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New iMacs - which graphics option

L

leehal

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 30, 2009
73
7
Been waiting a while for the new iMacs and am really confused by the graphics options.

My main reason for buying an iMac is to replace my PC (I already have a Macbook which I love) and want to be able to play games again. My Macbook cannot realistically play World of Warcraft, therefore I would like the most economical option out of the iMacs that will play the game (and others for the next year or so, without struggling).

Is the 9400M a decent enough card, seems an awful lot more money to upgrade from the 24" 2.66GHZ to the next models and then take up the option of upgrading the cards on top of the model price increase.
 
And the flip side is, if the 9400M is good enough should I go for a Macmini?

I already have a monitor, mouse and keyboard.
 
Any of the graphics options will handle WoW fine .... but if you can get a discrete gfx option then you'll be laughing ....

The 130GT and 4850 are by far the best 2 options but costly
 
9400M is a fine card - check out the macbook/mbp forums for comments about gaming on them, as the new imac/mini are similar architecturally (although strangely have shared graphics)

9400M will play WoW fine.


I'd be tempted with a mini if you have a good monitor. Also dual outputs so you could drive a TV too.
 
The 9400M chip will play games fine, and on laptops I guess it is a reasonable choice given the low screen resolutions.

It won't run recent games very well at all though, nor will it do a good job of running any game at the native resolution of either the 20 or 24-inch iMac.

If you are even remotely interested in gaming on these machines and are willing to pay the massive cost which they carry then you really should just suffer the extra cost and get the better card. All of the dedicated graphics cards on offer are vastly superior to the 9400M.
 
Anyone have any comparisons between the 9400M and the HD2600 Pro? I'm finding it hard to believe it's really a step up in the long run.
 
I say go for the ATI 4850 option. You'll regret in a year not going with a more powerful card.

Btw... Geforce GT 120 = Geforce 9500 and Geforce GT 130 = Geforce 9600

Look at some benchmarks and you'll see that the 4850 is in another league compared to the Nvidia cards...
 
what about the 9500/GT120? is it a good graphic card? How much better is the GT130 or the ATI?

With ATI graphic card it takes 4-6 weeks to ship :/
 
Is the graphics card in new 3.06 iMac better that old 3.06?
 
On a 24" monitor expect to play only Valve games decently at it's native resolution with the 4850.

I wouldn't concern myself to much with the decision of what graphics card to use. Buying an iMac and trying to be cost conscious/economical is an oxymoron in itself.

The most economical decision would be upgrade your PC's graphics card to something more modern, so long as your PC hasn't hit it's upgrade ceiling without getting to in-depth.
 
Thank for the feedback so far, I really wanted to go down the OS X route rather than upgrade my PC.

Looking at the following:-

Number Description Quantity Price Value
Custom iMac, 24-inch, 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 1 £ 1407.83 £ 1407.83
065-7994 -2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
065-8042 -4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
065-8044 -NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 512MB
065-8531 -640GB Serial ATA Drive
065-8062 -Apple Mighty Mouse
B065-8267 -Apple Keyboard (English) and User's Guide (English)
B065-8055 -COUNTRY KIT,IMAC 24-GBR
Copyright Levy ex VAT: £ 0.00
Total Price ex VAT: £1407.83
*All prices are exclusive of VAT


Is it really worth the 4-6 week wait for the HD4850 card?
 
I was wondering if anyone could give me a comparison between the new chips and the older chips. I currently play WoW on a Macbook with the GMA x1300 chipset, and I have played on the last rev of iMac, with the Radeon 2400 XT. I'm assuming that the new geforce 9400m will blow the x1300 outta the water, but how will it compare to the Radeon 2400?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

edit: also, I see someone mentioned about 24 vs 20 inch... will there be a significant performance drop on the bigger screen with the same graphics card?
 
I'm sure the 4-6 weeks could change as time goes on.

Apple are usually conservative with their lead times.
 
As if we don't know how Apple is stingy about the graphic cards.

Anyway, can i post something here! I'm kinda little lazy to start a new thread.

I've no idea if i should take the iMac 2.93GHz with 1TB and Nvidia GT130

or

the included 640 GB and ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB

I sort of play games quite often. But 1TB looks nicer than 640GB. But i can always get an external HD if i need more space in the future right? And the graphic card isn't upgradable at all?
 
Anyway, can i post something here! I'm kinda little lazy to start a new thread.
Click to expand...
hijack.gif
 
Annngel said:
As if we don't know how Apple is stingy about the graphic cards.

Anyway, can i post something here! I'm kinda little lazy to start a new thread.

I've no idea if i should take the iMac 2.93GHz with 1TB and Nvidia GT130

or

the included 640 GB and ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB

I sort of play games quite often. But 1TB looks nicer than 640GB. But i can always get an external HD if i need more space in the future right? And the graphic card isn't upgradable at all?
Click to expand...



I am debating on these to configurations also, but i don't play games, I do more graphics design and simple video editing. What do you guys recommend? My question isn't ment to hijack....just to compare Annngel's needs and Mine....gaming, vrs design.....i'm clueless on the graphics option. Thanks in advance.
 
Will the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M be able to run Star Craft 2 when it comes out, and Counter Strike: Source?

That's all I really need to know, thanks.
 
Er uhm.

Lineage 2, NWN2, Granado Espada, Maple Story, Audition, Spore, Sims 2.

Mood changes. Preference changes too.

But none of this are like super high end games like Crysis right?

But i'm waiting for AION! Supposedly coming out in Fall 2009. It has superb graphics
 
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