Graphics Card, which is better ?

[Akack]

Primary use for playing Diablo III when it comes out and Steam games. No photoshop or video editing, just internet surfing.

2011 baseline 21.5" iMac i5 2.5 AMD 6750M w/ 512 MB memory
or
2010 27" iMac i7 2.93 ATI 5750 w/ 1 GB memory


The high end 2011 27" with 6970M is a little above my budget.
Thanks.

Screen size is irrelevant since I have a 27" ACD.

 

[star-affinity]

Primary use for playing Diablo III when it comes out and Steam games. No photoshop or video editing, just internet surfing.

2011 baseline 21.5" iMac i5 2.5 AMD 6750M w/ 512 MB memory
or
2010 27" iMac i7 2.93 ATI 5750 w/ 1 GB memory


The high end 2011 27" with 6970M is a little above my budget.
Thanks.

Screen size is irrelevant since I have a 27" ACD.

This should give you an idea I think: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/

6970M = 2605 points
5750 = 1502 points
6750M = 1132 points

But of course there's more to it. The 2011 iMac has faster hardware than the 2010 one when it comes to other things than the graphics card, so it will probably perform better still.

But maybe not since the 2010 processor is i7... Hmm. Difficult.

 

[Akack]

Thanks for the link.

I got a good deal when I bought the 2011 base 21.5" off craigslist ( $775 with applecare included) so I should be able to sell it for more than I initially paid and pay the difference for the 2010 i7.

Would love to get the 27" 6970M but would need to sell both the 27" ACD and 21.5 iMac to help subsidize it

 

[derbothaus]

This should give you an idea I think: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/

6970M = 2605 points
5750 = 1502 points
6750M = 1132 points

But of course there's more to it. The 2011 iMac has faster hardware than the 2010 one when it comes to other things than the graphics card, so it will probably perform better still.

But maybe not since the 2010 processor is i7... Hmm. Difficult.

Worst testing ever for video cards. So wrong on rankings. Unless you don't expect to use DX9-11, or OpenGL. Look at other things like 3Dmark for true graphics muscle.

 

[star-affinity]

Worst testing ever for video cards. So wrong on rankings. Unless you don't expect to use DX9-11, or OpenGL. Look at other things like 3Dmark for true graphics muscle.

Ok, yeah I can imagine one has to take that list ”with a grain of salt”.

Thanks for the link.

I got a good deal when I bought the 2011 base 21.5" off craigslist ( $775 with applecare included) so I should be able to sell it for more than I initially paid and pay the difference for the 2010 i7.

Would love to get the 27" 6970M but would need to sell both the 27" ACD and 21.5 iMac to help subsidize it

Inside Mac Games interviewed Mac AMD guy Chris Bentley:

”IMG: From a gaming perspective, is a previous generation card with more video RAM better than a later generation with less? For example: The Radeon 5750 1 GB vs the Radeon 6770 512 MB?

CB: Short answer: it totally depends on how much VRAM the game uses.”

http://www.insidemacgames.com/features/view.php?ID=574&Page=3

 

[derbothaus]

Real quick real rankings based on 3dMark11 (Gamer settings) (640x480, 1xMSAA, Trilinear) More or less a test for future game abilities. DX11.

6970 : 56.30fps
6950 : 50.1fps
5870 : 50.0fps
6870 : 45.0fps
6970m : 38.2fps
5770 : 29.10fps
6770 : 28.30fps
5750 : 23.30fps
6750 : 23.30fps