Just wondering, as I don't have use for this right now. Also, what will be possible uses once Snow Leopard comes out? The card makes the laptop run really hot.
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Who ever uses their 9600M GT?
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I use it on the rare occasion I'm working in iMovie. I'll be getting a real camcorder pretty soon though, so I'll be using iMovie more (and the 9600 by virtue of that).
It does make the machine run a heckuva lot hotter. Thank God for smcFanControl. As for Snow Leopard....we know its bringing system-wide GPGPU spport, although how much stuff we'll have to take advantage of that, who knows. Apple, of course, will show you a benchmark of iMovie 09 showing a 7x speedup in encoding, and try to pass that off as something every app can achieve. (it won't, GPGPU only works in certain situations).
There is a CHANCE that switching GPUs will get easier too. The logout thing is due to software issue within OS X, not a hardware compatibility issue. Considering all the rewriting they are doing for Snow Leopard, I'd say there's at least a chance we'll get the ability to switch GPUs on the fly, or even automatic switching based on load.
It does make the machine run a heckuva lot hotter. Thank God for smcFanControl. As for Snow Leopard....we know its bringing system-wide GPGPU spport, although how much stuff we'll have to take advantage of that, who knows. Apple, of course, will show you a benchmark of iMovie 09 showing a 7x speedup in encoding, and try to pass that off as something every app can achieve. (it won't, GPGPU only works in certain situations).
There is a CHANCE that switching GPUs will get easier too. The logout thing is due to software issue within OS X, not a hardware compatibility issue. Considering all the rewriting they are doing for Snow Leopard, I'd say there's at least a chance we'll get the ability to switch GPUs on the fly, or even automatic switching based on load.
I use it for Aperture/iphoto, a bit of gaming. My wife probably uses it more when i forget to turn it off and she uses it by accident when she logs in 
I use the 9600 most of the time. I edit images and want the highest performance available. It's only when I am on location and need longer battery life or just online that I use the 9400.
Yes, I do. And I didn't like doing it but sometimes one has to make unpleasant compromises. I need a lot of screen area as I have multiple windows open at the same time (on multiple Spaces) for programming, etc, while traveling. And the 1440x900 of the MBP is really not high-resolution enough either, so I even thought about buying from a different company (higher resolution screens are now standard except for, surprisingly, Apple), but couldn't convince myself to abandon OS X and move back to Linux.
However the 13.3 inch screens pixel number is just unusable for my work needs. If they had 1440x900 resolution, like Sony's/IBM's/etc ~13 inch monitors, I'd have happily gone with a MB or MBA.
I've seen a lot of other laptops with the same resolution as the macbook pro. I agree, they need a higher resolution screen option though.
If I'm plugged in, I'm on the 9600M GT, otherwise I swap to the 9400M. Oh, my laptop hasn't left my room or it's power cord for 2 weeks
So yeah.
I use the 9600M GT a lot, I paid for it, and it gives me that edge I need for perfectly smooth 1080P playback to my new HDTV. All I need to complete the experience is a bluetooth keyboard and mouse so I don't have to trail wires across the room
So yeah.
I use the 9600M GT a lot, I paid for it, and it gives me that edge I need for perfectly smooth 1080P playback to my new HDTV. All I need to complete the experience is a bluetooth keyboard and mouse so I don't have to trail wires across the room
If I'm playing a game or an application that would benefit from it (i.e. Photoshop) I'll use the 9600M GT.
Most of the time though the 9400M is good enough, plus the extra bit of battery life.
The 9600M GT doesn't give me smooth 1080p playback where as the 9400M does. Obviously a driver issue here that Apple has yet to resolve. It is also a known issue/wide spread.
I'd be interested to know what 1080p files are playing back fine for you on the 9600M GT.
Most of the time though the 9400M is good enough, plus the extra bit of battery life.
The 9600M GT doesn't give me smooth 1080p playback where as the 9400M does. Obviously a driver issue here that Apple has yet to resolve. It is also a known issue/wide spread.
I'd be interested to know what 1080p files are playing back fine for you on the 9600M GT.
I almost always use the 9600. I'm playing games to much to switch it back. The only time I have it on the 9400 is when I'm in school and need the battery life. Like someone else said, there's no point in buying the MBP unless you're going to use the 9600.
Yeah, you're absolutely right - but the screen on the MacBook was terrible enough for that to be a price I was willing to pay
I don't think I've used the 9600M once since I've got it, I just use the 9400 for better power consumption. It's nice that it's there in case I really do need it though, it would be better if it automatically used the 9600M when using the power adapter, the whole 'log out/log in' switching is what puts me off using the 9600M more
I use the 9600M GT when at the office or at home. When using PS CS4 i feels it makes a decent difference and at home i use it when gaming... for some reason some things, like preview and quicktime are more stable with the 9600m vs. the 9400m
At uni or on the go i normally use the 9400m. Its a 35/65 cut to the 9600m gt for me.
At uni or on the go i normally use the 9400m. Its a 35/65 cut to the 9600m gt for me.
No it does not, Aperture works just fine on the 9400m
You will probably see a slight bump in responsiveness from the 9600 but is in no way "required"
No it does not, Aperture works just fine on the 9400m
You will probably see a slight bump in responsiveness from the 9600 but is in no way "required"
Well, I probably shouldnt say "required" because I use Aperture on the Unibody MacBook right now.
However, I was planning for my upcoming 17" to solely use 9400M in OSX since the only "intensive" thing I do in OSX is photo editing and thats it. I'd figure Aperture is a more processor intensive program rather than GPU intensive.
Yeah Aperture just eats RAM and CPU. You would free up some RAM with the 9600 though because the 9400 takes 256mb right off the bat.