Steam on MBP: nVidia 9400m vs 320m

[danistyping]

Before you all start attacking me for having a second Steam thread, I get it. There's already a steam thread. This one is specifically for those of us who have MBPs (from any generation) that use integrated 9400m and 320m graphics. This is a great way for us to compare the two Core2Duo graphics cards.

Please report any info about frame rates, settings, how well or poorly games run etc. Feel free to re-post information about this stuff from the other thread so that we can consolidate the info.


Thanks!

 

[kristoffer4]

Any updates?

 

[cheetahxt]

Well... I tried Left 4 Dead 2 on my Mac Mini using bootcamp a few months ago.
I had to use a resolution about 720x480 or so (800x600 but 16:9). I don't think the 9400m is able to play Portal well, right?

 

[jjahshik32]

From what I remember on the 320m benchmark tests, it is equivalent to a nvidia 9600m gt of last generation. Since it compares to a dedicated GPU and the nvidia 9400m is not really considered dedicated, the 320m is miles faster than the 9400m.

 

[danistyping]

thats awesome - has anyone tried any other popular steam games on either gpu? i'm interested in grabbing a new game this week but i'm hesitant on what will work well.

 

[eidrunner247]

thats awesome - has anyone tried any other popular steam games on either gpu? i'm interested in grabbing a new game this week but i'm hesitant on what will work well.

I think Portal runs fine on my Macbook. It just loaded at the default setting and it has been running quite smoothly for me. I, for one, am quite pleased.

 

[ttran88]

i get a 100 fps. i have the 9400m

 

[Tharian]

Torchlight runs great on my 2.4 aluminum MacBook…. not that it's overly demanding, but still.

-d

 

[tldizard]

I just played Portal on my Macbook Air, and it was getting decent frame rates with the 9400m. It's not the best gaming experience but due to the relatively low resolution of the 13" 1280x800 screens, the cards are adequate for some games.

Left 4 Dead 2 also plays "okay" but not great, but if you're killing time, it's a good way to do it.