GT 120 vs old 2600 Pro

[Tommigun]

Hi men.
I ordered the mid-range 24" iMac (2.93Ghz) with the Geforce GT 120 discrete chip. However, some benchmarks place the old Radeon 2600 Pro which was in the last gen's middle segment above the GT 120 (9500/8600)! Can this really be true as the new model is 300€ more expensive, and downgrading from an old cheap GPU to an even slower makes absolutely no sense.
Am I missing something with the markings, like a mobility modifier?
Thanks.

[ctro82]

+1 I'd like to know as well.

[Tommigun]

I take this as no-one knows then?

[flopticalcube]

The old cards where actually slightly downclocked Mobility HD2600 XT. They should be roughly the same as the GT 120.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

[Hellhammer]

People are more intrested about GT130 and ATI 4850.

[wakerider017]

Roughly the same is not exactly true.

Here are 3DMark06 scores:

Mobility Radeon HD 2600 - 3,134
Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT - 4,120
GeForce GT 120M - 5,431


If the old 2600 pro fell some where between the 2600 XT score and regular 2600 it would be about 3,600 points. That is nearly 2,000 points less than the GeForce GT 120M. That my friends is considerable.

Of note: The GT 130M scored 5816, only 385 points difference from the 120.

Is the 130 worth the $150 upgrade? IMO no!
Is the 4850 worth the $200 upgrade? Possibly, if you need the extra power.

Terrible shame that there is a 1 month wait for the 4850 though.

[EmperorDarius]

Of note: The GT 130M scored 5816, only 385 points difference from the 120.

Is the 130 worth the $150 upgrade? IMO no!


Except that GT 120M != GT 120
and that GT 130M != GT 130

Apple uses the GT 120 and 130, NOT the 120M and 130M.
So then the GT 130 = 9800M GTS which scores 9692.
The GT 120 seems to be the 9500M GT, I don't know how well it scores.

[Pressure]

The GT130 is basically a rebranded 8800GS = 9600GSO which is the same card as the last high-end iMac had.

[Hellhammer]

The GT130 is basically a rebranded 8800GS = 9600GSO which is the same card as the last high-end iMac had.

No it's not. It's 9800M GTS. Exactly same specs

[flopticalcube]

No it's not. It's 9800M GTS. Exactly same specs
So what is the GT 120 in the iMac? 9500M GT? 9600M GT? GS? 9500M GS? Is it clocked up or down? Inquiring minds want to know! My suspicion is that the GT 120 (whatever it is) will come fairly close (10-25%) to the HD2600 in the older iMacs.

[Tommigun]

The GT 120 is turning out to be quite the mystery card as I totally fail to find ANY benchmarks for it. I even found some 120M benchmarks... :/

Oh, and I wait to pass on judgement on the performance as it's still a revised card and the 130 vs 130M performance gap is huge (twice the speed). It might well beat the 2600 and 9400M by several magnitudes making it a worthwhile purchase.

[QCassidy352]

Except that GT 120M != GT 120
and that GT 130M != GT 130

Apple uses the GT 120 and 130, NOT the 120M and 130M.

source?

I'm skeptical because the imac has never used a desktop graphics card, always mobile versions.

[richprice79]

This has become so confusing. I have read that the gt 130 = 7 different cards. Who is right and who is wrong on this one?

[PurpleCliff]

This has become so confusing. I have read that the gt 130 = 7 different cards. Who is right and who is wrong on this one?

:eek: I'm so confused. I just want to know if the GT 130 is good! :D I want to be reassured of my recent purchase.

[EmperorDarius]

source?

I'm skeptical because the imac has never used a desktop graphics card, always mobile versions.

The GT 120/130 are renamed mobile cards (or at least look so by their specs). The 120M/130M are weaker.

[evanmarx]

http://www.macworld.com/article/139350/2009/03/imacs_2009_benchmarks.html

They compare new iMacs with pregen iMacs:

they don't specify the pregen grfx cards but i guess it's 2400/2600/8800

so GT 130 vs. 8800
GT 120 vs. 2600 (pro)
9400 vs 2400 (?)

[AlexisV]

We need a thread for people to post their 3D Marks...

Maybe I'll benchmark my 2600 and start a thread.

[evanmarx]

tell us what app to use and i'll benchmark even my goodold 24" imac with 7600GT

[Tommigun]

We need a thread for people to post their 3D Marks...

Maybe I'll benchmark my 2600 and start a thread.

If you do, please link to it in this thread also (as I'm only monitoring this and not the forum).

I'm gonna install WinXP and run 3DMark06 at some point to see the score. Not that it's that important but the fact that there are no such benchmarks on the web for the GT 120 is driving me nuts.