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I regret buying a macbook

Craigy Boy said:
Bout to get a Macbook and just wanted to make sure it can play high def content fine. I assumed it would, and was going to upgrade to 2gb RAM to just make sure. Does it defintely play HD ok? Or have others had it stutter too?

On another note while I'm here, and to avoid starting a new thread, was maybe going to go for either a 160gb harddrive or 200gb in the macbook. Now i've noticed 200gb is 4200 RPM not 5200 RPM. Is this going to make much difference in terms of speed etc?
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The only HD content that gave my Macbook a run for its money was 1080p content in a WMV wrapper. WMV works ok but I think Flip4Mac is just crap. In any other format even H.264 the macbook should have plenty of power to run 1080p, which btw is completely pointless as the display doesn't even have a high enough resolution to display 1080p.

I would opt for the faster drive over the larger drive. If you really need the space I would recommend an external storage solution. Thats what I do, I have a file server for all my movie rips, etc. and watch movies streaming if I am home or copy a few over if I am going to be away from home for a while.
 
I ditched my MacBook after 4 months. Then I got the 2.16 MacBook Pro. Much better computer. I sold that when the C2D MacBook Pros came out, and I have not looked back at all. Ditch you MacBook, and get the MacBook pro with 256MB of Video RAM so CS Source is playable at max.
 
roslee7 said:
actually i wanted to buy either macbook white or macbook pro but cant decide yet. I am looking for stylist look, cools look and might attract people when looking at my laptop. I dont bother about the performance but just for the great looks. s which should i buy ?
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Why buy something for looks? Performance is what really counts in anything.

If it looks good but doesn't work for you and you are frustrated what is the point in that?

too bad you want a laptop. The imac is beautiful beyond words and the performance that I have gotten is excellent.
 
Far, I'm sad to hear how you want to get rid of your MB and get a MBP. If you really want gaming then yes go to a MBP, but if you can do without Counter Strike Source, keep the MB. Obviously there are issues with yours, I'd say repair permissions, run a maintenance utility like OnyX, and make sure you have the latest updates. Firefox takes 5-6 bounces on my machine - iBook G4 1.33GHz 1GB RAM, 40GB HDD - but Firefox is a big program that takes at least 128MB of RAM. You need to optimize your system completely, and if that doesn't work, repost and I'll help you figure something else out.
 
I'm going from a CD black Macbook with 1GB of RAM to a CD Macbook Pro with 2GB of RAM when it arrives this Saturday, so I'll be happy to provide you with my observations with the two together.
 
Craigy Boy said:
Bout to get a Macbook and just wanted to make sure it can play high def content fine. I assumed it would, and was going to upgrade to 2gb RAM to just make sure. Does it defintely play HD ok? Or have others had it stutter too?

On another note while I'm here, and to avoid starting a new thread, was maybe going to go for either a 160gb harddrive or 200gb in the macbook. Now i've noticed 200gb is 4200 RPM not 5200 RPM. Is this going to make much difference in terms of speed etc?
Click to expand...

Hard drive speed makes a diffrence in accessing and writing data.You will notice a 4 or 5 sec diffrence between the speeds.I would recomend a 7200 rpm drive it only goes up to 100gbs but you could always use a external enclosure for storage


http://www.meritline.com/firewire-aluminum-dual-drive-raid-enclosure-kit.html
 
farqueue said:
Applications are like firefox takes about 4-5bounces before even loading

...

I get the occasional beach ball of death.
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This really, really sounds like either your memory isn't all there or there is something eating it.

I have a MB core duo, 2.0 GHz w/ 2GB RAM -- almost the same. I haven't seen a beachball since I upgraded from 512, and I just tested -- cold firefox loads in "1 bounce" warm its 0 bounces.

and its hotttttt at 60 degrees celcius even when surfing - has MBP C2D changed?
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Again this sounds like you have something eating resources -- I've been surfing for an hour, and running a remote X session to a linux server, and there's no way my system's that hot.

As far as the GMA950, I can't say anything since I'm not a gamer -- I'll leave that to the experts.
 
