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Doublewire

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 22, 2008
31
0
Los Angeles
Maybe I sound ignorant asking this question, sorry. I want a Macbook Pro now that I've seen them multitude of pissed off people with the Macbook. I'm wondering if the 9400M + 9600 GT have 256MB each? Please help.
 
Yes..you technically have two video cards. But as of right now...you can't use both at the same time. The 9400M uses your computer's RAM while the 9600 uses it's own VRAM.
 
The 9400M shares 256MB of DDR3 RAM with the rest of the system. The 9600M has it's own set of 256MB of GDDR3 memory. The 2.53 and 2.8 models have 512MB dedicated to the 9600M.

Sorry if I confuse you, ask for clarification if you need it.
 
The 9400M shares 256MB of DDR3 RAM with the rest of the system. The 9600M has it's own set of 256MB of GDDR3 memory. The 2.53 and 2.8 models have 512MB dedicated to the 9600M.

Sorry if I confuse you, ask for clarification if you need it.

No, I'm not that stupid, thanks a lot. :)
But I do have another question: Can I get the 2.53 model with only 2GB of RAM? I'd like 512MB of VRAM, but I don't want the extra 2GB. That'd subtract a nice sum of money as I can just buy another 2GB somewhere else for way cheaper, if I feel so inclined.
 
No, I'm not that stupid, thanks a lot. :)
But I do have another question: Can I get the 2.53 model with only 2GB of RAM? I'd like 512MB of VRAM, but I don't want the extra 2GB. That'd subtract a nice sum of money as I can just buy another 2GB somewhere else for way cheaper, if I feel so inclined.

Nope - the 2.53GHz model comes pre-fitted with 4GB of RAM. You can't get it with less RAM.
 
I'm just gonna get an effing iMac then.
Thank you!

The price that apple charges for the DDR3 in the new MBP is not actually that bad. The price difference between apple and buying it yourself is nowhere near what it used to be.
 
Well if you dont need the portability of the MBP why was it even a question in the first place? If you want a performance machine, get an iMac. You will get better graphics performance out of the deal, thats for damn sure
 
Hi,
iam currently using PC and am thinking about switching to mac.

MBP lks very nice,
my question might sound too simple to u guyz but pls. help me out.

can someone pls. tell me how does having 2 GPUs affect gaming??

i mean do they work side by side or one at a time.
from a gaming point of view whats the outcome??

thanku for reading.

Regards.
 
i mean do they work side by side or one at a time.
from a gaming point of view whats the outcome??

They are used independantly. The only reason there is 2 is that the 9400M is built right into the chipset and it would be pointless to just disable it permenantly, so they allow you to switch between the 9400 for battery and the 9600 for performance..

Its possible with snow leopard that the idle GPU can be used with openCL to act as a second math processor, but right now it just sits idle.

also note, the 9400 shares 256MB of your system ram, while the 9600 uses its own dedicated 256/512 depending on your model.

Also, the 9600 is not a top of the line graphics card. Don't buy the MBP expecting a desktop replacement. It will not run brand new games at max settings.

Plus many of us are having major issues with the 9600 in that it won't even let us play games for more then a few minutes without halting the entire system.
 
9400M in MacBook, MacBookPro and even the MacMini

They are used independantly. The only reason there is 2 is that the 9400M is built right into the chipset and it would be pointless to just disable it permenantly, so they allow you to switch between the 9400 for battery and the 9600 for performance..

So based on all this info, it looks like that the MacBook & MacBookPro pretty much use the same motherboard with the MAJOR exception of an extra graphics card (9600), larger Screen Size and a faster CPU, for the MacBookPro... hence it's name. Obviously, there are other differences (i.e. ports), but other than the major aspects, they are pretty much the same. I guess Apple wanted to reuse parts rather than creating a whole separate motherboard for the MacBookPro.

Therefore, if you need a laptop that requires more than 2gs of RAM or you require a higher end graphics card, then a MacBookPro would be best. But if you just use it just for watching video, email, word processing and some games, then all you really need is a MacBook using the 9400M graphics card (which is still pretty damn good!). Hmm, come to think of it, the MacMini would also be comparable to the MacBook since it uses the same Graphics card and even possibly the same motherboard... but I digress.
 
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