Hello,
I have a Core Duo 1.66 GHz Mac Mini which obviously has the Intel GMA 950 GPU integrated. While it works OK for most things and even most games, some newer ones are quite laggy and I found at least once that's virtually impossible to play due to the graphics not being up to the task.
I'm "on the fence" as I plan to buy a new Mac soon with a Core 2 Duo CPU. I understand the Mac Mini C2Ds still use the GMA950 which more or less rules them out.
I'm considering an iMac which obviously have great graphics, but cost quite a bit more than a Mini.
I'm also considering buying a standard MacBook (2.2 GHz probably). I know the new MacBooks use the Intel GMA X3100 GPU instead of the GMA 950s they had in the past.
I have read on these forums and elsewhere that the X3100 is much better than the GMA 950 and is faster and has more shared memory available.
The Mac Mini CD (Core Duo) I have now has 2 GB of RAM (system). Which is of course shared with the GMA 950.
I would like to stay at 2 GB RAM (or else upgrade to 4 GB possibly).
Just how much better are the GMA X3100s than the GMA 950s? Any benchmarks you can point me at, or personal experiences would be helpful.
I'd love to have an iMac but the cost is a bit prohibitive and I would like to have a portable.
Thanks!
I have a Core Duo 1.66 GHz Mac Mini which obviously has the Intel GMA 950 GPU integrated. While it works OK for most things and even most games, some newer ones are quite laggy and I found at least once that's virtually impossible to play due to the graphics not being up to the task.
I'm "on the fence" as I plan to buy a new Mac soon with a Core 2 Duo CPU. I understand the Mac Mini C2Ds still use the GMA950 which more or less rules them out.
I'm considering an iMac which obviously have great graphics, but cost quite a bit more than a Mini.
I'm also considering buying a standard MacBook (2.2 GHz probably). I know the new MacBooks use the Intel GMA X3100 GPU instead of the GMA 950s they had in the past.
I have read on these forums and elsewhere that the X3100 is much better than the GMA 950 and is faster and has more shared memory available.
The Mac Mini CD (Core Duo) I have now has 2 GB of RAM (system). Which is of course shared with the GMA 950.
I would like to stay at 2 GB RAM (or else upgrade to 4 GB possibly).
Just how much better are the GMA X3100s than the GMA 950s? Any benchmarks you can point me at, or personal experiences would be helpful.
I'd love to have an iMac but the cost is a bit prohibitive and I would like to have a portable.
Thanks!