Purpose of video card in macbook pro?

Like the title says, what is the purpose of the video card in the Macbook Pro? Or more specifically, when exactly would OS X require the power of a dedicated video card versus an integrated one (Macbook Pro vs Macbook)? Please don't tell me it's only used for running games in Bootcamp

 

That would be the idea. More exactly: attracting Windows users into buying a MacBook Pro and be able to play games (no downside).

 

3D rendering, animation, applications, games, ability to have higher resolutions. I bet I could think of more, but those are just off the top of my head. Remember the MBP is used as a graphic work notebook.

 

I believe I read somewhere that 10.5 supports, or will support, window drawing by the video card. As well as other effects being off loaded to the video card as well.

 

Mac+Bootcamp+Windows = multimedia power of a Mac and the gaming possibilities of a PC wich means the best of both worlds.

It comes back to Fade_to_Black's comment that they want to attract more pc buyers

 

3d modeling, animation, pretty much what arquis says. High def video editing in final cut pro.

 

Graphics cards aren't only used for playing games, you know. For example, I had to recently develop an application which used OpenGL to create 3D renderings, and it ran slow as hell on my Macbook with GMA950, but ran fine on our lab machines equipped with 8600GS cards.

 

I'm sorry but that's not at all completely true. Arquis, poster #3 said it best. Macs have always used dedicated GPUs for several years and long before Mac OS X. It wasn't until Intel came into the picture before Apple started implementing integrated graphics.
Although it might be the case why the 8600GT is in the MBP to entice gamers dedicated GPU's in Macs are not to entice Windows switchers.

 

Well, dedicated GPUs have no real drawback other than battery life, whether you want to game or you have GPU-intensive applications to use. The MacBook Pro is Apple's flagship notebook, and being in the 15.4-inch category where nearly every notebook in that category has a dedicated graphics card, Apple needs to keep in competition by having competitive hardware.

And while Windows is much more dominant in games, don't forget many games have Mac versions as well.

 

I wouldn't play any retail games on the Mac if they had a Windows counterpart.

 

Congratulations? lol.

 

I dunno, the only games I've played in osx have been Quake 4, WC3, and wow, and they all run perfectly fine.

Albeit they are somewhat dated, but I think on of the differences between these games and others is that they wern't ported, like a lot of other games.

So maybe its just the ports that run bad? I don't know, but yea not all games suck in osx.

 

Ah ok so there is a use for the graphics card in OSX. I wish Mac's could play the latest games. I hate having to boot into Windows just to play UT3 and WCIII. And btw, I know WCIII works on Mac's but the last couple times I played, it crashed on me (exiting from DOTA match).

I agree with you since my G15's extra keys only work on Windows.

 

well they were supposed to be releasing ut3 for osx, but i duno when thatll happen now. been a while since pc was released.

 

You are welcome to do what you like but that kind of mentality will help keep the low amount of games available on the Mac remain low. Macs will continue to have small support from the developers with your attitude.

 

Yeah, Epic also said they have Gears of War being ported to OS X also.

 

OS X stil needs to improve their open GL implementation (and *cough cough* their Java implementation as well) before cutting edge games are really feasable.

 

Hehe, I'm proof of that.
I guarantee I would not have gotten a Macbook Pro had it not had its dedicated graphics.

 

I, on the other hand, probably would have gotten the MBP without a dedicated video card if it would have given me an extra hour of battery life and cost around $400 less.

 

apart from the obvious increase in the speed of 3d applications the second biggest difference and advantage to the mbp is the decoded quality of video files.
Specifically the quality of the colours. If u have a chance to use a sony sz with the gfx card toggle then check out the same high quality quicktime trailer on both and you will see a startling difference in the colours. On intel's gma stuff the colours look really dull and washed out.
That being said i remember reading somewhere that osx does all video decoding on the cpu and doesnt use the pure video decoding on the 8600gt... i guess then the quality of the colours in a video on a mac would come down to the quality of the software decoding?