Do I need the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS w/512MB?

I'm looking at purchasing the 24" iMac. However, I'm wondering if I will need the higher end graphics card. I don't intend to do any gaming on the system, but will definitely use Aperture, iMovie and more than likely Final Cut Express for home movies. Will the ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO w/256MB card suffice or should I go for the updgrade? Thanks...

Just my 2cents worth...
At the moment I'd be tempted to go for the more powerful of the 2 cards (assuming the increase in cost is affordable of course). Why? [Snow Leopard|http://www.apple.com/macosx/snowleopard> (OS X 10.6):
OpenCL
Another powerful Snow Leopard technology, OpenCL (Open Computing Language), makes it possible for developers to efficiently tap the vast gigaflops of computing power currently locked up in the graphics processing unit (GPU). With GPUs approaching processing speeds of a trillion operations per second, they’re capable of considerably more than just drawing pictures. OpenCL takes that power and redirects it for general-purpose computing.
By getting the more powerful, you would hope to see great performance in Snow Leopard and help 'future proof' yourself a bit. (Note that no release date has been set for OS X 10.6 so it could be a long time before you get these additional benefits.)
And now for the disclaimer part... Apple have been known to scale back planned features in OS X so there's nothing to stop them from dropping OpenCL support in 10.6. They also haven't stated which graphics cards it will work with so this is very much a random punt in the dark! Edit: Even the bottom of the Snow Leopard page states "All features on this page are subject to change."

Similar Messages

Is the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS worth the money for Final Cut Express?

Hi,
I'm considering a new iMac 24, but not sure if the speedier on is worth the money.
Currently I use a MacBook Pro 2.2 for Final Cut Express with a 23" cinema (mostly DV, some HD) and that works okay, but won't play back in real time when I composit video.
Anybody know if the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS will help in that area?
Thanks,
KC

The speedier video card is great for 3D stuff, but it won't matter a wink for Final Cut Express, which barely makes use of the video card.
Keep in mind that Final Cut is using the CPU, not video card, to perform the editing, decoding, and encoding of the video. The only time the video card comes into play is during playback of the video, and any of the video options available for iMacs will handle that just fine.
When you composite video, the hard-disk throughput will start to come into play. The dinky 5400 RPM disk in your laptop will adversely affect the performance of that.

I am looking at buying a new iMac but not sure if I need the Nvidia Geforce GTX 680 MX 2GB or put the money into Memory I will not be gaming

I am looking at buying a new iMac but not sure if I need the Nvidia Geforce GTX 680 MX 2GB or put the money into Memory I will not be gaming
New to the iMac and apple

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
If you aren't going to use your Mac for anything special (Final Cut, Aperture, Photoshop, games...), you don't need that graphic card and you will save money.
Also, as it looks like you are going to buy the 27-inch iMac, I recommend you to buy the Mac with 8 GB of memory, and then, buy the memory that your iMac needs in OWC or Crucial (the iMac supports 32 GB of RAM) > http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/2012_27/DDR3L
Doing this, you will save a lot of money. Also, it won't void the warranty of the Mac. If you need help installing the RAM, see > http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5540

IMAC's NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS w/512MB up-to-date?

I am currently using a 20" IMAC and have been thinking about purchasing a new one.
I was curious to know "*NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS w/512MB GDDR3*" is a decent "UP-TO-DATE" card?
When looking at a list of NVidia's current cards available at http://www.nvidia.com/object/graphicscards_buynow.html - they list cards that have "*Maximum Memory Bandwidth*" of 103 up to 147 GB/s. with up to 1GB memory size!
This sounds allot better than the 57GB/s Max Memory that the IMAC card offers, which isn't even half of some the current cards.
Should I be waiting for the IMAC to get updated with better video cards? or is this the best card I am going to see for a while with IMACs?
Thank you in advance for any help given.
Message was edited by: Psychojkl

True, and those cards also cost $4-500. Nvidia has other cards with a similar memory bandwidth that they rate for extreme gaming. The GPU in the iMac is an on-the-board GPU which can provide reasonable performance at a reasonable price. It ranks about mid-way in Nvidia's 8-series of video cards. If you want something faster, then you need to move up to a Mac Pro. For the vast majority of iMac buyers the video performance is more than adequate. But if your software needs demand higher performance, then the iMac is not for you.

Photoshop CS4 Issues with the NVIDIA GeForce 8800?

