HD3000 or m320 for gaming?

[Iku]

Hi! it is MBP buying time again! I will be doing word processing/internet 95% of the time with my MBP13 but I like to play a little WoW and what not on the side. I will not be doing any processor heavy work.

Am I better off with a 2010 referb with the m320 instead of the MBP 2011? All my friends say the drivers are and will be much better for the nvidia card. How is video play back on the 2 systems?

Thanks for any pro tips!

 

[kitzuki]

Hi! it is MBP buying time again! I will be doing word processing/internet 95% of the time with my MBP13 but I like to play a little WoW and what not on the side. I will not be doing any processor heavy work.

Am I better off with a 2010 referb with the m320 instead of the MBP 2011? All my friends say the drivers are and will be much better for the nvidia card. How is video play back on the 2 systems?

Thanks for any pro tips!

The MacBook 2011 will be able to play wow fine

 

[AbyssImpact]

I don't know why you guys are making such a fuss about last year's Nvidia 320M. Its card is mediocre at best compared to the gaming laptops that are on sale in the market today.

 

[thunng8]

Hi! it is MBP buying time again! I will be doing word processing/internet 95% of the time with my MBP13 but I like to play a little WoW and what not on the side. I will not be doing any processor heavy work.

Am I better off with a 2010 referb with the m320 instead of the MBP 2011? All my friends say the drivers are and will be much better for the nvidia card. How is video play back on the 2 systems?

Thanks for any pro tips!

Quite a lots of benchmarks here:

http://www.techyalert.com/2011/02/25/macbook-pro-2010-vs-macbook-pro-2011/

and a COD4 benchmark here (here the 2010 model is significantly faster under Mac OS X):

http://www.macworld.com/article/157893/2011/02/2011macbookpro_benchmarks.html

Early analysis for Gaming is the under mac OS X, the 2010 and 2011 models are roughly equivalent, but under boot camp, the 2010 model with the 320M is quite a lot faster.

If you look at equivalent games, it looks like the 2010 model running under bootcamp is the best choice to be gaming.

e.g.
Left 4 Dead (SP Campaign “No Mercy”)
Medium Settings
Mac OS X
2011 MBP with Intel HD 3000 (avg fps) = 41
2010 MBP with nVidia 320m (avg fps) = 44

Bootcamp
2011 MBP with Intel HD 3000 (avg fps) = 49
2010 MBP with nVidia 320m (avg fps) = 64

StarCraft 2 (Online Quick Play 4v4)
Medium Settings
Mac OS X
2011 MBP with Intel HD 3000 (avg fps) = 41
2010 MBP with nVidia 320m (avg fps) = 39

Bootcamp
2011 MBP with Intel HD 3000 (avg) = 33
2010 MBP with nVidia 320m (avg) = 46