Apple has added a new high-end GPU option for the company’s 16-inch MacBook Pro, the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M with 8GB HBM2 (High Bandwidth Memory, second generation) memory.
For working on graphics-intensive projects like 3D rendering or high-end game development, you can supercharge your MacBook Pro with the optional Radeon Pro 5600M. With its 40 compute units and 8GB of High Bandwidth Memory, this powerhouse GPU brings a new level of desktop-class graphics power to MacBook Pro.
The standard (base) configuration 16-inch MacBook Pro offers the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory. For $100, users can bump that up to the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 memory. Now, users can kick their 16-inch powerhouse all the way up to the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M with 8GB of HBM2 memory for an additional $700.
GDDR6, an abbreviation for graphics double data rate type six, is a type of synchronous graphics random-access memory (SGRAM) with a high bandwidth (“double data rate”) interface. GDDR6 offers increased per-pin bandwidth (up to 16 Gbit/s) and lower operating voltages (1.35 V), increasing performance and decreasing power consumption relative to precursor GDDR5X.
HBM2 specifies up to eight dies per stack and doubles pin transfer rates up to 2 GT/s. Retaining 1024‑bit wide access, HBM2 is able to reach 256 GB/s memory bandwidth per package. The HBM2 spec allows up to 8 GB per package. HBM2 is predicted to be especially useful for performance-sensitive consumer applications such as virtual reality.
More info via Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro pages here.
MacDailyNews Take: Those who need all of that graphics power will appreciate this new option!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “TheloniousMac” for the heads up.]