12" Retina MacBook graphics? External cooling?

[CZroe]

Anyone know how the graphics of the new 12" MacBook will compare with my 2011 Alienware M11xr3 (dual-core Sandy Bridge i5 2537M, nVidia GT 540M)? It does support Boot Camp for Windows gaming, right? How does it compare with the 11.6" MacBook Air?

When I've asked these kind of questions in the past, people usually tell me that something larger is a better value. I just want to get ahead of that by saying that nothing larger will fit in my motorcycle tank bag.

Now, if I game on it, I am sure that the fanless M-series CPU will be a problem. Because it uses the aluminum chassis for cooling an external laptop cooler should be pretty effective. Can I expect that to keep it at the boosted speed?

 

[JAG87]

It's actually slower than the 540M. Yes it should support Boot Camp. Do not buy this machine to play games, you will be really disappointed.

 

[smackababy]

It will have Intel Iris 5300 graphics only. While that isn't terrible for things like Netflix and web browsing, I would hesitate to play any games on it. Is there really a big difference between 12" and 13"? You'd be better off getting the 13" rMBP for the upgraded IGP, but even that will only go so far.

 

[TheStu]

It's actually slower than the 540M. Yes it should support Boot Camp. Do not buy this machine to play games, you will be really disappointed.

According to notebookcheck.com, the HD5300 in the nuMB is a little faster than the 520MX, and maybe 20-30% faster than the 520M.

Where it's going to hurt is probably with the CPU. It's many generations newer, but is awfully slow.

OP may be better off with a 2015 MBA11, the HD6000 in those looks like it would easy top the GPU in their 2011 Alienware.

 

[CZroe]

It's not that I'm considering it as a gaming notebook. The only games I'm interested in running on it would be pretty old. The same ones I'd be running on my M11x r3, basically.

I guess I'm waiting on the refresh. Feels like I've been doing that a long time. The last MBA seems to have impressive-enough graphics and I was expecting this to be similar.

...Is there really a big difference between 12" and 13"? You'd be better off getting the 13" rMBP for the upgraded IGP, but even that will only go so far.

Yes. Even the 13.3" MBA does not fit so I know the 13.3" MBP will not. I had to wait until Best Buy put the first M11x on display in store to know that it fits (just barely). I also tested the 11.6" MBA in store and the bezel makes it the same size as the 12" MacBook. As you could imagine, store employees aren't too enthusiastic about letting you slip their laptops into your bag.

 

[CZroe]

According to notebookcheck.com, the HD5300 in the nuMB is a little faster than the 520MX, and maybe 20-30% faster than the 520M.

Where it's going to hurt is probably with the CPU. It's many generations newer, but is awfully slow.

OP may be better off with a 2015 MBA11, the HD6000 in those looks like it would easy top the GPU in their 2011 Alienware.

Thanks. I considered it but this awful 11.6" 1366x768 LCD is the main motivation for upgrading. Some 11.6" MBAs use this exact same panel, which would not be an upgrade at all.

 

[Zink]

Even the 13.3" MBA does not fit so I know the 13.3" MBP will not.

The 13" MBP is smaller than the 13" MBA so that doesn't say much. It could fit depending on what your limiting dimension is.

M11xr3 is 1.30 x 11.26 x 9.17 in
13 MBP is 0.71 x 12.35 x 8.62 in

 

[Bubbleawsome]

http://www.asus.com/us/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX303LA/specifications/
Might be worth a shot.

 

[jji7skyline]

GT540M is nearly twice as fast as the 5300.
http://videocardbenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=27&cmp[]=2921

On the other hand, the i5 in your Alienware and the Core M in the Macbook should perform reasonably similarly.

Core M http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/search?utf8=✓&q=core+M-5Y70

i5 http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/search?utf8=✓&q=2537M

Therefore the Macbook will be a fine replacement for the Alienware if you are looking for better portability. On the other hand, for intensive gaming it will not be suitable. Less intensive games such as strategy games and things should run reasonably well though.