[RonnieoftheRose]

I'm deciding whether I need the new 12" or 15" models. Currently I have a Rev A Alu 17". It does everything I need pretty well but I'm starting to use the iLife and iWork apps more now for DVD presentation so I'd like to see an increase in encoding and burning times. The 15" has a faster CPU but 1.5ghz is sufficient as I'm using 1ghz at the moment. Both models have the same speed HDD and DVD-RW. The screen size is not so much of a problem as I use iLife apps are one at a time and they look good even on a 12" screen.

The only question I can think of is does the Geforce 5200 support Core Image, Core Video and all the Dashboard effects? I know the 9700 is better but I don't game or need 128MB VRAM.

Another question on the side, was there anything stopping Apple from using the 5700 Ultra in the 12"?

[hldan]

Originally posted by RonnieoftheRose:
I'm deciding whether I need the new 12" or 15" models. Currently I have a Rev A Alu 17". It does everything I need pretty well but I'm starting to use the iLife and iWork apps more now for DVD presentation so I'd like to see an increase in encoding and burning times. The 15" has a faster CPU but 1.5ghz is sufficient as I'm using 1ghz at the moment. Both models have the same speed HDD and DVD-RW. The screen size is not so much of a problem as I use iLife apps are one at a time and they look good even on a 12" screen.

The only question I can think of is does the Geforce 5200 support Core Image, Core Video and all the Dashboard effects? I know the 9700 is better but I don't game or need 128MB VRAM.

Another question on the side, was there anything stopping Apple from using the 5700 Ultra in the 12"?

The 12" Powerbook ships with the Geforce 5200 go because it's designed like most small screen notebooks, it's for business portability. The 5200 go is on the list for Core image and video, however it's at the botom of the list so it's right on the cusp.
The 15" is designed to balance out the 17" and the 12" while maintaining a great graphics card and all the 17" features. It's best to have the best graphics solution in your notebook for longevity and more video memory will definitely make a difference when it comes to Tiger's imaging features.
The 12" will be limited in core image and video due to the Geforce 5200 go.

The reps at Macworld mentioned that select graphics cards are not on the Mac yet due to unavailable drivers which may be the reason for Apple not offering the Geforce 5700.

[RonnieoftheRose]

Originally posted by hldan:

The 12" will be limited in core image and video due to the Geforce 5200 go.

The reps at Macworld mentioned that select graphics cards are not on the Mac yet due to unavailable drivers which may be the reason for Apple not offering the Geforce 5700.

Which Core features won't be available on the 5200? I don't want to miss out on any of the real time filters which might be incorporated in the next version of the iLife suite. Also, Nvidia drivers are generally unified to work across their range of GPUs and the 5200 has the same features as the 5700, right?

[hldan]

Originally posted by RonnieoftheRose:
Which Core features won't be available on the 5200? I don't want to miss out on any of the real time filters which might be incorporated in the next version of the iLife suite. Also, Nvidia drivers are generally unified to work across their range of GPUs and the 5200 has the same features as the 5700, right?

Sorry for the slight misinformation. I was generalizing about the Geforce 5200 since it is the entry GPU that qualifies to be used with Tiger's Core image features especially since it's a notebook gpu.
At Macworld I actually spoke to the ATI representative about the Radeon X800 (Mac edition) and asked him as to why there are so many more models of gpu's for Windows vs. Mac and why can't I just buy any model card and stick it in my PM G5?
He said that it's much different creating drivers for Mac OSX then Windows and that it takes longer for them to create them. I think he was blowing smoke at me to get pass the fact that gaming is more popular on Windows machines as to why more gpu's are available.
Nvidia didn't make it to Macworld so again, I was just generalizing to answer the posters question.

[Big Mac]

hidan is making the point that while the 5200 is supported, it's the lowest card on the list. According to this Arstechnica thread the 5200 will support Quartz 2D Extreme but not CoreImage. CoreImage is the new OS feature that provides high quality effects.

[RonnieoftheRose]

Originally posted by Big Mac:
hidan is making the point that while the 5200 is supported, it's the lowest card on the list. According to this Arstechnica thread the 5200 will support Quartz 2D Extreme but not CoreImage. CoreImage is the new OS feature that provides high quality effects.

Still not enough detail. If the 5200 is a programable GPU why won't it support the Core effects, and what exactly are it's limits, what does it support?