New iMacs - which graphics option [Archive]

leehal

Mar 3, 2009, 08:12 AM

Been waiting a while for the new iMacs and am really confused by the graphics options.

My main reason for buying an iMac is to replace my PC (I already have a Macbook which I love) and want to be able to play games again. My Macbook cannot realistically play World of Warcraft, therefore I would like the most economical option out of the iMacs that will play the game (and others for the next year or so, without struggling).

Is the 9400M a decent enough card, seems an awful lot more money to upgrade from the 24" 2.66GHZ to the next models and then take up the option of upgrading the cards on top of the model price increase.

leehal

Mar 3, 2009, 08:14 AM

And the flip side is, if the 9400M is good enough should I go for a Macmini?

I already have a monitor, mouse and keyboard.

synagence

Mar 3, 2009, 08:14 AM

Any of the graphics options will handle WoW fine .... but if you can get a discrete gfx option then you'll be laughing ....

The 130GT and 4850 are by far the best 2 options but costly

mrklaw

Mar 3, 2009, 08:16 AM

9400M is a fine card - check out the macbook/mbp forums for comments about gaming on them, as the new imac/mini are similar architecturally (although strangely have shared graphics)

9400M will play WoW fine.

I'd be tempted with a mini if you have a good monitor. Also dual outputs so you could drive a TV too.

neiltc13

Mar 3, 2009, 08:23 AM

The 9400M chip will play games fine, and on laptops I guess it is a reasonable choice given the low screen resolutions.

It won't run recent games very well at all though, nor will it do a good job of running any game at the native resolution of either the 20 or 24-inch iMac.

If you are even remotely interested in gaming on these machines and are willing to pay the massive cost which they carry then you really should just suffer the extra cost and get the better card. All of the dedicated graphics cards on offer are vastly superior to the 9400M.

aawil

Mar 3, 2009, 08:26 AM

Anyone have any comparisons between the 9400M and the HD2600 Pro? I'm finding it hard to believe it's really a step up in the long run.

jla0

Mar 3, 2009, 08:29 AM

I say go for the ATI 4850 option. You'll regret in a year not going with a more powerful card.

Btw... Geforce GT 120 = Geforce 9500 and Geforce GT 130 = Geforce 9600

Look at some benchmarks and you'll see that the 4850 is in another league compared to the Nvidia cards...

neiltc13

Mar 3, 2009, 08:41 AM

The ATi card will add a few weeks on to your computer's ship time.

nss.aries

Mar 3, 2009, 08:41 AM

what about the 9500/GT120? is it a good graphic card? How much better is the GT130 or the ATI?

With ATI graphic card it takes 4-6 weeks to ship :/

ditzy

Mar 3, 2009, 08:50 AM

Is the graphics card in new 3.06 iMac better that old 3.06?

neiltc13

Mar 3, 2009, 08:52 AM

Is the graphics card in new 3.06 iMac better that old 3.06?

Yes, quite considerably. But if you want even better performance get the ATi option.

nateDEEZY

Mar 3, 2009, 08:53 AM

On a 24" monitor expect to play only Valve games decently at it's native resolution with the 4850.

I wouldn't concern myself to much with the decision of what graphics card to use. Buying an iMac and trying to be cost conscious/economical is an oxymoron in itself.

The most economical decision would be upgrade your PC's graphics card to something more modern, so long as your PC hasn't hit it's upgrade ceiling without getting to in-depth.

leehal

Mar 3, 2009, 09:21 AM

Thank for the feedback so far, I really wanted to go down the OS X route rather than upgrade my PC.

Looking at the following:-

Number Description Quantity Price Value
Custom iMac, 24-inch, 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 1 £ 1407.83 £ 1407.83
065-7994 -2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
065-8042 -4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
065-8044 -NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 512MB
065-8531 -640GB Serial ATA Drive
065-8062 -Apple Mighty Mouse
B065-8267 -Apple Keyboard (English) and User's Guide (English)
B065-8055 -COUNTRY KIT,IMAC 24-GBR
Copyright Levy ex VAT: £ 0.00
Total Price ex VAT: £1407.83
*All prices are exclusive of VAT

Is it really worth the 4-6 week wait for the HD4850 card?

EmperorDarius

Mar 3, 2009, 09:32 AM

Is it really worth the 4-6 week wait for the HD4850 card?

And another question: can it be less than 4 weeks?

Darsh

Mar 3, 2009, 09:43 AM

I was wondering if anyone could give me a comparison between the new chips and the older chips. I currently play WoW on a Macbook with the GMA x1300 chipset, and I have played on the last rev of iMac, with the Radeon 2400 XT. I'm assuming that the new geforce 9400m will blow the x1300 outta the water, but how will it compare to the Radeon 2400?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

edit: also, I see someone mentioned about 24 vs 20 inch... will there be a significant performance drop on the bigger screen with the same graphics card?

nateDEEZY

Mar 3, 2009, 10:42 AM

edit: also, I see someone mentioned about 24 vs 20 inch... will there be a significant performance drop on the bigger screen with the same graphics card?

Yes, if you use the larger screen (24") at it's native resolution.

RemarkabLee

Mar 3, 2009, 10:50 AM

I'm sure the 4-6 weeks could change as time goes on.

Apple are usually conservative with their lead times.

