A1181 Macbook Questions (Newbie!!)

[Jawwwwsh]

So I have just bought a second hand Macbook (This one), the chap I bought it from has upgraded the ram to 3Gb, and the Hard drive to 500Gb and its running windows 7 on bootcamp as well so I thought it was pretty good.

My questions are:

1- Are there any simple games for mac I can buy and install that would work fine on this MacBook? I'm thinking stuff like old versions of The Settlers, Age of Empires, Total War etc just for half hour gaming when bored on a train and things like that.

2- Can the ram be upgraded to 4Gb on these machines? I have seen info suggesting that it can, but others say you can but it'll still only read 3Gb??

3- Is it easy to replace keys on the keyboard?? I'm thinking it might look cool with either black or red keys and might purchase some from eBay or something.

Thanks guys, looking forward to your responses!!

Josh

 

[loccomoco]

That model will out at 3GB of ram, the integrated video card: (GMA) 950 is terrible for gaming. If you want to change the color of the keyboard your only real option is to pull a keyboard/cover from a different color MacBook. (black or white). Not sure how easy it is to change the keyboard though..
Overall you should still be happy with that setup as it is still pretty well suited for most applications today, just don't try to play any games that are graphics intensive.

 

[Fast/Furious]

My questions are:

1- Are there any simple games for mac I can buy and install that would work fine on this MacBook? I'm thinking stuff like old versions of The Settlers, Age of Empires, Total War etc just for half hour gaming when bored on a train and things like that.

2- Can the ram be upgraded to 4Gb on these machines? I have seen info suggesting that it can, but others say you can but it'll still only read 3Gb??

3- Is it easy to replace keys on the keyboard?? I'm thinking it might look cool with either black or red keys and might purchase some from eBay or something.

Thanks guys, looking forward to your responses!!

Josh

Congratulations on your purchase! I have the exact same model as you, albeit with a few upgrades.

1. There are many games available for the Mac, whether your model can run them is a totally different question. You're running Intel Integrated Graphics so most games will be quite sluggish.. it's worth a shot though! Some of the older stuff (Starcraft 1 works just fine on mine) will run with no problems.

2. You can put 4GB of RAM in it for sure, but due to the older chipset and FSB on these MacBooks, there is a maximum limit of 3.3GB. An extra 300MB won't make much difference, unfortunately.

3. You'd have to change the entire topcase (which Apple will give you for FREE if yours has cracks - a common problem on these MacBooks). If you'd like to do it yourself instructions can be found here. You COULD replace each individual key as this is the only way to get different colored keys without buying a third party topcase but needless to say this would be a huge pain in the ass.

 

[Jawwwwsh]

Thanks for the replies chaps!!!

Youe responses to the gaming side echo those of many other people I have asked, I might have to stick to the old 'Betterthanabox' 360 for gaming!!

The free topcase replacement. how does one go about gettign such a thing? even at this kind of age they will still give you a free one?? Do you reckon I could get a black topcase??