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Which Graphics Card-iMac

C

Crickettom22

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 20, 2009
6
0
UK
Hi Guys,

I need advice on which iMac to get for Christmas, I am avid gamer and want to play crysis on it(via Boot Camp) and can't decide if i should get the 21.5 inch with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card or get the more expansive 21.5inch iMac with ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256MB is it worth the extra money and will the FPS be a lot better?

Cheers

Crickettom22
 
Crickettom22 said:
Hi Guys,

I need advice on which iMac to get for Christmas, I am avid gamer and want to play crysis on it(via Boot Camp) and can't decide if i should get the 21.5 inch with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card or get the more expansive 21.5inch iMac with ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256MB is it worth the extra money and will the FPS be a lot better?

Cheers

Crickettom22
Click to expand...

If you're an avid gamer, neither of these systems is going to please you.
 
I have played COD 4 on a 24" 2.66 core2duo NVidia 9400m, a 21.5 hd 4670, and a 27 hd 4850.

The ONLY machine that will make you happy is the 27 core i5 hd 4850. COD was terrible on the nvidia, and very choppy on the 4670.
 
Crickettom22 said:
Hi Guys,

I need advice on which iMac to get for Christmas, I am avid gamer and want to play crysis on it(via Boot Camp) and can't decide if i should get the 21.5 inch with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card or get the more expansive 21.5inch iMac with ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256MB is it worth the extra money and will the FPS be a lot better?

Cheers

Crickettom22
Click to expand...
The 4670 is the ticket, its 3-4 times faster then a 9400. It did very well with Bioshock at 1600 x and I played it through. In fact all my games are played at this resolution. Sure the 4850 is the best but its not available in the 21.5 If your a gamer then the 9400 wont cut it.
 
If you can, you may want to check the refurbished imacs on the apple store. You may be able to find a 24in with an 8800gs, or the earlier 24in with a 4850 in it.
 
Also, @njean777 i have checked the refurbished imacs on the apple store and the best iMac they have is
Refurbished iMac 24-inch 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
24-inch glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
640GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 256MB memory
Built-in iSight camera

Is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 better than the ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256MB? Sorry I'm new to graphics cards

Cheers,
Crickettom22.
 
I think you're on the wrong track if you're looking at the 21.5" iMacs for serious gaming. As part of its review of the 27" iMac Electronista reported that the larger, more powerful iMacs will run Crysis only on lower resolutions:

We tested gaming both in Mac OS X and in Boot Camp with Windows 7 -- which, as much as some Mac users may dislike to admit, is the most likely gaming environment on the new iMac. Here, the Core i5 along with the Radeon HD 4850 (actually a Mobility Radeon part) results in an iMac that can actually participate in reasonably high-end gaming. Titles like Heroes of Newerth and Left 4 Dead still have a modern level of detail but can run at the system's full 2560x1440 resolution, above 30 frames per second, without having to significantly lower settings outside of antialiasing. Other games like Crysis have to run at lower resolutions like 1600x900 but can still run with all but extreme details left turned on.
Click to expand...

Seems pretty clear that the smaller iMacs with slower processor and inferior graphics card will struggle with this game. From the benchmarks the nVidia 9400 card is especially weak for gaming.
 
Crickettom22 said:
Also, @njean777 i have checked the refurbished imacs on the apple store and the best iMac they have is
Refurbished iMac 24-inch 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
24-inch glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
640GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 256MB memory
Built-in iSight camera

Is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 better than the ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256MB? Sorry I'm new to graphics cards

Cheers,
Crickettom22.
Click to expand...

well be sure to check it everyday, as it changes everyday. they will get some in eventually. Also if you must have one by christmas then go for the upgraded 21in or a refurbished 24in. But if i were you i would check ebay and the apple store everyday and wait for one of the ones i mentioned before. Other then a mac pro those two are the best ones you are gonna get for gaming.

Also looky what i found http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB398LL/A?mco=MTA4MzI2MTA
It has the 8800gs in it like i said :)
 
@njean777 Unfortunately I can not get the Refurbished iMac that you suggested because I am from the UK and can't order from the US Apple Store, also I have checked the UK Apple Store and the three iMacs they have are....
Refurbished iMac 24-inch 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
24-inch glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
640GB hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256MB memory

Refurbished iMac 2.8Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
24-inch glossy widescreen display
2GB memory
320GB hard drive
ATI Radeon HD 2600 with 256MB of GDDR3 Memory

Refurbished iMac 24-inch 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
24-inch glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
640GB hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 256MB memory

I may hold out until there is a Refurbished iMac with 8800gs

Thanks for the Help,

Crickettom22
 
stonemann said:
I think you're on the wrong track if you're looking at the 21.5" iMacs for serious gaming. As part of its review of the 27" iMac Electronista reported that the larger, more powerful iMacs will run Crysis only on lower resolutions:



Seems pretty clear that the smaller iMacs with slower processor and inferior graphics card will struggle with this game. From the benchmarks the nVidia 9400 card is especially weak for gaming.
Click to expand...

