I am considering an upgrade to the latest Imac model, mainly because I can get it reasonably cheap (student-pricing), but as so many others have done before me, I come here asking for your advice. The main reason for upgrading would be getting twice as much GPU for gaming. Right now I have the 2009 model with I5 2,66 Ghz and the 512 MB GPU and 4 Gig RAM: I know, I know, I can get a great PC-gaming rigg for less but I love the Imac and want to keep going with it. So, all in all, do you think the slightly faster processor and new 1Gig GPU would be worth like.. 280 dollars for the increased gaming performance?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
2009 Imac -> 2010 for 512mb extra GPU?
- Thread starter Ztormie
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If it is only going to cost $280 then go for it dude. You can not upgrade it later so you may as well take advantage of this great deal but only if you have the cash and aren't borrowing or using money from else where.
It depends what you want to play.
I have the 2009 i5 27" and downloaded Starcraft 2 this past weekend but was worried about all the horror stories about not being able to run or the game running badly....BUT to my surprise the game runs as smooth as butter with a combination of Ultra, High and medium settings in OsX, so probably MUCH better in Bootcamp which I feel I'm not going to bother with anyways. The game looks and plays great in OsX...
This machine will definitely last me till the next gen iMac, so no need to upgrade for me right now. I believe the difference is minimal anyways and if you've got a working machine with no screen problems I wouldn't take that chance.....
How is student pricing giving you a '10 model iMac for only 280?
Anyways, if you can really replace your older one and get a newer one for 280, it might be worth it, the mobility 5850 will futureproof the iMac for another year or so in terms of games.
Doubling the amount of vram from 512mb to 1gig isn't as a big of a jump as the raw numbers show, though. Mobility 4850 has twice the memory bus, so its memory bandwidth is close to mobility 5850's. In other words, the mobility 5850 can only take advantage of roughly half of its vram at once. The rest can be stored as a buffer, but you're not getting 1gig vram worth of memory bandwidth like extreme high-end cards can offer (desktop 5870)
Anyways, if you can really replace your older one and get a newer one for 280, it might be worth it, the mobility 5850 will futureproof the iMac for another year or so in terms of games.
Doubling the amount of vram from 512mb to 1gig isn't as a big of a jump as the raw numbers show, though. Mobility 4850 has twice the memory bus, so its memory bandwidth is close to mobility 5850's. In other words, the mobility 5850 can only take advantage of roughly half of its vram at once. The rest can be stored as a buffer, but you're not getting 1gig vram worth of memory bandwidth like extreme high-end cards can offer (desktop 5870)
