The Apple 2018 15-Inch MacBook Pro with Vega 20 Graphics: A Powerhouse of Performance and Efficiency

Since 2016, the 15-inch MacBook Pros have seen minor improvements in graphics performance, primarily due to the similar Radeon 465/60 and 560 X graphics chips. However, with the introduction of new graphics chips that pack ultra-fast HBM-to-memory technology, Apple has finally upgraded the MacBook Pro's graphics capabilities. The Vega 20 graphics chip is a significant improvement over its predecessors, offering better performance, efficiency, and cooling.

The Vega 20 graphics chip features memory built directly into the GPU package, which not only improves efficiency but also enhances cooling capabilities. This allows for better thermal management, enabling the Vega 20 to run cooler than the 560 X, as observed in our testing. The Vega 20's performance is evident in various benchmarks, with impressive results across multiple tests.

Geekbench fours OpenCL test: The Vega 20 achieves a 37% better score than the 560 X in this test, demonstrating its significant improvement over previous graphics chips. Metal Test: While the Vega 20 only sees a 23% improvement over the 560 X, it is still an impressive result, especially considering the higher scores achieved by the 560 X. Unigine 7 Gaming Benchmark: The Vega 20 outperforms the 560 X with almost twice as many frames per second, a welcome surprise that showcases the chip's capabilities. Windows 10 and Fortnight: The Vega 20 also delivers significant performance gains in gaming benchmarks, with an average of 20 fps higher on Windows 10 compared to Mac OS.

Video Editing and Final Cut Pro 10: In video editing applications, the Vega 20 proves itself to be a powerhouse. Stabilizing a 20-second 4K clip takes almost twice as long with the Vega 20 compared to the 560 X, demonstrating its capabilities in demanding tasks. However, exporting a five-minute 4K clip shows only minor improvements, but still outperforms the 560 X. Canon c200 4K Raw Export: The Vega 20 excels in this more power-demanding format, achieving around 35% faster export times compared to the 560 X. Playback Frame Rate: The Vega 20's ability to playback the 4K raw footage at 31 frames per second is impressive, rivaling even the Blackmagic EGP connected to the MacBook Pro.

Testing and Observations: During testing, we noticed that the Vega 20 ran cooler than the 560 X, indicating potential improvements in thermal management or efficiency. The i9 processor's clock speed increased from 2.4 GHz to 2.9 GHz when paired with Vega 20 graphics, further demonstrating its capabilities. Battery Life: Notably, battery life remained unchanged despite the improved performance and power consumption of the Vega 20.

