mbp upgrade is kind of a downgrade...

KernelPanic,

Did you see this thread?

Macbook Pro 15inch 2011 ATI 6750m Game Benchmarks - MacRumors Forums

 

06 has long been CPU dependent score wise. Vantage will eventually hit the same wall as GPUs outpace the stock resolution which is the common ground for comparison across many platforms (Now we have 3Dmark11 the new system crusher).

As with 06, pick the stock resolution with Vantage for an even playing field. Once you start scaling the resolutions up or down, the benchmark becomes more GPU or CPU reliant respectively.

The great thing with 06 and especially Vantage is once your GPU hits the wall, your SM2.0/SM3.0 or Vantage GPU score won't change just your CPU score and overall score as you push it higher and higher. I did this with the X9000 recently and 9800M GTX SLIs (both single and dual mode). From 2.0->3.8. After ~2.4, the GPU scores peaked but as expected the CPU and overall score kept pushing upward.

If you are going to use 06, focus on the SM2.0/SM3.0 scores and even then I'd take Vantage GPU as it isolates the GPU better than 06 even focusing on SM2.0/SM3.0 scores due to the sheer GPU load at stock.

Vantage GPU (not overall score) gives a much better idea of what and where your GPU ranks.

What were your SM2.0/SM3.0 scores from your 9800m gs?
Give Vantage a run on your Asus and let us know what your GPU score is.

As for reference to current tech (happens every time with Apple laptops), I, too, would take a P150HM (I'd probably take the P170HM actually) with a 2920xm and 460M (or spend a little more for the 485M or wait for the 6970) over the Macbook (and actually save some $$ in the process) if raw power was my only criteria.

 

Exactly what I was going to do. Just switched and changed my mind yesterday. I can game pretty well ( for my needs) and I can continue to use Mac OS X. I was tempted to go back to Windows for my main machine...but the MBP refresh reeled me back in.

 

Here are some real world data from Notebook Check:

Intel HD Graphics 3000 - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

Intel Graphics 3000 seems to achieve a 3DMark 06 score of around 5,000-6,000, probably on the higher-end with the Sandy Bridge processors of the MacBook Pro, so it seems like it is not really a card worth complaining about. It's great for an integrated card. There really is not anything to dislike about the new MacBook Pro lineup unless you already found things you do not like in the past.

 

Come on man seriously????!!


The paste they use has pixie dust!

Paste option $500
Efficient one $1000

 

I have a new 17"er ... I locked on the Intel HD 3000 and tried out some games I can also run on my MBP 13" with a 320m. Running same exact settings I really cannot tell a difference in performance, and the Intel might actually be running faster... I do not have Windows on either machine so these tests are only in OSX, but the HD 3000 is extremely impressive for Intel.

 

Has anyone tried playing Half-Life 2 and its ilk on OS X with these new machines? Steam first became available on Mac OS when my '07 MBP reached the end of its useful life, and HL2 was virtually unplayable in OS X while it was silky smooth in Boot Camp.

 

I don't have halflife 2... but I ran portal using the HD 3000 and the AMD 6750... and while the 6750 can run it maxed out great... the HD 3000 I had to run pretty low settings to keep a high enough frame rate. None of that is scientific though since I didn't record any numbers or settings...

 

I'm a previous gen 17" i5 330m owner and what I want to know is, granted I can sell what I have now for $1700-$1800 and can get the new one for $2500 is that $700 extra going very far? For gaming, SC2 and BFBC2 my guess is probably not

 

For gaming, the difference is probably 50-100% from what everyone is saying.

 

Are you sure on that? I can believe the benchmarks are that much higher but have yet to see (and hard time believing) that actual in game performance would be 50-100% better.

 

Well, 50% is definitely possible if my 5650 gets 20% higher performance compared to a 330M at standard clocks (Apple underclocked the 330M).

 

Well, I don't have benchmarks, but I can give you some anecdotal comparisons.

I don't have the 17", but I have the 2010 15" with the 330m and the 2011 15" with the 6750, using both with the 27" Apple LED screen.

I'd say it's a noticeable improvement in gaming. Whether that's 50-100% I can't say. The only game I've tried so far is League of Legends on the OSX side, but I'm now able to play it on max settings at native resolution whereas I had to lower settings substantially with the 2010 model.

I don't have BFBC2 (whatever that is), but I'll probably install SC2 over the weekend and see how it goes. I don't recall what I had the settings at on the 2010 model though.

 

Lol even my Acer (sig) with a moderately overclocked 5650 and a measly arrandale generation Intel i5 460M gets 9.3k in 3dmark06.