Intel GMA 950 in the Mac Mini
new Mini with Intel GMA 950 + WoW = ??? - Mac ForumsBy all accounts the new Mac Mini is a great unit but there is a downside. In order to cut costs Apple have used an intergated graphics chip the Intel GMA 950. This means that the Intel Mac Mini will be a dog for games. With the form factor on the mini there is no way to upgrade.
That said who's going to buy a Mini to play games? As long as it plays back HD video well then it'll be a hit.
---update---
Another area to consider is that a medium to high-end graphics card would produce a ton of heat. That heat would be a real problem inside something as small as the Mini. With the Core Duo producing more heat than the G4 chip Apple obviously needed to make some changes in order to keep the overall heat envelope down. Add to that the addition of a faster HDD, the new Mini uses a 5400 or 7200 HDD which also produces more heat.
posted by Aline @ 1:45 pm
2 comments
2 Comments:
Well . . .
I've read that the Intel Graphics System is more powerful than the old 32MB ATI 9200 that was in the previous Mac Mini. Yeah, it's no screamer but I'm pretty sure it will do for most games, on a basic setting.
As for the H.264 playback, the Core Sole, even at 1.5ghz can handle 1080p. Surely this is all part of the plan?
GMA 950 is quick on paper. Problem is not much runs on paper. ;-)
The problem is that system ram is not as fast as dedicated video memory. Also the bus gets overloaded. This all makes intergated controllers slower. The 9200 is not stellar but it suffers less from these problems.
The 950 will be ok in low res.
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