Macbook prose. Video memory

vvvv beta question
1

Hey all

I’m looking at getting a new macbook pro
There’s two options, both with NVIDIA 9600 with dedicated memory.
One has 256meg, the other has 512meg.
The price difference is significant. Can anyone talk about their opinions as to why extra video memory would be important within vvvv.
I’m generally not dealing with huge amounts of textures but sometimes i’ve got lots of renderers on the go doing different things.
Any ideas?
Also, what happens when you run out of video memory, does the system revert to using normal RAM?

2

more is always better. 256 MB is actually very little.

first case
you want to zoom into a very very big texture like a map application, you need lots of RAM

second case
you want to load a bunch of frames into your graphicscard ram to be able to scrub trough a video without performance loss. you need as much graphicscard RAM as you possibly can get.

if you don’t want to spend much money on the best macbook then look for cheaper pc laptops… e.g. dell.

3

i agree with u7angel. if you do not need to use mac os x and can resist apples nice design, a pc laptop is substantially cheaper and runs windows more stable than a macbook.

4

some benchmarks for mobile chips are here:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

5

and go for the best graphics with most RAM you can afford.
you won’t regret this.

and go pc.
which advantages beyond design does a macbook have?
IMHO there are only disadvantages.

6

@kalle

its metal hence it pretty much looks like the day i bought it. (1,5 year old). which can be a reason to buy one.

and the shiny apple … which you have to tape to a stripe or you put some translucent logo on top of it to be cool again…or even cooler ;)

7

yup, full ack to diki, although i experience no probs so far with xp, which i solely use for vvvv and a couple of exotic command line scripts. if there is no need for os x (what genuine reason, apart from the flaky virus argument, remains anyway?) then skip that apple. btw, i’m a macbook pro user and very negatively impressed by their quality standards since aππle got into intel processors. but i have to admit, a dual x and xp boot is a fun thing to have. otoh linux might be as nice too.

8

I would recommend you to buy a PC instead of a Mac book pro.

For its price (around 1800 - 2200 €) you could have a really nice PC laptop running on Windows.

If you’re looking for a similar design check Alienware web site with its Area-51® m15x.

For +/- 2000 € you get an really nice machine, better than a apple one, which you can configure by yourself on the website:

With this set up :

Core 2 duo T8300 @2.4
Nvidia 9800 M GT
4 Go Ram
It’s around 2100 €

Note that the difference between a 9600 and a 9800 is really large . Around twice more powerfull .

And Alienware is a really serious laptop seller with a really bunch of component inside .

Btw if you’re not moving so much perhaps think about a Shuttle.
With this budget you get a killer config .

9

Also, u can get just matx case, like shuttle by gabarite, but more cheap and upgrade friendly bcs u can switch mb and power supply.

10

I was going to get the laptop for personal use and small live vvvv jobs, and condense my desktop into an SLI shuttle (4 dvi outputs, each can be dual/tripleheaded if needs be) for heavier jobs.

I’d fully agree that a macbook pro isn’t a good buy for a vvvv machine, and that a 9600 is certainly lacking. I wanted a mac mostly for the build quality and design and because i’m bored of Windows (i dont think OS X will be necessarily better, but it’ll at least be a change). Also, having a shiny macbook tends to impress the clients more than a laptop pc.

If anyone missed the Simpsons take on Apple, have a look at http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/the-simpsons-mocks-m-apple/

11

oh, also i decided to wait for the core i7’s to be released in laptops before i bought one, just in case