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stealthninja

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 15, 2006
86
0
MI
how much difference is there between the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 and the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT in MBP?
 
The newer model is better. What kind of info are you looking for? There are a number of GPU comparison sites on the web. Try googling "compare gpu" and go from there.
 
For web surfing, email, basic games, and most general tasks, it doesn't matter which card you have.

If you want to render 3d, play graphic intensive games, you probably want to get the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT, and probably the 256MB version.

barefeats.com have reviews comparing different Macs with different graphic cards.
 
Until Apple completely fixes the drivers for the 8600m, the 1600 might be a better option. That is in the event the OP wants to play CoD2 or Civ IV, though. Anything else the 8600m should perform better at.
 
One important point.

The 8600 is a Direct X 10 compliant video card while the X1600 is Direct X 9. Some features in games are DX10 only, these visual settings will not show up in a DX9 environment. Currently games that take advantage of DX10 also work in DX9, but game makers will switch to DX10 only giving that X1600 a shorter lifespan than the 8600.
 
Consultant said:
get the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT, and probably the 256MB version

The difference between the 128MB and the 256MB are minimal. Barefeats measured it to be something like a 9% difference - really not worth it for the majority of people, especially since the upgrade is $500.
 
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