MacBook Pro 16 inch Gaming - Gameplay, Performance, Throttlestop, Bootcamp Temperature - i9, 5500m

[@TechWithSean]

Update: for the 16” MBP, the newest January 17 Adrenaline 2020 BLUE driver from bootcampdrivers should get you even better performance in most games. The January 2020 RED driver should be pretty close in performance also, and you can use that instead if you want access to some of the features it has like Radeon Image Sharpening.

[@slash10e]

Did you install the bootcampdrivers in Windows 10 1909 or 1903?

[@christlike_5.043]

Yes I did this yesterday and got better performance and FPS

[@MAMAvsGOD]

SEAN You Genius Please Help me w/ Insight. I have Mac 16' Decked out, I will be Vtubing using OBS to Livestream. I have Oculus Quest 2 but SteamVR isn't compatible w/ Mac so I gotta use Windows 10. How can I achieve this at same time?? 1) Do I need Shadow, some type of Cloud Gaming service to remain on Mac and Stream. 2) Will Parallel actually work because I'm not sure it'll meet system requirements when I tried, maybe I missed drivers cuhz wouldn't connect my Quest 2 to Devices on Windows 10 side. 3) Can I run bootloader on External HDD and run Windows 10 to connect, will it let me use Mac at same time with different Display?? Thank you!!

[@Y-I]

The best video I've found with a detailed macbook setup for gaming and real data demonstration. Those who told me that you can't play games on such an old macbook were wrong (and there were a lot of them).

[@mtw9327]

Hi Sean, this was the most solid review I have seen on the gaming capabilities of the MBP 16 inch. Keep up the good work!

[@wordstohisbrideministries5284]

IMHO yes this is the best review. The first review that comes up on the google search recommends not playing games in Windows - he doesn’t even mention Mac fan control. He deleted my comment says it’s very good for games and you can even activate the Intel card if you wanted. He had done no research at all

[@notorious3602]

yeah most of them suck whats worst the play stupid ass games on a 3 thousand dollar mac like league of legends

[@jedidiaheddie4370]

i know I am kind of randomly asking but do anyone know a good website to stream new tv shows online?

[@kelvinspencer6971]

@Jedidiah Eddie Flixportal :)

[@jedidiaheddie4370]

@Kelvin Spencer thank you, signed up and it seems like a nice service :D I really appreciate it!

[@rustm5167]

I can work, play and study and THE SAME TIME!!!!

[@TechWithSean]

Well, at least all on the same machine if not at literally the same time 😝

[@18PregnantAndProud]

you can do that on EVERY cheaper standard gaming laptop

[@bassam_turkistani]

x3100owner yeah clearly, carrying like 2 bricks wherever you go. You also won’t get the same studying experience on a gaming laptop.

[@TechWithSean]

x3100owner - that depends on what you study. When I was in college I majored in graphic design and video editing. In hindsight I wish I would have ponied up for a MacBook back then because it’s what I use now in the field, and I always had to deal with issues going back and forth in projects between windows and OSX.

[@rumahsihijau]

@@18PregnantAndProud nah you cant, heavy, unreliable, humongous power brick, shitty speaker, you just can't.

[@JacksonKillroy]

I loved my mbp 16 for video editing and graphic design, but felt like I was missing something as an ex windows user. Now i'm beginning to play around with bootcamp and starting to realise what an all round BEAST this machine is

[@ifiwantyoutofeel]

Best of both worlds 😼👍

[@montec4763]

Genuinely brilliant video. Every detail felt important, and you talked for just the right amount of time about every area of the laptop. Editing was excellent too, and the sound levels were perfect. Honestly, well done on a truly great video.

[@nickloss]

I've been very satisfied with the gaming performance of my 16" MBP. After years of compromising performance on. laptops being able to play demanding games at high settings easily has been a welcome change. AT LAST MACS CAN GAME!

[@ernyoung8357]

How have I NEVER come across this video in my 2 years of using Bootcamp on my 16" MBP?? Seriously, Throttlestop, Macs Fan Control, and BootCampDrivers have completely fixed every single issue I had gaming on this thing. Thanks a million :)

[@xGrapejamz]

Fantastic video Sean! This is probably the most detailed video I've come across on youtube on Bootcamp gaming setups!

[@alfian_ridwan]

Thanks Sean for this very informative and solid video. Other, more popular KZbin channels are playing every game at damn Max setting for no reason whatsoever. Even some $1.5k PCs can't handle 60 FPS at max settings. The section at the start about the bootcamp drivers, throttle stop and mac fan controls is very useful too. I can FINALLY play my beloved Skyrim on Mac. Thanks, liked and subscribed!

