MBP- accelerated graphics uses?

Bes

Bes

Bes

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Melbourne
Hi,

Apart from games and 3D rendering, is there ANYTHING at all that makes buying a MacBook pro with accelerated graphics chip better than the cheapo 15" model without?

Thanks
 
Maybe when Snow Leopard launches then maybe, but at the moment other then faster then the 9400m, probably not worth buying unless you need the extra grunt.
 
If the application developer makes use of OpenCL under Snow Leopard then you will find a difference in applications. However the app has to have a large amount of maths such as sound effects processing, visual processing (filters..) etc.
 
So again we are talking rich apps. Itunes, office, development apps, etc definately will not benefit?
 
It's always nicer to have the option, than need it when you don't have one.
 
Bes said:
So again we are talking rich apps. Itunes, office, development apps, etc definately will not benefit?
Click to expand...

The purpose of a MBP is to provide the power for hungry applications. So from that sense the MBP does it's job with Snow Leopard.

Grand Central will benefit Applications that have been written to take advantage of it. This is basically an easier way of parallelising tasks within the application - so all desktop apps may reap rewards.

OpenCL is basically using the GPU which is excellent in a specific maths context but not for normal parallel issues such as attempting to do multiple generic tasks at the same time.

Where the discrete GPU with does make a difference is that it reduces the load off the memory bus connecting the CPU and memory (such as having an additional monitor plugged in). This means a quicker machine for normal applications.
Window managers now also make use of a lot of effects - these are better handled by a discrete GPU for the points reasoned above.
VMs such as windows, video encoding etc will benefit from a discrete GPU.


However you're right. Most machines now are very capable of doing the mundane tasks such as email, web, watching DVDs and word processing. The industry is moving to make software more efficient (greener) and so slower hardware can be used to extend battery life - Snow Leopard is Apples response to this trend.
 
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To add.. if you don't need the power of the discrete graphics you may aswell get a 13" MBP with an external display
 
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