6750M vs. 6490? Worth the upgrade?

Zauberer · Feb 24, 2011, 07:52 AM

Thread title says it all. Although for me personally with my school's education discount, the current (and by current I mean old) high-end 15" was $1919 and the mid-range is/was $1775 so it's not as big of a difference. I just thought I'd title the thread to be helpful to more people. I tried doing a Google search, but couldn't find benchmarks for either card (granted I didn't look too hard).

I don't plan on doing much gaming but I would like to be able to play Civ V, possibly SW: The Old Republic when it comes out, and SCII.

JayDH · Feb 24, 2011, 08:07 AM

I am interested in this as well. This is the only reason I would upgrade to the more expensive 15". It is a pricey upgrade, but going from 256 to 1GB seems like a big jump.

segers909 · Feb 24, 2011, 08:07 AM

I have the same question.

nickarate · Feb 24, 2011, 08:11 AM

I would love for someone to post an intelligent and reasoned reply. A lot of the time, we get people with way to much emotion on here.

I will be buying the base 15... maybe with the upgraded screen because that is what I can afford, but I would love to know what I will be missing out on.

emigrant · Feb 24, 2011, 08:12 AM

6400 series is crap, 6700 is very good GPU chip,

panzer06 · Feb 24, 2011, 08:13 AM

Looking at Notebookcheck.net it seems there's a fairly big difference for games.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Rad...M.43958.0.html

Though there don't appear to be any game benchmarks; they're just looking at raw numbers I guess. We'll probably have to wait a few days for someone to get one and test.

Cheers,

Eidorian · Feb 24, 2011, 08:15 AM

The 6490M is quite comparable to the 5450/5470. The biggest impact is the GDDR5 but you are still starved on shaders to even need that kind of memory bandwidth.

Zauberer · Feb 24, 2011, 08:28 AM

What would the 6750 be comparable to? Or what benchmarks could I look at and expect roughly the same (preferably at least as good) performance?

cluthz · Feb 24, 2011, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eidorian

The 6490M is quite comparable to the 5450/5470. The biggest impact is the GDDR5 but you are still starved on shaders to even need that kind of memory bandwidth.

If I'm not mistaken the 5470 was on par with the 320M, so it seems like you need to buy the 6750 version to beat the 2010 mbp in terms of graphics power

lewdvig · Feb 24, 2011, 08:44 AM

Apple made shockingly bad choices on the 15 GPUs IMO. The 6490M is a deal breaker.

I will need to see the HL2 test with my own eyes - I believe the 330m is 40% better than the 6490M.

Quads are nice, but I can live without one.

lewdvig · Feb 24, 2011, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cluthz

If I'm not mistaken the 5470 was on par with the 320M, so it seems like you need to buy the 6750 version to beat the 2010 mbp in terms of graphics power

You are right. Adding GDDR5 to a slow GPU (what the 6490M is) will not net much performance.

In fact, I think the 9600m GT is faster. Yikes!

cluthz · Feb 24, 2011, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewdvig

You are right. Adding GDDR5 to a slow GPU (what the 6490M is) will not net much performance.

In fact, I think the 9600m GT is faster. Yikes!

Yeah putting a graphic card with 64-bit memory bus in a $1799 MBP is a ripoff

aznguyen316 · Feb 24, 2011, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewdvig

Apple made shockingly bad choices on the 15 GPUs IMO. The 6490M is a deal breaker.

I will need to see the HL2 test with my own eyes - I believe the 330m is 40% better than the 6490M.

Quads are nice, but I can live without one.

I agree. The HL2 test if you read the footnotes was for the 6750. The 6490 at 64bit BUS even with GDDR5 is TERRIBLE. Wow, I was ready to get the base 15" but I will not pay for the high end 15". argh back to decisions. It's either 6750 or just bust IMO. bust = intel HD3000 lol

panzer06 · Feb 24, 2011, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aznguyen316

I agree. The HL2 test if you read the footnotes was for the 6750. The 6490 at 64bit BUS even with GDDR5 is TERRIBLE. Wow, I was ready to get the base 15" but I will not pay for the high end 15". argh back to decisions. It's either 6750 or just bust IMO. bust = intel HD3000 lol

Wait for the refurb on the high end 15"

Cheers,

aCondor · Feb 24, 2011, 09:09 AM

So the 6750M is worth the upgrade $?

panzer06 · Feb 24, 2011, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aCondor

So the 6750M is worth the upgrade $?

