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How much does the Nvidia 9600 GT help in MBP

S

swgms

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 30, 2008
26
0
Now that there is a low end MBP with a dedicated 9400 graphics card I am very tempted by the 1700 price.

However I want to know if it is worth it for the 2000 MBP with both graphics cards. When you use them do you really notice a difference? I use photoshop lightly and have no serious video work, but on my early 2008 MBP I do get bogged down with some intense graphics work.

Also if I sell my early 2008 MBP according to most ebay actions and used prices I can actually make a profit, with student discount. While it would cost me about 100 for the other upgrade, after discount.

So ultimately is the better graphics card worth $300?
 
I don't really do gaming, I did just buy the sims 3 which is fine for a while then will get glitchy. But I have no intentions of future gaming, however would like the option to do more video and images. Still the idea of a profit on an old computer is very, very enticing.
 
swgms said:
I don't really do gaming, I did just buy the sims 3 which is fine for a while then will get glitchy. But I have no intentions of future gaming, however would like the option to do more video and images. Still the idea of a profit on an old computer is very, very enticing.
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MBP with 9600GT will be more future proving and will have higher resale value.
 
Yeah definitely get the $2000 one if you want to retain value because I have the original UMBP (2.53) and at first I was pissed when I first heard about the price drop but then when I saw the specs I was happy because although my processor is dated(ish) the graphics are still very up to date and to equal the vram (512mb) on my computer one would still have to get the $2299 one. So I am not completely screwed on resale value:cool:
 
suppose I wasn't worried about resale value, purely on the value of the graphics card, do you think it is still worth it?
 
More of a question?

Wouldn't the 9600 GPU provide more support for general tasks via OpenCL when Snow Leopard ships?

In this way, a better GPU = better overall performance. Right?
 
I spend all day in Aperture and Capture NX. So far as I can tell, the only difference the 9600 makes is my battery life is shorter, and the laptop runs 10C hotter.
 
mrtrilby said:
I spend all day in Aperture and Capture NX. So far as I can tell, the only difference the 9600 makes is my battery life is shorter, and the laptop runs 10C hotter.
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I did forget to mention I spend a lot of time in Aperture, if that makes any difference.
 
I'm in the same boat as you. $1599 (with student discount) for a Macbook Pro and a free iPod is quite an inticing reason to upgrade. I however have the Radeon X1600 with 256MB of VRAM. I suggest you check the benchmarks on a site such as barefeats.com to compare them yourself. I found on some tests the 9400 was actually FASTER than my X1600. (Not a complete surprise since my lappy is 2 years old now.)
 
marioman38 said:
I'm in the same boat as you. $1599 (with student discount) for a Macbook Pro and a free iPod is quite an inticing reason to upgrade. I however have the Radeon X1600 with 256MB of VRAM. I suggest you check the benchmarks on a site such as barefeats.com to compare them yourself. I found on some tests the 9400 was actually FASTER than my X1600. (Not a complete surprise since my lappy is 2 years old now.)
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I looked at some of the benchmarks on that site. I did not find a direct comparison between my current early 2008 2.4 GHz model and a late 2008 with the 9600 Gt turned on. I did find a few close chomprimises which included a slower processor. The results were better with the new MBP, but not substantial. However, I found a comparison between the 9400 and the 9600 and the difference was around 128% more power and better frame rate. So I am still in the same boat, is the new 2000$ model worth it on the graphics card alone?
 
if you can then wait for 2 month. by then the new 15"MBP with 9600GT will be on the refurb store for around 1850. then i would get this one.

in general i have the feeling it's better to invest the $200-$300 upfront and be in the mid performance range. there will be eventually apps (esp. with snow leopard) where the 9600 will make a difference. and you use the mbp a lot so you will notice.

my 2 cents.
 
Does the card help render streaming video at all? I'm on espn360 all the time and it wouldbe nice if the graphics card took some heat from teh processor
 
I think I will have to settle on the 2000 model. The difference between the two was to substantial in the test, and I want the ability to "grow" into bigger apps.

Thanks for the help and buying advice. :)
 
Pak^Man said:
Wouldn't the 9600 GPU provide more support for general tasks via OpenCL when Snow Leopard ships?

In this way, a better GPU = better overall performance. Right?
Click to expand...

Hellhammer said:
Yes
Click to expand...


We have NO PROOF of this at all.

OpenCL peformance differences between 9400 & 9600 'may' be minimal. Apple must be more than happy with the 9400 to utilise it.

It's becoming irksome whenever someone chirps up automatically that OPEN CL peformance is going to be better with card A, rather than card B - when we have absolutley NO hands on evidence, NO benchmarks.

All we have is assumptions, and often assuming somthing will be so - leads inevitably to dissapointment.



I predict a heck of a lot of posts whining that OPEN CL peformance boost between cards is nowhere near as big a leap as they thought it will be...

Lets wait and see on this one - at least until benchmarks are actually available.
 
don't know about open cl performance but a 9600 is much much more card than the 9400m, which is not very good for gaming.
 
doox00 said:
don't know about open cl performance but a 9600 is much much more card than the 9400m, which is not very good for gaming.
Click to expand...

The 9600 runs much hotter in OS X. I only use it in Windows and my fans are on full blast through my entire gaming session. Much louder than the Sony FW290 this replaced. But it sure beats carrying my previous white Macbook and Sony FW everywhere.

Cheers,
 
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