[@TechWithSean]

Alfian Ridwan - thank you! I agree, I prefer to see what kind of settings a computer will ACTUALLY play games at, instead of just benchmarking everything and making them into graphs. The 16” is really a step up for Macs as far as GPUs with the AMD Navi graphics, it will run Skyrim beautifully.

[@ktms1188]

Amazing review. Us tech nerds really love these all details that most gloss over or just don’t know to share.

[@Terieni-q7c]

Thank you very much for your thorough instructions on utilizing bootcamp on 16' MBP. You have made my day!

[@flickbryan]

Awesome video. I recently got my MacBook Pro 16 w/ 5500m and 8GB memory and so far have been loving it. I agree with you that the combination of performance, color accurate screen, and best-in-class speakers provides for a very enjoyable gaming experience. Thank you for providing the various settings you used for the games, it will definitely help me tweak mine.

[@TechWithSean]

Ichabod - I wish I had gotten the 32gb RAM and 8GB VRAM one, but I had a problem with my 2019 15” i9 and I got lucky and they offered me this in-store as a replacement instead of doing a repair, and I couldn’t turn it down! Glad it was helpful, thanks for watching 👍

[@HgihAsFcuk]

10/10 video man solid information no BS straightforward thank you

[@zachtabor7748]

What changes to the settings on those applications would you suggest if you have the 5500 8GB? Great video!

[@TechWithSean]

You can use higher texture quality and maybe resolution in some games 👍

[@emiliospatola2117]

Best review about gaming on mbp 16. Thanks!

[@tatedottech]

i picked up this same spec MacBook today. It's good to see it can handle gaming pretty well! I probably won't use it for that much, but in a pinch while on the go this will do!

[@DiamondMind949]

This is SUCH a great review! I know I'm writing this comment 3 years after upload, but I've recently decided to emmigrate to another country and cannot afford a Desktop gaming PC + laptop like I do now, so wanted to get a single fairly decent laptop that can run MacOS and Windows, and this review was perfect. Thanks!

[@SonOfWinter]

You just saved me from wasting over 1000$ on a new gaming PC just to do some casual gaming. Using my MBP 16 on my 2K 144Hz monitor and I am one happy dude :)

[@rodrigo4379]

I have the base i9 model with 8gb gpu. I edit a lot of photos and videos but sometimes i play on bootcamp. I undervolted the cpu to -150, always push the fans to the max and i have the latest drivers too. The cpu pushes 40w stable when gaming. Crazy performance!

[@Lightsout565x]

Awesome review! Helps to have someone who actually knows about PC gaming review this haha. Most other reviewers have no idea what they're doing.

[@TechWithSean]

Mike R - a lot of PC gamers don’t like Macs... I work on them all day at my full time job though! A lot of “Mac channels” don’t know much about pc gaming either. Thanks for watching ✌️

[@brendanfogel4573]

So basically this MacBookpro is capable of gaming and handling almost anything. Best Mac ever

[@ashabhatt7212]

Man that was a 30 min video...But it was worthy with full detailed Explanation... Keep it up pal...

[@TechWithSean]

Thanks! ✌️ I also did an update to this video a few months back that you should check out.

[@ashabhatt7212]

@@TechWithSean Yeah man ofcourse I will

[@mcsuranyipiroskamiskocirep9078]

thanks man,exactly the video i was looking for

[@therinwhitten]

The fact that it can even play red dead redemption is impressive.

[@coasterino]

15:12 "at a super high resolution with all the settings maxed out Rocket League looks really really good hahahaha" I loved that laugh and hearing that after trying to play RL under 60 fps for years on different MBPs. Made my day lol.

[@cloudvoid0]

Thank you for such an in-depth video!

[@fbn4034]

this guy deserves more subscribers

[@vlad981]

Thanks, very professional video!

[@briansmith2739]

One reason the Intel Mac still holds an edge over the M1 series is its ability to run Windows games and software through Bootcamp, which is available for free. Parallels require a monthly subscription, and not all games are compatible with it. I hope that Apple one day will reconsider bringing Bootcamp to their new Macs in the future.

[@filipinodokyu]

Thanks for this review!

[@TechWithSean]

No problem, thanks for watching! ✌️

[@delalondegabriel8926]

Hi Sean, this is such a good video! Everything worked perfectly ever since I have it. However I noticed now that whenever my GPU reaches 99% utilization that my CPU's clock speed drops incredibly low which makes my FPS suffer a lot. My CPU is barely used (10-15%) so I think it's part of the problem. I was wondering if maybe you or anyone knows what could cause the issue? TYIA

[@Noah-lj1og]

I have same issue....Now,my gpu clock can only maintain 400Mhz-500Mhz, cpu clock is just 1.4Ghz.I can’t gaming on my mbp16 now!

