MacBook Pro :: 330m 256mb Versus 512 Mb?
Dec 31, 2010
So I just sold my MB and am going to be upgrading to a MBP. I have been reading up on the current ones and have seen that almost everyone reccomends going with the 15" 2.44ghz vs the 2.66, as the ~$400 difference is not justified. What still sways me towards the higher end 15" is that the 330m has 512mb vs the 256mb in the base model. I will be using it for games such as The Sims 3, Civilizations, and SC II. I will also be using PS as well. Will I notice a huge performance difference between the 512 and the 256?
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Apr 25, 2010
I had the the 27" iMac with the ATI and I just recently ordered the 15" i7 MBP with the 330M (512MB). Knowing mostly nothing about graphics cards or computer gaming, but wanting to get a few games for my MBP, I'd like to know how the 330M compares to the Radeon HD 4670. I intend to get Orange Box for Mac when Steam's out and the Mac version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. My only experience gaming on the iMac was a Bioshock demo that ran modestly on mostly medium settings. So in comparing the two graphics cards, I'd like to get a sense of what to expect.
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Apr 13, 2010
I only have a rudimentary understanding of OpenCL, so hopefully the premise of this question makes sense: Comparing the 2 possible graphics cards configurations for the new 15" MBP, would having the 512MB Nvidia 330M instead of the 256MB one mean that OpenCL in OSX will be able to extract more power to facilitate the overall speed of the system?
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May 28, 2010
I currently got a late 2008 MBP with the 9600M with 512 Mo VRAM.
I got sick of that glossy screen and that's why I've stepped towards the i5 Anti glare.
Anyway I'd simply like to know if I'm about to loose some perf with the new GPU having only 256 Mo VRAM compared to my old 9600 with 512.
Concretely, I'll be playing Starcraft 2 on my MBP's screen, so no external screen and huge resolution.
Do you think it'll be better with the i5 spec ? Same ? Worse ?
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Apr 13, 2010
I am not really a gamer on my laptops, is there any other reason I would want 512 vs. 256? Can OS X tap that memory for other functions? I just do programming, web dev, virtual machines, email, office, etc.
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Sep 28, 2009
I am looking too use Photoshop CS4 and was wondering if it is worth the upgrade to NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 256MB or should I just stick with the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M.I am not able too spend any more than the 1999.00 price point so these are my only two options. I need the portability of a laptop otherwise I would go with the iMac. I am sorry if this has been asked before,
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Jun 4, 2010
what will the difference be on the high res screen with the 256mb vs 512mb vram? this includes gaming, daily tasks, and movie watching (includes HD movies)
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Jan 2, 2011
Can it be done? Haven't seen anything leading me to believe so but I thought I might try.
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May 5, 2010
My 2.4ghz i5 MBP runs a lot better when using discrete graphics. Minimizing and maximizing windows, scrolling, opening folders etc... all run smoother with the 330M. Is there a way to always run the 330M when plugged in, and switch to automatic graphics switching when unplugged? This would be the perfect solution for me.
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Aug 26, 2010
I'm thinking of getting a new MBP, but want to be able to play MMORPGs like Warhammer Online or similar games coming out. Can anyone speak to first hand experience with the various 15" MBPs with i5 or i7? With 256MB GT 330M vs 512 MB? I would love to be able to get the 13", but I'm sure that video card won't make it happen.
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Dec 24, 2010
Right now, I have a 2009 MBP with 2.66 core 2 duo and the 256MB 9600gt. I am looking to buy a 17 inch i5 with the 512MB 330m. With regards to gaming under bootcamp, how much better is the 330m to the 9600gt? Will I notice a big difference in my games or will it be barely noticeable? I tried to play black ops under bootcamp and it was barely playable.
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May 4, 2010
Standard bootcamp drivers are quite old so I went to upgrade the drivers from nVidia.com; I noticed that nVidia doesn't support the 330M under its driver page, am I to assume the 330M is an Apple specific part? Will nVidia support the 330M in an upcoming release?
