My iMac buying debacle.. comparing graphics cards

Question

Hello,
I have a dilemma and I am seeking guidance from you smart apple people. I am looking at either acquiring my father's 24" iMac or buying one used on ebay and I am not very familiar with graphics cards.
So I want a 24". Not only because I think its the perfect size but because I get a discount at work of 20% if the monitor is 24 inchs or less. I do mostly photo editing and processing along with web browsing. I also like playing videogames but have not done much of this on my 2007 macbook 13" (black). Basically the games I am looking to run would be like cod4, cod4 mw2 or bf3 on mac (if released) or windows partition via bootcamp. This is where I am unsure of which graphics card to get, I am not to familiar with the cards and would like to get an imac that would last me many years down the road.
So here are the stats from my dads older (early 2009) iMac 24": Nvidia GeForece 9400 256MB, 2.66 Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB DDR3, 640 GB HD
Would that be sufficient for those games or should I go for something used with the top graphics card from 2009 (24inch) models?
For example I found some 24inch models that meet my other criteria (640+ GB HD, 4+ RAM) on ebay with these cards for about $1000, plus or minus $300.
•NVIDIA Geforce GT 130 512 MB VRAM
Ati Radeon HD 4850 video card
Thanks for the advice!!

Answer 1

Basic rules of 3D gaming on a Mac.
1: Only the MacPro can the video card be switched for a better one, if you can find one.
2: 3D video games are dedicated graphics card dependent, integrated graphics (CPU does the graphics) are terrible for most every 3D game as it's not as powerful as a GPU, but good enough for the basics.
3: When you buy a Mac and intend to 3D game, buy the most powerful model with the most powerful dedicated video card possible. This allows you to 3D game longer, as newer games always need a newer card.
4: All in one Mac's like the iMac are so-so at 3D gaming, because of their heat issues in their closed case, CPU and GPU are hobbled if the temperatures rise.
5: You must have deep pockets to 3D game on a Mac, as your hardware turnover is faster and the prices for Mac's are premium. Also since a lot of games only for Windows, you have to buy Windows $300 as well.
6: Windows has a larger market share, also 3D gamers towers that plenty of video cards can be replaced with, better cooling systems, tricks and overclocking and so forth to extract maximum performance out of 3D games.
So perhaps just get what you need for the job at hand, and get a Windows 7 3D gaming tower instead, where you can replace the video card.
The fastest Windiows 7 tower is twice as fast as the fastest Mac.
http://www.cbscores.com/index.php?sort=ogl&order=desc
If you can't afford another computer, then a Playstation will give you plenty of 3D action and people online to play with.