[@Noah-lj1og]

I notice this problem one months ago.Than I went to Genius Bar.But they say everything about you device is good☹️My GPU also reaches 100% utilization and CPU clock drop to 1.5Ghz or even less(0.9Ghz).I used GPU-Z monitoring the GPU.The gpu use just 20-30W and the clock is super low,about 400-500Mhz.Now every game on 5500M boot camp runs terrible.

[@px3m]

@@Noah-lj1og did u manage to resolve this issue?

[@Simon-hy9vg]

@@Noah-lj1og hi, i have the Same Issue, did you find a solution?

[@TheGrowlerOne]

I have the same issue, has someone solved it by now?

[@SynerggY]

Hi Sean, this was one of the best videos I have seen in a while! Great coverage of the MBP 16 inch. Did you ever try to connect it to a external 144hz monitor, and if so, what cable setup did you use and how did it perform? Thanks

[@TechWithSean]

Tasch Korach - I haven’t tried, but I believe a USB-C to HDMI will do 1080p 144hz or 4K 60hz. For 1440p 144hz you may need a usb-c to DisplayPort adapter, but I don’t have one to test with.

[@cyberspacedweller637]

You also may want to add 5500m (4GB) to the title, as there is an 8GB version too which you don't mention when you talk about the textures.

[@willkrause2961]

Love your videos, Sean!

[@xxFel415xx]

Great video I ordered 5600m 16” MBP before it gets replaced by mediocre ARM MacBooks that can’t run BootCamp.

[@rumahsihijau]

Wow the 5600 are capable af, on par with RTX 2060, nice!

[@xenobreak1160]

My wallet wouldn’t let me order the 5600m😅

[@px3m]

@@rumahsihijau do u get good performance? I also got 5600m but I am not very impressed.

[@teddym2808]

Sorry but after finishing the video I found the far cry issue amusing. The entire issue was synonymous with peaking Vram usage, and you were looking at everything but that LOL.. It even went over 4000 at one stage.. the entire time the memory was pegged, hence, stuttering and crazy performance spikes/drops. Definitely the best 5600M MAC gaming video on the web though, you did real world. Cheers

[@kenesufernandez1281]

Nice review🔥💖

[@ananthayogeshwaranrm6887]

Please give complete video to make MacBook Pro 16 as complete gaming laptop

[@leonson123456789]

Hi Sean this was a great video. I really struggle in deciding wether getting the lower base or the higher base model. Do you think there is a big difference between those two in gaming? Or should I save some bucks because the lower base one actually is fast enough for me. But I want to future proof it too...struggle

[@MarkMillerC]

Hey Sean just wanted to throw out a comment since testing on my new 5500m model. I've been gaming on MacBooks since the early-2013 model with the GT650m haha! The biggest trick on these has always been power limits and temps, Apple has finally since going to the ultra-thin 15inch nailed thermals on the new 16inch models, reasons I made the quick jump from the Vega 20 Pro model taking a big loss! Now since thermals are sooo good on these you don't have to worry about temps as much as your TDP's. The GPU core clock issues you are seeing are not incorrect and are caused by a starved TDP on the GPU, that old 96w PSU doesn't give you much headroom. Take into consideration some efficiency loss and you'll quickly see you might have 85w max TDP to share across the device, the 5500m alone can sustain 50w if it can get it. I've always used a combo of XTU (great realtime temp / cpu clock monitor), Throttlestop, and GPU-Z to monitor GPU clocks and TDP. Now the new Radeon 2020 drivers (Red does) has an excellent realtime GPU monitor that gives GPU load, temps, clock, and TDP usage we can throw out GPU-Z. On Throttlestop you want to stay away from anything Turbo, best to delete the ini, reboot and let it reset those values to start fresh. We want to just focus on locking the core at a clock speed with the tickbox, Testing locked clocks this thing can sustain 4.0+ Ghz all cores gaming, only problem is we'll see TDP on the CPU hit 30w or more which starves the GPU causing the clocks bouncing like you are seeing (issue with Turbo it demands TDP and the Radeon gives it resulting in 300mhz GPU core clock and 20w TDP). I found testing that if you lock at say 30/31 clock multiplier so 3.0ghz / 3.1ghz you'll sustain around 20w on the CPU heavy gaming and see a pretty sustained 50w TDP on the GPU, sometimes dropping up and down 41w-50w mostly. This will give you consistent smooth performance, watching Radeon monitor and XTU locked at 3.0ghz I saw no clock fluctation on the CPU and the GPU held 42w-50w mostly staying near the 50w allowing GPU core clock to sit around 1000mhz. Give it a try, this thing is a beast only held back by the decision to stay USB-C powered limiting a 100w max, temps are killer on this thing!! Great vid by the way, glad to see people covering gaming on these things and showing tweaks to make it a real gaming alternative! (Noticed you have 16GB model, if I didn't need the 32GB that would give me another 3-4w or so, DDR4 is power hungry for sure!)

