# Late 2013 15" rMBP - nVidia 750M PS issues solved?



## Selwin (Feb 16, 2014)

I am now seriously considering a Late 2013 15" rMBP. My question is about the nVidia 750M discrete graphics option. First let me tell you which apps I intend to use:

- basic use (Apple Mail, Safari, MS Office, iTunes, etc.
- watch movies using VLC
- Lightroom (obviously)
- Photoshop CS6, possibly CC in the future
- No Gaming!!
- Maybe some mild video editing (just shortening / pasting some home movies) 

I am looking at using this laptop for another 6 years. Resale value is totally irrelevant.

Specs:
- 15" retina
- 2.3 GHz processor (or maybe 2.6)
- 16GB RAM
- 512 GB SSD
- OSX 10.9 (*Mavericks!*): impossible to use 10.8.

In the Apple store, there is a base 2.0 model w/ 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM for 2029,00, no Geforce 750M.
When I upgrade this base model to 2.3GHz (+99,00), 16GB RAM (+200) and 512GB SSD (+300) the price is *2628,99* Euros.
I can also choose the 2.3GHz base model. It has 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD (so same specs as desired) but it comes with the nVidia Geforce 750M. Price is also *2629,00* Euros, so choosing this option gets me the optional graphics processor for free.

To 750M or not to 750M? That is the question.
However, I see lots of issues in forum posts regarding Photoshop CS/CC (both performance related and bugs such as black layers needing to relaunch) when using the new late 2013 rMBP. Some issues seem to be related to the 750M. I even read a report of a LR user who had problems scrolling around an image. 
So…are there any Late 2013 15" rMBP users here that would be willing to share experience? Do you use Lr5 and Photoshop CS6/CC and if so how do you like the performance and stability?

You could help me regarding the following:
#1 I'm torn between getting the 750M or not
#2 I'm still considering the 2.6GHz option as it's only +200 and for 6 years of usage that is only 3 Euros a month. Some say battery life is worse with the 2.6 and some say the opposite.
#3 Does your Late 2013 15" rMBP run well with Adobe apps or does it give you any headaches?

Thank you for your thoughts!


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## turnstyle (Mar 7, 2014)

I'm in the same boat.

I'm leaning toward getting it without the Nvidia card, reasons being:

1) Lightroom doesn't use it, I'm not a gamer -- overall, it seems I wouldn't actually get much use from it.

2) Iris Pro seems to be pretty strong.

3) Simpler is usually better -- and just the iGPU is simpler than the iGPU plus dGPU

4) My understanding is that some surprising applications are known to activate the dGPU -- for example, Chrome (though I'm not 100% is that's still the case) -- but the point is it might wind up running more than you would expect.

5) I believe that winds up meaning more heat, more noise (fan), and shorter battery life.

Would be very interested to hear others chime in!


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## Selwin (Apr 7, 2014)

Meanwhile I ordered the 2.3 / 16GB / 512GB / 750M model. As far as I can tell so farthere are no drawbacks. I installed gfxCardStatus and it runs neatly in the menu bar, telling me when the machine switches video mode. Haven't heard the fan except this one time when I converted a video (blazingly fast by the way). You can use gfxCardStatus to make the machine always run in iGPU mode if you're concerned about battery life. This battery is amazing though. It sometimes last for 3 days.


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