MBP Video cards

macmac · Jun 15th, 2008, 02:08 PM

I notice the MBP and MB have video cards in the 256 range. If you are running a graphically intense program, and it maxes out the 256 available, does the mac have the ability to tap into its own ram to compensate? I want the 15MBP but with a 512 MB video card. Its the only upgrade i want to do, but apple doesn't have that as an upgrade, unless i pick the upper end model. BUT, if the mac can compensate with it's own RAM, I should be fine.

Gene Rayburn · Jun 15th, 2008, 02:31 PM

The chances you'll need any more than 256MB VRAM on a laptop w/ an 8600 are slim to nil. That said, yes it should be able to tap into system RAM if neccessary.

EvanPitts · Jun 15th, 2008, 04:09 PM

The MBP has a real video card system with dedicated video RAM that can not be expanded. Nor does the chipset allow expansion.

The MB uses a cheap Intel integrated video chipset that has no video RAM, and has to use the regular slow system memory, which takes up valuable RAM space for other tasks. The various chipsets do have limits, and you would really need to check what that limit is by the model number and GPU chipset. But really, the MB will not be good for anything that uses serious video or needs to render in real time.

You may need to look at a MacPro system, which has a real video card (that can be changed/upgraded) if you really need rendering power. No laptop is really up to snuff for the intense stuff, as they are designed for portability, not to be animation rendering machines.

fyrefly · Jun 15th, 2008, 06:43 PM

What type of program are you hoping to run on the MBP? Motion? Shake? Games? That should determine what you need. I can't think of much else that would use more than the 256MB of VRam.

That being said, the Midrange MBP is the worst value - but you can get a Refurb for much less than new ($2249 for the midrange) that might be a happy medium for you.

HowEver · Jun 15th, 2008, 06:54 PM

.

macmac · Jun 15th, 2008, 07:33 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by HowEver
	I think you should get the 512MB Video / 6MB L2 cache model.

For starters, i'm buying it for a friend in Greece (i'll be delivering it in person next month). He is on a limited budget so i'll be using my teacher discount for the base model MBP. 1899 if I remember the price correctly.

He would have preferred the 512MB video card for longevity purposes but the mid-range MBP price is extremely high.

He'll be using it mainly for autocad (via bootcamp that i'll set up for him before I take it over..so I may be back to ask for more help on that one).

I'm sure 256 is good enough for autocad, but I was just thinking in terms of possible games he might play and for future versions of autocad that might require more vram.

Gene Rayburn · Jun 15th, 2008, 07:48 PM

Understand that 512MB 8600 will get you no more performance than a 256MB 8600. I didn't post this beforehand cause I needed to check my facts, but as I thought the 8600 runs with a 128-bit memory bus, meaning that it can't even access more VRAM than 256MB. Only 256-bit cards can access 512MB+ of VRAM (the 8800M GTX is the only mobile 256-bit card, but Apple doesn't offer it)

And even if you did have a 256-bit card, more VRAM only helps when dealing with higher resolutions (resolutions higher than a laptop screen can handle)

Jun 15th, 2008, 02:08 PM	#1
macmac Full Citizen Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 499	MBP Video cards I notice the MBP and MB have video cards in the 256 range. If you are running a graphically intense program, and it maxes out the 256 available, does the mac have the ability to tap into its own ram to compensate? I want the 15MBP but with a 512 MB video card. Its the only upgrade i want to do, but apple doesn't have that as an upgrade, unless i pick the upper end model. BUT, if the mac can compensate with it's own RAM, I should be fine.

Jun 15th, 2008, 06:43 PM	#4
fyrefly Honourable Citizen Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 3,375	What type of program are you hoping to run on the MBP? Motion? Shake? Games? That should determine what you need. I can't think of much else that would use more than the 256MB of VRam. That being said, the Midrange MBP is the worst value - but you can get a Refurb for much less than new ($2249 for the midrange) that might be a happy medium for you. __________________ Steve Jobs re: iTunes on Windows: "It's like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell"

Jun 15th, 2008, 06:54 PM	#5
HowEver Honourable Citizen Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: GTEh Posts: 14,330	. __________________ ... Last edited by HowEver; Nov 25th, 2008 at 02:15 PM.

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Jun 15th, 2008, 02:31 PM	#2
Gene Rayburn Full Citizen Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 114	The chances you'll need any more than 256MB VRAM on a laptop w/ an 8600 are slim to nil. That said, yes it should be able to tap into system RAM if neccessary.

Jun 15th, 2008, 04:09 PM	#3
EvanPitts Honourable Citizen Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Hamilton, ON Posts: 6,821	The MBP has a real video card system with dedicated video RAM that can not be expanded. Nor does the chipset allow expansion. The MB uses a cheap Intel integrated video chipset that has no video RAM, and has to use the regular slow system memory, which takes up valuable RAM space for other tasks. The various chipsets do have limits, and you would really need to check what that limit is by the model number and GPU chipset. But really, the MB will not be good for anything that uses serious video or needs to render in real time. You may need to look at a MacPro system, which has a real video card (that can be changed/upgraded) if you really need rendering power. No laptop is really up to snuff for the intense stuff, as they are designed for portability, not to be animation rendering machines.

Jun 15th, 2008, 07:48 PM	#7
Gene Rayburn Full Citizen Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 114	Understand that 512MB 8600 will get you no more performance than a 256MB 8600. I didn't post this beforehand cause I needed to check my facts, but as I thought the 8600 runs with a 128-bit memory bus, meaning that it can't even access more VRAM than 256MB. Only 256-bit cards can access 512MB+ of VRAM (the 8800M GTX is the only mobile 256-bit card, but Apple doesn't offer it) And even if you did have a 256-bit card, more VRAM only helps when dealing with higher resolutions (resolutions higher than a laptop screen can handle)