New MacBook Pro Video card question...

On the new MBP, there are two options, one is 8600M GT w/256mb and the other one is 8600M GT w/512mb..is it worth extra almost $500? I know with that extra money, you'll get 2.5g processor instead of 2.4g and extra 50G HDD.

It depends on what you plan to do with it.

The most compelling reasons I can think of to go for the 512 are if you plan to do a good bit of gaming, either in OS X or through Bootcamp, if you are going to do a fair amount of HD video editing and/or 3D modeling/animation, and ultimately, to just future proof your machine that much more. Don't get me wrong though, the 256 is very capable from what I've seen. If you don't intend to do very much that relies heavily on the GPU then the 256 should even be more than enough.

Also, it's worthy of note that with that extra $500 you are also getting twice the L2 cache on your processor

Extra memory on a midrange card offers little to no tangible benefit in games. It's only when you get into the upper range where the increase in memory yields real world benefits.

However, if you plan on doing 3D modeling, then that extra memory comes in handy.

Thanks for the info guys...I think I'm gonna go with the 512mb option..I'm planning to keep this laptop for a long time..let u guys know when I get it..;D