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The most stable 16-inch MBP (2019) configuration for gaming on Bootcamp

The most stable 16-inch MBP (2019) configuration for gaming on Bootcamp

  • 2.6GHz 6‑core i7-9750H, 5300M 4GB (Basic model)

    Votes: 9 25.0%

  • 2.6GHz 6‑core i7-9750H, 5500M 4GB (Basic model)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 2.6GHz 6‑core i7-9750H, 5500M 8GB (Basic model)

    Votes: 5 13.9%

  • 2.4GHz 8‑core i9-9980HK, 5300M 4GB (Basic model)

    Votes: 1 2.8%

  • 2.3GHz 8‑core i9-9880H, 5500M 4GB (Advanced model)

    Votes: 3 8.3%

  • 2.3GHz 8‑core i9-9880H, 5500M 8GB (Advanced model)

    Votes: 12 33.3%

  • 2.4GHz 8‑core i9-9980HK, 5500M 4GB (Basic model, Advanced model)

    Votes: 1 2.8%

  • 2.4GHz 8‑core i9-9980HK, 5500M 8GB (Basic model, Advanced model)

    Votes: 7 19.4%
  • Total voters
    36
  • Poll closed .
A

AViAl

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 20, 2020
3
0
Hi guys!

I want to buy a new 2019 16-inch MBP in a few months.
I will use it primarily for work, but also would like to game on it.
Yeah, I know Mac isn't for gaming, but in terms of mobility it's the best choice for me atm.

I've run into a lot of issues with throttling and performance stability with my old 2015 15-inch MBP with discrete graphics on Bootcamp. Had to do a lot of research and tried many solutions, which finally led to maxing fans speed with Macs Fan Control, fixing CPU frequencies to certain values and slightly overclocking GPU to fixed values on every Bootcamp startup.

Now I just wish that my new MBP would be performant and work well without throttling and precarious software mumba-jumba.
I've read this thread recently and found several reports that at least some of 2019 16-inch MBP CPU/GPU combinations throttle and don't work well from the box, and now I'm curious which spec should I buy.

So the question for all 2019 16-inch MBP owners: which spec would you recommend in terms of performance/stability ratio for gaming on Bootcamp?
Please feel free to vote and share your owner experience in this thread.
 
darkmatter343

darkmatter343

macrumors 6502
Sep 18, 2017
344
232
Toronto, Canada
If your primary use is going to be work with gaming an afterthought, I'd first ask if the base model will suffice CPU, Ram and Graphics wise.

I picked up the i9, 5500m 4GB model this week and have Windows 10 installed on Bootcamp for gaming, 99% Rainbow Six Siege. I was able to crank all the settings, less Ultra Textures (Since it needs more than 4GB VRam) and it ran buttery smooth. But HOLY! Fan Noise City! I wear over the ear headphones, Kingston Hyper-X Cloud, and so I don't really hear the noise, but there is no way anyone could stand that noise during gaming, let alone even hear the game properly! On the bright side, the 16" wasn't getting that hot, so I guess the fans are dissipating the heat.

This said...I'm not entirely sure how better off the base model is compared to the i9 and 5500m in terms of fan speeds. Obviously if you have both the i9 and 5500m, it's going to draw more power and create more heat, but how much more over the i7 and 5300m I can't say. Although I can't imagine if you were in say Red Dead Redemption 2, the fans would be any less loud than with the i9 5500m version.

Also, you DO have the option of using an eGPU if you'll be gaming mostly in one place, and then if you do travel you can still game. This is probably the direction I'm going to go, I'm going to pickup at Razor Core X with either a 5700x or RTX card for Windows 10 Only.
 
B

badsimian

macrumors 6502
Aug 23, 2015
374
200
Just get the base model. There is very little difference between 5300 and 5500 for gaming (I have had both and honestly you dimply don't notice the difference when actually playing games, even benchmarks only show a small difference)
6 core vs 8 cores is meaningless with gaming in general. The base will generate the last amount of heat and therefore be least prone to throttling.
 
L

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,302
19,279
It doesn’t matter much. For gaming, get the 5500M - the difference might not be big but it’s there and extra 5 FPS can make a big impact subjectively.
 
R

riptidewahoo

macrumors regular
Mar 4, 2011
197
354
Don't do it. You're just asking to give yourself a headache. (Speaking from experience of trying this with a 16" MBP)

Just get a cheap gaming laptop and carry both.
 
  • Like
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A

AViAl

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 20, 2020
3
0
Okay guys, maybe I should ask a question a little bit differently: do you experience throttling with your MBP 16 and which configuration do you own in that case?
 
JosepPont

JosepPont

macrumors regular
Oct 25, 2019
236
192
Albaida, Valencian Country
Well, so you don't exposed your question properly. If somebody experience throttling they do not have anything to do because the machine specs don't vary.

What you can to do if you experience throttling (or low FPS) is reduce the game configs (eg. reduce resolution, textures quality and so on) and that depends on the game. It is clear that if you buy a high spec machine, you will reduce the probability of throttling or at least you will game with a little better performance most of the games. That is simple.

In my experience (that is similar as your needs) I can play very well games like RDR2 putting the configuration between the middle and high points getting the game totally playable (aroung 60 FPS). The fans get a little bit loudy but is not a problem for me because the sound system I have.

I had read that is not a big difference between the i9 9980HK and 9880H processors (aka 2.4GHz and 2.3 GHz respectively) so I was decided for 9880H. About the graphic card, I also had read that is not a huge diference between the 5500 and 5300 but in that case you can get 8 GB with the 5500 but not with the 5300 so I was decided for the 5500 with 8 GB. That plus of GRAMallows you to burst the machine a llittle bit more in video edition and, in games, get textures at ultra. The price difference is not so big.

Also I purchased for 32 Gigs of RAM that is not the most relevant in gamming but with the whole machine's performance.

I wish that this reply will help you.
 
L

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,302
19,279
AViAl said:
Okay guys, maybe I should ask a question a little bit differently: do you experience throttling with your MBP 16 and which configuration do you own in that case?
Click to expand...

I did not notice any throttling neither in games, professional work nor in benchmarks.

Spec: 2.4 ghz i9, 5500m 8GB VRAM.
 
ctjack

ctjack

macrumors 65816
Mar 8, 2020
1,371
1,410
applesed said:
Any other suggestions for Mac users looking to offload their gaming onto a Windows laptop on the cheap?
Click to expand...
ASUS zephyrus g14(beast of a machine beats MBP 16) for $1450 + $1300 Any Macbook for work(air or pro 13) = $2750 and you have 2 laptops.
 
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