gtx 775m vs gtx 780m

[wuubb]

G'day all,
I know this has probably been asked a dozen times before, but I'm trying to put it into the context of what I'm doing so maybe that will help make it less frustrating and less arbitrary.

Currently, the only 3 games I play regularly are Star Trek Online, Space Engineers, and I use Trainz 2012 for route development. Believe it or not, I also still like to play Nexus the Juptier Incident, Sins of a Solar Empire (with the BSG mod) and Borderlands 2 (and the pre-sequel when it comes out) from time to time.

Are most of these games more CPU or GPU driven? If I need to upgrade the processor I was planning on doing that anyways once I got my iMac, but as far as I know, the GPU isnt replaceable. At least the ifixit teardown with the 755m isnt: https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/CSAhkfy1V4IyZT6J https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/4n5SSMfENi34CPtI
Anyone know if the 775m or the 780m versions are upgradeable?

Me and a couple of my friends who are also into computers have been thinking about starting to make our own games and stuff. I'm also starting to get interested in 3d modeling (as its relevent to game design).

So, summary:
Is the 775m and/or 780m upgradeable or are they integrated like the 755m? First hand knowledge or a link to a confirmation on this would be appreciated
If the answer to the previous question is no, should I get the 775m or the 780m?

Thanks,
Wuubb

 

[Marhowl]

I would go for the 780 because I'm the kind of person who buys the best configuration of anything when it comes out, since I believe that whatever I buy will last longer that way and in the end save me money. So far it has been true

Therefore, the 775 might be quite enough these days but perhaps in 3 years from now it won't. Actually, I'm pretty sure it won't be for certain games. Think about it. So go for the 780 and it will last longer. Invest the extra 150$ and you won't ever have regrets. If you are buying a 2K$ computer then extra 150 is nothing =)

It's the same as when someone's buying Macbook Air or rMBP. I always urge my friends to invest the extra money in more ram, even if they are casual users. Not only will the computer last longer performance wise, because I feel that Core 2 Duo machines can hardly handle Mavericks these days, but it's resale value in the future will be higher if they decide to sell it for whatever reason

I bought a 17" MBP 5 years ago and I knew I wanted to have it with the 2.93 C2D processor. I kind of felt sorry for the people who bought the 2.66 version since it's performance was only 75% of the 2.93 version. The moral of the story is, Upgrade to the max no matter what! =)

 

[Mac32]

The graphics card is not upgradable, as it is soldiered directly on the mainboard.
To be honest these mobile ---M cards aren't all that, so you should definitely get the best option - ie. 780M.

 

[wuubb]

The graphics card is not upgradable, as it is soldiered directly on the mainboard.
To be honest these mobile ---M cards aren't all that, so you should definitely get the best option - ie. 780M.

Sorry to sound so picky, but can you provide evidence that all of the gpu models are soldered to the board? I really really want to be sure, that's all. Just like a pic or something.

 

[ashman70]

Check out some of the videos here, you can clearly see the GPU is soldered to the logic board, they aren't meant to be upgraded.


https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_Intel

 

[mlody]

Sorry to sound so picky, but can you provide evidence that all of the gpu models are soldered to the board? I really really want to be sure, that's all. Just like a pic or something.

I am not sure if it is soldered or not to the board, but the effort and risk that it takes to open an iMac far outweighs the cost difference between the cards. Also, if you think about it, when you are buying a new computer you are paying only a difference to get the higher model which is fairly affordable (compared to other components) vs. a full retail cost at the later time (that is assuming that this kind of upgrade is even possible).

 

[wuubb]

I am not sure if it is soldered or not to the board, but the effort and risk that it takes to open an iMac far outweighs the cost difference between the cards. Also, if you think about it, when you are buying a new computer you are paying only a difference to get the higher model which is fairly affordable (compared to other components) vs. a full retail cost at the later time (that is assuming that this kind of upgrade is even possible).

Thanks, I'll just get the 780m upfront, cause now that you mention it, it is only the difference so its not a complete rip-off. I still plan on opening it up to replace the HDD with an SSD and change the processor.

Thanks for the replies everyone!
Wuubb

 

[henry72]

I would go for the 780 because I'm the kind of person who buys the best configuration of anything when it comes out, since I believe that whatever I buy will last longer that way and in the end save me money. So far it has been true

Therefore, the 775 might be quite enough these days but perhaps in 3 years from now it won't. Actually, I'm pretty sure it won't be for certain games. Think about it. So go for the 780 and it will last longer. Invest the extra 150$ and you won't ever have regrets. If you are buying a 2K$ computer then extra 150 is nothing =)

It's the same as when someone's buying Macbook Air or rMBP. I always urge my friends to invest the extra money in more ram, even if they are casual users. Not only will the computer last longer performance wise, because I feel that Core 2 Duo machines can hardly handle Mavericks these days, but it's resale value in the future will be higher if they decide to sell it for whatever reason

I bought a 17" MBP 5 years ago and I knew I wanted to have it with the 2.93 C2D processor. I kind of felt sorry for the people who bought the 2.66 version since it's performance was only 75% of the 2.93 version. The moral of the story is, Upgrade to the max no matter what! =)

Do you reckon it is worth upgrading from i5 to i7? Is there much difference?
Thanks

 

[yjchua95]

Thanks, I'll just get the 780m upfront, cause now that you mention it, it is only the difference so its not a complete rip-off. I still plan on opening it up to replace the HDD with an SSD and change the processor.

Thanks for the replies everyone!
Wuubb

Why not just buy an i7 and SSD outright? That way, you don't void the warranty.

