imac & video cards

I went to compusa on Saturday to buy a macbook but walked away with a 24" imac as well. Yipee!

Anyway, since I did not go with the intention of getting the imac, I totally blanked on the items I would have liked to have upgraded. The biggest thing would be bumping the video card from the 128 to 256mb.

I'm in negotiations with the GM at the store about swapping it out without having to pay the restock fee (wish me luck.) But if I can do that I'm going to do it for $125 for the video card upgrade without a doubt.

Could anyone tell me how this will affect performance if I simply upgrade to 3GB of memory and keep the 128 card? I plan at some point to be doing some HD editing from a panasonic or sony HD camcorder. I want to make sure I'm not going to have paint the house while I'm waiting for things to render, etc.

Thanks in advance!

fleurya said:

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57243

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I think this was put in the appropriate thread....
It's up to you really. I would say thank god you didn't buy the Macbook. ugh, it's nice but not worth the $1300 price tag if you doing something beyond iPhoto or iChat with it. (my personal opinion)
As for the 24", I would say get the 256MB version because you've got a monster screen and a whole lot extra to be rendering at one time in comparison to the 17" model.
I have the 20" with 128MB w/ 2GB RAM and haven't run into a problem yet. I also haven't editied video yet nor do I want to.
But really, it's up to you and how willing you are to give up some dough for the restocking fee (if you can't get out of it.)
Bryan

It was originally posted in "Anything Goes"

I was told by compUSA and our Apple store getting the 24" iMac shipped to a store wasn't even a possibility if you wanted to upgrade the video card. I ordered it online and had it in a week.

I have a happy update. The store has agreed to let me return the unit without the restock fee. A manager will help me get a unit with the desired upgrades ordered which will be sent directly to my home. Now I wish I hadn't have payed the $6 to have Crucial 2-day my upgrade of RAM! Oh, well. What's six bucks after all the money I blew this weekend.

fleurya - thanks for the link. I see my thread was moved and appropriately so. I've never been one to read directions and so I disregarded the link in my "Welcome" PM. Would have saved me the embarressment.

I'll bet my macbook could blow the doors off your imac, even with its fancy video card.

Specs aren't everything, my friend.

jeffk27 said:

I'll bet my macbook could blow the doors off your imac, even with its fancy video card.

Specs aren't everything, my friend.

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what???? where did that come from??

are you comparing a macbook to a 24" iMac? using what tests?

in basics they have the same processor and memory. that's it.

the imac has a faster hard drive (5400 s 7200) and a potentially faster processor (2.16 vs 2.33) plus just a dedicated video card would give it faster benchmarks than an integrated one in ANY graphics related test.

so, tell me more of your fictitious story.

or are you just trolling?

scooter said:

what???? where did that come from??

are you comparing a macbook to a 24" iMac? using what tests?

in basics they have the same processor and memory. that's it.

the imac has a faster hard drive (5400 s 7200) and a potentially faster processor (2.16 vs 2.33) plus just a dedicated video card would give it faster benchmarks than an integrated one in ANY graphics related test.

so, tell me more of your fictitious story.

or are you just trolling?

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Ha -- tmetcalf is my brother-in-law. I was just having a little fun. We bought our macs together on the same day. I realize my little macbook that could is a few notches down from the mighty imac.

jeffk27 said:

Ha -- tmetcalf is my brother-in-law. I was just having a little fun. We bought our macs together on the same day. I realize my little macbook that could is a few notches down from the mighty imac.

Click to expand...

yes, bow to the mighty iMac.
Bryan

scooter said:

jeffk27 said:

I'll bet my macbook could blow the doors off your imac, even with its fancy video card.

Specs aren't everything, my friend.

Click to expand...

what???? where did that come from??

Click to expand...

His MacBook has a Bomb in it!

lol. ok, i get it now.......