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Gpxism

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 25, 2006
9
0
I've just ordered a BTO 20 inch iMac but now, being a gamer i feel that the GPU (256 VRAM X1600) isn't gonna last down the road. My first question is whether the GPU could last 2-3 years? Next i was wondering about returning it to apple in exchange for the 24 incher with the 7600 GT. I've heard things like such an exchange is not possible since my 20 incher is a BTO. So, i cant exchange it even if i'm willing to fork out the extra cash for the 24 inch iMac?
 

ZoomZoomZoom

macrumors 6502a
May 2, 2005
767
0
Not sure if you can change your order because it's BTO, but...

as for the 24'', it's great for gaming. The screen makes games beautiful. The graphics card (BTO-7600) is also something like twice as powerful as the x1600. So far I've been too busy to put on any graphics-intensive games, but everything I've thrown at it so far (okay, so maybe one thing - WC3) has been completely smooth at 1900x1200 max settings.
 

Gpxism

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 25, 2006
9
0
It's already here! Less than a week old though. Just that i've been reading threads about people exchanging their iMacs if they ain't happy with it as long as it's within 30 days.
 

Gpxism

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 25, 2006
9
0
Yeah i've been running WoW on it. Everything on max except anisotropic filthering on low, multisampling on 1x and full screen glow effect off i get a steady 40-50 FPS outdoors. Totally playable. Just worried that given one year the GPU wouldnt be powerful to run future games smoothly. Given the amount of money i spent on my BTO 20 inch i'd expect it to run the mile. I just didnt know the 7600 GT is so much better than the x1600
 

Demon Hunter

macrumors 68020
Mar 30, 2004
2,284
39
Gpxism said:
Yeah i've been running WoW on it. Everything on max except anisotropic filthering on low, multisampling on 1x and full screen glow effect off i get a steady 40-50 FPS outdoors. Totally playable. Just worried that given one year the GPU wouldnt be powerful to run future games smoothly. Given the amount of money i spent on my BTO 20 inch i'd expect it to run the mile. I just didnt know the 7600 GT is so much better than the x1600

Yeah, I was surprised too. It's here on the Apple website.
 

Gpxism

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 25, 2006
9
0
Yup but i ignored those benchmarks as those inaccurately pitted a 2.33 ghz 24 inch iMac with the 256 mb 7600 GT against a 2.16 ghz 20 inch iMac with a 128 mb x1600. Both the processor and the VRAM of the 24 incher is superior
 

Rychiar

macrumors 68040
May 16, 2006
3,065
6,514
Waterbury, CT
i had the same problem but i ordered from macmall and those *******s wont cancel so i ended up selling the computer on ebay before it even arrived and ordering the 24 on amazon:cool:
 

CubeHacker

macrumors 65816
Apr 22, 2003
1,245
257
Gpxism said:
Yeah i've been running WoW on it. Everything on max except anisotropic filthering on low, multisampling on 1x and full screen glow effect off i get a steady 40-50 FPS outdoors. Totally playable. Just worried that given one year the GPU wouldnt be powerful to run future games smoothly. Given the amount of money i spent on my BTO 20 inch i'd expect it to run the mile. I just didnt know the 7600 GT is so much better than the x1600

Honestly, NEITHER video card will realistically last you for 2-3 years, although the 7600GT will fare better in the long run. It all really depends on the type of games you plan on playing. The 7600GT will runs todays and tomorrows well, but anything beyond that, it'll probably start to chug, especially at the 24" iMacs native LCD resolution.
 

mongoos150

macrumors 6502a
Sep 20, 2005
839
0
Gpxism said:
I've just ordered a BTO 20 inch iMac but now, being a gamer i feel that the GPU (256 VRAM X1600) isn't gonna last down the road. My first question is whether the GPU could last 2-3 years? Next i was wondering about returning it to apple in exchange for the 24 incher with the 7600 GT. I've heard things like such an exchange is not possible since my 20 incher is a BTO. So, i cant exchange it even if i'm willing to fork out the extra cash for the 24 inch iMac?
Whether you're willing or not, I'm pretty sure you can't swap. Especially with a CTO mac. Per your first question, the X1600 256mb card is great, I had it on my old 20" CD iMac (which I just sold, check my signature). I was able to drive a 40" HD plasma with 1080p content just fine on that card, and play Doom3 on high quality high res settings. Also video editing via FCP5. You should be fine with that card.
 
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