I think this issue is not obviously addressed anywhere. It is very important, one is an epic card, the other a and average card for a desktop.
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.
So what's the deal: ATI 4850 mobilty or desktop version?
- Thread starter Muff Bandit
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
there goes my purchase. what are the chances of the next imac revision features a true desktop card?
Apple is ignoring a huge demographic of serious gamers. I probably will just keep my macbook pro and buy a separate gaming pc.
I can afford to ignore that demographic.
I bought a MacBook and just built my own tower.
Mobility version will do fine with all games unless you want to play GTA IV or Crysis at ultimate high with 1920x1200 resolution. Apple has never advertised their computers as gaming rigs. Apple wants to keep iMac's design thin and even thinner/smaller in future so desktop parts are not an option
How are they going to get a desktop card that sucks down 200 watts all by itself and put it in a very small all-in-one enclosure with two medium speed cooling fans?
It's not going to happen, and Apple doesn't really care if the hard core gamer crowd buys the machines.
I've been very happy with the gaming performance I get with the 4850 equipped iMac playing games like Crysis, TF2, etc.
If you really want higher end performance than you can get a Mac Pro with a 4870 desktop card which will be notably faster than the 4850 mobility edition.
I agree, if the Mac Pro is not good enough, then PC rig is the only route for games. Macs are just not advertised to be super high end gaming machines. It'll do some decent gaming, sure, but if you are expecting SLI or cross-fire and you are that into games, then you might want to look somewhere else.
'Serious gamers' have never considered the streamlined, next to silent all-in-one iMac. It's basically a notebook computer on a stand. You're not going to see desktop parts with their high power consumption and cooling requirements being used in them.
If you want a 'serious gaming' machine my advice would be to build one yourself.
That said, for the 'non-serious' gamer the iMac is great. Even my nearly two year old mid-2007 24" iMac with it's Radeon 2600XT plays the games I occasionally enjoy with ease at decent frame rates and graphics settings.