[nJm]

I'm seriously contemplating getting a 15" MPB rather than a loaded MB at the moment due to the graphics cards, mainly for games, but was wondering if the extra vram in the 2.16ghz MBP makes much of a difference? The lowest spec 2ghz MBP isn't a huge leap over the black MB with edu pricing but the 2.16ghz model is.

Are there any reviews that outline the difference in games?

[donutogre]

i can't point to any reviews or anything, but i was reading on another message board where a user posted some positive comments regarding windows gaming on his 1.83 MBP, which has the 128mb graphics card. he said it ran HL2 well...it's not bleeding edge, but it is still a graphically demanding game.

so i'd say that if you are a serious gamer and want to really go for the bleeding edge, get the 256mb vram...for almost anyone else i imagine the 128 should be fine. i'm getting a 1.83 refurb today so i will be able to post my impressions soon

[nJm]

That will be great. I'm not a serious gamer, but there are some new games coming out for Windows this year that I'd love to play, including Star Trek Legacy, which looks to have amazing graphics.

[all2ofme]

www.barefeats.com has some comparisons of machines with different amounts of video RAM.

[sieb]

donutogre - I am contemplating getting the same refurbed MBP, I already started a thread about peoples impressions of the refurbs of the MBP's, so I would be VERY interested in hearing how yours turns out (were all the current problems fixed or not, screen details, etc..).

[nJm]

I can't find any benchmarks on barefeats with a MBP fitted with the 128mb video card, all theirs seem to have the 256mb version.

[all2ofme]

I meant a more general comparison of how much of a difference it makes. Here's one showing the difference it made between 64 and 128 on the Powerbooks:

http://www.barefeats.com/pb12.html

You can extrapolate some idea of the difference it'll make from that, I'd say.

Hmm, just noticed that you can't BTO the base MBP up to 256 any more.