8600m gt 512 vs 9600m gt 256

[Gray123]

Im looking at buying a second hand macbook pro, of the two graphics card what would be better for gaming?

 

[G.T.]

Im looking at buying a second hand macbook pro, of the two graphics card what would be better for gaming?

I'd say 9600 as the 8600 had loads of issues (google to read up on it). Also they are both 256 bit so the 512MB will only really come in handy for larger screen res with large textures.

How/What are you going to play, games etc and will it be external monitor?

 

[Ramphex]

330M, if you know what I'm getting at

 

[Gray123]

I'd say 9600 as the 8600 had loads of issues (google to read up on it). Also they are both 256 bit so the 512MB will only really come in handy for larger screen res with large textures.

How/What are you going to play, games etc and will it be external monitor?

Currently have unibody macbook 2.0ghz and are getting into gaming, 9400m is good but I want to play more demanding games than call of duty 4. Does apple still cover faults in 8600m gt, I read that somewhere but is that still current.

 

[G.T.]

Currently have unibody macbook 2.0ghz and are getting into gaming, 9400m is good but I want to play more demanding games than call of duty 4. Does apple still cover faults in 8600m gt, I read that somewhere but is that still current.

I think they would if its under warranty.

Why not buy a PC for gaming? or a console instead of a macbook pro. I have the 9600 gt while it is good it is only a mobile card, I have my Gaming PC for the big games. The MBP will also get very hot too. I love apple and will only have apple laptops but the only thing they still are not good at is gaming. This is changing but again for mobile devices still no where near like a desktop. Not sure if you specifically want mobile gaming if not then desktop would be a good option and ur macbook will still be good. Some people will suggest an iMac I won't if you want a serious desktop for gaming go PC or Mac Pro (*ducks for cover as people argue *), iMacs still use mobile hardware.

 

[kdum8]

Im looking at buying a second hand macbook pro, of the two graphics card what would be better for gaming?

Don't touch the 8600M GT with a ten foot barge pole. It has had a lot of issues, a high failure rate and Apple are close to the end of the free support period.

 

[cubiczech]

They are both 128-bit, 256MB RAM is enough for card of this category. 8600 and 9600 (both mobile) are nearly the same chips, but the manufacturing process on the 9600M almost eliminated the 8xxxM problems, so go for it (also unibody casing is much better). The 9600M also has higher GPU frequency, so is the power is same as the desktop 8600GT, which is slow for gaming, but enough to run all games at least on low settings, they are nearly the same, but i prefer 9600M... it will work longer than month. 256MB VRAM isnt a big deal for this card. I had 8600GT 256MB for desktop PC about 3 years ago and it was ok for 1024x768 - 1440x900 gaming, some games wont let you choose textures higher than medium, because of the smaller VRAM, but it shouldnt have any performance impact. 512MB VRAM will be better for higher textures, some texture packs and mods (like those for HL2, Oblivion or Fallout 3) It wont be faster. Still all games on the market should be playable.

 

[jbrenn]

stay away from 8600

Currently have unibody macbook 2.0ghz and are getting into gaming, 9400m is good but I want to play more demanding games than call of duty 4. Does apple still cover faults in 8600m gt, I read that somewhere but is that still current.

apple will cover the 8600 for 3 years from original purchase. I have had mine since jan 09 and it has failed twice. I purchased it new.