement of having a new computer I ignored it thinking it could somehow get better but obviously it has not. Average after being fully charged from being dead the batter lasts maybe an hour to an hour and a half. I'm assuming apple will take care of this seeing as it came to me like this but that's exactly my question, will they? Any information about what they cover or how to go about getting this fixed is very much appreciated!
You are covered under the 1-year warranty.
You have a 14 day grace period to exchange it for one that works.
Past that, get it looked at
Genius reservation http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/
on-line https://getsupport.apple.com/GetproductgroupList.action
check warranty https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do -
Where can I buy 4 GB memory cards for my MacBook Pro 15 inch 2,53GHz mid 2009?
Where can I buy 4 GB memory cards for my MacBook Pro 15 inch 2,53GHz mid 2009?
http://www.macsales.com/
http://www.crucial.com/
Make sure the RAM is rated for your vintage and model Mac, and states so from the link you buy it from.
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