I am looking at purchasing one of the new iMacs. I don't play games but edit videos occasionally in Final Cut. Am I going to notice a difference between the nvidia 775m and the 780m? Should I upgrade to the 780M or just go with the 775m? I'm not going to have a second monitor, as I'll be getting the 27" iMac, so keep that in mind as well.
One most probable answer is: The more money you spend the more powerful computer you get.
Yet we're not all sitting around with Mac Pros...and prices on a 27" iMac can range from $1,800 to $4,000 if you select all the Apple best options.
I have the GeForce GTX 775M and I'm quite pleased.
Re: Music Apps. Photo Apps. Painting Apps. Video Apps. 3D apps. Games.
I use to get the error message in Logic that Arnaudettes mentions; now I don't get that message anymore. (Plus it helps to have an extra external drive).
In Photoshop there are plug-ins that show many presets and they use to take 5-10 seconds to preview each one. Now the previews for these preset appear instantly.(Plus it helps to have an extra external drive)
In Corel Paint there was a very annoying delay when switching from painting in rasta mode to switching to vector mode. Now there is no delay.(Plus it helps to have an extra external drive)
In Final Cut everything so far as smooth as I could hope (Plus it helps to have an extra external drive). But I only do occasional videos, not for sale or business. I think the GTX 780M would make a difference here in rendering time, if that's important to the user. (I just go get a cup of coffee while waiting).
I suppose it might help, too, if you had lots of video effects, filters, fancy transitions, etc.
3D programs is probably where the GTX 780M would pay off the most...like with video rendering time (after a project is finished it must be rendered), 3D has time you have to wait for effects, such as ray-tracing, changing light positions, adding surface textures, and such effects.
If you have Adobe video or 3D products they say these cards would work much faster if using the latest CUDA drivers which allow using the NIVIDIA graphic cards for ray tracing, etc. rather than the CPU.
Check with latest info from NIVIDIA and Adobe because info on what cards CUDA works with changes and the GTX 780M and GTX 775M not officially yet on this list -- I think, although GTX 780 is, and some claim there are work arounds for CUDA updates
My games all play much better.
Having said all this -- being very pleased with GTX 775M -- if you got the extra $150 I think it would be the one best Apple option a user could get. RAM you can always add yourself. Hard drives can be changed, but the CPU and graphics card you sort of live with forever.
(I got a good deal through Apple on a refurbished 27" iMac....so I went for the $300 savings rather than paying list price plus $150.00)
And, of course, now I'm saving for my Mac Pro (when the next version comes out).
P.S. -- Oh yea....I run two extra monitors with this and I really, really like that. Got lots of apps and tabs and panels open all over the place (16GB of self-installed RAM).
noticeable difference nvidia 775m and 780m?
