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iMac GT130 or 4850!? Need advice/help!

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0087215

Cancelled
Original poster
Sep 20, 2008
495
36
Hey guys!

I have been waiting for ages till the recent upgrade of the iMacs...
I wanted to buy a great new iMac as a birthday present for my little brother, but it must a perfect machine which will last a long time (3/4 years).

The high-end iMac is the one I am going to buy, the only problem is what graphic card to choose. GT130 must be good enough, as it is pretty equal to 8800GS. I think however that it would be better to wait 4-6 weeks and to buy an iMac with an Ati 4850 graphic card.

Could anyone tell me why the card of Ati better is better than that of Nvidia (GT130)? I couldn't find much info on the internet.

The thing I am worried about, is the fact that a more powerfull Ati card will be more power-hungry and will get much hotter resulting in the iMac's fans spinning at the max speed. I am afraid my bro won't be able to work on his iMac in silence... He is not a big gamer (not at all actually), but I would like his new iMac to be futureproof as Snow Leopard may use that graphic power very well and as it is great to have a good graphic adapter for watching movies in 1080p etc.

Any advice is highly appreciated... Thx..
 
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

I am surprised to see the ranks:

14: Radeon HD 4850 Mobile|3DMark06 Score: 9577
38: GT 130 Mobile|3DMark06 Score: 5816
50: GT 120 Mobile|3DMark06 Score: 5431
69: Radeon 2600 (Mobile from old iMac, and not the "PRO" version)|3DMark06 Score: 3134
96: GeForce 9400M|3DMark06 Score: 2067

The 8800GS from the old iMac is on the 25th place... So I suppose it is better to wait for the Ati 4850 to arrive... But I am affraid the iMac will run much hotter then.... :(
 
mudenza said:
Are you more afraid about the heat, or the noise?
Click to expand...

I am afraid about the heat which will lead to more noise... In this case I think it is logical to choose in favour of the GT130 as it's not so high-end as the 4850 and thus will run cooler....
 
I'm in about the same boat...wondering if the GT 130 is for me or the 4850.

Looking for advice...I'm looking to use it for motion graphics with Motion 3 and FCP. Not looking at doing much HD stuff on it at the moment, but I am wanting to play some games (especially starcraft 2).

I see that it's only $50 more to upgrade to the 4850 if you're ordering the GT 130, but the wait changes from 1-3 days to 4-6 weeks. I had a bad experience with ordering some previously from Apple (my current PowerMac G5 duel 2.5ghz) said it would ship in 3 weeks, was delayed 2 months. Does this happen often and will this happen to the iMac with a 4850 in it?

Also, if I order 4850, and 6 weeks go by and they still don't ship, am I able to change the GPU back to the GT 130?
 
larrymarshall2 said:
I'm in about the same boat...wondering if the GT 130 is for me or the 4850.

Looking for advice...I'm looking to use it for motion graphics with Motion 3 and FCP.
Click to expand...

Then, definitely go for the ATI.

I am afraid about the heat which will lead to more noise... In this case I think it is logical to choose in favour of the GT130 as it's not so high-end as the 4850 and thus will run cooler....
Click to expand...

I really can't say which is better in terms of being quieter/cooler since I haven't had any first hand experience, but I've gathered from other threads that the 4850 will most probably run hotter (no idea about the noise)

If you're weighing in more the noise/heat more than the performance and you aren't interested in the Pro applications, go for the 130 M, its one of Nvidia's best mobile card (just one rung below the 8800 GTX)
 
larrymarshall2 said:
I'm in about the same boat...wondering if the GT 130 is for me or the 4850.

Looking for advice...I'm looking to use it for motion graphics with Motion 3 and FCP. Not looking at doing much HD stuff on it at the moment, but I am wanting to play some games (especially starcraft 2).

I see that it's only $50 more to upgrade to the 4850 if you're ordering the GT 130, but the wait changes from 1-3 days to 4-6 weeks. I had a bad experience with ordering some previously from Apple (my current PowerMac G5 duel 2.5ghz) said it would ship in 3 weeks, was delayed 2 months. Does this happen often and will this happen to the iMac with a 4850 in it?

Also, if I order 4850, and 6 weeks go by and they still don't ship, am I able to change the GPU back to the GT 130?
Click to expand...

