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Why are the iMac video cards so weak?
- Thread starter appleater
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Very True. but even playing at 1080p on this beauty is a blessing compared to a crappy TN panel. Man this is the most beautiful screen I have ever encountered.
apple cant put real high end GPU inside , as high end means desktop GPU and for one of those the powersupply in the iMac is just underpowered , a desktop GPU would melt the alu case ...or at least overheat and die in such a small space , so you did ask for a very thin case in iMac's , you caused that dilemma of apple what they can power and cool inside
and even more important apple needs GPU's in huge quantities so they fit what they can get ..and the choice is limited ... mobile GPU ,sufficient performance , plenty of them ready available without delays and most important clock speeds low enough to keep temperatures down
and you need to make compromises if you want a thin thinner thinnest but quiet iMac
and even more important apple needs GPU's in huge quantities so they fit what they can get ..and the choice is limited ... mobile GPU ,sufficient performance , plenty of them ready available without delays and most important clock speeds low enough to keep temperatures down
and you need to make compromises if you want a thin thinner thinnest but quiet iMac
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I got roundly laughed at for unexpectedly getting an iMac. That laughter fell silent when they saw the quality of the screen which even next to my expensive Dell is very decent and my Dell is smaller. Also, whatever the compromises there is nothing out there in the world of PCs that looks anywhere near as good. People see aluminum computer cases online and are shocked when they receive them at how thin the aluminum is, they then fit sound deadening material and then find they have to throw in a couple more case fans to counter the altered thermal environment. It's doable and there are a number of very good top end cases, at not insignificant cost, that look decent as rectangular blocks of metal go, but... That Apple 'get it' and others don't remains a mystery to me. After all these years.
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who got the strange idea the iMac would be the best gaming machine in the world ...i would never waste my money buying a iMac or any all in one pc for gaming no matter how good the display might be , if i would game (which i do sometimes as i build gaming rigs )and if i liked the display then i would possibly use the cinema display or dell offers the same display too and get a proper gaming rig with multiple proper desktop GPU inside(crossfire ), ok might get more expensive then a iMac , but who cares ..if you want to play games without having to count every single fps
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I don't have that view, but I do think it's pretty good for gaming. I bought mine, not expressly 'for gaming', but with 'gaming in mind', and it hasn't disappointed me.
Well, except that it can't run Crysis at 1080p as smoothly as I'd like. But, then, Crysis is a stoopid-ass game, programmed by people who think it's funny to release something that almost nobody can play for two years... so, on balance, I'm blaming Crysis, and not the iMac.
Not wanting to incur the wrath of my learned friend, TMRaven, who I know feels very differently about this point... but gaming on the iMac at 1080p looks absolutely fine.
Last week, I decided to switch between playing Half-Life 2 at 1080p with anti-aliasing, and 1440p without. They looked different, and there were certain things about 1440p that, yes, were aesthetically better... but losing the anti-aliasing meant visible jagged edges on almost everything, and I really didn't like that. So I switched back.
If the gaming performance of the iMac reached the point of being able to play FPSs at 1440p with, say, x2/4 anti-aliasing... I think it'd be a cracking games machine.
I think they're usually weaker in the video card department because they already sell so well. And usually, what they use is sufficient for most users.
it really all depends what you use the iMac for really ,
sure you can play games on the iMac , you can play games on the mini core duo 1.66ghz too
that is not the question , it is how much you expect in terms of performance , and some get disappointed if they come home with the iMac i7 and expect crysis with all settings up to max to play at 300fps
if apple did want to offer a gaming rig in a all in one case they would fit PCI express slots inside so people could choose the right cards for them and apple would build in a PSU with 800watt-1000watt to offer enough energy , but then its all over with a thin case as the iMac would need at least be as deep as a MacPro with some serious fans inside to cool the whole lot down
on a MacPro you got all these options and more
so it is really down to what are you expecting from a iMac to be a consumer computer or a gaming rig for people who have no other problems in life as how to get more fps in a game, and after all most people are more then happy even with their core2duo 27" iMac and they dont mind to turn down some settings in a game , because gaming was only one point somewhere at the far end on their list why they bought the iMac, most have OSX and some great apps at the top of their list and not gaming performance under windows
sure you can play games on the iMac , you can play games on the mini core duo 1.66ghz too
that is not the question , it is how much you expect in terms of performance , and some get disappointed if they come home with the iMac i7 and expect crysis with all settings up to max to play at 300fps
if apple did want to offer a gaming rig in a all in one case they would fit PCI express slots inside so people could choose the right cards for them and apple would build in a PSU with 800watt-1000watt to offer enough energy , but then its all over with a thin case as the iMac would need at least be as deep as a MacPro with some serious fans inside to cool the whole lot down
on a MacPro you got all these options and more
so it is really down to what are you expecting from a iMac to be a consumer computer or a gaming rig for people who have no other problems in life as how to get more fps in a game, and after all most people are more then happy even with their core2duo 27" iMac and they dont mind to turn down some settings in a game , because gaming was only one point somewhere at the far end on their list why they bought the iMac, most have OSX and some great apps at the top of their list and not gaming performance under windows
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