Macbook pro 15 vega 20 worth waiting for? Price?

[Deleted member 172152]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to get a macbook pro and can't decide what to do. The best option seems to be the vega mbp15, however that could be really expensive and getting one two weeks earlier would be nice!

My other options are mbp15 560x 8850h or mbp13 and 580 gaming box. My usecases are editing, browsing, streaming and some gaming and I'm mostly editing/gaming at home, however I do want to edit a bit on the go.

I'm also getting a mac mini and vega 64 egpu btw.

I prefer the portability of the 13", but I'm at home or near a table so much I could make do with 15" and take the added performance and screen real estate.

Thanks in advance!

 

[bonehead123]

2" difference in screen size may not sound like a lot, UNTIL you start editing (video or audio, I'm assuming).....

You should ALWAYS buy as much computer as you can afford, then it will be longer before you feel the need to upgrade again, among other things.....

 

[95Viper]

Macbook pro 15 vega 20 worth waiting for?

Yes, If that is what you want... set your specifications for what you need in the MacBook. Try to get what you want, plus better, for the funds you want to spend or can accumulate for the purchase.
Search for the best price. <-- There are no magic wands for this... you just got to shop and hope for the best.
Look for coupons from retailers, discount codes, sales, and word of mouth sale sightings. <-- Might need to do some aggressive searching on this one.

Price?

Remember, if it is the latest and greatest... you will pay the premium for the privilege to own it.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Vega 20 = 20 cores = Intel Kaby Lake G = i5-8305G (2.8 GHz), i7-8705G (3.1 GHz), or i7-8706G (3.1 GHz w/ vPro)

The problem with all of these Macs is they thermal throttle. Bad. Mac Mini, especially, is like 60w max device. Legit, desktop Vega 64 is a 350w card. See the problem?

What kind of "editing?"

 

[Deleted member 172152]

Vega 20 = 20 cores = Intel Kaby Lake G = i5-8305G (2.8 GHz), i7-8705G (3.1 GHz), or i7-8706G (3.1 GHz w/ vPro)

The problem with all of these Macs is they thermal throttle. Bad. Mac Mini, especially, is like 60w max device. Legit, desktop Vega 64 is a 350w card. See the problem?

What kind of "editing?"

560x+i9 is hardly going to be better than vega+i9, so there should be performance gains still.

I'll mostly be editing 1080p and 4k game/camera footage in fcp x, imovie and whatever.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Oh, eGPU as in external. Doesn't matter what you do, that potato of a CPU in the Mac Mini isn't going to be able to adequately feed a Vega 64. Here's the best processor they offer: Core i7-8700B which is a six month old, 65w six-core processor. For $50 more, you could get the brand new, 95w, eight-core processor: Core i7-9700K. Or, for the same prices as the Core i7-8700B, a Ryzen 2700X, 105w, eight-core processor.

Does that software compute on GPU? AMD GPUs have dedicated hardware for encoding/decoding. If the software doesn't use it, buying a crazy card like Vega 64 won't accomplish much.

Don't be fooled by the "i9" designation. It's only 35w. Desktop i9 draws 95w.

 

[Deleted member 172152]

Oh, eGPU as in external. Doesn't matter what you do, that potato of a CPU in the Mac Mini isn't going to be able to adequately feed a Vega 64. Here's the best processor they offer: Core i7-8700B which is a six month old, 65w six-core processor. For $50 more, you could get the brand new, 95w, eight-core processor: Core i7-9700K. Or, for the same prices as the Core i7-8700B, a Ryzen 2700X, 105w, eight-core processor.

Does that software compute on GPU? AMD GPUs have dedicated hardware for encoding/decoding. If the software doesn't use it, buying a crazy card like Vega 64 won't accomplish much.

Fcp x actually runs exceptionally well on egpus IF you don't have a discrete gpu in the device and the egpu is amd.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

...IF you don't have a discrete gpu in the device...

Thermal throttle. Make sure the eGPU enclosure can handle a 350w card. I'd feel better if it could handle 400w.

And yeah, 13" is tiny.

 

[Deleted member 172152]

Interesting situation now. I found this video about the vega macbook pros:

Now I'm wondering, considering Heaven is supposedly 80% better, some stuff barely improved and it often is 30% better graphics-wise, should I reconsider getting a macbook with 560x on black friday and wait for the holiday sales? I mean, it could potentially perform nearly as well as a 580 gaming box in games, but potentially it's actually only up to 33% quicker or so with a few minor exceptions, eg Apple's up to 60% faster claims.

Also, thermals seem improved all-round. Could there be redesigned cooling for vega? 6% faster cpu is still something worth considering.

I mean, I want a macbook, but Apple is making it hard to choose! If I can't choose however, I COULD, although I'd rather not, get a mac mini friday and vega 64 egpu and deal with windows on the go for a bit longer. I still have a Surface pro 2017 after all and not many things I need a laptop for right now. Just sucks you never know when the next Apple discounts will be!

Edit: Found this video too:

35% quicker in games. Nowhere near gaming box levels, still 1050 ti vs maybe a 1050 though. Not great, still a lot better. Will probably skip it though.

 

[kurosagi01]

I use a 15" 2017 Macbook pro for work as I do app development and my GF has a 2013 11 or 13" macbook air as her main laptop, if you're like me and much prefer running applications at full screen then the size doesn't entirely matter in my opinion but with bigger screen you won't have to look down as much which is more comforting to your neck.
The resolution on the MBP is a joy to look at and i'm sure the newer version will be better.
The comfort of typing though in comparison, I much prefer the 15" as you have more space to rest your palm, the weight difference if its a concern then there isn't that much difference in carrying around.

 

[Deleted member 172152]

Wpuld there be a noticeable difference between i5 and i7 13" at all irl? Will also be gaming with egpu and won't be upgrading for years, but could get more storage instead. Don't need the extra storage as I already have a 500gb t5 ssd and don't need i7, but I will mostly be editing and gaming, and would there be a noticeable benefit without the egpu on the go?

Should probably close this thread soon! LOL


Vega 20 is pretty cool, just that 13" seems nicer.

 

[Aquinus]

Remember that a laptop is still a laptop. If you really need more power, you might as well spend the dough on an iMac or something. They have more hardware and handle the thermals better because... well, they're not laptops with the same constraints for size, power, and cooling. If a nice 15" MBP isn't good enough for your needs, then you shouldn't be using a laptop to do you job. That's my take on it.