I think you shouldn't worry about that. My Apple experience has been great. Last year I bought a high-end iMac and because I had a dead pixel right in the middle of the screen, I decided to return it. I gave Apple a call, next day a TNT guy stood at my door, I gave the iMac back to him and in about a week Apple gave my money back...
At the end of 2008 I bough a new alu MBP and I still love this machine...
So, Apple is a great company and you shouldn't worry about those stupid things...

The biggest problem for me at the moment is what graphic card to choose... I would like to go for GT130 as the birthday of my brother is in about 2 weeks so I can't wait 4-6 weeks.. .But if the 4850 worth it, I can give his present to him a bit later...

I checked some info on the internet and the power consumption of the 4850 is about 45-65W (Ati wasn't clear about it), while that of the GT130 is 23W...
So I guess the Ati's child will run twice as hot as his Nvidia companion (or even hotter)...

Hmmm.... but the speed increase is just incredible for extra 41 euro and totally worth it...

What should we do???? :(
 
If I wait for the 4850, I will need to order online. I live in MA so sales tax is over $100. If I go with the GT130, I can drive to NH and get it tax free today. The latter seems more preferable in my case... still deciding :/
 
mudenza said:
Then, definitely go for the ATI.



I really can't say which is better in terms of being quieter/cooler since I haven't had any first hand experience, but I've gathered from other threads that the 4850 will most probably run hotter (no idea about the noise)

If you're weighing in more the noise/heat more than the performance and you aren't interested in the Pro applications, go for the 130 M, its one of Nvidia's best mobile card (just one rung below the 8800 GTX)
Click to expand...

As far as I understood it, the GT130 isn't that good at all.... See the benchmark list http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html ... there are much better graphic adapters out there...
 
my two cents

I bought a 24 inch Imac (my first mac !) almost 2 weeks ago and yesterday while walking thru the mall i saw the new models had come out. I had teh 3.06 with the 8800 graphics card. I went in this morning and exchanged it ( with absolutely NO hassle.. Another reason I am sold on Mac) now the only game I play religiously is WOW and even tho it will run on just about everything there were spots in the LK expansion that got kind of laggy with everything maxed out. With the new model I can run everything maxed out and with the FPS set to 60 it actually runs better on the new machine. I've heard that the game is more processor and ram dependent than video but one thing is for sure, the mac is running ALOT cooler now than it was with the 8800. After long Naxx raids I could almost literally cook an egg on the thing while now its barely warm to the touch. I will get back after trying more games but for an even exchange it was well worth it
 
medic349 said:
I bought a 24 inch Imac (my first mac !) almost 2 weeks ago and yesterday while walking thru the mall i saw the new models had come out. I had teh 3.06 with the 8800 graphics card. I went in this morning and exchanged it ( with absolutely NO hassle.. Another reason I am sold on Mac) now the only game I play religiously is WOW and even tho it will run on just about everything there were spots in the LK expansion that got kind of laggy with everything maxed out. With the new model I can run everything maxed out and with the FPS set to 60 it actually runs better on the new machine. I've heard that the game is more processor and ram dependent than video but one thing is for sure, the mac is running ALOT cooler now than it was with the 8800. After long Naxx raids I could almost literally cook an egg on the thing while now its barely warm to the touch. I will get back after trying more games but for an even exchange it was well worth it
Click to expand...

Thx a lot for your story.... So... it seems like the new iMacs run cooler... Great news!!!! :)
 
0087215 said:
As far as I understood it, the GT130 isn't that good at all.... See the benchmark list http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html ... there are much better graphic adapters out there...
Click to expand...

It certainly isn't top of the range like the newly released 280 M cards, but its more than adequate enough to play, for example, GTA 4 very well.

If you notice, the 3D Mark Score for the GT 130 is higher than some cards that are ranked above it.

Have a look at Barefeats if you're unsure, I'll give you an example below (N.B. 8800 GS = 120 M)

http://www.barefeats.com/harper22.html

Again, performance wise the 4850 wins. If I were you I'd pic the 4850. If it gets too hot and loud er....turn up some music and turn on the A/C :D
 
cybertron3

Wait for the 4850, you will not regret it. Do your civic duty and pay the sales tax. Patrick needs the money and you will probably save someone's job in the process...... I hear the State Police are parked outside the Salem and Nashua stores.....:D
 
Thank you for the inputs. I still have the burning question of if I wait 6 weeks with the 4850 and still no shipment, can I cancel and get the 130 easily?
 
larrymarshall2 said:
Thank you for the inputs. I still have the burning question of if I wait 6 weeks with the 4850 and still no shipment, can I cancel and get the 130 easily?
Click to expand...

