1680x1050 high-resolution display option

[familychoice]

Hi,

I'm thinking of going for a 1680x1050 high-resolution glossy upgrade with a new MBP purchase. Just a couple of questions:

Will the base model NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512MB of GDDR5 memory cope well with the increased resolution? I know there have been a few issues with maxed out graphics cards with the Retina models, and though this isn't as hi-res as the retina, the graphics memory is half the size of that of the retina base model.

Will the 1680x1050 high-resolution display option provide better quality when connected to my 1920x1200 external display over the standard 1440x900 (native) option?

Sorry if these questions are a bit numpty-ish, I'd appreciate any help

 

[mrplow]

The built-in display has nothing to do with the external display. It's all down to the graphics card and the GT 650m will be fine.

My 27" 2560x1440 iMac runs just fine with a Radeon HD 4350 512mb

1680x1050 isn't going to trouble the 650M

 

[Nethfel]

The 650m is a great mobile GPU. As mrplow stated, you should have no problem with general use at all. I connect my 2012 matte MBP to a thunderbolt display (2560x1440) and it works beautifully. Now, I have the 1gig version of the GPU but that really isn't as important with general usage The only time I ever have trouble is with gaming but it's more that the GPU can't push 3D rendering at 2560x1440 at good framerates for some of the games I play (so I reduce the resolution for those particular games).

You don't necessarily need a ton of GPU RAM for general use (case in point - the system I'm on right now is an older iMac, 1680x1050 resolution, Mountain Lion, 128M GPU ram - system works great for general daily use and even works when I have to edit on it using FCPX).

 

[familychoice]

Thanks for the replies - that's answered my queries

I'm going to hunt down some screen grabs if I can of the hi-res upgrade for comparison (if anyone has any links I'd be grateful) and see how much difference it'll make to working on the laptop itself. If it doesn't make menus and text too small for my old eyes then I'll probably go with the upgrade.