[@MarkMillerC]

Update: After extensive game testing I've found running the Arenaline 2020 BLUE drive is the most stable (Tarkov, Division 2 hanging black load screens on RED 50/50). For Throttlestop the best performance you can get out of this is to run "disable turbo", set TPL max power to "37" on the top 3 numbers (leave last one on 0) which equates to 30w max power (I maxed out the turbo time limit but doesn't matter with turbo disabled). At this point I've played countless hours of Modern Warfare, Overwatch, Escapte from Tarkov, Division 2, The Cycle, Wolfenstien Youngblood, etc. and verified sustained (gpu-z) max GPU core clocks (even hitting 1350 core) at 48-50w on GPU and 30w on the CPU which sits it around 2.35ghz in most games with all 8 cores active (9980hk model). You just have to really balance it out with a 96w adapter (probably 90w usable realworld), I'm sitting around 83-85w gaming between CPU+GPU power usage alone now. This will resolve any micro-stutters or GPU power dips / clock dips causing microstutters. All gaming was done on an external ultrawide 2560x1080 @ 144hz with freesync enabled, pretty impressed with the 5500m @ 50w.

[@MrAckre]

@@MarkMillerC Hey, did you took drivers from bootcampdrivers or from amd site? Have you changed number of processors in msconfing (boot tab)? And the last question is: Did you focus on max fps (you have 144hz monitor, mb you wanted to gain performance as much as possible) or just stable 60fps?

[@MarkMillerC]

​@@MrAckre I used the bootcampdrivers.com drivers as the AMD site ones do not have the device_id included so mod yourself or use bootcampdrivers.com (which are signed which you need for anti-cheat services). So bootcampdrivers blue edition (Red tend to cause GPU to hang). Did not change number of processors or anything else, just used Throttlestop to disable turbo, and then set the turbo long power, short power, and PPO current limit to 37 which equates to 30w. I focused on 100% GPU utilization, so most my games could be anywhere from 60 to 120fps. I game on the internal on the go and the external at the desk, but my focus was 50w sustained with 100% GPU utilization. I don't care about frames as much as sustained GPU clocks, I can't stand micro-stuttering and hitching ruins the game experience for me (also no go in VR, this thing performs consistent now in frame time and latency on the Rift).

[@MrAckre]

@@MarkMillerC Thanks. For now i use red drivers from bootcampdrivers and tried your settings and also tested different variations of tpl, but result is the same: in Rainbow Six Siege i have great fps >120fps fhd first minutes of game (gpu clock ~1200mhz) but then fps drops to 80 even to 60 (gpu clock drops to 700mhz and then to 500mhz) which is not comfortable for me. Alt-TAB helps for several minutes but it's not a solution at all..

[@MarkMillerC]

@@MrAckre watch GPU-Z and make sure you aren't seeing GPU utilization moving up and down, if it's not sitting rock solid 97-99% usage you need to up some settings in the game. Since we can't force max clocks in wattman on the Red drivers and afterburner doesn't have access to set clocks we have to ensure we push utilization for the GPU. Long as you have the power limited on the CPU at that 30w range (check the pkg power button, click it in throttle stop to say max pwr, just ensure that never goes over 30w shouldn't at 37 setting). From there GPU has full access to 50w but just need to ensure you get your settings in game right to ensure it's going to keep GPU under utilization so it doesn't drop clocks. I had to change settings on a couple of games to ensure I had them high enough to keep GPU utilization maxed out.

[@redluckog7008]

If you guys are having issues with under clocking with this macs fan control preset, just either set it to full blast or automatic. That should provide better cooling.

[@davieslm]

Hello Sean. Great video and just subbed!

[@MrGiovaYeah]

Thank you sir for you video, very helpful. I wanted to ask some info, because I don't really know about these technical issues: • is it the same to have the game on an external periphery? does it improve the performance by having the game directly on the laptop? because I don't know how much space on windows through bootcamp would be the best option (what would be your choice here on that... the one that you displayed in this video or maybe others?) • I do not really know whether to choose between the new Parallel desktop with directX11 or bootcamp with the drivers you are using. Do you think that bootcamp is better? Thank you very much in advance for you answers (I just bought this laptop and I don't want to make the wrong decision :)

[@TechWithSean]

UrbanMad - no worries, thanks for watching ✌️ In general you will get better gaming performance running stuff natively in bootcamp. For storage of games, the external SSD is fine. The MacBook Pro has high speed USB so even an external solid state drive is muuuch faster than gaming off of a traditional hard drive. Using a ‘slow’ vs top of the line SSD for gaming only improves load times by a second or two. Hope that helps!

