Unity on Macbook pro 2019

Hello guys,quick question.Will unity work on macbook pro with Intel i5 and iris plus 655.I cant find any performance test on youtube.What i expect is that i can work on 3D games
without lags and what i mean with 3D games is that i can make something like CS 1,6(Map,Weapons,Characters...) without lags so please answer quick.

 

Yes.

This is completely dependent on your skills and the complexity of your game. Generally speaking though Intel GPUs will have performance problems long before dedicated hardware.

 

I guess you're talking about the 2019 MBP 13 inch? With how much it costs, just get a PC and find a Mini from the last generation to do builds on.

Unless you're not targeting iOS, in which case just get a PC.

Macs are just not worth the cost anymore. They barely were a few years ago, but now the only reason you should be getting a Mac is if you're trying to target iOS.

 

Or if you want longevity of hardware, or dislike having to deal with anti-virus/malware, or just dislike having to deal with winders. They may be more expensive than some cheaper PCs, but value is a lot more than price.

 

If I buy a desktop or laptop for $1300, it's going to have that same longevity, likely even more. Longevity really doesn't become an issue until you're hitting $600 or less and dealing with low quality vendors. Macs used to be my primary dev environment until two years ago.

Most malware targets are through the browser nowadays (it's still a problem in Chrome to end up with surreptitiously installed extensions) and the other methods that Apple is using to prevent malware and virus issues leads into...

...the fact that you are basically dealing with an increasing walled garden issue. The code signing problem on MacOS has basically made it so that deploying on the platform is an absolute disaster, and that's severely affecting the way you can use the OS and software on it. A big reason I just gave up on Macs was that, for a while, I could just slide into the terminal and get around the way that MacOS outright gets in the way and blocks the door to doing anything Apple doesn't want you to do.

Not wanting to deal with Windows was kinda a valid excuse 3+ years ago, but Macs are kinda going whole-hog in the other direction as far as annoyances go.

It's really not some, but all at this point. The MBP I'm talking about starts at $1300 but has the performance equivalent of a $600 laptop PC at this point.

Yes, it is, and if you get a laptop PC from a reputable vendor, you're not just getting value, but increased performance, and the extended warranties will cover things like physical damage. To take another shot, AppleCare is a mess. AppleCare costs more than most PC warranty features and is basically completely void in the case of physical damage or even attempts at user service.

If I buy a $1300 USD laptop PC, if I want to extend its life I can slap some extra memory in there. If I want more internal storage, I can do that too. Both these things are, in the case of laptops in that price range that aren't gamer toys, bottom plates that can be removed, no worries about warranty at all.

I know all about the value that Apple used to have, but it's simply not there anymore. I loved the platform, but it's really just a total mess now. It's not an ecosystem worth entering, it's only an ecosystem you should stay with if you're already locked in now.

 

Look at the machine's specs. Would you play CS on it, happily, without "lag"? If the answer is "no" then that settles it.

If the answer is "yes" then consider that you'll also need extra headroom for the Editor and supporting applications. So it really needs to be overpowered compared to just running the game. (Though, really, you do not need your editor to render at 60+ hz as long as the UI is responsive, and often it won't for a complex game.)

Also keep in mind that laptop hardware often doesn't run at full speed from the battery, and/or won't last long if it does. So specifically read up on that if it's important to you.

 

Longevity that is entirely dictated by the whims of the company. The latest release of Unity 2019.3 requires Sierra 10.12.6 or greater. The majority of the machines capable of running that release were Core 2 Duos but there were a couple models that had newer chips in them.

If I wanted to upgrade those machines the most that would be possible would be increasing the memory and storage, but even that is no longer available with many newer machines thanks to being either soldered or prevented by a special chip.

https://everymac.com/systems/by_year/macs-released-in-2009.html

With actual PCs you can often replace the consumer processor with a workstation model. LGA 775 CPUs exist with nearly the same clock rate as the dual core models while having four cores and substantially more cache making for increased longevity the above iMacs as well as many current machines won't have.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors#Quad-Core_Desktop_processors
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core-based_Xeon_microprocessors#Xeon_(UP/DP),_Quad_Core

Naturally you can replace everything else too. Solid state drives are one of the best longevity improvements, but nothjng prevents you from installing Windows 10 (which is actually slightly lower on system requirements) and running an RTX GPU. You just won't hit max performance in most applications thanks to a weak CPU.

