Graphics Cards etc.

Y

you_without_me

Registered
Hey Guys,
I'm trying to decide what Macbook Pro to buy.

15.4-inch: 2.4GHz with:
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and dual-link DVI

or
15.4-inch: 2.5GHz
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB of GDDR3 SDRAM and dual-link DVI

Apart from the second one being more expensive can anyone please
tell me the main benefits of it?

Thanks!
 
It's slightly faster (about ~5%, give or take a few percentage points), and it's got twice the amount of video RAM... which comes in useful for games, 3D modeling, and graphics-intensive operations.

That's about it from the specs you posted. You didn't say if the second one also had a bigger hard drive, or perhaps an LED-screen and high-resolution display, which would also influence my decision if it were my decision to make.
 
I've heard that some people have been having some video problems with the nVIDIA-based MacBook Pros (I have one friend that's been telling me about NVchannel errors almost daily). It looks like there might be an issue with the 8600m chipset, and Apple is not the only one affected by the issue.

http://lists.apple.com/archives/quartzcomposer-dev/2008/Feb/msg00153.html
http://www.macrumors.com/2008/07/21/macbook-pro-nvidia-chips-affected-too-by-failures/

Wait and see what happens with the upcoming crop of MacBook Pros. Supposedly, they might switch back to ATI but don't quote me on that.
 
ElDiablo summarized it up.
Plus then the hard drive size.. and the RAM size.

I got myself the simpler one a few months ago, with 256 MB graphics card. I do mostly virtualization, photography etc etc so moderate use (but with bigger hard drive, and external hard drives etc). As I shed the cash out of my pockets, I got the plainer one - either I will use a desktop for more graphic/stressing work, or if I will be doing work where the difference between 256 or 512 MB video card matters, then the contract or the employer better get me the other one :) I don't regret.
 
thanks alot for your replies.

the macbook pro will be needed for mostly graphic design/video editing/audio editing/animation.

Here are more specs.

2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1440 x 900 resolution
2GB memory
200GB hard drive1
8x double-layer SuperDrive SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256 MB

for 160euro extra you can get 4GB memory.

for 90 euro extra you can get 7200rpm instead of 5400rpm

Is the extra RPM only crucial if you're working 24/7 on editing media?
 
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