3D Graphics: does graphics chip matter?

Does the 3D graphics functionality care what type of graphics chip the host machine has? I'm looking at one purchasing of the new iMacs and wonder if a 9400M would work just as well as one with the dedicated card with P5's 3D graphics features.

It appears that P5 emulates a 3D graphics card, but I just wonder if it utilizes the host 3D card at all during that process. Meaning, does it offload any of the graphics load to the host's card..

Thank you for any clarification anyone can offer..

 

Realtime,

Internally Parallels Desktop is using Mac graphics chip for 3D rendering. So the more powerful Mac hardware is the better performance is expected in guest Windows. For office and non-graphics intensive apps and simple games 9400M is OK, for modern games you'll probably want more horsepower.

 

Thank you. That certainly helps in determining which iMac to purchase and I really appreciate your help.

RT