Of course the motherboard is just another part in a normal PC. Replace that and you can install a modern processor with modern memory and keep everything else. A Ryzen 3 2200G, 16GB of RAM, and a budget motherboard is around $200.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($67.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: OLOy 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $210.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-02-16 16:12 EST-0500

Modern Windows has its own ant-virus that is fantastic not because it's the best anti-virus available but because it's a good anti-virus while having almost no impact on system performance. Couple that with a good adblocker and you won't see either of these unless you actively try to become infected or frequently visit questionable websites.

 

Lets compare like-things, here. The OP is talking about a MacBook, which is a laptop. You can not easily replace the motherboards in most laptops, to the best of my knowledge.

We also have no idea why the OP is leaning towards a Mac. Why bother debating their value when we don't even know what the reason behind it is?

Back on topic, Iris stuff isn't bad, but it's certainly not designed for high-demand 3D graphics. I don't tend to follow these things these days, but it looks to me like it's designed for power efficiency over brute strength, which makes a lot of sense for a laptop part (see: my earlier comment about stuff not running at full strength off battery in the first place).

If you look here you'll see that it's roughly half the speed (or less) of a GTX 960M when tested in games. Even at "low / 720p" it doesn't reach 60hz in Fortnite. Note that it's being compared against the mobile version of a 960 there, which probably already isn't as beefy as its desktop counterpart.

The benefit to something like an Iris is definitely that they're designed for laptops. It's around half the speed of a 960M, but it achieves that with ~20% of the power draw. For a laptop that's a huge win: it has the potential of running at full speed off battery, it'll help the battery last longer, and it won't get as hot. Chances are that the performance gap closes when running off battery, too. Still, if the Iris isn't fast enough then that's not the laptop for you, regardless of theoretical benefits.

 

Unfortunately, in Apple's case, the Iris is basically an okay choice at best. The MBP 2019 13 inch's display resolution is 2560x1600, and sometimes it can struggle to keep up with that when you're using pretty much anything that makes use of the GPU. It's just not great at driving the standard display resolution.

 

I love your way of turning their question around and getting them to think about the hardware they're choosing and I will totally be stealing this approach for my own use.

Battery consumption is a good point to make but one important thing to be aware of when comparing TDP is that each company has a different way of measuring it. Intel's TDP measures power consumption at base speed. The Intel Iris 655 has a base speed of 300 MHz but it boosts up to 1200 MHz.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/13544/why-intel-processors-draw-more-power-than-expected-tdp-turbo

NVIDIA's statement on the topic is that it's the "maximum power draw over time in real world applications".

https://bit-tech.net/blogs/what-does-tdp-mean-nvidia/1/

 

Very true. You need to look at what the number means in detail before you can compare them.

The sources I looked at (such as this one) said that the 15W was the max. I didn't look up anything from Intel themselves, though.

 

Omg I like how no one asked anyone’s opinion on what laptop to buy but asked if it will work on macbook or not. I can’t stand windows and S***ty laptops that come with it and would hate to get answers not relevant to the topic.

Personally to answer your question I have a full spec MacBook Pro 15’ and a pretty complex TPS multiplayer game. In debug mode I experience some lag, however when I build it it runs pretty smoothly (including a local server for the game). If you are professional game dev I would go with Mac mini or iMac as you really want to have better performance in debug but if you make a game for fun/learn it will be totally fine.

 

Hope you're ready to give up that speedy laptop for one powered by the same tech that powers most Chromebooks.

 

Seeing that the "full spec" MacBook Pro 15" cost over $6,500, I should hope it would be good enough. The OP though sounds like he/she was looking for something more budget friendly.

https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/2019-macbook-pro-15-inch

Spoiler

But my MSI Bravo 15's Ryzen 4800h still beats it in CPU tasks for only $1k.

 

Yeah I would be really hesitant to buy a new Mac right now right before the transition. I'm expecting it to go similar to the Power PC to Intel transition, where Apple claimed don't worry your Power PC Mac is still going to be fine going forward. Then though software stopped appearing for it, and you were basically forced to switch just to keep up, even though your old machine was still performing fine.

 

For Unity? Same as the other platforms.

 

Please don't necro old posts.
There is more to it than just GPU performance. If you want more info ask for help in a post with all specs