Buying My First Mac: Major Noob Questions.
Howdy all!
I'm looking at buying a MBP in January and I have a few questions I need answered if you guys don't mind.
- I currently use an XP, is it possible to transfer files such as work and music from it to the MBP?
- Is it possible to transfer to the Windows partition on my Mac?
- If I use a virtualization software (Parallel's right?), can I simply move files from the Mac to the XP partition and vice versa and what about copying web adresses etc?
- Are the keyboards fully compatible? I mean, If I were to play some games on Windows like Half-Life 2, would it be completely functional?
- Since I live in Australia, where things like to be expensive, I was curious as to whether I should buy the 2.16 model for the extra 128MB on the graphics card. I mean, will it affect my games much? (BTW the difference in price between the 2 and 2.16 model is $800 dollars, and since I intend to upgrade the RAM and HDD anyway, is it really worth it?)
Theres probably more but I can't remember them now, but thanks for your help anyway.
Now I have to go do 2 geography assignments before I fail them!
\
Cya round.
I'm looking at buying a MBP in January and I have a few questions I need answered if you guys don't mind.
- I currently use an XP, is it possible to transfer files such as work and music from it to the MBP?
- Is it possible to transfer to the Windows partition on my Mac?
- If I use a virtualization software (Parallel's right?), can I simply move files from the Mac to the XP partition and vice versa and what about copying web adresses etc?
- Are the keyboards fully compatible? I mean, If I were to play some games on Windows like Half-Life 2, would it be completely functional?
- Since I live in Australia, where things like to be expensive, I was curious as to whether I should buy the 2.16 model for the extra 128MB on the graphics card. I mean, will it affect my games much? (BTW the difference in price between the 2 and 2.16 model is $800 dollars, and since I intend to upgrade the RAM and HDD anyway, is it really worth it?)
Theres probably more but I can't remember them now, but thanks for your help anyway.
Now I have to go do 2 geography assignments before I fail them!
\ Cya round.
Comments
Howdy all!
I'm looking at buying a MBP in January and I have a few questions I need answered if you guys don't mind.
- I currently use an XP, is it possible to transfer files such as work and music from it to the MBP?
Yes.
- Is it possible to transfer to the Windows partition on my Mac?
I assume you mean using BootCamp? Yes, as long as it is formatted as FAT32. MacOS X can read, but not write to, NTFS partitions.
- If I use a virtualization software (Parallel's right?), can I simply move files from the Mac to the XP partition and vice versa and what about copying web adresses etc?
Yes, and data can be copied and pasted between the two as well.
- Are the keyboards fully compatible? I mean, If I were to play some games on Windows like Half-Life 2, would it be completely functional?
Yes, except for silly 'Email' keys and such. For those you need a driver. Otherwise, yes, exactly the same.
- Since I live in Australia, where things like to be expensive, I was curious as to whether I should buy the 2.16 model for the extra 128MB on the graphics card. I mean, will it affect my games much? (BTW the difference in price between the 2 and 2.16 model is $800 dollars, and since I intend to upgrade the RAM and HDD anyway, is it really worth it?)
Can't help you on this one...
Theres probably more but I can't remember them now, but thanks for your help anyway.
Now I have to go do 2 geography assignments before I fail them!
Just remember that the North Pole is on *top*, and you'll do fine.
Thanks.
Howdy all! ... Since I live in Australia, where things like to be expensive, I was curious as to whether I should buy the 2.16 model for the extra 128MB on the graphics card. I mean, will it affect my games much? (BTW the difference in price between the 2 and 2.16 model is $800 dollars, and since I intend to upgrade the RAM and HDD anyway, is it really worth it?)
Yes, Macs are more expensive here because they are converted from the USD to AUD equivalent
To answer your question, I really feel the $800 extra is not worth it. For $560+ AUD you can get the two most important upgrades, that is, RAM to 1GB and HDD at 7200rpm. $800 extra for 0.16 ghz more CPU speed and 128MB more VRAM is not worth it. It will not affect your games because with X1600 Mobility 128MB RAM at native MBP resolution, you will just be playing latest games at "medium" settings. You won't really benefit much from 128MB extra, since for acceptable frame rates 128MB VRAM will be enough for the textures used at the medium settings.
Besides games, unless you really know what you are going to do with the 128MB VRAM extra, don't go for it, IMO. Here's a nice config...?
A$ 3,664.00
* 1GB 667 DDR2 - 2x512 SO-DIMMs
* 100GB Serial ATA drive @ 7200 rpm
* MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
* 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo/128MB GDDR3 Memory
* 15.4-inch TFT Display
* AirPort Extreme Card & Bluetooth
.................................................. .
How is it on the other side of the continent?
Yes, Macs are more expensive here because they are converted from the USD to AUD equivalent
To answer your question, I really feel the $800 extra is not worth it. For $560+ AUD you can get the two most important upgrades, that is, RAM to 1GB and HDD at 7200rpm. $800 extra for 0.16 ghz more CPU speed and 128MB more VRAM is not worth it. It will not affect your games because with X1600 Mobility 128MB RAM at native MBP resolution, you will just be playing latest games at "medium" settings. You won't really benefit much from 128MB extra, since for acceptable frame rates 128MB VRAM will be enough for the textures used at the medium settings.
Besides games, unless you really know what you are going to do with the 128MB VRAM extra, don't go for it, IMO. Here's a nice config...?
A$ 3,664.00
* 1GB 667 DDR2 - 2x512 SO-DIMMs
* 100GB Serial ATA drive @ 7200 rpm
* MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
* 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo/128MB GDDR3 Memory
* 15.4-inch TFT Display
* AirPort Extreme Card & Bluetooth
.................................................. .
How is it on the other side of the continent?
Great minds think alike hey?
The system I'm contemplating is nearly identical. Only difference being I think I might get 1.5 GB of RAM, although my budget is already stretched to the ends of the universe so I'm not too sure.
I might also just go for a 5400 rpm hard drive but still 100GB. I would also like to get another battery put in. Then I have to buy windows, Parallels virtualization and Half-life 2.
Can you tell me if the Apple mice are any good or am I better off for a third party one? And how well do most websites work with Safari?
Thanks again.
PS: Sorry that my questions are probably obvious and boring.
Can you tell me if the Apple mice are any good or am I better off for a third party one? And how well do most websites work with Safari?
8) Hmm... Okay Apple's standard mouse is okay but no right-click can be quite annoying. Third party USB wired or wireless mice can be nice if you like it, especially Logitech. Apple's wired or wireless Mighty Mouse has very mixed reviews, and may not be necessary for your budget.
Most websites work very well with Safari: Flash, Shockwave, Java, Page Rendering, RSS, etc.... In extreme situations you can use InternetExploder6 in Windows native or Windows Parallels.
8) Hmm... Okay Apple's standard mouse is okay but no right-click can be quite annoying. Third party USB wired or wireless mice can be nice if you like it, especially Logitech. Apple's wired or wireless Mighty Mouse has very mixed reviews, and may not be necessary for your budget.
Most websites work very well with Safari: Flash, Shockwave, Java, Page Rendering, RSS, etc.... In extreme situations you can use InternetExploder6 in Windows native or Windows Parallels.
I'm looking into the Contour Design mice, apart from that it looks like I'll be getting the system you described above.
Cya round and thanks again.
Wait don't go - one more thing... *image below*
I laughed.