I have an Mac Pro Intel 2 x 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Xeon with 6GB RAM running OS X 10.5.5 and an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT driving two monitors.
I just installed Adobe Photoshop CS4 fresh from a factory CD.
When I perform a Distort -> Lens Correction or do a Free Transform to rotate an image an arbitrary amount, and then follow that with a resize (tried 133% and 166%), the image ends up with a pattern of gray plaid overlaid -- especially visible in the darkest shadows. The pattern appears only on the rotated layers of an image.
This pattern persists if I quit and restart Photoshop, BUT -- there's no pattern visible if I open the same image in Photoshop CS3. It only appears in CS4.
This is easy to reproduce -- I just tried it with an image I created in Photoshop at 5x7" at 240dpi and filled with solid black.
I dropped a Bug Report to Adobe, and they wrote back suggesting "This is most likely an issue with your video card driver."
Anybody else out there having this issue? Anyone with an identical setup want to test this?
-=-Joe

sako75 wrote:
I'm seeing what you are talking about when viewing at 200% and up on my 300dpi images. I'm thinking that its the new pixel grid overlay for dialing in the details on the image.
No, that's not it. I can see it at 100%, and only on images that have been rotated and resized.
In fact, yesterday I rotated one layer under an unrotated layer, and only the rotated layer showed the plaid pattern.
And it's not a simple grid -- it's a real plaid-like gray, almost like stretch marks.
-=-Joe

Is the ATI Radeon HD 4870 quiter than the NVidia GeForce 8800 GT ?

My NVidia GeForce 8800 GT just died and I have the choice to have the same one installed or to to go for the ATI 4870. (Technically I prefer the ATI but my family would prefer the quieter one!)
My main concern is the noise. Is the 4870 quieter or noisier?

I haven't run Photoshop for hours on end or otherwise made such intensive use of my card but I don't hear the 4870 run at all, As the Hatter says there is a noise at startup but no more. I have never used the other card you mention to compare it.

Are the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 shipping, at all?

has ANYONE actually gotten a new 3.2 with an 8800 in it delivered to them?
I'm wondering if there is a major problem, or its just in short supply
i ordered a:
Two 3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeo
2GB (2x1GB)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb
Two 16x SuperDrives
AirPort Extreme Card (Wi-Fi)
I ordered it on Jan 8th...

We have some interesting numbers to share while we're waiting for our 8800 GT kit to arrive for our 3.2GHz. With the help of a second party who just received his 8800 GT equipped Mac Pro we have this:
3DMark06 overall rating with default settings and default tests:
Radeon HD 2600 XT under Vista 64 = 4894
GeForce 8800 GT under Windows XP = 13404
GeForce 8800 GTX under Vista 64 = 14242
I think the 8800 GT will be worth the wait.

Apple, please boost the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT!

Dear Apple, Im sure a lot of people have requested that somehow you look into this top notch video card, and why it doesnt perform like it should. Some people say its the drivers, some people say its just not built for the Pro applications, and some people say its amazing for games. I personally have not seen much improvement over the stock HD2600. On that note I have one monitor plugged up to the 8800 and the second to the 2600, correct me if im wrong but should that increase performance?
Well I hope you can provide some insight as to why, and how we can see the true potential of this card come out especially in the Pro applications. Apple, do whats right for your loyal customers and stop playing games.

Well,
3870?
Forget it.
The reflashed 4870 1 GB GPU works just fine for me tonight, this very night (I just looked and in my excitement I forgot that it is tomorrow here).
By far the fastest GPU in Boot Camp w/Vista Ultimate/32 I've ever installed (and I've previously installed the 8800 GT, the reflashed 8800 GTS, the reflashed 3870 and the reflashed 9800 GT).
The 4870 is the quiet one.
To be clear, I have an early 2007 Mac Pro (EFI32) and I've taken the time to test this new 4870 in OS X 10.5.6.
For OS X, I needed and obtained the 10.5.7 drivers from where I obtained the reflashed 4870:
http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/bruinmacsW0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQmdoZ
If you have an early Mac Pro, other solutions are out there, but this is one cool GPU!
You don't have to wait for Apple to make it available, either...
FYI...
Cheers,
tyvol

Upgrade the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT?

I upgraded to this card when I ordered the early 2008 MacPro, what is the upgrade to this card? Is it worth the cost, i.e., what improvements would I see compared to the current GPU?
*used for Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Illustrator, etc.
Thanks in advance,
Geoff

The drivers have improved, and if it does what you need, I'd wait.
http://www.apple.com/macpro/features/graphics.html
The only card that may offer some improvement is the ATI Radeon 4870.
http://www.barefeats.com/nehal06.html
Gaming helps show where it falls and how well it does:
http://www.barefeats.com/nehal07.html
http://www.barefeats.com/nehal05.html
Next up: Quadro FX4800 for $1600

Yet another problematic iMac 24" - 3.06Ghz - Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS

My iMac 24" (Early 2008) - 3.06Ghz - Model A1225 with the Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS card does not work properly.
I purchased my machine in September of 2008 and the issues began about four years later, in late sprin of 2012.
When the screen/display/video problems started, I got blue or pink screen startup failures, beachballing, crazy static lines through the screen, sometimes beeps or screen flickers. All of this started four years after buying it—and it is NOT unreasonable to expect a $3200 machine to last far more than four years.
When my machine stopped working I spent hours over doing diagnostics, reseating the RAM, a reinstall of the OS, all to no avail.
Digging for information on the Internet pointed to so very many other owners of this machine type having the same problem! But the cost to repair the card, as reported time time again, was close to $900. Angry and bitter, I boxed up my machine and started saving—and went back to using my 20” white G5 iMac (no problems with this machine, thank heavens!).
Is there any recall movement in effect? I don’t want to have to pay 900 or so dollars to repair a video card that is inherently defective!
Nvidia recently admitted to having produced lots of faulty Geforce cards for their laptops but also stated that there could be other products with similar faults (http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1045810/000119312508145974/d8k.htm). They have set aside about $150 million to redress the matter.
There is a UK forum dedicated to helping laptop owners with problematic Nvidia cards get help and they have started fielding quesitons from iMac owners, as well (
http://www.nvidiadefect.com/apple-imac-24-early-2008-imac8-1-defect-geforce-8800 -gs-t3813.html).
Is anyone else an unhappy owner of an early iMac 24" (Early 2008) - 3.06Ghz - Model A1225 with the Nvidia Geforce 8800 GS?