Recommendation and Conclusion: Based on our testing, the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro with Vega 20 graphics is an excellent choice for anyone who pushes their graphics to the limits, including video editors and 3D renderers. The Vega 20's capabilities make it ideal for demanding tasks like video editing, with its ability to handle challenging footage like Canon c200 4K raw without resorting to an external GPU. With its impressive performance, efficiency, and cooling capabilities, the 2018 MacBook Pro with Vega 20 graphics is a powerhouse that justifies its premium price tag.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enonly four months after the 2018 MacBook Pro was released Apple is now offering new graphics options for the high-end 15-inch model you can now choose between Vegas 16 for an extra $250 or Vega 20 for an extra $350 the performance numbers show just how great these graphics options really are but let's first go over what's great and not so great about the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro first off it's incredibly thin for the amount of Power Packs the design is light-years beyond most laptops on the market speaker quality in volume is unmatched the trackpad is best-in-class and battery life is exceptional considering the thin size and massive performance however the butterfly keyboard just doesn't have very much key travel and some users hate it but its design ensures that the MacBook Pro is as thin as possible but we personally love the new quieter and more reliable butterfly keyboard which comes thanks to a silicon membrane that protects the key switches from debris a lot of users also don't like the touch bar and I personally don't mind it the display is also not the best out there with 2.8 K resolution compared to some other laptops which already feature 4k displays but the MacBook Pros display leads the industry in brightness and color accuracy and that's what really matters it's been two years since Apple made the switch to Thunderbolt three ports and the market is now flooded with USBC accessories so it's honestly not an issue anymore with that out of the way let's get to the juicy stuff performance since 2016 15 inch MacBook Pros have only seen minor improvements in graphics performance between the very similar Radeon 465 60 and 560 X now we finally have new graphics chips which pack ultra-fast HBM to memory as you can see in this image between MacBook Pros with 560 X and Vega 20 graphics the memory is built right into the Vega 20 GPU package so it's also getting cooled by the heat pipes leading to better efficiency now let's run some benchmarks starting with Geekbench fours OpenCL test the Vega 20 achieves a 37% better score than the 560 X which is seriously impressive now in the metal test we're only seeing a 23% improvement since the 560 X got a considerably higher score using metal now in Unigine 7 gaming benchmark the Vegas 20 got almost twice as many frames per second as the 560 X now that's an improvement we weren't expecting to see we decided to install Windows 10 using bootcamp and retest Unigine heavens benchmark and we saw a much higher 49 fps now that's a huge difference between Mac and Windows we then tested out fortnight on both Mac OS and Windows 10 and saw an average of 20 fps higher on Windows 10 if you'd like to watch that video click the card above now onto some more serious benchmarks video editing and Final Cut Pro 10 we started off by stabilizing a 20-second 4k clip in Vega 20 was almost twice as fast this is a huge deal for anyone who does a lot of stabilization we then exported a five-minute 4k clip and Vega 20 honestly wasn't that much faster however while exporting Canon c200 4k raw a more power demanding format Vega 20 was around 35% faster than the 5 60 X now that's a huge improvement we were even more impressed when we tested playback frame rate Vega 20 was able to playback the 4k raw footage at 31 frames per second compared to 20 on the 5 60 X that brings it really close to even the Blackmagic EGP you connected to the MacBook Pro this means that with Vega 20 your 24 or 30 frames per second project will playback perfectly smooth with no dropped frames throughout our testing we noticed that Vega 20 ran cooler than the 5 60 X now whether its efficiency better thermal paste or software improvements we're not sure but it definitely gives the ion processor extra thermal Headroom we noticed that the eye 9 now ran at 2.9 gigahertz instead of 2.4 gigahertz we previously observed in our five-minute read raw export we then tested Cinebench r15 CPU tests to take the graphics completely out of the equation in the i9 processor scored 57 points higher with Vega 20 graphics compared to 5 60 X graphics so Apple definitely improved something we're just not sure what it is we also noticed that battery life stayed the same even with better performance and that's because it's more efficient compared to the 555 X and 560 X so as far as video editing goes paying $350 for Vega 20 is definitely worth it for the extra performance that you get now let's say you're a photo editor in that case having better graphics will increase performance at all we tested all three CPU options for the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro and the only thing we found that really of affected photo editing was the amount of RAM you have so just by the base 15 inch model in upgrade to 32 gigabytes of RAM so here's the final question who should buy the MacBook Pro with Vega 20 graphics basically anyone who pushes their graphics to the limits that includes anyone doing serious video editing or 3d rendering and anyone who wants to be able to use their MacBook as a gaming laptop as well overall Vega 20 makes an already superior laptop even more impressive allowing it to handle the editing of difficult footage like Canon raw with ease without having to resort to an e GPU the amount of power the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro with Vega 20 graphics packs is incredible considering its size weight and low amount of wattage being pulled from the battery it's simply a marvel of engineering let us know what you thought about this review in the comments section below