What is the performance difference between the Nvidia 9600M GT 256MB vs the one with 512 MB VRAM. Is is around 15%? Should I purchase the 2.8 Ghz macbook pro because of the differance
I've been reading from many sources (nvidia doesn't have this info on its site), but the 9600M GT has an 128-bit memory bus interface. This means 256MB of memory is fine and 512MB is over kill.
Yes, the card supports up to 1GB of memory, but it won't help stuff out. That extra memory will just sit there and do nothing.
Edit -
Linky to nVidia 9600M GT specifications.
this is true if the OP is only going to be using his laptop but if they plan on hooking it up to a large external monitor then the extra RAM will make a significant difference regardless of the bus.
That is not true as GPU limitations will kick in well before the res limitations kick in. I had the 512 and the 256... there has been absolutely no discernible difference between the two in both games and work. Both were 2.66 MacBook Pro's and the previous one even had more CPU cache on top of the GPU memory.
this is true if the OP is only going to be using his laptop but if they plan on hooking it up to a large external monitor then the extra RAM will make a significant difference regardless of the bus.
nope sorry, with higher resolutions VRAM makes a difference regardless of the bus.
I'm not talking about pure bus speed. No... it won't. If the GPU was faster there would be a discernable difference however it isn't so at higher res, the GPU's processing limitations will kick in first. Now I'm talking gaming here and intensive GPU processing... if you're referring to something else, then please correct me. As I've said, I had both machines and no matter what, there has no noticeable difference on an external or on the primary display.
My opinion: if you're getting the higher-end model (512), it's because of the faster processor with a larger L2 cache and/or a bigger hard drive. That's why I got it, anyway. *shrug*
it depends on how demanding the game is. look at THIS
but if the game is not demanding then you are right it will not make a difference. but if you are doing 4-16xAA at high resolutions the VRAM will make a big difference.