[tricha6]

Is there any objective way to measure the differences between GMA 950 and the Nvidia GeForce 5200Go (the video card in the 12 in Powerbook)?

TIA.

[mduell]

With a benchmark?

They're about the same, varies by game/app; GMA950 is slightly ahead in 3Dmark.

[tricha6]

mduell,

Thanks, I know what benchmarks are, but a. I haven't seen any comparing the two directly, so if you know of one please let me know; I'm sure I'm missing one; and b. what to benchmark? pixel shading, or some other function? I don't really understand the depths of all that a video card does (i.e. supposedly the GMA 950 is very good for HD video, why? and is it better than the Nvidia?).

So I guess I'm looking for some site or answer that explains a little of this stuff. Haven't found one via Google, and thought this forum might be a good resource.

[joe]

While it isn't a direct comparison, Barefeats posted benchmarks of the revC 12" PB (1.33GHz) with Go5200 in this link (game benches only):
Rev B Aluminum PowerBooks versus Power Macs

And here Barefeats posted a comparison of MacBook vs MacBook Pro:
MacBook 13" versus MacBook Pro 15/17

If you're a 3D or action gamer, the "slower" 12" PB outperforms the MacBook - sometimes by an embarrassing margin. However, this didn't stop me from buying the 2GHz BlackBook that I'm typing on now I have a G5 Tower here that I use for games. My MacBook is just way more convenient to carry around.

I'm hoping that Apple at some point releases a 13" MacBook "Pro" model with faster graphics. Similar to the 12" iBook vs 12" PowerBook graphics chips. While it's not a deal breaker for me, I'm disappointed that my 13" MacBook has such an underpowered graphics chip.