External Graphics Card = Better Office productivity?

[gblader]

I work with PowerPoint slides that are 54" by 54" and use two 32" external monitors at 2k.
Every time I zoom in/out, move things around, duplicate items, it's quite laggy and I have to wait for it to catch up. I'm only working with basic shapes and text boxes.
I plan on doing some video editing later on in FinalCut Pro X, but the files will be screen recordings - nothing crazy like 4K video.

• Will an external graphics card help with this?
• If so, any recommendations?

Here are the specs I have:

• Macbook pro 15-inch 2018
• 2.2 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7
• 16GB Ram 2400 MHz DDR4
• Radeon Pro 555X 4GB
• Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

Don't want to go too overboard that would create a bottleneck, but would like to upgrade to a MacBook Air M2 in the future.
Thanks so much for your help with this guys.
J.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Your computer is easily powerful enough to smoothly do what you are trying to do. Your lag problem is due to your year MBP having two separate GPU's, one that is power-saving and one that is designed for performance. You need to force your MBP to use the discrete GPU instead of the much less capable (but power-saving) integrated GPU.

The discrete GPU uses a ton of power, so you only want to force your MBP to use it while it is plugged in. You do this by typing this into the command line (in the Terminal app):

sudo pmset -c gpuswitch 1
You’ll be asked for your password

To reset things, type in the following:

sudo pmset -c gpuswitch 2

Remember to only do this when your MBP is plugged it, it won't work when your MBP is running off of the battery.

https://nathansnelgrove.com/how-to-...s-discrete-graphics-card-when-its-plugged-in/

 

[gblader]

Your computer is easily powerful enough to smoothly do what you are trying to do. Your lag problem is due to your year MBP having two separate GPU's, one that is power-saving and one that is designed for performance. You need to force your MBP to use the discrete GPU instead of the much less capable (but power-saving) integrated GPU.

The discrete GPU uses a ton of power, so you only want to force your MBP to use it while it is plugged in. You do this by typing this into the command line (in the Terminal app):

sudo pmset -c gpuswitch 1
You’ll be asked for your password

To reset things, type in the following:

sudo pmset -c gpuswitch 2

Remember to only do this when your MBP is plugged it, it won't work when your MBP is running off of the battery.

How to Force Your MacBook Pro to Use Its Discrete Graphics Card When It’s Plugged In

I appreciate your time and effort to answer my question.
I did what you suggested, restarted and now my laptop's fan is really loud. But the issue still persists.

I wouldn't think it's a PPT setting, would you?

• Or do you think my discrete GPU is not strong enough?
• Maybe thermal throttling?

Thanks!

 

[pigoo3]

I work with PowerPoint slides that are 54" by 54" and use two 32" external monitors at 2k.

Only thing I see that's unusual is the 54" x 54" Powerpoint slides (pretty large).

If this isn't the issue...reboot the computer...open Activity Monitor...and see if there's anything taking up a lot of system resources (that shouldn't be with a freshly rebooted computer).

Nick