Can someone explain the SLI feature in MBP to me?

[definitive]

It says 9400M + 9600M... What does that supposed to mean? Are they using 9400M and 9600M chips together? Because I didn't see an option to pick one or the other.

 

[mrwizardno2]

It says 9400M + 9600M... What does that supposed to mean? Are they using 9400M and 9600M chips together? Because I didn't see an option to pick one or the other.

They come with both. the 9400m is included in the chipset, the 9600m is an addition (required) that allows you to use more horsepower if you require it

 

[GGJstudios]

If you read their specs, you'll see that it uses both, one at a time.
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/graphics.html

 

[wgr73]

"And thanks to a new graphics architecture, it’s easy to switch between these two processors." So it does not use both at the same time...

 

[Eddyisgreat]

As everyone else said, it only switches. You cannot have a discreet card such as the 9600m offload pretty much anything graphically intensive to an intergrated solution. That would be like telling a five year old to help work the gas while you try and work the GPS and steer.

 

[definitive]

That's disgusting.

With faster performance and higher frame rates for graphically demanding 3D games like Quake, Call of Duty, and Spore, MacBook Pro plays like a console — an extremely portable one.

Quake? CoD? Those games are 5+ years old.

 

[mrwizardno2]

Anyone else see that it requires a logout to switch between the two? Poo

 

[ayeying]

Anyone else see that it requires a logout to switch between the two? Poo

I don't see that anywhere... I'm wondering about how it switches between the two also.

 

[burningrave101]

"And thanks to a new graphics architecture, it’s easy to switch between these two processors." So it does not use both at the same time...

OS X may or may not be able to currently support it but Hybrid SLI is more than just switching between one or the other. Yes it does switch back to the 9400M when doing normal everyday tasks in order to conserve power but the technology also has the ability to run both graphics cores together at the same time for increased performance.

Hybrid SLI® technology, based on NVIDIA’s industry-leading SLI technology, delivers multi-GPU (graphics processing unit) benefits when an NVIDIA® motherboard GPU is combined with an NVIDIA discrete GPU. Hybrid SLI increases graphics performance with GeForce® Boost and provides intelligent power management with HybridPower™.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/hybridsli_notebook.html

Somebody said earlier that the tech notes on nVidia's website said it was a Vista SP1 only feature but if nVidia is going to be the one providing chips to Apple I kinda doubt it will stay that way even though the feature may not be fully supported until Snow Leopard.

 

[mrwizardno2]

I don't see that anywhere... I'm wondering about how it switches between the two also.

Check out http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/14/macbook-pro-requires-logout-to-switch-graphics-modes/

 

[RyanF2009]

That's disgusting.



Quake? CoD? Those games are 5+ years old.

CoD4 isn't even a year old (for PC), and hasn't even been released for the Mac yet. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars was just released in March. Sequels, my man, sequels.

 

[alphaod]

It says 9400M + 9600M... What does that supposed to mean? Are they using 9400M and 9600M chips together? Because I didn't see an option to pick one or the other.

You either use one or the other; you have to log out and back in to do it.

Also, Hybrid-SLI requires the integrated and dedicated GPU to be the same. So if the integrated was a 9400M, the dedicated GPU would need to be to a 9400M as well.