What's More Powerful - GeForce 9400M on Mac Mini or GeForce 6150 LE on an HP Desktop

[Smoolean]

I'm assuming the answer is obvious; the Mac Mini's GeForce 9400M is more powerful? But I know virtually nothing about graphics cards / gaming rigs, so I thought I'd ask the knowledgeable users here. Perhaps there are other variables that would surprise me.

For playing older games like World of Warcraft, which of the following setups would offer better performance? I realize neither will offer "good" performance, I'd be happy with very low resolution, everything set to minimum 25fps etc...

Mac Mini
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB RAM

or

HP Pavilion a1730n Desktop
GeForce 6150 LE/nForce 430 Chipset
AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4600+
2.4GHz, 512KB+512KB L2 Cache, 2000MHz System Bus
2GB RAM

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. I'm just wondering which platform to buy a few old games for. Thanks!

 

[bunnyfubbles]

The mac mini for sure, but the primary problem with that system is you'll need to be running Windows or else you might not be able to even play the games.

 

[nitromullet]

WoW was almost playable on my G4 PowerBook with an integrated GeForce 5200Go, so I imagine it will run (min settings) on a mac mini with a 9400M.

 

[tviceman]

The mac mini for sure, but the primary problem with that system is you'll need to be running Windows or else you might not be able to even play the games.

Really? I'd guess the 9400m would give him better frame rates in WoW.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Really? I'd guess the 9400m would give him better frame rates in WoW.

as slow as the 9400M might be, the GF6150 is terribad. The CPU, while with a lower clock rate, should be just as good if not better, as the Core 2 Duo is better clock for clock than an Athlon X2.

both systems have 2GB of ram, although I'd bet the HP could be upgraded more easily in that department, and it might also have a faster hard drive. But as-is the mac should be faster over all and definitely better.

One thing to consider is that he could upgrade the HP... he could put in more ram and a faster hard drive more easily, and far more importantly, put in a much faster/better video card (a Radeon 4650 for less than $50 would definitely hit the spot).

 

[toyota]

that Mac Mini is much much better. that cpu is a bit faster and the 9400M can actually play most newer games even if it is only on low. the 6150 will not even come close to giving playable framerates in most games made in the last 5 years.