[@MrGiovaYeah]

@@TechWithSean thank you for the answer. I have only last question: by dividing in half the 1TB between the mac and windows, will it affect the overall performances of both? Or the allocation of the memory does not create problems at all ?

[@TechWithSean]

UrbanMad - it doesn’t create any issues, and don’t have to split it half and half either if you don’t want to. Since I store my games on an external drive, I only gave Windows ~10% of the disk space (90GB). It really doesn’t even take up that much space, but it’s good to leave a buffer and it leaves you room for a couple smaller games installed locally if you want. You can always still split it half and half if you want, that’s just my two cents!

[@MrGiovaYeah]

@@TechWithSean Thank you very much, last last question (I promise): by installing the drivers on bootcamp, does then the switch between the integrated gpu and the dedicated one happens automatically or do I have to do something?

[@Mark-kw3nr]

This was the MBP 16 gaming video I'd been checking back to KZbin for since late last year. Thanks. Great video! I can buy one with more confidence now. [Edit] Would have been to get some info on noise levels with the settings you used.

[@rodrigo4379]

did you bought it?

[@Mark-kw3nr]

@@rodrigo4379 Yeah I did. It's a great machine, but it's noisy af when playing games. I was playing DOS:2 and managed to play with the settings enough to get a point where it looks acceptably good and doesn't kick up the fans like crazy. It's a very capable gaming laptop, but you will need headphones if you want to play any games with higher settings, or any inherently super demanding games. Makes a shitload of noise. Love the laptop though.

[@FaithOrFearHD]

Mark did you get the upgraded MBP 16 model? *the 5500* or the base model? *5300M*

[@Mark-kw3nr]

@@FaithOrFearHD I got the upgraded 5500 and 32GB of ram. Didn't bother with 8 cores due to heat concerns and I won't use them for video processing or anything like that. I've played more games on it since the above reply and I gotta say, I'm pretty happy with its gaming capability.

[@FaithOrFearHD]

Mark awesome, I appreciate the reply! Do you mind naming certain games that you play? Anything like WoW or things of that nature?

[@jwbrandt70]

I am hopeful you will make another video for the new Microsoft Flight Simulator as that comes out soon. I think it will be amazing on the 16" MacBook Pro. But it would be great to see the exact setting tweaks and such that would be recommended. I'm not even sure Apple knew they had created this amazing Windows 10 device as well. Such kick butt performance! Thanks for demonstrating. Loving my 16" MacBook Pro!

[@dandanthesoundman7607]

Great vid Bro:)

[@tylergard5292]

If you’re stuck in safe mode follow this 1) open command prompt 2) type in msconfig 3) go to boot tab 4) uncheck safe mode 5) restart

[@cyberspacedweller637]

Just set Windows Advanced Power Management CPU setting to Max 90%. That keeps the temps around 80c and I've not seen any loss in FPS (I also use Macs Fan Control).

[@bydus88]

How great video! Very informative! Keep it up. Subbed

[@Voyagerr11]

I have the same MBP 16 only with 32GB Ram and 8GB variant of the AMD 5500M. With that said the driver from Bootcamp.com April 2020 Blue Enterprise build, for some reason does not allow Boot Camp to be used with external monitor in Clamshell mode. Other than that and adding thermal padding your solution is spot on. Thanks!

[@CesarLRodriguez]

Great video. Thanks for the detailed overview. I’ve heard that the fans on this MacBook Pro are really loud & fire up really fast. Are you experiencing that as well and do they get really loud when gaming like you were or doing things like live-streaming? I heard the loud & persistent fan problem is amplified when you’re plugged into an external display.

[@litecube210]

the fans are pretty loud on my macbook pro 16. I don't use an external display tho.

[@CesarLRodriguez]

LiteCube thanks for letting me know and confirming this.

[@aaroninky]

thanks for putting this together! great to hear about the macsfancontrol update. is it stable running games off external SSDs in that way? considering the high cost of updating the fixed internal SSD ...

[@TechWithSean]

Yep - just don’t unplug it while your game is running lol! It’s no problem running games off of a USB 3.0 or USB-C SSD. (I even used an external usb 3.0 SSD as the main boot drive of a late 2013 iMac I had for a few years and it always ran great.) For game storage, it is waaaaaay more affordable than Apple’s SSD prices so long as you don’t mind using an external drive. I also like that since I use it in Bootcamp, I can use that same external SSD as an instant game library for testing/use on any other Windows PCs too.

[@m.aydemir4]

Which driver ist the Best at now for MacBook Pro 16inc 2019 ?

[@m.aydemir4]

?????

