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Montevina MBP - Will it have the Radeon HD 3600 graphics card?

R

Reuel

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 1, 2008
8
0
Apple seems to cycle between ATI, nVidia, ATI, and nVidia for the graphics card.

Will the June refresh of the MacBook Pro have an ATI card now?

The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3600 is more powerful than the nVidia 8600M.

God, I need SOMETHING more powerful to run my 17'' 1920x1200 high resolution display!
 
It is either gonna have the mobile radeon 3600 or nvidia 9xxxm. I think the radeon will be most probable choice, as it is 55nm chip compared to 65nm in nvidia, which makes difference in size, heat and power consumption.

When it comes to which chip is more powerful, no one knows, as there isn't a laptop with mobile radeon 3600 yet and also we don't know the performance of the new nvidia 9500m, but it is expected to be around the same as 8600m gt.
 
Apple and Intel are now partners a fact that we all know.

AMD purchased ATI. Hence it's logical to conclude that Apple will likely stick with NVidia cards as Intel wouldn't want Apple to help out their biggest competitor (AMD).
 
Uhhh

Czechmac said:
It is either gonna have the mobile radeon 3600 or nvidia 9xxxm.
Click to expand...

The nVidia 9600M hasn't even been announced. Are you sure there WILL be one?

What if the 9500M is the fastest (for this power and size format) until the next generation? That would seriously suck. As you said, the 9500M is just the 8600M renamed.

Thanks for the link, Eidorian. I agree with you. The HD 3600 would run cooler and draw less power. That's a good thing!

*edit* On a side note, what's with this bullsheet with taking an older generation card, renaming it to the current generation and thinking nobody will be the wiser? That's just dishonest!
 
For the life of me I can't understand why Apple doesn't allow you to choose between mutliple graphics cards for MBP's. Low end for those needing extra battery life and high end for those interested in gaming.

I forestalled my MBP purchase and am going to wait for the June update before purchasing. Hopefully it will have a nice graphics card update. I doubt it will be an ATI offering though. I'd be happy with an 8800m.
 
Reuel said:
The nVidia 9600M hasn't even been announced. Are you sure there WILL be one?
Click to expand...

Nvidia usually releases a range of mobile products, low end, mid end and high end. The 9500m is mid end, therefore it is logical there will be more mobile cards coming.
 
bruno75 said:
For the life of me I can't understand why Apple doesn't allow you to choose between mutliple graphics cards for MBP's. Low end for those needing extra battery life and high end for those interested in gaming.
Click to expand...

Because that'd change the entire form factor of the case. You'll notice companies like Dell only offer(ed) cards like the Go 7800 in their largest notebooks. That's because those top model mobile cards need big heatsinks and fans to cool it. Those notebooks are deemed desktop replacements because most barely leave the desk save from home to dorm room and back, because they're too heavy too carry around all the time. So unless you want a really thick MBP that also weighs a ton..
 
butterfly0fdoom said:
IIRC, aren't there thickness issues regarding the 8800M?
Click to expand...

Ugh, I hate it when anyone brings this up. Everyone acts like "Why don't they just slap an 8800 in there?" or "I'd be happy if we had at least an 8800".
Get this straight folk: THERE WILL NEVER BE AN 8800 IN THE MACBOOK PRO!!!!!!













*huff*huff*huff*











Sorry, it makes me angry...




Anywho, I'm assuming 'yall want reasons. Here are the facts:

A) The 8800 draws too much power for the MBP to handle

B) The 8800 produces too much heat for the MBP to handle


...and that's about it. And don't say "then fine, an 8700" because the 8700 is just an overclocked 8600, so if Apple was going to put one of those in they would have done it already.

So please, no one, NO ONE, ever mention the MBP having an 8800m. Ever. Never ever. Never again. Please. Never.












"When?"
















"Never."
















/end rant
 
amac4me said:
Apple and Intel are now partners a fact that we all know.

AMD purchased ATI. Hence it's logical to conclude that Apple will likely stick with NVidia cards as Intel wouldn't want Apple to help out their biggest competitor (AMD).
Click to expand...

Apple tries to stay neutral in that "war", hence why they use both AMD, Intel and NVIDIA graphic cards in their entire line-up of computers.
 
Stridder44 said:
That's not true. There are rumors slating it will be released with the Powerbook G5. I think they're throwing in Duke Nukem Forever with it too.
Click to expand...

Hehe, yep. It'll probably be announced in June. Apple's throwing a curve-ball. No montevina- instead, POWERBOOK G5! It's cooled by an external vapor phase-change unit. And magic.



(on a side note, the Duke Nukem forever joke is no longer valid, as they're actually making it now for XBOX 360 and maybe a few other platforms)
 
JWest said:
Hehe, yep. It'll probably be announced in June. Apple's throwing a curve-ball. No montevina- instead, POWERBOOK G5! It's cooled by an external vapor phase-change unit. And magic.



(on a side note, the Duke Nukem forever joke is no longer valid, as they're actually making it now for XBOX 360 and maybe a few other platforms)
Click to expand...

Wasn't that the whole point of the joke, that they've been actually making the game all this while (for PC of course)?
 
JWest said:
on a side note, the Duke Nukem forever joke is no longer valid, as they're actually making it now for XBOX 360 and maybe a few other platforms
Click to expand...

That is the joke right there. We've been hearing posts just like yours for almost a decade.
 
No no, what I mean is that the joke has to do with the original project- the one that was delayed into oblivion. Last year, however, 3D realms announced that they're finally going to do it. They restarted the project, essentially. So, as it stands, Duke Nukem Forever is back in development (at least as far as I know). There does seem to be conflicting information about it however. IGN reports that the development is only rumored, but 3D realms did release a teaser trailer for it last year, so I'm not sure. If it is back in development, then the joke no longer works :p However, I'm not positive.



Anywho, sorry for the pointless side-tracking.
 
premature

Ugh, I hate it when anyone brings this up. Everyone acts like "Why don't they just slap an 8800 in there?"
Click to expand...

Alienware has a 8800mGTX in a 15.4" notebook and handles cooling requirements quite nicely. I'd say that given the fact that the MBP case revision is a completely unknown variable, as well as the MBP cooling design, it would be a little premature to write off the inclusion of any particular card at this point in time, no??
 
I for one am also glad that Apple is starting to incorporate some gaming grade graphics cards in their laptops. I don't think the traditional Apple philosophy of "don't buy a mac for gaming" is a viable market strategy these days. So many people want to casually game on their laptops that it's going to definitely be an issue for potential buyers. We already know that Apple can't compete with Windows in the opengl vs directx department, so that leaves Apple marketing their bootcamp feature and supporting mbp users who do their work and productivity within OSX, and game within Windows. Now, the best option would be to allow customization of graphics cards when building the computer on the website. I still don't quite understand why they force you to a single hardware profile. Either way, I'm excited for June to roll around. I'll be selling my XPS m1710 at that time and jumping over to Mac. I haven't owned an Apple since my Apple IIgs in the 80's. :)
 
The 8800M would cause the thickness of the MBP to increase. That would be a bad move for Apple, so it's unlikely we'll see the 8800M.

STILL, I would like something faster than the crappy 8600M.
 
Viper2005 said:
The 8800M would cause the thickness of the MBP to increase. That would be a bad move for Apple, so it's unlikely we'll see the 8800M.

STILL, I would like something faster than the crappy 8600M.
Click to expand...

Exactly. You must remember, the Alienware m15x is 1.5 inches thick- 50% thicker than the MBP.
 
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