2400XT vx. 9400M

[panov]

Hello, this is my first post here.

I have a 2.0GHz iMac (2007 model) with 128MB Radeon 2400XT graphics card. The computer served me well but now I am thinking about selling it and buying the new 21 inch lowend model with Nvidia 9400M.

The iMac that I currently own is set up with Boot Camp where I play Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142, Ship Simulator.. I play them at 1152x864 but it looks just fine and gets great framerates with settings set to Medium/High.

I would like to still be able to play these games, at least at the same resolution and settings as I do now without lagging too much. I heard that 9400M is integrated, and because of that it is worse.

Do you think that the integrated graphics on the new iMacs will be able to handle these games on the same settings or should I save more money for a higher-end iMac?

 

[CubeHacker]

I'd say save your money and get one with a better video card. The two are roughly equal in speed. But you need to ask yourself, are you going to spend a lot of money for a new computer to only play current games, or do you want it to be able to play future games too? The 9400M won't handle those future games too well.

 

[bikalpapaudel]

The performance would be similar with those games. Sometimes a bit better, sometimes worse.

Just curious, why are you selling your current iMac? Got a good deal?

I'd rather save up and get the 27" monstrosity. The base 21.5" won't be that big an upgrade for you.

 

[Little Endian]

Save your Money

I'd say save your money and get one with a better video card. The two are roughly equal in speed. But you need to ask yourself, are you going to spend a lot of money for a new computer to only play current games, or do you want it to be able to play future games too? The 9400M won't handle those future games too well.

Going from a 2.0Ghz CD2 2400XT to a 3Ghz C2D with a 9400M is pointless..... Yeah things will be a little faster but the GPUs as Cube Hacker states are relatively on par with each other. If you are going to upgrade go all the way and get yourself the 27 inch core i5 or i7 imac. With the core i5 or i7 you will probably see at least double the performance in every scenario. With gaming you will probably see performance that is 3-4 times better with the Radeon HD 4XXX class GPUs compared to what you have now and will be safe performance wise for another 3-5 years depending on your needs and future changes in technology. If you buy a the 21.5 inch C2D imac, you will probably be itching for something better within a year or two considering that what you have now is already not good enough. Do you want to buy a new computer every 2 years or so? Some people are fine with that but if you calculate the opportunity costs and actual costs you might find that spending more and getting the best to last 3-5 years makes for better financial sense.

 

[panov]

Thanks for the replies.

I'd say save your money and get one with a better video card. The two are roughly equal in speed. But you need to ask yourself, are you going to spend a lot of money for a new computer to only play current games, or do you want it to be able to play future games too? The 9400M won't handle those future games too well.

I am not a hardcore gamer at all, I only play about 4 games which I have played since forever. I am not going to play anything else new, just these games. I just hope that performance will not be worse than what I currently have.

The performance would be similar with those games. Sometimes a bit better, sometimes worse.

Just curious, why are you selling your current iMac? Got a good deal?

I'd rather save up and get the 27" monstrosity. The base 21.5" won't be that big an upgrade for you.

27'' is not an option for me. Way too expensive for a student . The reason I want so much the 21.5 is because it has bigger screen, faster processor, more RAM (mine only has 2GB), warranty and its just damn beautiful! I saw it in person and I wanted one right away! You know, love at first sight.

I am selling the iMac for $490 and that includes the bluetooth keyboard/mighty mouse.

I only do iLife, Internet and boot camp for games so unless the $1500 iMac model is the only thing that will play my 4 games flawlessly, I will be just fine with the base model.

 

[AAPLaday]

If your getting a new one get the 21.5" with 4670 graphics card in. Its a lot faster than the 9400

 

[bikalpapaudel]

@panov
Then I'd say that the baseline 21.5" is just fine for you [but so is your older iMac]. In fact your current iMac even looks similar other than the aspect ratio. Isn't it the aluminum one?

You are going to do pretty much the same work. You will not notice much speed difference.

And your iMac can be inexpensively upgraded to 4.0 GB RAM for like 40 dollars. You can sell the existing RAM too.

Higher Resolution-> It isnt that different. The new one is almost the same resolution vertically.
And the small difference in screen is perhaps not critical for what you do.

So selling your current iMac and spending 600$ on top of it just to get a little bit of difference; I'd think twice.
Plus you have bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

Of course, it's totally your call. I am not here to judge for you.

Totally understand the student thing. I'm a poor student from a remote location in a developing country making do with minimal resources [compared to you guys] and crappy Internet that challenges Dial-up. It's just that I had begun to think everyone was well provided for, here in this community except for me.