Question:
8600 GT 128mb, is it enough?
Hope this question hasn't been asked before, but I have not been able to find concrete information about it on this forum or anywhere else.
My main question is, is 128mb of dedicated Vram enough for most applications - ie. games & connecting it to external panel (I want to connect it to a 24"-40"+ lcd/tv in future) etc.
From the Apple forum on this site, there was also a comparison of 3Dmark06 scores between the 128mb vs 256mb (both GDDR 3 memory) and the difference was quite major. The 128mb can go as low as 2500 stock. That is lower than a 8600 GS with 256mb of Vram (I know this because my friend's Benq S41 notebook scores about 2700 on similar resolution).
So my next question is, the 128mb version of the GT can be on par or even lower performance wise than the 256mb of the GS?
This is perhaps the last thing on my mind to decide what laptop I will be going for. Thanks in advance.
Answer:
Re: 8600 GT 128mb, is it enough?
The 128mb version of the GT would handle the 256mb version of the GS easily. I've heard of Apple underclocking their cards, so be conscious of that too.
3dmark scores can be deceiving because '06 will test at different resolutions based upon screen resolution, this can change the numbers around a fair amount. Be sure to ask the exact resolution 3dmark06 was on both tests.
Answer:
Re: 8600 GT 128mb, is it enough?
You say most apps= yes should be fine.
GT will always beat GS even with less memory, think of this, a big gas tank does not make a car faster the engine does. Can you link to the Apple page you site, I am suspicious of performance difference on amount of memory alone. Tests show 7950GTX 256MB and 512MB perform about the same.256 bit bus vs 128 bit bus (8600) I would think the bus is the bottleneck more than 128MB vs 256MB.
Answer:
Re: 8600 GT 128mb, is it enough?
Yes Apple underclocks mildy, I think they use 600mhz and the Asus G1S uses 675mhz, In comparison Dell and Compal both have theirs clocked at 475 so its still pretty decent. When driving higher resolutions on large screens lots of Vram is a must, If your just watching movies and stuff and are just interested in extending your viewing pane then 128mb is fine. If your planning on gaming on those big panels with High res your going to need more Vram. Have you considered the V1S? Its cheaper than the MBP and comes with 512mb of Vram.
Answer:
Re: 8600 GT 128mb, is it enough?
The apple info was from these forums which I digged out after a search.
I know I shouldn't be comparing stuff 'just' based on 3dmark06. However, these scores towards the bottom especially the 2771 and the ones below it sort of bugs me. My friend's Benq S41 with a 256mb GS gets a score of 2712 on 1200x800 resolution and this can be confirmed by
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...m?t=774663&p=6
Answer:
Re: 8600 GT 128mb, is it enough?
Yes Apple underclocks mildy, I think they use 600mhz and the Asus G1S uses 675mhz, In comparison Dell and Compal both have theirs clocked at 475 so its still pretty decent. When driving higher resolutions on large screens lots of Vram is a must, If your just watching movies and stuff and are just interested in extending your viewing pane then 128mb is fine. If your planning on gaming on those big panels with High res your going to need more Vram. Have you considered the V1S? Its cheaper than the MBP and comes with 512mb of Vram.
I live in Australia and I don't think the V1S is available here yet. Furthermore, I think most 15" laptops are a bit too big/heavy for my liking, as my original choice was a 14.1" until I noticed that the MacPro was actually extremely light and is comparable to a lot of 14.1"'s weight (at first I didn't even believe it, thought that weight of 5.5ib does not include battery).
My other choice atm is a Benq S41. Not sure if many of you's know about it since it's not offered in USA. It has a 8600GS with 256mb memory.
I have read that 256 vs 512mb of Vram is very neglectible. But 128mb vs 256mb concerns me a little. Somewhere I read if the card uses up all the memory, the fps will drop dramatically? But turbocache will help in that, but by how much?
My concern is that I am paying for about $500-600USD extra and I cannot really justify it if my Macpro is outperformed by a much cheaper laptop. (I know build quality, looks, etc etc comes in too)
Answer:
Re: 8600 GT 128mb, is it enough?
You're a Aussie?. Go to bed man, Its 3:30am!. Anyway, The MBP is massively overpriced here ($2900) Go with the V1s, You can import one for 2500AUD and you get a 2 year global warranty
Answer:
Re: 8600 GT 128mb, is it enough?
The V1S has a advertised weight of 5.6lbs though its quite possible that could be 5.9lbs as someone has made a error converting from KG to lb, It still could be 5.6 though and you get a real right click :P. When I say you can import one for 2500 I mean you can buy one, Ship it to Australia, And pay customs on it for $2500. You might want to take a look at the V2s (14.1") if its more your style, Only has a 8600GS though.
Answer:
Re: 8600 GT 128mb, is it enough?
Haha, hey it's the weekend and I just got back from a night out, however my mind was filled with laptop stuff all night :P
With a student discount + gst discount (I plan to travel overseas in a bit over a month), it works out to be quite cheap, around the 2400 mark. Cannot really justify the price for the power model though. So the only choice left is to get the macpro standard or the benq, whereby the deciding factor will be on the graphics card.
If I was to get the VS2, I would rather get the Benq as it basically has the same specs, but Benq is much cheaper. However, cannot beat an apple on the design & battery power and I've heard great things about OSX (really wanna try it out). Thanks for the advice though, I might do some more research on the Asus versions.
Answer:
Re: 8600 GT 128mb, is it enough?
The thing that really stopped me from going with the MBP, and I really was considering buying one, Is the one year warranty, In a business class laptop its very odd to only offer one year, And to upgrade it is $570AU which is huge. Ive also heard that the batteries tend to die very quickly and only have a 6month warranty, In comparison the Asus machines all come with 2 years standard, and $129 US to upgrade to 3 years (129 USD == 147 AUD) Which is a damsite less than Apple.