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Sep 14, 2010
Before there was a discussion on a couple of apps people had written that show in the status bar whether you're using the Intel HD or Nvidia 330M on an i5/i7 macbook. I now have an i7 MBP but can't find the thread anywhere (tried MRoogle too!).
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Apr 23, 2010
I know a couple guys in the MBP refresh gaming thread were able to overclock using Nvidia Tools. I'm not having any luck; the sliders are grayed out and I can't make any changes with system tools 6.06. I've also got errors when trying to install Nvidia drivers other than the ones included with Bootcamp. What driver/system tools version are you using to OC? And what settings have you tried? (I'm on Windows 7 64bit).
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May 30, 2010
I would first like to start off with the disclaimer that I am not good at writing guides and I am also not a pro with overclocking but here is my attempt at both. Also I am not liable for damages to your computer and ask fobis has mentioned each gpu even if they are the same may overclock better or worse then the next. So take my overclocking numbers for what they are worth. Experiment and try it out on your own.
Note: This guide assumes your running Windows 7 64bit, and also it assumes that you are new to overclocking.
-------------------------------GUIDE------------------------------
1.First make sure you have a copy of windows installed through bootcamp.
2.Then go ahead and install the drivers that came with bootcamp ( we won't be using the gpu drivers but the rest are going to be useful anyway so might as well go ahead and install them )
3.After you have all that you will want to go here to get a modified driver. This will give you better performance then the bad drivers that apple supplies it will also let you overclock the gpu
4.After you have downloaded both the driver and the INF file open up the driver and it will extract the files to the directory that you choose. It will also try to launch the install but it will fail saying something like " no compatible hardware found " ignore this for now.
5.Now take the INF file and copy it to the folder that the driver was extracted too. It will ask you if you want to overwrite the file just say yes.
6.Now open up the device manager by right clicking on my computer, selecting properties, this should open a new window and on the left there should be something that says device manager.
7.Under the tab that says "display adapters" select the only device that shows up on that tab. Right click it and choose uninstall.
8.After you have done that it will likely mess up your resolution and set it too 800x600 don't worry this is normal. Now just restart your computer.
9.Once you have restarted when it starts back up it will say new hardware found. Now you have to choose to install it manually choose the option that says something along the lines of " search for drivers in specified area "
10.Now it will take you to a new page and on that page there should be an option that says "have disk" choose this and select the directory that you extracted the driver too earlier in this guide. It should find one of the files that it can use and install it just fine.
11.You will need to restart again once this is done but when you start back up your resolution should be fixed if not just right click and hit screen resolution and just change it back to the native resolution.
12. Download Nvidia system tools found here
13. Go ahead and install this it should be self explanatory.
14. Once it is installed open the program and go to the performance tab on the left. ( It might ask you to agree to some terms of use )
15. Just put in these numbers and hit apply
646 for the first one
864 for the second one
and 1314 for the third one
Now your done if your paranoid like me of overheating your computer you can also optionally download and install LubbosFanControl to max out your fans to keep it as cool as possible.
Enjoy your faster GPU!.
----------------------BENCHMARKS-----------------------------
Before OC:
Furmark
Points:912
FPS: min=13 max=22 avg=15
Crysis: 24.89
Unigine Sanctuary Demo (run with everything on defuilt excapt resolution turned down to 1280x800 )
DX10:24.9fps (score:1057)
OpenGL: 23.2 (score:982)
Unigine Tropics Demo: (run with everything on defuilt excapt resolution turned down to 1280x800 )
DX10:18fps (scores 452)
OpenGL:16.3 (scores 410)
Unigine Heaven Demo:
DX10:14.8fps (scores 372)
OpenGL:12.6fps (scores 317)
3DMark06:5975
3DMark Vantage: P2294
After OC:
Furmark
Points: 1081
FPS: min=16 max=26 avg=18
Crysis: 33fps
Unigine Sanctuary Demo (run with everything on defuilt excapt resolution turned down to 1280x800 )
DX10: 31.2fps (scores: 1322)
OpenGL: 28fps (scores: 1211)
Unigine Tropics Demo: (run with everything on defuilt excapt resolution turned down to 1280x800 )
DX10: 21.7fps (scores: 546)
OpenGL:19.8 (scores:498)
Unigine Heaven Demo:
DX10:15.7(scores:395)
OpenGL: 16.2(scores:408) WTF? OpenGL wins? lol
3DMark06:6994
3DMark Vantage: 2922
Notes: Crysis was run at 1280x800 everything on medium excapt physics on very high
Another note: The highest GPU temp underload from Crysis got up to about 78C after about 15mins of running the game. Furmark got the temp up to 80C though after about 15mins also.
