imac 2.6ghz or macbook 2.4ghz ?

[jamescox]

i m planning to shift to a mac. but which one should i buy? imac or macbook? i looking mainly for good performance as i play games once in a while. i do prefer portability but will the new macbook give good graphics performance?

 

[natebookpro]

Well If you are into games then definitely the iMac of those two choices. The new Macbooks graphics are a thousand times (well about 4 or 5 times) faster than the old Macbooks. That being said the new and old Macbook Pros graphics are roughly 2 times faster than the new Macbooks. I could not find any bookmarks on the iMacs for games but if I had to guess I would say maybe 15-20% better than Macbook Pros (someone please correct me if they have better information). Check this link out it has some benchmarks you will probably find interesting. Sorry if this was a mouthful but I hope I helped some. Like I said if anyone has a better idea about games on an iMac please post. Another option for about the same price as a new Macbook is a refurb last gen Macbook Pro.


http://www.macworld.com/article/136214/2008/10/macbookbenchmarks.html

 

[eXan]

Awesome or not, the MacBook's graphics card is still integrated so it will always lag behind dedicated cards. iMac is about 1.4-2 times faster in games.

But the real question is do you need portability or not?

 

[kenned]

The Macbooks 9400M does not lag behind due to the 1066mhz ddr3 memory.

 

[eXan]

The Macbooks 9400M does not lag behind due to the 1066mhz ddr3 memory.

Have you seen benchmarks?

 

[jamescox]

may be i should consider a macbook pro

 

[Scepticalscribe]

It seems to me to be an example of the old trade off between power and portability. If you need/want power (and you mention your marked preference for a good gaming machine) then choose the iMac, whereas if you want portability, opt for the MB. My own suggestion would be to try a MBP; it has a lot more power and better performance than the MB and has an excellent screen, too, along with portability.
Cheers and good luck

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Here are some iMac benches for you, but with the price gap between the high-end MacBook and low-end MacBook Pro being quite small, and your gaming requirements and portability preference, I would suggest a low-end MBP.