and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on more videos like this one if you enjoy this video like it and hit that subscribe button also check out our price guide which makes it extremely easy to find the best deals and Apple products updated daily be sure to follow us on social media and we'll see you in the next videoonly four months after the 2018 MacBook Pro was released Apple is now offering new graphics options for the high-end 15-inch model you can now choose between Vegas 16 for an extra $250 or Vega 20 for an extra $350 the performance numbers show just how great these graphics options really are but let's first go over what's great and not so great about the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro first off it's incredibly thin for the amount of Power Packs the design is light-years beyond most laptops on the market speaker quality in volume is unmatched the trackpad is best-in-class and battery life is exceptional considering the thin size and massive performance however the butterfly keyboard just doesn't have very much key travel and some users hate it but its design ensures that the MacBook Pro is as thin as possible but we personally love the new quieter and more reliable butterfly keyboard which comes thanks to a silicon membrane that protects the key switches from debris a lot of users also don't like the touch bar and I personally don't mind it the display is also not the best out there with 2.8 K resolution compared to some other laptops which already feature 4k displays but the MacBook Pros display leads the industry in brightness and color accuracy and that's what really matters it's been two years since Apple made the switch to Thunderbolt three ports and the market is now flooded with USBC accessories so it's honestly not an issue anymore with that out of the way let's get to the juicy stuff performance since 2016 15 inch MacBook Pros have only seen minor improvements in graphics performance between the very similar Radeon 465 60 and 560 X now we finally have new graphics chips which pack ultra-fast HBM to memory as you can see in this image between MacBook Pros with 560 X and Vega 20 graphics the memory is built right into the Vega 20 GPU package so it's also getting cooled by the heat pipes leading to better efficiency now let's run some benchmarks starting with Geekbench fours OpenCL test the Vega 20 achieves a 37% better score than the 560 X which is seriously impressive now in the metal test we're only seeing a 23% improvement since the 560 X got a considerably higher score using metal now in Unigine 7 gaming benchmark the Vegas 20 got almost twice as many frames per second as the 560 X now that's an improvement we weren't expecting to see we decided to install Windows 10 using bootcamp and retest Unigine heavens benchmark and we saw a much higher 49 fps now that's a huge difference between Mac and Windows we then tested out fortnight on both Mac OS and Windows 10 and saw an average of 20 fps higher on Windows 10 if you'd like to watch that video click the card above now onto some more serious benchmarks video editing and Final Cut Pro 10 we started off by stabilizing a 20-second 4k clip in Vega 20 was almost twice as fast this is a huge deal for anyone who does a lot of stabilization we then exported a five-minute 4k clip and Vega 20 honestly wasn't that much faster however while exporting Canon c200 4k raw a more power demanding format Vega 20 was around 35% faster than the 5 60 X now that's a huge improvement we were even more impressed when we tested playback frame rate Vega 20 was able to playback the 4k raw footage at 31 frames per second compared to 20 on the 5 60 X that brings it really close to even the Blackmagic EGP you connected to the MacBook Pro this means that with Vega 20 your 24 or 30 frames per second project will playback perfectly smooth with no dropped frames throughout our testing we noticed that Vega 20 ran cooler than the 5 60 X now whether its efficiency better thermal paste or software improvements we're not sure but it definitely gives the ion processor extra thermal Headroom we noticed that the eye 9 now ran at 2.9 gigahertz instead of 2.4 gigahertz we previously observed in our five-minute read raw export we then tested Cinebench r15 CPU tests to take the graphics completely out of the equation in the i9 processor scored 57 points higher with Vega 20 graphics compared to 5 60 X graphics so Apple definitely improved something we're just not sure what it is we also noticed that battery life stayed the same even with better performance and that's because it's more efficient compared to the 555 X and 560 X so as far as video editing goes paying $350 for Vega 20 is definitely worth it for the extra performance that you get now let's say you're a photo editor in that case having better graphics will increase performance at all we tested all three CPU options for the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro and the only thing we found that really of affected photo editing was the amount of RAM you have so just by the base 15 inch model in upgrade to 32 gigabytes of RAM so here's the final question who should buy the MacBook Pro with Vega 20 graphics basically anyone who pushes their graphics to the limits that includes anyone doing serious video editing or 3d rendering and anyone who wants to be able to use their MacBook as a gaming laptop as well overall Vega 20 makes an already superior laptop even more impressive allowing it to handle the editing of difficult footage like Canon raw with ease without having to resort to an e GPU the amount of power the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro with Vega 20 graphics packs is incredible considering its size weight and low amount of wattage being pulled from the battery it's simply a marvel of engineering let us know what you thought about this review in the comments section below and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on more videos like this one if you enjoy this video like it and hit that subscribe button also check out our price guide which makes it extremely easy to find the best deals and Apple products updated daily be sure to follow us on social media and we'll see you in the next video\n"