Vram vs shared Vram?

Question

Vram vs shared Vram?

I'm considering new Imac 2.66 with shared vram or last gen 2.8 with dedicated vram. I plan to do some home video editing and my sons play WOW.
I'm not sure what the realworld difference is but, I'm sure dedicated vram is better.
Could someone clarify this in a way that even I can understand?

Thanks

Imac X2; PBG4; MBP, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Mar 5, 2009 8:56 AM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,731 points

Mar 5, 2009 9:51 AM in response to stage4survivor

There is no real difference. Shared VRAM means that instead of having separate RAM for the video processor, the video processor uses system RAM. If you have 2 GBs of RAM installed, the video processor will have 256 MBs of that RAM dedicated to the video processor. You simply have 256 MBs of memory less to use for applications. In effect the video processor "shares" RAM with the rest of the system.

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Answer 2

Mar 5, 2009 9:52 AM in response to stage4survivor

Well, the 2.66 uses the shared 256Mb, however it is faster memory than before.

The new iMac has a whole new chipset with faster memory and core graphics support. If you do anything with graphics, I recommend purchasing the newer iMac than the older one (even if it is the 2.66 with dedicated). The next level up (2.9) will give you the option of having one of 3 other graphics cards with dedicated ddr3 memory. This would be the better option, if you could put out the funds.

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Answer 3

Mar 5, 2009 12:47 PM in response to Justin Andrews

JA,
Yes, I know the next step up is dedicated vram but, price jumps about $500 😟

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Answer 4

PJB

Level 2

365 points

Mar 5, 2009 6:54 PM in response to stage4survivor

Get the older model, with dedicated video memory & save some money. Many posters have been whooping and jumping at the sight of DDR3 memory... well here are the benchmarks:

http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/2009/03/imac-and-mac-mini-benchmarks-early-2009/

No difference!

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