User profile for user: Pat Gilmour
Pat Gilmour Author
User level: Level 2
241 points

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics vs ATI Radeon X1600

Hi,

I have a15" 2.33mhz MB Pro with ATI Radeon X1600 and 4GB ram (though it can only address 3GB).

I think this is the one: http://support.apple.com/kb/SP24


I'm considering a new 13" MB Pro 2.53 with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics.

I do a lot of photo editing on an external monitor (23" Apple) with the laptop in clamshell mode.

My question: will the MB Pro 13" be noticeably faster with the following app's:

-Lightroom 2 (and up-coming 3)
-Aperture 2 (and, I really hope, 3 soon)
-Photoshop CS4 (and 5?)

All knowledgeable replies and opinions really welcome!

Pat

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Jan 28, 2010 6:22 AM

Reply
12 replies
User profile for user: MartinR
MartinR
User level: Level 7
24,672 points

Jan 28, 2010 8:17 AM in response to Pat Gilmour

A new 13" MBP may be a bit faster than your present one but not by much and mostly due to its faster bus/RAM speed (1066MHz vs 667 MHZ). The CPU speed on the new 13" is actually a little slower than your old MBP (2.26GHz vs 2.33 GHz).

If you are seriously into Lightroom, Aperture & Photoshop, then I'd suggest looking at the 15" 2.66GHz MBP, which has both the integrated 9400m and the dedicated 9600m GT video chip.
Reply
User profile for user: eww
eww
User level: Level 9
53,052 points

Jan 28, 2010 8:58 AM in response to Pat Gilmour

Hi, Pat. I can't knowledgeably compare the Radeon and Nvidia GPUs, but the ability to address up to 8GB of considerably faster RAM would certainly stand you in better stead with the newer 13" MBP, as long as you won't be hampered by its smaller, lower-resolution display. If it will be used mainly in clamshell mode, that won't be an issue.

Future versions of Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture are sure to be even hungrier for RAM than the present ones, so the newer machine's edge over the older one is apt to widen with time.
Reply
User profile for user: Pat Gilmour
Pat Gilmour Author
User level: Level 2
241 points

Jan 28, 2010 9:45 AM in response to MartinR

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking of the 2.53mhz MB Pro 13" (not 2.26) which is a little after as a processor.

The real issue, I think, is that when I plug in the big 23" screen things slow up which I suspect is because of the ATI Radeon X1600, so I was wondering if the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics would drive that Apple screen faster?

As for processing speed (rendering filters etc.) it's sort of bearable!!! I've always used a 15" but I'm sick of carrying it around the place on my bike - lighter's better!
Reply
User profile for user: MartinR
MartinR
User level: Level 7
24,672 points

Jan 28, 2010 11:26 AM in response to Pat Gilmour

I have the 15" 2.66GHz MBP with the 9400m and the 9600m GT. I have no problems driving my 40" Sony Bravia with just the 9400m integrated video processor. In fact, I have yet to observe a meaningful difference between the performance of the 9400m and the 9600m GT except that the 9600m GT consumes power at a much greater rate (about 1/2 the battery run time compared to using the 9400m).
Reply
User profile for user: MartinR
MartinR
User level: Level 7
24,672 points

Jan 28, 2010 11:59 AM in response to Pat Gilmour

Yes, the 9400m uses shared system RAM. In theory, based on the higher bus speed/RAM speed in the new MBP, video performance should be faster. But it won't necessarily get the use of any more RAM than your x1600. I just checked my MBP and the 9400m has 256Mb RAM allocated to it. And the 9600m GT has 256Mb dedicated VRAM.

If you are going to put 8GB in a new MBP the reason should be for Aperture & Lightroom, not an expectation that the extra RAM is going to improve video chip performance per se.
Reply
User profile for user: eww
eww
User level: Level 9
53,052 points

Jan 28, 2010 11:57 AM in response to MartinR

As Martin says, it's your applications' appetites for system RAM, and not your GPU's use of video RAM (shared or discrete) that will determine how much RAM it makes sense to install in your MBP. The apps you mention can all benefit greatly from the availability of more than minimal RAM, and if you intend to run two or three of those apps simultaneously, you'll be FAR better off with 8GB than with 3GB. The added RAM alone will much more than offset any decrease in GPU speed that comes with the transition from the X1600 to the 9400M.
Reply
User profile for user: MartinR
MartinR
User level: Level 7
24,672 points

Jan 28, 2010 12:03 PM in response to Big_Tomato

The 9400m is a complete chipset including a GPU. As such it is as much the heart of the Macbook Pro as the CPU is. It benefits from that design. The OP's older Macbook Pro has a separate chipset and GPU that have to communicate over a slower bus (about 40% slower). So there are overall tradeoffs that cannot be measured by a simple comparison of one GPU against another. The new Macbook Pro will have noticeably higher overall performance than the old model. Especially when it comes to running RAM-hungry apps like Aperture, whose sweet spot seems to be 6GB+.
Reply
User profile for user: Rod Hagen
Rod Hagen
User level: Level 7
32,000 points

Jan 28, 2010 7:29 PM in response to Pat Gilmour

Hi Pat,

I have a "base model" 2.26GHz MBP 13" with 4Gig RAM and a 2.2GHz MBP15" SantaRosa with 4 Gig (the 15" has an NVIdea 8600M processor, which is faster than your older ATI Radeon). I haven't formally "benchtested" them, but the 2.26GHZ MBP13 seems significantly the faster of the two in Photoshop and somewhat faster in Aperture in general usage to me. I'm afraid I don't use Lightroom.

Cheers

Rod
Reply

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics vs ATI Radeon X1600

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.
Learn more Sign up