NVIDIA GeForce 9400M , or + 9600M GT with 256MB?

I have the earlier 2.53Ghz model that came with both graphics. I find myself using the 9400M the majority of the time because the fans don't run as much. Battery life is longer too in that mode too.

Also, I recently bought a new iMac. I went with the entry-level model with the 9400M graphics. It's been running almost silent and has filled all my graphic needs.

I would say you will be fine with the 9400M.

Dave M.
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For day-to-day work the 9400 is fine but when you are running something that needs a bit more GPU power the 9600 is the one to use.

The 9400 version shares the main system memory, the 9600 version has dedicated GPU memory.

I have the MacBook Pro 2.66Ghz 9400M + 9600GT with 512MB RAM.

Have a look at link http://www.macworld.co.uk/mac/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=2868

Hi,
It won't make a difference with iMovie, iDVD or most other applications for that matter. I've been testing for months and have yet to see any meaningful difference between the 9400m and 9600m GT performance except that the 9600m GT drains the battery twice as fast as the 9400m. I even drive my 40" Sony Bravia with the 9400m and it looks great.

Photoshop CS4 will benefit from the 9600m GT.
Lightroom2 doesn't use the GPU acceleration, so no particular benefits of the 9600m GT there.

There's not a huge difference between 2.53 and 2.66GHz machines - you would barely notice the difference. You will be much better off spending your $$ on more RAM or a 7200rpm internal hard drive.

I have the 2.66 with the 9400 and 9600. The only thing I have had to use the 9600 for is games. I do not use Photoshop however. I have used iMovie and iDVD with no issues at all using the 9400. The others are right about the battery as well. The 9600 ***** the life twice as fast.

9400 suffices most of the time. I switch over to 9600 only once in a week or so and that too while playing extremely graphic hungry games. for me, 9400 works alright for basic photo and video editing and mid segment video games like NFS most wanted. So anyone who is not interested in profession quality and professional volume graphical rendering, 9400 GPU is a good cost effective alternative.

regards
manish

I'm planning on buying an iMac and play the upcoming game StarCraft 2.

The minimum requirements for a Graphics card is: NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT or ATI Radeon® X1600 or better

The recommended is: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT or ATI Radeon® HD 4670 or better

The iMac has a 9400, which, as I assume from this discussion, is roughly the same as the 9600, except it takes from the computer's memory? Buying the comp with a 9400 will be fine then, I guess?

I also see you can buy the ATI 4670 for some extra bucks, which is exactly the same as the recommended above. Should I go for that instead? I'm very noobish at this, so some help would greatly be appreciated. 🙂