Thinking about making the switch.
I've been a pretty avid PC user for many years now, but I'm thinking I'll be switching this weekend. My piece-of-junk Dell laptop has a random short, so now is a good a time as any.
I have a couple of concerns though. First of all, how does the Macbook's integrated graphics perform? I don't want a desktop replacement, but I will occasionally be running games on my laptop and want it to be at least capable, if not perfect. I checked the benchmarks and it appears that the GMA 950 is more powerful then the Radeon 9000 my dell currently has, but I'd like a users opinion. I need to be able to run games such as Half-Life 2 (we're modding it in one of my CS classes) at the very least.
I've also been told that the case is flimsy and the screen liable to cracking. Is this just anti-apple propaganda or are these issues common? I would say I'm rather hard on my laptops; I don't drop them or anything, but they get toted around in a backpack a lot and may get bumped occasionally. Will it hold up? And will it remain reliable for at least a couple of years?
Thanks in advance for all the help!
I have a couple of concerns though. First of all, how does the Macbook's integrated graphics perform? I don't want a desktop replacement, but I will occasionally be running games on my laptop and want it to be at least capable, if not perfect. I checked the benchmarks and it appears that the GMA 950 is more powerful then the Radeon 9000 my dell currently has, but I'd like a users opinion. I need to be able to run games such as Half-Life 2 (we're modding it in one of my CS classes) at the very least.
I've also been told that the case is flimsy and the screen liable to cracking. Is this just anti-apple propaganda or are these issues common? I would say I'm rather hard on my laptops; I don't drop them or anything, but they get toted around in a backpack a lot and may get bumped occasionally. Will it hold up? And will it remain reliable for at least a couple of years?
Thanks in advance for all the help!
Comments
www.barefeats.com has benchmarks of both new and old MBs and MBPs.
I've been a pretty avid PC user for many years now, but I'm thinking I'll be switching this weekend. My piece-of-junk Dell laptop has a random short, so now is a good a time as any.
I have a couple of concerns though. First of all, how does the Macbook's integrated graphics perform? I don't want a desktop replacement, but I will occasionally be running games on my laptop and want it to be at least capable, if not perfect. I checked the benchmarks and it appears that the GMA 950 is more powerful then the Radeon 9000 my dell currently has, but I'd like a users opinion. I need to be able to run games such as Half-Life 2 (we're modding it in one of my CS classes) at the very least.
I've also been told that the case is flimsy and the screen liable to cracking. Is this just anti-apple propaganda or are these issues common? I would say I'm rather hard on my laptops; I don't drop them or anything, but they get toted around in a backpack a lot and may get bumped occasionally. Will it hold up? And will it remain reliable for at least a couple of years?
Thanks in advance for all the help!
They just updated the macbooks graphics card, so the games should work just fine. (as KennyWRX said)
As for the flimsiness and the screen cracking, I have never heard of such a think happening to a macbook unless it was dropped or smashed by something really big.
The macbooks IMO are the best laptops out there, both durable, and reliable.
It will last you many great years!
If you are going to get a macbook, I would suggest downloading FanControl.
You should use this when you play games, because the macbooks get hot while doing video intensive things, as do all things.
Just my two cents,
Parker
I have nothing but good experience from Mac laptops, really. I've had a Powerbook, an iBook and a Macbook, and my friends have had a whole lot more. One of my friends had problems with a Powerbook around 2000 and that's that. The Macbook case is above average, not flimsy, as you can tell if you go down to the store to fiddle with it.
You need to protect the white laptops with a sleeve in transport, though, or they will scratch and discolor. My friend had an iBook and later a Macbook at the same time as I did and his computers were a lot uglier due to the lack of protection. All my laptops have been transported in Tucano Second Skins and have stayed looking like new. I have only seen professional PC laptops like Thinkpads hold up as well or better - the cheaper, consumer grade gear shows its age quick.
Think "not able to run the two new visualizations shipping with iTunes".
Or "not able to run all of World of Warcraft in Macbook's small native resolution at rock bottom graphic quality".
Booting in Windows makes things better, so I'd actually expect the chip to handle the first HL2 game and very likely the modding too if you aren't focusing on graphics intensive stuff. But suggesting that you'll be able to play anything under two years old with it would be doing you a disservice.
Just running a non-intensive screensaver like "Word of the Day" on the GMA 950 puts the MB fan on constant drone.
Better consider other options. If you're in the US you have good student discounts, developer discounts, refurbs and a bustling used market available for machines that have actual graphic accelerators and not decelerators.
On the other hand, the graphics are really slow.
Think "not able to run the two new visualizations shipping with iTunes".
Or "not able to run all of World of Warcraft in Macbook's small native resolution at rock bottom graphic quality".
Booting in Windows makes things better, so I'd actually expect the chip to handle the first HL2 game and very likely the modding too if you aren't focusing on graphics intensive stuff. But suggesting that you'll be able to play anything under two years old with it would be doing you a disservice.
Just running a non-intensive screensaver like "Word of the Day" on the GMA 950 puts the MB fan on constant drone.
Better consider other options. If you're in the US you have good student discounts, developer discounts, refurbs and a bustling used market available for machines that have actual graphic accelerators and not decelerators.
Hhmmm.
I can play Halo just fine with my C2D mac mini with the GMA950 just fine, and all the visulizers work without a hitch. The screen savers are nothing to the mini either, works just great.
and to what I've heard, the new graphics processor with the macbook is way better than the GMA950.
You should be just fine with World of War Craft.
I'd definitely get the macbook.
Hhmmm.
I can play Halo just fine with my C2D mac mini with the GMA950 just fine, and all the visulizers work without a hitch. The screen savers are nothing to the mini either, works just great.
and to what I've heard, the new graphics processor with the macbook is way better than the GMA950.
I forgot I was testing on external resolution of 1920x1200, which explains why the visualizers ran like quadriplegics. Still, at least the Jelly visualizer is choppy at native screen resolution and only becomes smooth as far down as 800x500. Expose, which does nothing more than move 2D rectangles around, is choppy in my normal use with ~15 windows. That's how bad it is to not have any dedicated graphics memory.
Core 2 Duo, 2 gigs of RAM, nothing else running.
You should be just fine with World of War Craft.
Sorry, but that is uninformed at best.
Heavily populated combat areas like raid zones kill the 950 in OS X. You literally have no business to enter big parts of the game. That isn't "just fine" by any reasonable standard - it's "unplayable".
Playing in Windows makes things faster but an order of magnitude improvement, no way. X3100 benchmarks also don't show the kind of difference that would be needed to run WoW right.
But for me, I never have more than 4 windows open at a time (or apps), so the graphics cards just fine for me.
Core 2 Duo Mac mini 1.83Ghz 2GB.
(lol, this is turning into a mac debate