2.2ghz MBP w/ 128mb VRAM *Enough* to Power a 30'' ACD?

[SavageLLama77]

I'm getting a new laptop, and if I don't get a High Res 17'' MBP, I'll get a 15'' MBP with a 30'' Display. I can only afford the 2.2ghz one if I want the 30'' ACD. Will things get "choppy," slow, or less quality if this ACD runs on the 128MB of VRAM on the low end 15''? Thanks!

 

[joehack]

Performance wise (CPU & GPU), it should be no problem. However, the big questions is, wether all the 3D stuff in Leopard is supported on the 30".

Jochen

 

[Eidorian]

As much as I love Apple hardware I suggest taking a look at Dell's and HP's 30" monitors as well. You might save enough money on one of those to get a MBP w/ 256 MB of VRAM.

 

[yippy]

With the new MBP the 128MB will be plenty to for a 30" and all the bells and whistles of Leopard. The only time you might run into problems is when doing graphics intense things like games or photo/video editing. Even then, the ram difference alone will not make a huge difference.

 

[joehack]

Here is an interesting article on Barefeats (http://barefeats.com/rosa03.html).

Probably, the most important statement is a this:

WHEN DO I NEED MORE VRAM?
Is there any situation where you could put the 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM to work? I suppose if you are running your MacBook Pro in dual display mode with an external 30" Cinema display, which assigns 128MB to each display, it could help. And if you are running a video memory hungry pro application like Motion 3, it could help. We're still trying to find a way to quantify this.

It was suggested that we test the 3D games at "Ultra" Quality in Doom 3 and Quake 4 to see if that creates a bigger gap between the 128M and 256M models. We also plan to try enabling 4X FSAA to see what impact that has.

So if you plan to run dual screen or plan to run high end 3d apps, the small model might be too small.

Jochen

 

[MRU]

Here is an interesting article on Barefeats (http://barefeats.com/rosa03.html).

Probably, the most important statement is a this:


So if you plan to run dual screen or plan to run high end 3d apps, the small model might be too small.

Jochen

Lets face it though, if your buying a MBP your only going to run 1 30" monitor, and if memory is so important just run your MBP in clamshell mode so your only using 1 monitor, which if you have a 30" is probably what your going to do anyway..

So the OP will be grand I'd hazard.

Again if your planning on running motion 3 - then 128/256 wont make a huge difference on a chipset like the mobility 8600. You'll still probably have to cut down preview resolution for smooth playback regardless, and your still going to have to render in the end regardless too... So not a major biggie either way.