[@boku00]

Got the upper base model with a few changes. I'll be getting the same i9 9980H as you have listed on ThrottleStop. I'm guessing that the initial FIVR menu you looked at weren't avaliable because its a locked CPU (not 9980HK).Would those values be avaliable on the top 9980HK model, and also the i7 model since its a K varient? Or do the macbooks just have this disabled? It is an amazing video that actually prooved to me I'm not gonna have to get another machine just for some light gaming. I've been undecided for ages and watching your video (first commented on it 2 months ago haha) really helped my decision. Thanks for your time.

[@lirenyeo]

Thank you so much for this video! My Witcher 3 game could only maintain at 60fps for about 10 seconds into the game. After doing the same ThrottleStop settings like you taught, that issue is solved! Quick question, what software did you use to get the FPS and Temperature overlay while gaming?

[@TechWithSean]

Glad that it helped! The app is MSI afterburner + RivaTuner Statistics Server

[@ld8542]

I have the i9 2,3ghz and Radeon 5500m 4Gb but event with the same configuration in throttle, i can’t maintain 60frps more than 5 minutes 😓

[@lirenyeo]

@@ld8542 after 2 months of gaming on this laptop, I do realise it's better to just manually set fan speed to Full Blast and it will usually fix the FPS drop issues. Another thing is I need to make sure the laptop is plugged in and on Windows, set it such that the battery always run on best performance.

[@mikemuponda1781]

Awesome Review!

[@haraldwinzer7696]

hey sean, thx for this great review! helped me a lot. but there another problem and i wonder, if other people having it: most of the time, after 30min clockspeed drops down to about 1,7-1,9ghz. even if the temps where about mid 70s. drops the fps im rdr to something about 20. does anybody can help me? :-)

[@CallumJWright]

I have the same problem! Let me know if you find a fix. I’ve tried playing around with ‘quickcpu’ and changing the cpu so it stays at 3.4GHZ but it still happens..

[@nioh9477]

Anyone found a way to solve?

[@kenknee2343]

Hi Sean, would like to know what is the difference between Official AMD Adrenalin 2020 Drivers and Bootcampdrivers Adrenalin 2020 counterparts? As both now has the January update.

[@Squallrain88]

Its best video about gaming on mbp16

[@teddym2808]

Great mate, thanks!

[@1garysan]

Fantastic video. Thanks for compiling. I found watching this video that the refresh rate and resultant ghosting was pretty bad (would give me a bit of a headache if playing for a while). Do you notice this as much when using as when watching back this youtube video? Just wondering whether it's the recording or whether that's simply how it appears in real life. I'm thinking of ordering one but obviously with the lockdown going on, I can't try one out in a store.

[@TechWithSean]

It’s slower than my gaming monitors but it doesn’t bother me IRL. I work on a 5K iMac for my day job so I’m used to these kinds of screens. It feels waaaay better than my old LCD 1280x1024 monitors from back in the day 🤷‍♂️ the color, resolution and brightness are the selling points for the screen though, not the response time. Having a glossy hi res 16:10 ratio panel is really nice to work and edit on.

[@tomaszmar3k]

Sean, are you on Blue Enterprise or Red Gaming driver from bootcampdrivers? My MBP 16 is having a strong FPS drops while gaming (CS:GO for ex) - I'm on 2020 adrenaline RED?

[@tomaszmar3k]

Done some additional tests today and it seems that the problem lies on the GPU side. My CPU runs stable on 3-3,3GHz while gaming, but the GPU drops down from time to time...

[@TechWithSean]

This was recorded with the December release of the 2020 driver, but the January one should give you better performance. Red/Blue shouldn’t be a huge difference but one may work a little better than the other for specific games. I have noticed some GPU drops too, mostly in uplay games like AC Odyssey and Far Cry. I’m not sure what the issue is. It could possibly be the CPU not being able to drive the FPS enough since it’s downclocked, I may try it unlocked and see if it doesn’t get too hot too quickly.

[@moisterrific]

Very nice in-depth review, it would be even better if you included some benchmark results.

[@tsushima33]

Great video!

[@TechWithSean]

Thanks! I made an updated version that you should also check out

[@xxLaBarbieNegritaxx]

Hello, needing help here. I have the base model and the adrenaline blue april... for some reason I cant play rocket league, when I try to start it, my mac 💻 just turn off and restart.

[@stephaniekingdesigner]

I would be interested to see a video comparing the new 16" MacBook Pro to a professional matte finish display (like MBPs were in 2012)... and also show new MBP with and without using a 3rd party stick on anti-reflective plastic. Any recommendations for people who want a matte finish display on the new 16" MacBook Pro?