I have also played TF2 at max settings @ 1920x1200 for over 2 hours to test stability and it ran fine without any hiccups
Also I feel that this card can be pushed further then this ( I have not tried ) but from what I see it cools a lot better then I expected from a laptop I come from a world of desktop overclocking.
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Jun 1, 2010
The 9400M was in older Macbook Pros and I've seen many videos where people run crysis on high/very high and have pretty good FPS. The laptops arent as fast as the newer ones, but yet my MBP (specs down below) which is faster, can only run crysis on medium at around 30 FPS, unless i wanted 5 FPS with high. The only reasoning for this, to me at least, is that the 330M chip is not as good. Is this the case? If so, why the hell did the graphics chip get downgraded? Here is a link to one of the vids I was talking about: [URL:....] This guy is using the demo for his vid. when i use the demo, it doesnt even give me the option of using very high settings, and when i'm on high, my screen flashes in and out, i get random lines across the screen, and then my computer freezes.
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Jun 29, 2010
Is there a significant difference between the new nVidia 330m Graphics against the older 9600 cards found in the slightly older MacBook Pros (i am talking about both having 512RAM) not really bothered about the auto-switching deal as i will be Windows frequently for Gaming and using Snow Leopard for University work, oh and as a side note, will the i5/i7 make much difference when gaming (more specifically Modern Warfare 2 and Gears of War),
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Jul 2, 2010
I'd like to know how many over clock their 330M and how much. Somebody without Windows, who hardly ever plays any kind of game probably doesn't over clock but there are probably many that do play but still don't over clock. The only game I am playing now is Modern Warfare 2 and over clocked the 256mb 330M offers about 25% more performance. That is the difference between 25 and 30 fps. I found that temps don't really rise. At default the GPU reaches about 70C and the CPU around 50 (idle is 32-40). Over clocked 645/808/1451 it avg 73C and CPU is a little lower on 48-49C because the fans work a little harder while the CPU has the same amount of work. That sounds pretty cool to me and I didn't even test any higher, because usually a notebook GPU is a cool chip that over clocks well as long as it is cool enough, and desktop GPUs on the same silicon sometimes run standard on almost 90C. The max temps are higher with 82C which it reaches after game start for a short period until the cooling really kicks in. There is no fan control prog running. That is a 30% increase in clock speed with almost no increase in temps.
I don't know how to read out fan speeds in windows but I don't notice the fans from in the loud gameplay anyway. What are your clocks?? I don't like benchmark tools as they don't determine what matter really to me. I know with furmark I get higher temps but I am not running furmark for fun ever. I play CoD. I used in the game (Call of Duty MW2) in Act 2 of the campaign the misson "of there own accord" because it is probably one of the hardest with the lowest min framerates. I get stock 24-25 fps running outside and min 22. Inside it is 33-60fps. Over clocked it is 28 min 30-31 outside and 38-120 indoors. I use native res (high res) but no AA and no soften smoke edges because it kills performance in some scenes and I don't see the difference. Everything else is on the maximum I can switch it to and the textures are high. AA is only missing in some levels with high contrast where edges start flickering a lot but in general I prefer the higher res over AA. It is just more detail and easier to see the enemy.