If you want to play games at decent settings.

Cheers,

Mirai 11 · Feb 24, 2011, 09:13 AM

Are there any links for benchmarks for the 6490? I can't find any links regarding this to help me understand how well it runs.

DarwinOSX · Feb 24, 2011, 09:18 AM

I just started a thread with info on these two vid cards before seeing this one. The 6490 is disappointing to say the least.

Radeon HD 6490M Details
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Rad...M.43843.0.html

Performance on common games
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compute...s.13849.0.html

Radeon HD 6750M Details
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Rad...M.43958.0.html

Performance on common games
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compute...s.13849.0.html

toddybody · Feb 24, 2011, 09:21 AM

The 6750m is a decent GPU...though not worth a 1999.99 price tag IMHO. Also the difference in VRAM between the 6490 and 6750 is huge...not that a 1440x900 screen needs that much frame buffer.
Anyhoo, Apple Tax prevails. As I always say, get a MBA for all your feel good on the go Apple-computing needs...and a dedicated desktop(Yes folks, a PC) for some real power.

aznguyen316 · Feb 24, 2011, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by panzer06

Wait for the refurb on the high end 15"

Cheers,

Yup my thought exactly

cluthz · Feb 24, 2011, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperDA

Are there any links for benchmarks for the 6490? I can't find any links regarding this to help me understand how well it runs.

To be honest, it's not much faster than the intel.

toddybody · Feb 24, 2011, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarwinOSX

I just started a thread with info on these two vid cards before seeing this one. The 6490 is disappointing to say the least.

Radeon HD 6490M Details
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Rad...M.43843.0.html

Performance on common games
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compute...s.13849.0.html

Radeon HD 6750M Details
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Rad...M.43958.0.html

Performance on common games
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compute...s.13849.0.html

Nice Charts. Yeah, I never get why people expect so much from a mobile GPU...especially an Apple config. Ha ha! I have to admit that the only bench i really cared about on the chart was SC2. For Aiur!

vipergts2207 · Feb 24, 2011, 09:41 AM

If you want to play games, the 6750M is what you want. Totally worth it imo.

lewdvig · Feb 24, 2011, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cluthz

To be honest, it's not much faster than the intel.

Yeah, you are right. What were they thinking!

Might as well go IGP only and drop the price $200.

Bah, yet again Apple sends me into the arms of a Windows PC.

Like most people, I can afford any PC I want. But I can not bring myself to pay these ridiculous rates.

The 6750 is a variation of the same GPU found in an $800 Acer Aspire 7552G-6436. Yes, GDDR5 is better. Yes, i7qm is better than Phenom II. But it is not 3x better. Grr! I hate Acer.

There has to be a decent middle ground between plastic junk and silly MBPs.

Stupid Apple. Stupid Steve. Stupid Jonathan.

lewdvig · Feb 24, 2011, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddybody

Nice Charts. Yeah, I never get why people expect so much from a mobile GPU...especially an Apple config. Ha ha! I have to admit that the only bench i really cared about on the chart was SC2. For Aiur!

6750M will run Medium at 900p at framerates suitable for competition. High if you can live with framerate dipping below 20.