This is true but if you watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mid_pAnuHoM This is Crysis Running on a Mac Mini which has a NVIDIA 9400M Graphics Card it is not great but ok. I am hopefully gonna get the 21.5" iMac with ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics card with 256MB.
 
Crickettom22 said:
This is true but if you watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mid_pAnuHoM This is Crysis Running on a Mac Mini which has a NVIDIA 9400M Graphics Card it is not great but ok. I am hopefully gonna get the 21.5" iMac with ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics card with 256MB.
Click to expand...
Then you should be fine as benchmarks suggest that the ATI 4670 card offers a significant improvement over the nVidia 9400 card when it comes to gaming. Over three times better frame rates according to the Macworld review.

See here.
 
I think you're on the wrong track if you're looking at the 21.5" iMacs for serious gaming. As part of its review of the 27" iMac Electronista reported that the larger, more powerful iMacs will run Crysis only on lower resolutions:

Quote:
We tested gaming both in Mac OS X and in Boot Camp with Windows 7 -- which, as much as some Mac users may dislike to admit, is the most likely gaming environment on the new iMac. Here, the Core i5 along with the Radeon HD 4850 (actually a Mobility Radeon part) results in an iMac that can actually participate in reasonably high-end gaming. Titles like Heroes of Newerth and Left 4 Dead still have a modern level of detail but can run at the system's full 2560x1440 resolution, above 30 frames per second, without having to significantly lower settings outside of antialiasing. Other games like Crysis have to run at lower resolutions like 1600x900 but can still run with all but extreme details left turned on.
Seems pretty clear that the smaller iMacs with slower processor and inferior graphics card will struggle with this game. From the benchmarks the nVidia 9400 card is especially weak for gaming.
Click to expand...

Depends what you're after. My 2007 iMac with Radeon 2600 can run Crysis on medium settings with no problem at all.

True, I wouldn't go for the Radeon 2400 / GeForce 9400, but anything above is fine for a casual gamer.
 
Gaming as primary use? as much as I hate to even say it... build a PC. iMacs are not built for gaming. Period. If gaming is your main use, your wasting your money. The top end 27" with the Quad and 4850 will still be crippled by Crysis unless you turn everything down. Check out Youtube, there is a guy with an i7 setup and he's at 40 FPS sitting still, as soon as he moves with max settings the FPS drops into and blow 20/10 FPS. If you enjoy your game stuttering as you play, well then maybe.

The same 1200 on the lower end iMac can build you a decent gaming rig. i7, 6gigs, and put the money towards a ATI 5850 (assuming you can find one in stock) and you will 1000x happier for gaming.

I use a pc (i7 920/6gig/60gig SSD/5850 1gig) for gaming, iMac for the rest of my usage. You will be very unhappy trying to put "all your eggs in one basket" so to speak. I love my iMac, but the one thing they still lag on is graphics capabilities for gaming.

** As a side note if your budget is for one machine, i guess I would go iMac and sacrifice performance for the overall benefit of OSX and the rest of the programs I use. :)
 
Crickettom22 said:
Hi Guys,

I need advice on which iMac to get for Christmas, I am avid gamer and want to play crysis on it(via Boot Camp) and can't decide if i should get the 21.5 inch with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card or get the more expansive 21.5inch iMac with ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256MB is it worth the extra money and will the FPS be a lot better?

Cheers

Crickettom22
Click to expand...

If you are avid gamer (especially looking at running crysis which is pretty demanding game) and your only options are 21.5 base or upgrade, I would strongly suggest going with ATI card. I have seen benchmarks and fr comparison between the two are not even comparable. I believe you are looking at around 3 or 4 times the performance increase. You will definitely justify the extra cost for getting better card.

Good luck
 
Forget Crysis on any Mac but a Mac Pro with a 4870 or GT 285 card.

Crickettom22 said:
Hi Guys,

I need advice on which iMac to get for Christmas, I am avid gamer and want to play crysis on it(via Boot Camp) and can't decide if i should get the 21.5 inch with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card or get the more expansive 21.5inch iMac with ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256MB is it worth the extra money and will the FPS be a lot better?

Cheers

Crickettom22
Click to expand...
 
you must be kidding if you want to play games on a iMac thats like doing family shopping in a ferrari enzo
get a cheap case a half decent motherboard a i7 a bit ram and fit a HIS HD 5770 1GB (128bit) GDDR5 PCIe (DirectX 11/ Eyefinity) card an job done crysis works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiqDt1dfhn8
 
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