SL on the new iMac aluminium

Hey folks !

I'd like to know about the experience using SL on the new iMac with 9400m Nvidia.

Currently I run the SL on my HP DV 6000 SE with a Nvidia 8400m.The experience is not exaclly perfect.

And Ive a desktop computer with a 8600 GT and SL running soo much good !

The question is:

My HP vs Imac : What will provide a better experience ?
My Desktop vs Imac : What will provide a better experience ?

do you mean the Macbook with the 9400M? The iMac doesnt have them yet...

I usually run SL on the 9600 in my Macbook Pro... and its nice and fast.. I have disabled it and used the 9400M and it still runs pretty good.. faster than my old MBP with a radeon x1600... but its not super duper fast... probably still a bit slower than the 8600s.

I'm with Missy. I run SL on my MBP (late 200 which is the newer MBP, unibody aluminum case. I run it almost exclusively using the "Higher Performance" setting, which uses the 9600m graphics. To be honest, I haven't yet tried it running on the "Bettery Battery Life" setting, which is the other graphics chip but I have heard, as Missy reported, that as long as you stay clear of highly textured area, or areas with loads of avies, you will be fine.

Running SL using the 9600m does heat the laptop up though, so I bought a lapdesk with a USB fan for use when I am plugged-in to AC power, which while at home, is most of the time anyway.

Bottom line: I am quite happy with its performance.

dont let it get too hot, there is a bug with the fan control on the MBPs where if you have used sleep, it often doesn't work right, and the fans will spin down really slow like 1000 rpm even if the temp is over 200F. If you reset the SMC it works ok until you use sleep again (reset it by turning the machine off, holding down the left side keyboard Shift+Ctrl+Alt and hit the power button, then let it all up and turn the machine back on). I just usually run SMCfancontrol and just adjust it myself if its getting too hot since the SMC bug likes to let you overheat.

I'm guessing you don't mean "sleep" by closing the lid on the laptop, since that's my typical method of stepping away from my compie. So far, my fans work just peachy. I read about the app called iStat and run that. When I am in SL, my fans speed-up to near 6000rpm and slow down once I'm out of SL.

Yes...is the MacBook with a 9400m the correct computer thsat Im talking about...


Also...I really need to know about the 9400m because Im sure that a 9600m really run faster.

I cannot buy a MBP because teh differece bw prices is really very high in my country.

So, any comments about the experience using this macBook are welcome

5 days later, but I can tell you my experience with the late-2008 MacBook.

I am running the 2.4GHz Model, 2GB RAM.

SL runs fairly well. In contrast to the older model MacBooks, all features are at least to some degree usable, but you will get low frame rates with settings all on high (around 5 FPS). I run with draw distance to 128, Shiny and Basic Shaders on, as well as Local Lighting. I set Objects, Avatar, and Terrain Details to high, and the rest to low. On average, with the Standard SL Viewer, I get about 10 FPS. With Kirsten's S16 Viewer, I get about 16 FPS.

Interesting side note, I have also been running Windows 7 Beta in Boot Camp. I see about 23 FPS on Kirsten's S16 on that OS, with the same settings.

Now, the good side of things: If you are the type that is comfortable with out all the pretty in SL, and you can live with running at low settings, the late-2008 MacBook will crank around 45 FPS with the Standard SL Viewer. That of course meaning, with pretty much everything either turned off or set to low.

Temperature-wise, it seems to generate less heat than the previous generation MacBook. I will say this, however: If you are any bit of a graphic artist, you may want to save your pennies for the MBP instead. In my experience, and that of everyone I have spoken with, the standard late-2008 MacBooks have a very 'washed out' screen. You can correct some of this with calibration, but it will still pale to the display of the previous generation MacBook, let alone the MBP.

Wow ! So...running W7 in a Mac the performance really increases ? Oh my ! Its totally unexpected

Im using W7 on my HP Dv6000 with 8400m - Using the MID default settings.My FPS is about 14.Id wish to enable some good stuffs like improved water and a bit more then 86m draw distance.If the 9400m can provide this..will be awesome !

closing does sleep yes, and the bug doesn't happen that often if you only use one video card, it only happens easy with a combination of sleep and switching video cards back and forth between the 9400 and 9600... I'm one of the few that actually switch mine a lot I guess.