NVIDIA GeForce 9400M?

I'm thinking about getting a new Macbook Pro in the near future. I use my computer mostly with the Adobe Suite and have multiple files open simultaneously in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, plus web browser, ichat, etc.

1. Would I notice a difference between the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M and the 9600M GT with 256MB when running these apps?

2. I plug my notebook into a 20" external monitor sometimes. Would there be a problem using the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M for this?

3. Right now I have a late 2007 Macbook Pro with the GeForce 8600M GT graphics card. How does it compare to the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M?

4. Is the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M in the iMac the exact same as the Macbook Pro? Will it be powerful enough to run my apps in the 24" resolution? I'm interested in maybe getting an iMac.

Thanks!

 

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The desktop 9400GT vs. a 8600M GT.

The 9400(M) is a value chip designed for low power and long battery life. I have no person experience running heavy apps like those on it to know how much they are affected by the GPU.

 

the 8600m gt is faster than the 9400m.

i was in the exact same situation as you. i had a late 2007 mbp with the 8600m gt, and i finally decided to upgrade to the unibody machine, and my warranty was running out.

i sold the 2007 8600m gt machine to be replaced by a 2009 unibody model with the 9600m gt.

i sold my aging machine for 1299 and bought the 2009 machine refurbished (just like new) from apple for 1299. i found that to be a sufficiently good deal to merit the upgrade.

Would you notice graphics card power? Possibly. If you end up running Snow Leopard and using applications that either now or in the future support Open CL, you might. CS4 apps take advantage of the GPU for speedy rendering, but I don't think the power difference would really matter either way unless you were dealing with giant images and doing a ton of processing on them.

If you want a brand new machine, you will be paying several hundred dollars for basically the same internal hardware.

 

You got a pretty good deal

I'm hoping to sell my MBP with a 20.1" Dell monitor plus a carrying case for 1,125 euro.
Thinking of maybe getting an iMac to replace it.

 

It doesn't sound like you'll be playing any games or will be doing any 3d work.

Don't worry about the GPU.

 

If you can get the 9600 version for only slightly more, then you should do it, but otherwise, the 9400 sounds like it will be fine for you. I bet that you end up just using the 9400 most of the time anyway.

 

I was debating this before I bought the 13" MBP and so far I have no issues editing SD video in final cut express, running CS3, aperture, and playing 1080p MKV files. I guess it depends what level of pro work your doing. Also I tried quake 4 mac (for gpu stress test purposes). It runs maxed out, which is quite pleasing for such a small machine. For my amateur media purposes the 9400M seems fine, I am very happy so far. Integrated graphics have advanced drastically in the past year or so.

 

Nvidia and ATIs integrated graphics have gotten a lot better both...

Intel integrated graphics are still far behind and haven't had any drastic improvements. If Apple ever goes back to intel integrated, avoid it like the plague.

 

Hey man, I wouldn't be that quick to boot intel off the courtyard. Intel is developing their Larrabee line of 32nm graphic chips and rumored to go head to head against the big boys (nvidia & ati). Also, I have read somewhere that there will be hybrid versions ported to laptops of larrabee.

 

Intel has talked about how good their graphics is going to be for years.. and it never turns out as good as they claim... so I wont believe it until I see it.

I wouldn't be surprised if their next big thing isn't much faster than a geforce 9400M, and by the time they have it out, it will be outdated, since it basically is on the Macs already