GeForce4 Go ... WTF?
So Apple's 12 and 17 inch PowerBook G4s have GeForce4 420 Go and 440 Go chips, respectively. Apple, what the hell were you thinking?
The PowerBook G4 was, up until this point, one of the best portable gaming rigs you could get on any platform. I mean it.
Sure, you could spend a gajillion dollars on an Alienware Area 51m and get something that lasts for about 5 milliseconds on a battery and turns your lap into osso bucco. Or you could get a heinous Dell or Gateway laptop like every other friggin' bovine on the planet. But just for raw sex appeal, the 15.2 inch PowerBook G4 was and is an awesome gaming rig.
Why? Mobility Radeon 9000, baby.
ATI continues to kick Nvidia's ass when it comes to portable graphics chips. GeForce 4 Go hardware, while infinitely better than the ass-ugly stuff that preceded it, is still an immature technology. Nvidia just doesn't have the same engineering in this area that ATI does.
The reason I'm so hung up on this is because the Mobility Radeon 9000 processor gets programmable vertex and shaders in hardware. First time it's been done on a mobile chip, according to ATI. That means that some games run faster -- a lot faster. That means that other games run, period.
By comparison, the chips Apple chose for its new PowerBook -- including Mini-Me's collosal 17 inch aluminum powerhouse -- can't. What does this mean? Well, for some software, it'll be slow as ass. For others, it won't run at all.
Bottom line is that Apple has engineered a new laptop that in many respects is a lot better than what came before it, and in other respects doesn't work nearly as well. Apple could have at least opted for the GeForce4 4200 Go.
I'm sure Apple's saving money. I'm sure they're making someone at Nvidia happy, and I'm sure this is filling some middle manager at Apple's mandate. But for me and the people who care about the things I care about, it's one step forward, two steps back. I hate this shit.
Comments
GeForce4 420 Go and 440 Go chips = no Halo or Doom III. Just thought I'd throw that in. They both use pixel/vertex shaders extensively and, therefore, GeForce4 420 Go and 440 Go chips won't handle them.
Thassit.
C
Posted by: Corey | February 6, 2003 03:01 PM