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LadyApple

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 26, 2013
10
0
Hello, can someone please explain when you need nvidia geforce? What is the criteria that nvidia geforce is a must have?
Appreciate your opinion!
 

TweakOnline

macrumors regular
Dec 17, 2012
206
1
Europe
Looking for the same answer, I've heard Nvidia graphic cards have better performance on Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects! :)
 

LadyApple

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 26, 2013
10
0
There isn't much about it on the internet that answers my question, but I thought here has to be some nerds;) who must know.... Please guys, give your opinion! I'm am about to buy a new iMac. Don't know which one. Don't want any regrets. Would you go with the one with the nvidia geforce? And why?
 

yjchua95

macrumors 604
Apr 23, 2011
6,725
233
GVA, KUL, MEL (current), ZQN
There isn't much about it on the internet that answers my question, but I thought here has to be some nerds;) who must know.... Please guys, give your opinion! I'm am about to buy a new iMac. Don't know which one. Don't want any regrets. Would you go with the one with the nvidia geforce? And why?

I went for the Nvidia in my 21.5" because i use it to play games as well, and also for the peace of mind to know that I have extra GPU power when the need arises.

On my RMBP, I use Iris for Photoshop and Nvidia for games.
 

MacsRgr8

macrumors G3
Sep 8, 2002
8,284
1,753
The Netherlands
Hello, can someone please explain when you need nvidia geforce? What is the criteria that nvidia geforce is a must have?
Appreciate your opinion!

I assume you're purely talking about the iMac?

You need a GeForce (the faster / more expensive, the better...) if you plan on using Open GL: i.e. playing games or other 3D-reliant apps.

The Iris Pro is fast enough in all other instances (indeed, also regarding Open CL) for the "normal" user.
 

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
I have last years 680M 2GB card in my 27". The only time I push the card hard is when flying X-Plane, but that wouldn't stop me from buying top spec again...the new ones with the option to have the 4GB card would be me, but if you don't game, or do intensive video / music work, then the smaller model may well suit your needs without spending the extra $$$
 

yjchua95

macrumors 604
Apr 23, 2011
6,725
233
GVA, KUL, MEL (current), ZQN
I have last years 680M 2GB card in my 27". The only time I push the card hard is when flying X-Plane, but that wouldn't stop me from buying top spec again...the new ones with the option to have the 4GB card would be me, but if you don't game, or do intensive video / music work, then the smaller model may well suit your needs without spending the extra $$$

For comparison, the GT750M in the iMac outperforms the GTX660M, as the GT750M in the iMac is the GDDR5 variant.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-750M.90245.0.html (look under the 'Performance' section)
 
Last edited:

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
For comparison, the GT750M in the iMac outperforms the GTX660M, as the GT750M in the iMac is the GDDR5 variant.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-750M.90245.0.html (look under the 'Performance' section.

I wasn't disputing that, I know it's faster, but my upgrade path has been interrupted thus year....my current machine is no slouch though...I opted for the 3TB FD as at the time Apple just weren't offering a big enough SSD for my needs, but I'm glad I did. I run 32GB of RAM and the 3.4GHZ CPU so it isn't slow:). If I were able to buy now, I'd go for the new larger SSD option, and obviously the 4GB GPU. I usually upgrade to maximise my resale value and this one has full AC also, but it's going to have to last me another year.
 

yjchua95

macrumors 604
Apr 23, 2011
6,725
233
GVA, KUL, MEL (current), ZQN
I wasn't disputing that, I know it's faster, but my upgrade path has been interrupted thus year....my current machine is no slouch though...I opted for the 3TB FD as at the time Apple just weren't offering a big enough SSD for my needs, but I'm glad I did. I run 32GB of RAM and the 3.4GHZ CPU so it isn't slow:). If I were able to buy now, I'd go for the new larger SSD option, and obviously the 4GB GPU. I usually upgrade to maximise my resale value and this one has full AC also, but it's going to have to last me another year.

Umm...that wasn't my intention :p

I was just providing a comparison that the current 21.5" has a faster GPU than the previous generation base 27" iMac :)
 

Georgio

macrumors 6502
Apr 30, 2008
369
38
Essex, UK
If you don't need the GPU power then just go with the stock video card and be happy...however.
Think about 3 years down the line and you want to trade up, that stock GPU is going to look a little stingy and may make re-selling harder than it needs to be.
Whenever I upgrade, which is usually every two years, I always get asked what GPU is in the Mac and it's usually the clincher for the deal.

For the sake of a few $ it's not worth it... :D
 

blanka

macrumors 68000
Jul 30, 2012
1,551
4
IMO you only need it for 3D modelling.
For gaming, you're at the wrong address anyway with a Mac (lousy framerates on OpenGL compared to cheap DirectX PC's running Windows), and the promise of GPU acceleration remains mainly a promise so far.
 

joe-h2o

macrumors 6502a
Jun 24, 2012
997
445
IMO you only need it for 3D modelling.
For gaming, you're at the wrong address anyway with a Mac (lousy framerates on OpenGL compared to cheap DirectX PC's running Windows), and the promise of GPU acceleration remains mainly a promise so far.

To give a completely opposite opinion, the Mac is great for gaming and the better GPU you can get the better. You can easily run windows in bootcamp if you want to take advantage of Windows titles and DirectX performance, but performance on the Mac side is getting better all the time - especially now that Apple has started to put top-of-the-tree GPUs (albeit mobile ones) in their hardware.

Macs are an excellent choice if you want to game now, but also want a native OS X desktop experience for everything else you do.
 
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