MacBook Pro SLI or Crossfire?

Greetings,

Fresh off my iMac purchase, I know I made the right decision.

Now I want to replace my laptop, but I travel a lot and I play graphics intensive games.

Does Apple ever consider putting dual video cards in a laptop? I know heat and power are a major issue, but a 512k Video card won't cut what I want it to do considering I'll have the laptop for 3 or 4 years.

Thanks for any info.

qwagmire said:

Greetings,

Fresh off my iMac purchase, I know I made the right decision.

Now I want to replace my laptop, but I travel a lot and I play graphics intensive games.

Does Apple ever consider putting dual video cards in a laptop? I know heat and power are a major issue, but a 512k Video card won't cut what I want it to do considering I'll have the laptop for 3 or 4 years.

Thanks for any info.

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No way they will ever have dual video cards.

May I ask what you are trying to do? Game on the road or just have a gaming laptop? Because if gaming is your main priority on your laptop, then buy a Windows machine. Plus how much battery are you expecting on a machine that has dual video cards?

Plus Macs aren't gaming machines. And not all games take full advantage of the SLI / XFire scaling.

s2odin said:

No way they will ever have dual video cards.

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Actually, Apple does exactly this -- in a manner of speaking -- with the MacBook Pros. They switch automatically (or manually) between "Intel HD" integrated-graphics chipset (256MB of shared memory) and the NVIDIA GeForce 330M with 256 or 512 (depending on model) of dedicated discrete graphics.

Because if gaming is your main priority on your laptop, then buy a Windows machine. Plus how much battery are you expecting on a machine that has dual video cards?

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Seconded.

Plus Macs aren't gaming machines. And not all games take full advantage of the SLI / XFire scaling.

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I cannot imagine spending the kind of money one spends on a top-of-the-line laptop -- Mac *or* PC -- and using it primarily for gaming. To me that's like buying the most expensive golf clubs money can buy to go play putt-putt.

I'd much rather (and this is just my opinion as a very casual gamer, so yes I know I "just don't get it") spend money on a dedicated gaming hardware solution that I knew was going to be the right tool for the job (be that a "gaming rig" laptop or just a Nintendo DS) that was separate from my moneymaking production machine.

People who think a 512MB 3D video card in a laptop "just doesn't cut it" are not going to be happy with a Mac -- ever -- from a gaming perspective. While its quite easily possible to play top-of-the-line games on a Mac, that isn't their focus and really will never be.

Thanks for the thoughts.

I'm a marginal hard core/casual gamer that swore I would never own an Apple. The iMac works for me perfectly, though WoW and Starcraft cant be run much more than 50% on the graphics scale. (The Apple monitor is just awesome.) For Aperture and my photo hobby, its perfect.

Battery life with dual video cards? I truly expect 30 minutes, maybe? (I'm a realist) This is for multi-week business trips, hooked in at the hotel. I tend to stay away from anything more than sightseeing on the road, too much trouble out there nowadays.

My trials/thoughts are what Chas has mentioned. Should I get a full blown gaming rig, or one that will be like my iMac and functional? The MacBook Pro 17" is calling my name, just wish the video card was 1GB (or the 1.5GB 400 series).

Thanks again for the thoughts, just trying to understand the big Apple picture.

chas_m said:

Actually, Apple does exactly this -- in a manner of speaking -- with the MacBook Pros. They switch automatically (or manually) between "Intel HD" integrated-graphics chipset (256MB of shared memory) and the NVIDIA GeForce 330M with 256 or 512 (depending on model) of dedicated discrete graphics.

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Makes sense, I didn't think of that. But I guess it's because the 9400m isn't anywhere in the same league as the 9600m or even the 330m.

qwagmire said:

Thanks for the thoughts.

I'm a marginal hard core/casual gamer that swore I would never own an Apple. The iMac works for me perfectly, though WoW and Starcraft cant be run much more than 50% on the graphics scale. (The Apple monitor is just awesome.) For Aperture and my photo hobby, its perfect.