And believe me, no aftermarket SSD will be as fast as the proprietary Apple PCIe SSD. The fastest SATA3 SSD - the Samsung 850 Pro - tops out at around 550MB/s, while the 256GB Apple PCIe SSD averages at around 720 MB/s read and 670 MB/s write.

The i7 is worth it for hyper threading alone.

 

[Serban]

I think if you don't need one, wait for October because will be 80% chances to a new iMac with 980M upgrade and that will be i think around 30% better than 780M

 

[wuubb]

The only difference between the i5 and the i7 is that the i7 has hyperthreading, and therefore twice as many threads as the i5. However, this will only make a difference if your programs are designed to take advantage of this. Very few programs besides professional ones tale advantage of multiple cores, let alone hyperthreading. Amd the .1 GHz speed difference is like nothing.

Now, as to why I don't just spend all my money upfront. A couple of reasons:
Apple does not deserve the something like 200% premium on the hardware that they charge. I can't just as easily do it myself for a fraction of the cost and even make it better once broadwell comes out.
I honestly don't care about the warranty, I've never had to use warranties and I'm not an idiot when it comes to electronics. I've built and repaired many computers, both mac and PC, so I actually know what I'm doing. I don't need apple to hold my hand like other people.
and to clarify on the ssd thing, I was planning to buy the 256gb ssd cause apparently even the MacBook ones on eBay don't work. I am the going to add a Samsung ssd to the hard drive bay.

Sorry for being blunt, but my budgets not bottomless either.
Wuubb

 

[khedden]

The only difference between the i5 and the i7 is that the i7 has hyperthreading, and therefore twice as many threads as the i5. However, this will only make a difference if your programs are designed to take advantage of this. Very few programs besides professional ones tale advantage of multiple cores, let alone hyperthreading. Amd the .1 GHz speed difference is like nothing.

Now, as to why I don't just spend all my money upfront. A couple of reasons:
Apple does not deserve the something like 200% premium on the hardware that they charge. I can't just as easily do it myself for a fraction of the cost and even make it better once broadwell comes out.
I honestly don't care about the warranty, I've never had to use warranties and I'm not an idiot when it comes to electronics. I've built and repaired many computers, both mac and PC, so I actually know what I'm doing. I don't need apple to hold my hand like other people.
and to clarify on the ssd thing, I was planning to buy the 256gb ssd cause apparently even the MacBook ones on eBay don't work. I am the going to add a Samsung ssd to the hard drive bay.

Sorry for being blunt, but my budgets not bottomless either.
Wuubb

Sorry to be blunt, but you come across as arrogant.

There are a lot of us here that have deconstructed PCs and Macs. The new iMac is still a challenge. It's not brain surgery, but if you take apart a brand new iMac just to end up frying the logic board it'll be a tough mistake to swallow. Your call, though.

Given your experience, needs, and budget, why don't you just build a Hackintosh instead?

But it seems like you know everything already, so I'm not sure why you need anyone's advice here.

 

[mlody]

Do you reckon it is worth upgrading from i5 to i7? Is there much difference?
Thanks

If you get i7 there is a chance you will future proof your system for some extra time since the the i7 is more powerful, so technically, your purchase could last you a bit longer.
In addition if you do any sort of virtualization, or plan on running any other OS'es than Mac OS, the i7 will come handy as it easily can handily many more concurrent virtual machines than i5 CPU.

 

[Dirtyharry50]

I honestly don't care about the warranty, I've never had to use warranties and I'm not an idiot when it comes to electronics. I've built and repaired many computers, both mac and PC, so I actually know what I'm doing. I don't need apple to hold my hand like other people.

Sorry for being blunt, but my budgets not bottomless either.
Wuubb

A little over two years ago I bought a 27" mid-2011 iMac new. My budget isn't bottomless either but I felt the warranty extension with on-site service on a computer costing two grand using proprietary parts would be worthwhile even just for the peace of mind. I have plenty of experience building and fixing computers as well going back to the IBM PC-XT. However, that doesn't help me with parts costs nor inconvenience.

Here is what happened to me. My iMac had multiple failures over two years including the following:

GPU
LCD Panel x 2
Glass panel over LCD x 2 (heat damage)
System fans x 3
DVD drive
Hard disk began failing

Apple provided me with three on-site service repairs and parts at no further cost to me to remedy the above and all of this happened after the computer was past the basic one year warranty. Ultimately, on the final set of failures and issues with the hard drive they opted to replace it completely with a brand new late-2013 27" iMac which is a very nice upgrade from what I had for free. They paid to ship mine back to them via FedEx and they shipped my new iMac to me via FedEx. I had my replacement in four days. The new one is great and no issues but... they refunded the balance of my Applecare (about 50 bucks) and I am currently on the normal one year warranty for the replacement with the option to purchase AppleCare for it again any time during the year from the time I took delivery on the replacement.

As you can imagine given my experience, I will of course be buying AppleCare again. You simply cannot predict the future. Things can and sometimes do go wrong. I consider blowing off the extended warranty a foolish gamble personally given how expensive Apple computers are.

Now you might get lucky again and I hope you do but you are gambling after the first year is up and as you can see from my case, no amount of know-how would have made a dent in the disaster that befell me with the mid-2011 iMac I had.

Oh, by the way since I do actually use a DVD drive at times still my Apple rep told me they didn't want me to have a feature loss so they also shipped me via FedEx a free external Superdrive which arrived the same day as my replacement computer did. That was an eighty dollar value right there not including what they paid to overnight it to me.