[@TechWithSean]

Stephanie King - no but I love the glossy displays on Apple’s stuff as a designer. Glossy is better for color saturation and uniformity than the fine grain patterns used in matte coatings

[@catloveracapulco]

where can I download the CEMU rooms, greetings, excellent video, new subscriber

[@nigelherath8265]

Thanks very much for this. I have a question regarding the graphics cards. It seems my mac runs a little warm with the fans spinning occasionally and I think it's because it's the amd radeon 5300m graphics being run all the time. Is there any way to have windows switch it to the intel card?

[@miguelrenteria2390]

this has been my issue. playing civ 6 in mac os. my fans go to super sayian mode and the bottom is hot to the touch.

[@AO-uj7sx]

Awesome video! Thanks for all of the great detail! External Display Questions: I'd like to buy an external monitor for this setup (btw I'll have 8GB RAM to work with) for gaming AND photo/video editing. What specs should I be prioritizing? Since the MB 16 is capped at 60Hz would I be wasting my money by buying a 144Hz monitor? Will I be limiting speed performance if I go with a 1440 resolution? Do response times of lower than 3 ms matter when the built-in display can't go lower? Basically, can the processor perform higher than the built-in monitor? Maybe that's an obvious answer but I'm just getting into gaming. Any other advice you can give? Controller Question: Audio sounded like you were using an external controller in the video...do you have any tips on controller performance? Do you see any issues with pairing two Xbox One wireless controllers to this machine for local co-op play?

[@TechWithSean]

If you’re doing photo/video stuff I would get a 4K IPS monitor for an external display. LG has a new one that can take video input over USB-C straight from the MacBook: amzn.to/2HavwHH The 5500 might not run AAA games at 4K but you can always set it to 1080 or 1440 in game. 2 Xbox controllers work fine. I use the xbox wireless adapter dongle in a USB C adapter dongle. Double dongle lol. Thanks for watching ✌️

[@AO-uj7sx]

@@TechWithSean Thanks for the quick response and tips. What about refresh rates? Am I wasting money if I buy a monitor that can do anything above 60Hz when that's the MB16 cap. In other words, can the processor go higher, just not the built-in screen. Can't seem to find this answer anwhere...

[@AO-uj7sx]

@@TechWithSean Just realized... is the 60W charging cap on that LG screen you suggested going to be an issue for the new MB 16?

[@ChrisK9292]

Nice Video, only question I have is: Which driver did you use? Bootcampdrivers or the one directly from amd?

[@TechWithSean]

This was all using the bootcampdrivers latest release. Thanks for watching ✌️

[@tonijay4639]

Hey Sean, great content as always. Apologies in advance if my question is blatantly obvious. But when utilizing Throttlestop in bootcamp, will this set parameters for the CPU ONLY in windows? Do these alterations to the CPU carry over when out of bootcamp and back into OS X? Essentially, are the changes made permanent? Thanks in advance!

[@TechWithSean]

Toni Jay - correct 👍 Throttlestop only loads up with Windows, OSX performance is unaffected

[@DragonTR40]

Hi, Very help full review. I have a question but i dont know you have any idea about it. I want to buy a 16 inch mbp for my architecture education but im scared that the macbook pro dont have enought power to run autocad and revit. For so far i think it can run it easly but im also scared. What do u think. Specs: I7 processor 16 gb ram 1 tb ssd Amd radeon pro 8gb.

[@Adam-rd4is]

Turn off the vsync, we cant see the full potential of the videocard!!!

[@AK-ju8zw]

how does that help?

[@Adam-rd4is]

Ben K vsync locks 60 FPS, since this is a benchmark video, I want to see true frames on this laptop and no reviewer can do that for some reason

[@hamidsufizada6422]

Hey do you have the red drivers installed or Blue? Also, how much of a performance gain you get if you upgrade to the red version?

[@Gabriel-fm8fr]

Don’t know if anyone will see this but for some reason my cpu drops to 1.2ghz and even 800ghz after about an hour of gaming. Does anyone know what could cause the issue? Temps usually are in the 72 degrees.

[@oneblade7038]

I have the same MacBook Pro, but when I play for 5-10 minutes the frame rate starts to drop and the GPU frequency becomes 300-500 mhz

[@BrandonisBlue]

Hey I have a question, is it normal for the temp to be up there around 80c? Whenever I’m playing it always feels hot and the fans make me uncomfortable because I feel like I’m hurting the laptop. Is it normal? Is it getting damaged??

[@TechWithSean]

That is fine, laptop chips go up to the 90s but the 80s is better

[@BrandonisBlue]

Tech With Sean thank you so much! :)

[@Cptblogh]

Hi Sean, how much more FPS are you getting than with the Apple stock drivers for Bootcamp? Cheers and thanks!