Darsh

Mar 3, 2009, 10:59 AM

Yes, if you use the larger screen (24") at it's native resolution.

How bad will it be? Are we talking from playable to unplayable, or dropping from 60 to 55 FPS?

imacdaddy

Mar 3, 2009, 11:07 AM

NVIDIA claims is "the fastest laptop GPU on the market, with up to 50 percent more performance than previous generation enthusiast laptop GPUs."

Why aren't these in the new iMacs...at least an option? :confused:

http://hothardware.com/News/NVIDIA-Intros-GeForce-GTX-200M-and-GTS-100M-GPUs/

Annngel

Mar 3, 2009, 11:12 AM

RemarkabLee

Mar 3, 2009, 11:17 AM

Anyway, can i post something here! I'm kinda little lazy to start a new thread.
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k252/RTBrooke/hijack.gif?t=1236100603

westycat

Mar 3, 2009, 11:22 AM

As if we don't know how Apple is stingy about the graphic cards.

Anyway, can i post something here! I'm kinda little lazy to start a new thread.

I've no idea if i should take the iMac 2.93GHz with 1TB and Nvidia GT130

or

the included 640 GB and ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB

I sort of play games quite often. But 1TB looks nicer than 640GB. But i can always get an external HD if i need more space in the future right? And the graphic card isn't upgradable at all?

I am debating on these to configurations also, but i don't play games, I do more graphics design and simple video editing. What do you guys recommend? My question isn't ment to hijack....just to compare Annngel's needs and Mine....gaming, vrs design.....i'm clueless on the graphics option. Thanks in advance.

JGuez

Mar 3, 2009, 11:24 AM

Will the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M be able to run Star Craft 2 when it comes out, and Counter Strike: Source?

That's all I really need to know, thanks.

nick9191

Mar 3, 2009, 11:32 AM

What games would you like to play?

If its just Warcraft I'd go for the Mini.

Annngel

Mar 3, 2009, 11:39 AM

Er uhm.

Lineage 2, NWN2, Granado Espada, Maple Story, Audition, Spore, Sims 2.

Mood changes. Preference changes too.

But none of this are like super high end games like Crysis right?

But i'm waiting for AION! Supposedly coming out in Fall 2009. It has superb graphics

nick9191

Mar 3, 2009, 11:41 AM

Will the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M be able to run Star Craft 2 when it comes out, and Counter Strike: Source?

That's all I really need to know, thanks.
Yes, not at super high settings but it will run them.

Sebby

Mar 3, 2009, 11:46 AM

If I don't play games at all, is the 9400M adequate? All I'll want to do is hook it up to my LCD using mini DisplayPort to HDMI and be able to watch the odd video.

chewietobbacca

Mar 3, 2009, 12:21 PM

9400M is is fine if you dont play games at all

4850 will stomp those cards though across the board for gaming and GPGPU computations

tasandkrs

Mar 3, 2009, 12:27 PM

I'm debating between the 9400 and the 120. I will not be playing games, but will be using it for photo and HD video editing. Will the 9400 be enough?

Thanks

Patriks7

Mar 3, 2009, 12:35 PM

what about the 9500/GT120? is it a good graphic card?

Look at it this way; the 9600M in the MacBook Pros is kind of a desktop 9500. So it is good, but not close to very good at all.

nss.aries

Mar 3, 2009, 01:02 PM

I don't need to play Crysis, but i don't want to pay 1700€ for a computer that is already old even before I buy it. I would have waited for the ATI paying the extra money, but i can't wait 4-6 weeks 'cause I need the iMac for work.
If I buy the version with the GT120 can I substitute it with the ATI when it will be available?
The GT130 is worth 130€?

Thanks and forgive the bad english :)

RemarkabLee

Mar 3, 2009, 03:17 PM

nss.aries

Mar 3, 2009, 06:30 PM

What do you suggest, then?
I think i'll go for the GT 130.

rittchard

Mar 3, 2009, 07:06 PM

Here's a nice comparison chart from the Apple site:

http://www.apple.com/imac/features.html#performance

Also you may want to check out some of the Macbook and MBA gaming threads to see just what the 9400m chipset is capable of. For instance, I've been able to play Warhammer Online at medium quality with no issues on the MBA, so I wouldn't anticipate problems given the better processor on the new iMac and Mini.

Then if you believe the Apple specs, the 9400m is roughly twice as good as the original ATI 2400 (5x faster than integrated X3100, this is definitely true based on what I've seen in the MBA), and the GT120 should be twice as good as that.

Obviously you just have to make some price/performance tradeoffs. Every bit more you pay you get another decent leap in gaming power. Do you "need" it? Depends on how serious you take your gaming.

gonzaload1987

Mar 3, 2009, 07:09 PM

The GPU is not upgradable. You will need to replace the logic board.

Can you explain this to me please? when i bought my 2.8 imac with ati 2600 they upgraded for a new 8800gs, which i have to wait two days for the instalation...:confused:

ColinEC

Mar 3, 2009, 07:14 PM

Will the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M be able to run Star Craft 2 when it comes out, and Counter Strike: Source?

That's all I really need to know, thanks.

The GeForce 9400M is just as powerful if not more than the Radeon Mobility x1600 256MB I've got in my iMac.

I can handle Counter-Strike:Source at 1280x720 at around 40-50FPS, no AA, all high, no HDR.