Mac Mini's Graphics: Substandard to say the least. And Let's Thank Apple for the Mac Graphics Hardware Disaster
10-12fps on Unreal Tournamant 2k4? PATHETIC, even by pathetically low standards. Why don't they ask Apple's senior director of desktops, Tom Boger, if anyone should be interested in such marginal graphics ability. And soon enough ATI and already Nvidia will have hardware acceleration for mpeg4, so thats a wash as well. Sigh.
You know, if I see one more link to Macworld's 'breakdown' of the Mini's graphics abilities i'm going to go hurl- so many sites, including IMG has referenced it. Not to attack an established Mac entity, but the article once again just takes a nice easy glance over the true problem here (they tend to glance over a lot of things- no guts, no opinion). The original post on this topic was to address the greater situation of the entire mac graphics market. Attempting to be a gamer on your mac you learn really quick what you limitations are- and they outweigh the strengths by an order of magnitude. Limited performance is likely to change with the intel platform, but by how much? Again, we REALLY need to help Inside Mac Games get some traffic, there isn't a new game in sight on them pages. The benefit of no choices? You dont have to 'worry' about it. But what if I want to, huh Apple?
The point is, no one other than Apple it to blame. And even when I say blame, they are the origination point for the marginilization of this market. If Apple does not push the platform itself to lend itself to game development, why would anyone else follow? Going back to the original mac mini, this excerpt is from ATI's mac page:
"Radeon® 9200 delivers stunning graphics and comprehensive support for Mac enthusiasts, powering the ultimate visual experience for OS X and legacy OS 9 operating systems."
Don't know about you guys, but that doesnt really sound exciting, does it? Some will always argue "..it's a mini, why would you care about games- go buy a powermac" but that doesn't fly. We are talking 4 GENERATION OLD TECHNOLOGY. And many, many who wanted one, well, waited. And we are wating AGAIN. You do not impress anyone, even die-hards with this garbage - if you care enough anyways. Im not suprised if 2 revisions down the line the mini will get a X1600. That's about a year and a half away, right on schedule as far as Apple is concerned. For those of us well used to Apple's marketing tactics they will be touting a dedicated graphics card as a new feature for its future revisions. WOW! And that's not even a joke.
If Apple actually allows mac users to make our own graphics decisions, the market will grow. Like they say, if you build it they will come. But Apple refuses to build it- why be suprised if no one's coming. Choices, that's what its all about. For the dude who spent $3000+ on his monster Quad, having oh, about 2 choices for graphics upgrades is pretty pathetic, especially since they both come from only one manufacturer. Every year Apple plays the "who wants to deal with the mac market" game between ATI and Nvidia. Nvidia didnt even care enough to bring out anything- they just sold Apple the keys to the car. Granted, the conversion to PCI-Express only on the newest models didnt help, so I guess they get some slack for that. Some. Sigh. Look at the mac's first true "workstation card", the Quadro Fx. No one can use it. Not one AGP workstation card. Again, Apple Shot themselves in the foot, but we are the ones getting hurt. For all of the AGP macs, including my precious dual 2.5 G5- still KING- bringing out such a card would mean instant sales because the market already exists- and it's starving to death. But ATI can bring out a goddamned Radeon "Special Edition" Card and sell it to us for 150 bucks, even though in the real market it's only worth like $50. And if that junk doesn't sell, they claim there is no market. Idiots, all of them.
Thanks a lot Apple.
posted by ashmadux aka "Stevie Jobz" @ 2:18 PM
6 Comments:
Stop your whining. Cheap computers have stinky graphics. Mac Mini's are for typing email, surfing the web, and other light duty activities. This is not and was never intended to be a gamer's dream machine. It'll play scrabble, cards, and other games your mother would like.
It's not whining.. It's pure frustration.. I understand it. As a user, shareholder, and consultant, it's giving me a frackin ulcer!
Before the mini, no mac had such crappy graphics... we pay more for Macs, because they're supposed to be better, remember?
No one is saying that a $599 mini should come with X1900 graphics. That'd be just as retarded as Apple limiting us to the crappy Intel Integrated Graphics.
However, if this is the entry level into the MacOS X universe.. if it's supposed to have any chance of grabbing Windows consumer switchers.. this is a sad attempt. Why? Windows consumers like to play games.
The lack of a BTO option, a PCI-E slot to improve on the mini's included crappy graphics is negligent on Apple's part... There should be a consumer Mac that at the minimum allows the user to pick a decent graphics card BTO... PCI-E slot would be better, but at this point, beggars can't be choosers!
I have 3 clients right now that would buy a mini, if it offered an option for better graphics... One client wants TWO.. one as a media PC in the living room, and one in the den, to replace an aging Dell, that's had its ram and graphics card upgraded twice since the PC was purchased...
Shrug.
Hell, I'd buy an Intel mini as a game/movie/podcast/DVR PC if it had better graphics.. (my office is fully loaded with PB G4, PM G5, and a PPC mini)
I will hold out hope that a rev b Intel mini addresses this issue.
smlaws:
wow dude you sound just like (the real) steve jobs. "Dont need it, so just go buy something much more expensive and good luck to you."
That's the reason for this rant- it's mac users like you that just thinks everyone else is a crybaby and who needs options anyways. Small companys like Alienware sole mission is to bring higher end-options to gamers- so a company lik eapple with BILLIONS, yes BILLIONS in the bank cant give me BTO?
Speaking of that, what is a mac gamer's dream machine? how about a mid level machine, taking into account the performance differences(between mac and pc) of usually about 50 margins? Huh buddy?
Why cant you enjoy an old game like farcry on your mac? Have you noticed that we don't even get ports anymore?
Didn't think so. They won't even keep the zealots happy, and I just finished filling out my mac zealot application.
-ed aka "Stevie Jobz"
It is a low end computer. Grow Up.
They should have the option to purchase a version with upgraded graphics. I wouldn't be surprised if that version easily outsells the pathetic version they have now.
Shared graphics are horrible, i bet the current mini won't even support all of the options on the next rev os osx.
*In addition to that, I think that the GMA950 also offloads a few GPU tasks to the CPU.
Apple is prob. saving TONS of money on the GMA. Most likely getting a volume deal from Intel.
I'm no ATI expert, but prob. no reason why the mini can't have a 9600, 9700, x300 or x1400 with 64-128mb SDR or DDR1 to still be good + ~cheap.
(Ex.: you can get an x300 or x1400 in a $1k Acer or Lenovo laptop)
Apple prob. wanted to make sure Minis were networked, which is why Wifi card & higher prices.
I too would prefer better, if lower end, graphics and no standard wifi/bluetooth to get a $500-ish mini.
Apple should really have a set policy that Minis get graphics x steps below an iMac, or iBook, BUT no lower than that.
(--Ex.: The upcoming iBook will prob. get graphics 1 step down from the MacBookPro's x1600 128 GDDR3.)
Products must always be properly stratified so that nobody really feels shat upon; at the same time not paying too much attention to career whiners.
-Will, http://metavitae.com
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