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trip · Mar 16, 2005, 10:43 PM

I am trying to determine if it's worth having the 128 vram on the 15 inch powerbook. It's optional. Does the full 128 get used all the time or is 64 dedicated to one monitor only ? I am not a techie so if anyone knows please do tell. I get the impression the 128 is intended for people to enable dual monitors, but I'd like to know if it will help video game peformance without dual...

Thanks in advance... ?

anamexis · Mar 16, 2005, 11:41 PM

trip, all 128MB will be dedicated to the screen if there is only one screen plugged in, and will be split between two if you plug another in.

As for buying it, its a matter of preference. Search the forum and you will see other similar threads. Increasing the VRAM will give your PowerBook longer life (that is, it won't become obsolete as fast). It is important to remember that you cannot upgrade the VRAM. However, unless you are doing pretty video-intensive stuff, the extra VRAM may very well not be worth it. Take a look at what other people are saying and then decide for yourself.

iREZ · Mar 17, 2005, 12:14 AM

it's better if you tell us what you plan on doing with your Powerbook. That way we could tell you if it's worth it or not.

trip · 01:21 AM

thanks for the answer anamexis...

to iREZ:
I currently use a G3 bberry 600 at home and a pc 800 at work.
I will only use the apple laptop for 3 things:

1. Programming in LISP
2. Writing
3. Minimal video gaming (I have an Xbox so it's not a biggie)

I'm pretty sure one does not need more than 64 unless your video gaming (or high end graphix), but when you buy a laptop I figure you should go high end since you can not upgrade, I mean who knows if the coolest game could come out next month for mac only and it may require 128 right - I was more concerned that even if I went all out I still may not be able to play that game.

You know - now that I think about it - the likelyhood of a kick ass game coming out on a mac, that's not on xbox and that the game is worth buying a high end machine for..? hmm
maybe I should stick with waiting for the new ibook after all.

Once again thanks for the answers.

tictactoe · Mar 17, 2005, 02:07 AM

If you are doing very minimal gaming on your laptop, do you mind if you can't run it at a higher resolution? I have the 15" with 64mb of VRAM and I can run UT2K4 pretty well, but that's with textures dialed down alot. I still run it at desktop resolution though (1280*854).

The reason I didn't go with the 128mb of VRAM was because I couldn't justify the price even though this is my only computer. If I decide to do alot of computer gaming, I'll go build a desktop PC.

iREZ · Mar 17, 2005, 02:23 AM

if you wanna game one year down the road, then get the 128 option, you wont regret it. the rest is no biggie when it comes to VRAM so don't even think twice about it. if you wanna really game with your PB (i dont suggest) then get the 128MB, also if you want to use an external display down the road (this way you'll have 64MB per screen). other than that, don't even bother.

Dr.Michael · Mar 17, 2005, 07:37 AM

Originally posted by trip:
I am trying to determine if it's worth having the 128 vram on the 15 inch powerbook. It's optional. Does the full 128 get used all the time or is 64 dedicated to one monitor only ? I am not a techie so if anyone knows please do tell. I get the impression the 128 is intended for people to enable dual monitors, but I'd like to know if it will help video game peformance without dual...

Thanks in advance... ?

128 MB vram gives you more choice with external monitors. Check the max resolution and color depth for the 128 mb version and the 64 mb version and you will find differences. The 128 supports more pixels at higher color depths.

The second reason I can imagine is a guess. Gaming experts, please correct me:
The second advantage is framerates when you play fast ego shooters. More memory usually allows higher framerates because the gpu can start calculating the next frame before the last has been displayed. More memory allows to buffer frames in memory.
Thus quality can also be enhanced in very fast movements.

acmca · Mar 18, 2005, 09:42 PM

I changed out the 64mb 15" for one with 128mb - good thing CompUSA has changed their return policy. I was able to return it and buy the other direct from Apple.
Makes quite a difference playing World of Warcraft. 64mb was pretty herky jerky, 128mb is fairly liveable - not perfect, but liveable. Dunno if that is a standard for you or not, but I have never had reason to regret the extra $100.

trip · Mar 18, 2005, 11:30 PM

World of warcraft sounds awesome, the website claims the min requirement for the game is 32. I am thinking that your performance lag is more likely due to bad connection ? more than vram, but then again if you say it made a noticable difference - something must be better.hmm...

Thanks everyone.

anamexis · Mar 19, 2005, 12:43 PM

A bad connection would only be the difference between a picture and no picture at all. Even though the minimum listed is 32MB VRAM, it is a pretty graphics-heavy program and will definitely benefit from the extra VRAM.

olePigeon · Mar 19, 2005, 09:41 PM

Originally posted by trip:
I am trying to determine if it's worth having the 128 vram on the 15 inch powerbook. It's optional. Does the full 128 get used all the time or is 64 dedicated to one monitor only ? I am not a techie so if anyone knows please do tell. I get the impression the 128 is intended for people to enable dual monitors, but I'd like to know if it will help video game peformance without dual...

Thanks in advance... ?

I think you'll appreciate the 128MB of memory when Tiger ships. That is, if you plan to take advantage of Core Image. Otherwise, there's no huge difference.