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Oct 25, 2007
So I have a 1.8ghz dual G5 with 3gb of ram for work. I mainly work in Adobe CS and do a far amount of Photoshop work. At any given time I may have all of Adobe CS plus Office and a few other apps running -- and a gazillion fonts. Went to the store and saw the new 24" iMac. How would a new iMac compare to my late '04 1.8DP G5? On that same note, how would a new MacBook Pro compare to the above?
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Nov 23, 2010
Just got the new office 2011 which I use every day for university, primarily the powerpoint program for presentations and note-taking. Today I noticed that my battery drained more quickly than usually and found out that I use the nvidia 330M when powerpoint is open. Just did some research and neither word or excel makes the MBP use the 330M. Only powerpoint. Is there any way to force the intel gfx on all the time? Or at least when running on battery?
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Dec 29, 2010
I googled and couldn't find the Tjunction for the GPU.
Mine went as high as 90c / 194f. When I play games it usually stays around 86c / 186.8f with the fans in overdrive.
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May 5, 2010
My new MBP 2010 won't use Intel HD graphics, it seems stuck on the 330M graphics card with no programs running at all. I also checked the power saver option for auto-switching graphics.. What to do?
It worked before I calibrated the battery, but today when using the MBP for the first time since calibrating it won't switch.
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May 11, 2010
I just got my first MacBook and just draining the battery for the first time (seems to be something like 5-6 hours while surfing and playing music via the speakers, so far I'm quite happy). But I've noticed that the 330m is running all the time due to Skype. I checked with gfxCardStatus and when I close Skype the battery time increases nearly an hour.
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Aug 22, 2009
So what do you think? Is anyone else here using Snow Leopard having less RAM being reported in Activity Monitor? Is this a bug, or is the RAM being used by the OS?
PS. Yesterday I posted this thread here but a moderator merged it with the thread I'd posted in the MacBook Pro forum. If this is felt to be necessary in this thread. However, I do believe that the place for this thread is in the Mac OS X forum. The thread in the MBP forum was posted when I thought that the problem was with my MBP but it now seems clear that the problem is with Snow Leopard, hence the different threads (And if the threads were to be merged, it'd make more sense to merge the other one into this, in my opinion).
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Jun 30, 2010
Ive recon that when having your MBP's GT330M turned on, you can't play YouTube-videos in full-screen, my screen just turns white, and nothing happens.. Then you have to ESC yourself outta there..
The funny thing is that if you use the Intel HD Graphics processor, it works fine, but it gets very laggy if you have 720p res..
Is there anyone else having this problem?
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Jan 15, 2009
is it possible to add another monitor to a Imac with the 256MB graphics card on it?
The system will have 4gb Ram.Is this graphic card strong enough or is it better to get the 512MB one?can I easily run lets say... dvd encore, premiero pro type of software?
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Nov 2, 2009
I'm looking for a new monitor to go with my MBP, and I'm stuck trying to choose between the ones listed above.
The 2407WFP is a couple of years old now I guess, but it's the rev A04 version, which supposedly fixed the (few) problems with what was otherwise meant to be a great screen. It's an sPVA screen.
I've heard good reviews of the G2410, with its LED backlighting. It's still a TN panel and I hear so much bad stuff about them.
The 2209WA is an eIPS panel which I like the sound of, but it's smaller and lower resolution.
The F2380 is a cPVA panel, the image quality looks better but I've heard bad things about blacks on this panel.
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Mar 9, 2008
for some reason ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics with 256MB card doesnt support 1920x1200 under windows vista via bootcamp and only picks up the dvi on one of the 2 dvi.
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Mar 16, 2008
I am wondering if it's possible to use a GeForce 6600GT 256mb AGP card in this machine?
I have this card from another machine that a friend gave me. It was out of a PC, but is a perfectly good card, and would be an upgrade to the 64mb GeForce FX5200 card that's currently in the G5 we have.
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Oct 24, 2007
Will a NY GeForce 6200 256MB Graphics Card work on mac with a PCI slot?
Information:
Mac OS X (10.3.8)
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