After a lengthy long-distance call to Apple Tech Support, both agents I spoke to told me that this is the first time they have heard about this issue. There are no repair protocols in place for this make and model of iMac with these issues.
I asked the senior of the two again, just to clarify, if this was the first time he heard about such a problem and he said yes. I then asked him if he knew the subject was being discussed here on the Apple Support Communities forum and he said that this forum is for users and is not used by them. I asked him if he thought it would make sense for Apple Techs to be up to date about common repair issues being discussed on Apple's own forums, and he said that he can't speak for Apple. I then asked him his opinion about the matter and he said, "I suppose so."
The "suppose so" line told that that I would get nowhere with him. I just hope the authorized repair center I visit is more up to date about this problematic iMac build that Apple's own Tech Support staff are.
Shame on you, Apple!

IMac Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS Drivers

I am running XP Professional via Boot Camp. I run XP so I can play America's Army since it is a Windows only based game. The problem I am having is when I expand Americas Army full screen it completely locks up my iMac and I have to hold down the power button to reset it.
I have been told by several people that the problem is from the Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS drivers. I tried to up date the graphics drivers from Apple's and Nvidia's website with the latest driver. When I try to install the graphics driver from the setup file, it gives me the following error.
"The NVIDIA Setup program could not locate any drivers that are compatible with your current hardware. Setup will now exit."
Here is the location where I downloaded the driver from.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp175.19whql.html
Here is a link to America's Army on the support forums.
http://forum.americasarmy.com/viewtopic.php?t=279590
Any help is appreciated.
Message was edited by: allen2680

Hey guys,
I encountered problems renaming the nv4 disp file that allen sent me (drivers still would not install)...so instead of replacing the original nv4 disp.inf file in windows, I opened the nv4 disp file allen sent me, copied the text, and pasted it in the original nv4 disp file in the NVIDIA folder after deleting the text of the original file and saved it...after that, the new drivers installed without a hitch...have yet to test whether or not the infinite loop is gone or not in Age of Empires 3 though...will keep u updated...thx for the file allen!

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT and 10.5.7

The OpenGL problems with the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT video appear to be fixed in 10.5.7.
No screen artifacts, no screen redraw issue so far.

Very nice. My 3d objects no longer turn white while painting on them or manipulating them, though painting into the surface appears to be considerably slower than it used to be.
edit: I have an m8600GT, but had OpenGL issues which are resolved nonetheless.

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT & OS X Server v10.5.

I just received and installed my NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT into a 1st Gen MacPro.
Works great in 10.5.2 Leopard but when I boot up to Leopard Server I get the grey restart screen!@#$
I put the old ATI video card back in and Server boots just fine!@##$
I tried the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT in two other slots and pulled out some other cards for fun, but no boot$#%^^&*&
Anybody else have this problem???
Calling Apple Tech Support now... I will post their answer soon.
Cheers

Hello and welcome to the Apple Discussion boards!
Well, the honest answer is that it will work but I think that quite a few 'features' might not be convenient/functional to use if you travel with the laptop.
There is nothing that stops Server from being installed on it. If it is just that this is your 'desktop' machine and normally does not leave the network it is currently attached to, it would be more than adequate. In other words, 'Tinkering' will be fine for this setup, but any type of 'serious' serving might overwhelm the HD (it is 'smaller', lower rotational speed, possible long term effects of 24 hour uptime use et al) but everything else will work as intended.
Peter

Graphics card memory NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB vs. 256MB

how much difference will i see between the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, and the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory??
i will be doing HD editing on FCP.
any input is appreciated!!
e

thanks..i went ahead with the higher RAM:
Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
15.4-inch glossy widescreen display
2GB memory
250GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB of GDDR3 memory
got a good deal on it today.
we'll seeeeeee......
e

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB vs. 256MB - MEMORY QUESTION

how much difference will i see between the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, and the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory??
i will be doing HD editing on FCP.

All FX Plug class effects in FCP will benefit with that beefier card. Also Motion and Color will benefit. You'll see a smother preview in Motion, and faster renders in Color. In FCP, you'll see more RT playback of unrendered effects if they are the FX class effects as well. Go with the beefier card. It will only serve you down the line too. The movement in software architecture is to offload CPU cycles to GPU cycles, and will continue to go that way as far as I can see, so the beefier card will pay for itself down the line too. Do it now, and it will cost less as well.
Jerry

Do I need the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS w/512MB?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for