Battery life with dual video cards? I truly expect 30 minutes, maybe? (I'm a realist) This is for multi-week business trips, hooked in at the hotel. I tend to stay away from anything more than sightseeing on the road, too much trouble out there nowadays.

My trials/thoughts are what Chas has mentioned. Should I get a full blown gaming rig, or one that will be like my iMac and functional? The MacBook Pro 17" is calling my name, just wish the video card was 1GB (or the 1.5GB 400 series).

Thanks again for the thoughts, just trying to understand the big Apple picture.

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But even the 1GB 5870 > the "1.5"gb GTX 460M
Yes, the GTX 460m is a PhysX card that performs in those games better, but ATI has the advantage of nVidia. Even hard core gamers don't always get the newest because they offer very little over their current setup.

30 mins a realistic expectation. And you don't need the "latest and greatest". My od laptop had a GTX 260m (3 generations old) and it played Crysis on High, 1920 x 1080 at 32 fps (which is playable.) 30fps is playable, and 32 was fine with me. I could lower detail and get higher fps. Oh, and it played SC2 on Ultra, 1920 x 1080 with over 50 fps. Dragon Age Origins on High, 1920x1080 definitely over 30 fps.

So don't just look at Z0MG GTX 460M U R TEH PR0. Not really. Look at a refurb Asus G73 from Bestbuy ($850) with the ATI 5870. Or a refurb Asus G51 (should be GTX 260m)

My old laptop that just died was an original Dell XPS2 from Spring of 2005 with the 9600 series. Worked great.

I tend to keep laptops forever, which is why I lean toward the latest and greatest. But there is wisdom in spending a little every 2 years rather than a LOT every 4 years.

Thanks for the advice on the Asus, I hear they are good boxes. Have been looking at a Sager's (Clevo) as well.

I shouldn't let it get me too wrapped around the axle, I played WoW on my last trip on my wife's netbook...

Technically speaking, Apple doesn't offer SLI as he is wanting it. Apple offered Hybrid SLI, which allows switching between 2 different types of graphics chips/card to increase either performance or batter life when you wanted either one. SLI, as he is wanting it, where 2 identical cards are used to run one program, at the same time, is not available, yet from Apple. To say that Apple will never use SLI is probably a far stretch from reality.

If you are really wanting more than 512mg of card memory, go with Alienware...though, I beg of you to answer, you want more than 512mb of ram to run WoW, or for casual gaming?

qwagmire said:

Thanks for the advice on the Asus, I hear they are good boxes. Have been looking at a Sager's (Clevo) as well.

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Only two Windows machines I will ever own are Asus or Sager. If you want the best of the best look at the Clevo x7200 (forget what the rebranded Sager model is), haha.

Yes, Asus machines are great. My old laptop (with the gtx260m from the last post) was an Asus G51VX-A1. Never had any issues with it, and the reseller I purchased it from actually answered their phone anytime I called them. Plus they come standard with a 1 year accidental damage warranty (not through best buy tho, because best buy cuts down their warranty so you buy theirs).

More than 512mb to run my games like WoW and Starcraft and some others I dabble in. I realize others require far less than 512k.

I find that 1GB cards help with photo processing in my old PC as well, though Aperture is new to me, it seems to like the 1GB 5750 I have in the iMac. Raw Photos easily pass 10MB and big JPG's can go over 5GB, the more horsepower the better.

I believe the x7200 is the Sager 7280. Need my own power company and Sherpa at 12 lbs though

I believe the x7200 is the Sager 7280. Need my own power company and Sherpa at 12 lbs though

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Sager machines IMO, are the best PC notebooks available. Several years ago they were standard issue for US Government field work. Beat them up, drag them around, drop them, and even sometimes getting wet out in the rain, they still chug on. Problem was, they were too expensive to justify continuing purchasing through GSA channels. Switched over to Dells.

I have one of those Dells. The problem with any of them is our network has so much security crap on it, the overhead on the system drags down performance.

Its funny s2odin mentioned the x7200, I have one sitting in my cart at the Sager site and my mouse cursor is hovering over the "buy" button.