Nvidia GeForce powers new affordable MacBook

HYDERABAD, INDIA: Nvidia, a provider of visual computing technology and the inventor of GPU (graphic processing unit), said on Wednesday that even the most affordable Apple MacBook features a GeForce GPU to accelerate visual computing applications.

The entry-level $999 MacBook from Apple now ships with the award-winning GeForce 9400M, which delivers up to 5 times faster graphics performance than Centrino II-based notebooks, said a press release. This means that every MacBook in Apple’s lineup now runs on GeForce.

Till now, the $999 polycarbonate MacBook used Intel chipsets. Now Apple has refreshed the 13-inch MacBook with the GeForce 9400M. Nvidia said this would help price-conscious buyers who demand world-class graphics capabilities even on the most affordable MacBook.

Apple’s 13-inch polycarbonate MacBook offers incredible performance for its price, the release said. The new GeForce-powered MacBooks provide significantly improved performance, according to Macworld’s tests.

With the graphics-intensive Call of Duty 4, the new MacBooks pumped out a little more than 35 frames per second - the older high-end MacBook managed only 10, it added.

The award-winning GeForce 9400M GPU offers 16 cores of graphics processing power to accelerate visual computing applications like Adobe Photoshop, video games, high definition movies, video transcoding, and more.

The GeForce 9400M is a high performance GPU designed for highly integrated, smaller computing devices. Its single-chip architecture replaces 20-year-old two-chip designs, enabling unprecedented performance for thin and light notebooks, the release added.