No problem. I ordered the 4850 and asked if I could switch. They said yes. I had mistakenly ordered the non numeric keypad and called them up and they made the change immediately. The iMac with the 4850 will ship as soon as OS X 10.5.7 is released as it is needed to provide support for the graphics card.
 
Quick question

Hey there,

Thanks for the info. Could you please let us know which model you got today/yesterday (GT 120 or GT 130)? Also, just for reference, I can't remember, was the 8800 the stock top of the line card in the previous rev. or an even higher upgrade, similar to current ATI HD 4850?

Thanks again.

Thanks in advance.
medic349 said:
I bought a 24 inch Imac (my first mac !) almost 2 weeks ago and yesterday while walking thru the mall i saw the new models had come out. I had teh 3.06 with the 8800 graphics card. I went in this morning and exchanged it ( with absolutely NO hassle.. Another reason I am sold on Mac) now the only game I play religiously is WOW and even tho it will run on just about everything there were spots in the LK expansion that got kind of laggy with everything maxed out. With the new model I can run everything maxed out and with the FPS set to 60 it actually runs better on the new machine. I've heard that the game is more processor and ram dependent than video but one thing is for sure, the mac is running ALOT cooler now than it was with the 8800. After long Naxx raids I could almost literally cook an egg on the thing while now its barely warm to the touch. I will get back after trying more games but for an even exchange it was well worth it
Click to expand...
 
gmanrique said:
Hey there,

Thanks for the info. Could you please let us know which model you got today/yesterday (GT 120 or GT 130)? Also, just for reference, I can't remember, was the 8800 the stock top of the line card in the previous rev. or an even higher upgrade, similar to current ATI HD 4850?

Thanks again.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
To be honest I'd get a refurbished iMac with the 8800M GTS in it.

4850 > 8800M GTS > GT 130M
 
To be honest with you, I don't know which graphic card to choose.

As I can see, the GT130 is even worse than the 8800GS which we could buy in the previous iMac model. http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

I don't want to believe that the GT130 has a lower scores in 3DMark than the 8800GS... But I guess it is true... If so, then the Ati 4850 is the way to go...
The other point is that I prefer buying the new iMac right now as I need to get it before the birthday of my brother... So, the Gt13 is the only one option... however I think I will regret not going for the faster Ati4850 for only 41 euros...

Don't know what to do... :(
 
gasport said:
No problem. I ordered the 4850 and asked if I could switch. They said yes. I had mistakenly ordered the non numeric keypad and called them up and they made the change immediately. The iMac with the 4850 will ship as soon as OS X 10.5.7 is released as it is needed to provide support for the graphics card.
Click to expand...

Ahh, so the delay isn't for availability of the 4850, but is with the OS update. That makes me feel better because before the delay in apple shipping my G5 was said to be due to the 2.5ghz not cooling correctly coupled with limited availability with my stock options.
 
Eidorian said:
8800M GTS > GT130 = 9650M GT ~~ 8700M GT

More or less.
Click to expand...

I guess you're right...

The logical thing to do will then be waiting for the 4850 as it seems to be much better than those GT130/GT120 cards.... Unfortunately, my little brother won't get his present on his birthday but a couple of weeks later... :(
 
I was thinking the same way until ...

I read medic349's post where he mentioned he exchanged his 2 weeks old iMac with the 8800 chip for a new iMac, and he already gets better performance and less heat with the new one. I am trying to identify which new one he got, the one with the GT120 or the GT130, since the ATI HD4850 is not available yet.

That's why I am not sure yet that the 8800>GT130 is definite yet. It is frustrating not to find any information from NVIDIA nor Apple regarding these GT120 and GT130 cards.

Eidorian said:
To be honest I'd get a refurbished iMac with the 8800M GTS in it.

4850 > 8800M GTS > GT 130M
Click to expand...
 
gmanrique said:
That's why I am not sure yet that the 8800>GT130 is definite yet. It is frustrating not to find any information from NVIDIA nor Apple regarding these GT120 and GT130 cards.
Click to expand...
Why not? The 8800M GTS has double the shaders (64:28:16 vs. 32:16:8) and the same VRAM clocks. Core and shader clock speeds are tossed around so there's no way to be sure there.
 
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