6630M only 256MB of RAM

[gladoscc]

Why did Apple go with only 256MB of GDDR5 RAM for the 6630M? AMD offers configurations of up to 1GB, and the 256MB makes the majority of games unplayable. 512MB would've cost an extra $15 or so, and the RAM is the bottleneck for Mini's GPU performance.

Even Intel HD 3000 pared with enough RAM has more graphics RAM than 6630M!!

 

[philipma1957]

Why did Apple go with only 256MB of GDDR5 RAM for the 6630M? AMD offers configurations of up to 1GB, and the 256MB makes the majority of games unplayable. 512MB would've cost an extra $15 or so, and the RAM is the bottleneck for Mini's GPU performance.

Even Intel HD 3000 pared with enough RAM has more graphics RAM than 6630M!!

this is about 10 months old. the 3000 uses slow ddr3 ram the 6630m uses fast ddr5 ram.


the technical reasons are more complicated.

The heat and psu are big factors. truth be told the single easiest option for a 2012 mac mini is adding a power brick as an upgrade bto.

The internal psu is 85 watts a brick could be 110 watts.

No internal psu makes more room in the mini to allow for better cooling.

Bigger heat sinks and the internal psu would not be bleeding as much as 7 to 10 watts of heat into the mini.

Your best hope for a 2012 mini is
the


i7 -3667u cpu it is a 17 watt cpu

http://ark.intel.com/products/64898/Intel-Core-i7-3667U-Processor-(4M-Cache-up-to-3_20-GHz)


the i7-3712qm is a 35 watt cpu

http://ark.intel.com/products/67356/Intel-Core-i7-3612QM-Processor-(6M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz)-rPGA


both of these could allow a better gpu. in the 2012 mini.. I would love a brick option and the i7-3667u cpu with a decent gpu.

 

[Ice Dragon]

Apple is not going to undercut sales of their higher end machines. Also, the 6630M is a middle of the road card and there's no point in putting more VRAM in that type of card.