[@CyrGlz]

Very good video thanks a lot !!!!

[@wrekman1]

Would you recommend doing this on the 5600m model?? That's what I have. Shouldn't be a big difference, right??

[@kevindo2092]

Thank you for this video. I have the base model MBP 16 and was wondering the specs for your throttle stop and macs fan control was intended for? I have the base hope that the settings for the ThrottleStop and macsfancontrol will allow for a smoother and better gameplay with my Jan red v2 edition of boot camp drivers. Keep it up!

[@TechWithSean]

You should be able to use these settings, you can always try further tweaks too 👍 the i7 should run a little cooler than the i9 by default I think, so that should help also. The base 16” pro should still be pretty good for gaming though, the hardware is similar.

[@Redhamba]

Awesome video ! Thank you for all the information ! Just a question, what drivers are you using ?

[@TechWithSean]

This was with the bootcampdrivers dot com red driver. Now I am using the blue one, there is not a ton of difference but some games prefer one vs the other by a few %.

[@Redhamba]

Tech With Sean Thank you for your answer ! The Blue One from March or January 2020 ?

[@TechWithSean]

It would have been whatever the latest release was when this video was published

[@Davidbruun]

Virgyl Dieulefet March is bugged for MP16

[@Redhamba]

David Bruun Yeah I tried this one and got luminosity problem etc.. will wait for the official release !

[@barathv3060]

Hey had a quick question. I saw the gta V gameplay and it was really good but I was wondering if the performance drops down when playing gta online (multiplayer). If so, generally does performance drop on this laptop when playing multiplayer on a game?

[@deloliilol]

Nice video!

[@stualan655]

Okay, it was a great video! I would like to ask you doesn't windows take MacBook apart? And how you connect a mouse to it because I think it was just an ssd converter in the MacBook. Can I play on my lap with the laptop? I'm asking because of the cooling system. I don't want a MacBook this expensive to go down in no time. So is there any chance you don't have to install Windows on it or not? Can you get the games for free or pay for them?

[@Noah-lj1og]

Hi Sean,My mbp16 (i9 5500m) has thermal throttling ,now gaming on my mbp became impossible.The GPU only 30 W on top,CPU only 10 W on top.And GPU clock just 400MHz.Do you know why and how to fix it?

[@davieslm]

I have a 2018 15" i7-8850H in which the fans were ramping up to 5900rpm under Bootcamp just while watching 4K video on KZbin. Setting the power management max CPU setting to a lower value made no difference but installing ThrottleStop and simply disabling Turbo keeps it at 2.60 GHz with the fans at 2000rpm. I have an eGPU on the way and I plan on gaming at 1440p with this. Is the base clock speed of 2.60Ghz going to be a problem for gaming?

[@jamessievert8600]

Hello Sean, Can you post the original values in the tpl tab in throttlestop before you made any changes? Thanks!!

[@NagyRicsi-lc2ui]

Hi Sean! Can you please make a video with the base 16'. macbook pro for games ?

[@LMBC6Brian]

Macs fan control (even all set to auto), was not letting my fans ramp up for the GPU and my gaming was shat. I uninstalled it and it was awesome after that.

[@norbertmikolajczyk]

Hi, Sean, if I use an eGPU with my mbp could I set Mac fan control both sensors to cpu peci to have better cooling instead setting right sensor to dGPU peci?

[@ozy635]

what joystick did you use for gaming test on that macbook ?

[@yusufekerbicer]

Hi Sean amazing review! Can you make an another video with another AAA games with with v-sync off? thanks in advance ^^

what is the performance without those programs you install? I makes me really wary to be honest.

[@Freshbott2]

I can't find any information out there about whether the custom SMC driver for the fan control could allow voltages to be changed by Throttlestop or XTU. Aggressive undervolting in Mac OS is likely handled by the chip, or at the very least it's due to SMC being locked down that you can't do it. Same seems to go for overclocking the display which no one's figured out on T2 Macs either.

[@sparsh2955]

Hi Sean, were you playing with a controller in windows? If not, is it possible to add a controller to windows on a mac?

[@TechWithSean]

Sparsh Bheemaiah - i was using a controller with the Xbox wireless adapter for PC. You have Bluetooth in Windows also, so you can probably add a controller that way too.

[@babyamg]

Superb! But why do any benchmark with vsync on I wonder?

[@andres120594]

One question. Usually when I am playing on my MBP 2019 16", the temperature of the laptop increases to 150 ºF with its fans at max

[@Rex-he9nj]

did you happen to find a fix for the resolution scaling problem for the laptop? Great Vid btw, very informational!

[@TechWithSean]

Thanks! Try setting the Windows desktop resolution to what you want to play at before you launch the game 👍