Feb 24, 2011, 07:52 AM	#1
Zauberer macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2010	6750M vs. 6490? Worth the upgrade? Thread title says it all. Although for me personally with my school's education discount, the current (and by current I mean old) high-end 15" was $1919 and the mid-range is/was $1775 so it's not as big of a difference. I just thought I'd title the thread to be helpful to more people. I tried doing a Google search, but couldn't find benchmarks for either card (granted I didn't look too hard). I don't plan on doing much gaming but I would like to be able to play Civ V, possibly SW: The Old Republic when it comes out, and SCII.
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 08:07 AM	#3
segers909 macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Belgium	I have the same question. __________________ iPhone/iPod Touch expert Having problems? Need help? Feel free to PM me!
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 08:11 AM	#4
nickarate macrumors regular Join Date: Mar 2008	I would love for someone to post an intelligent and reasoned reply. A lot of the time, we get people with way to much emotion on here. I will be buying the base 15... maybe with the upgraded screen because that is what I can afford, but I would love to know what I will be missing out on. __________________ iPhone 4 32gb pre-ordered from AT&T (680 batch... biggest mistake ever!) iPad 64gb! 15" 2.4 ghz, 4 gb ram, MBP 16gb iPod Touch 1st Gen
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 08:13 AM	#6
panzer06 macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kilrath	Looking at Notebookcheck.net it seems there's a fairly big difference for games. http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Rad...M.43958.0.html Though there don't appear to be any game benchmarks; they're just looking at raw numbers I guess. We'll probably have to wait a few days for someone to get one and test. Cheers, __________________ Trust, but locate the doors, iMac 27 i7 2.93 24GB 2TB eSATA mod ATI57502011 MBP 15, 16GB/256SSDVerizon 64GB iPad3AW M17xR3 i7 2720 16GB 1080p ATI 6990\|Flickr
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 08:15 AM	#7
Eidorian macrumors Penryn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Indiana	The 6490M is quite comparable to the 5450/5470. The biggest impact is the GDDR5 but you are still starved on shaders to even need that kind of memory bandwidth. __________________ Core i5 750 / 16 GB RAM / SSD / HD 7950 / Windows 8 MRoogle it!
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 08:07 AM	#2
JayDH macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2008	I am interested in this as well. This is the only reason I would upgrade to the more expensive 15". It is a pricey upgrade, but going from 256 to 1GB seems like a big jump.
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 08:12 AM	#5
emigrant macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New York-Bklyn	6400 series is crap, 6700 is very good GPU chip,
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 08:28 AM	#8
Zauberer Thread Starter macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2010	What would the 6750 be comparable to? Or what benchmarks could I look at and expect roughly the same (preferably at least as good) performance?
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 08:44 AM	#10
lewdvig macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: South Pole	Apple made shockingly bad choices on the 15 GPUs IMO. The 6490M is a deal breaker. I will need to see the HL2 test with my own eyes - I believe the 330m is 40% better than the 6490M. Quads are nice, but I can live without one. __________________ Zealot without a cause. I run an orchard.
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 09:09 AM	#15
aCondor macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: United States	So the 6750M is worth the upgrade $?
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 09:13 AM	#17
Mirai 11 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Aug 2005	Are there any links for benchmarks for the 6490? I can't find any links regarding this to help me understand how well it runs. __________________ http://www.darylbaxter.com - A Site of opinions on all things tech, retro-games, and food. What else is needed!
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 09:18 AM	#18
DarwinOSX macrumors 65816 Join Date: Nov 2009	I just started a thread with info on these two vid cards before seeing this one. The 6490 is disappointing to say the least. Radeon HD 6490M Details http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Rad...M.43843.0.html Performance on common games http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compute...s.13849.0.html Radeon HD 6750M Details http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Rad...M.43958.0.html Performance on common games http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compute...s.13849.0.html __________________ Mac user since 1984.
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 09:21 AM	#19
toddybody Guest Join Date: May 2010 Location: On Mars, thinking about my father...	The 6750m is a decent GPU...though not worth a 1999.99 price tag IMHO. Also the difference in VRAM between the 6490 and 6750 is huge...not that a 1440x900 screen needs that much frame buffer. Anyhoo, Apple Tax prevails. As I always say, get a MBA for all your feel good on the go Apple-computing needs...and a dedicated desktop(Yes folks, a PC) for some real power.
	0

Feb 24, 2011, 09:41 AM	#23
vipergts2207 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Columbus, OH	If you want to play games, the 6750M is what you want. Totally worth it imo. __________________ 15" 2.2GHz i7-2720QM MBP, 4GB DDR3, 500 GB 7200RPM HDD iPhone 4 S⃣ 32GB Black 1TB Time Capsule
	0

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