I have to say I've been disapointed with the MBs I've tried too. I've tried them in-store and our account staff is testing them here at work. Truly disappointing performance. Photoshop is unuseable at the moment honestly. It's just not acceptable performance at all. Until CS3, there will be no MacBook in my future. However, if CS3 runs as dreadfully as Quark 7 does on a MacBook, (Quark 7 is universal) count me out for any Intel Macs anytime soon. And yes, I know Quark sucks. :)
 
farqueue said:
Well firstly it is not as quick or as responsive i thought i would liked it to be even with a 2gb ram kit.

It has the CPU whining sound

I cant play Counter Strike 1.6 (about 40-50fps with bootcamp) or Counter strike source (7-8fps) - a game which i enjoy tremendously smoothly

Applications are like firefox takes about 4-5bounces before even loading

Widgets take long time to load - like 5 seconds to fully load (i only have weather, calender, dictionary and istatpro)

I lag when playing my mates dled HD movies

I get the occasional beach ball of death.

I think im mostly unhappy about GMA950 and CD1.83


and its hotttttt at 60 degrees celcius even when surfing - has MBP C2D changed?

lastly as this is a new mac, it was an entry machine to experience the OS X world and i didnt raelly want to spend a lot on a MBP :eek:

but i am happpy with os x now. :D just that it needs M$ Office 2007 in UB!:p
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most of your complaints about the system is mostly due to the fact you probably dont have enough RAM. You are running on 512mb arent you?
 
Omg.. my macbook just broke down. Im typing this from a Peecee.

Firstly it started making a LOUD noise a whirring sound whenever i turned it on. So with fan control installed, i had a check and it says
Fan 1 = 3500RPM
Fan 2 = -1 RPM

Does that mean one of my fans has broken down? Is it because i havent shut my macbook for 14 days in a row running in clamshell mode.

However, i thought that it might be the new Hitachi Travelstar 160gb HD i bought from newegg. So i pulled it out and tried to install the old 60gb HD.. AND i cant install it back... IT JUST WOULDNT FIT, i was LIKE WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

The HD goes in about 95% and gets stuck there OMG OMG OMG

Now i will have to wait for apple to service it.. they dont open till 3rd Jan here in NZ bastartds...
 
skunk said:
I've a feeling the MB only has one fan.
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I cracked mine open back in the days of the moo to reapply thermal paste, shhh don't tell Apple. Anyway I can confirm there is only one fan, unless they have some tiny one hidden away in some random place, which I seriously doubt.

IMO the fan exhaust is horribly designed. Air doesn't exactly pour out of the vent due to the monitor hinge blocking it. Although any exhaust on the back side would be blocked from the monitor
 
countach said:
Other than the games fps issue, I doubt the MB pro will be significantly faster. Loading firefox simply takes a certain time to load off disk, and its just a limitation of disks.
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I recently upgraded from the final rev 15" PB to a 2.33GHz C2D MBP, the difference is extraordinary. Apps I loaded at login I'm now happy to start when I need them. But Firefox does take a bunch of bounces to startup where Safari will load with a single bounce. I can only assume Apple does some preload stuff to make this happen (disregarding conspiracy theories). I installed an Hitachi 7200 rpm drive in my PB which did make a huge difference, like buying a brand new machine; I'm not sure how this would affect the MBP performance. I cannot compare it to a MB but I sure do like my MBP.
 
junkster said:
High-end 3D graphics aside, the MB and MBP benchmark almost exactly the same. Firefox--and other non-3D apps--won't be any faster.

In general, apps are noticibly slower to load on my MacBook than on my two year old Dell desktop. I think it's an OS X issue more than a raw performance issue.
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Not sure which MBP you're talking about but my 2.33GHz C2D MBP blows away the high end but 1 year older HP desktop I use at work including loading apps.
 
The Macbook Pros are nice but I really miss the buttery smooth colours I get on my desktop monitor.

Really hope they fix the grainy displays at some point, or even with the upcoming revision. Would be really annoying if every subsequent MBP will be like this in the future.
 
pigwin32 said:
I recently upgraded from the final rev 15" PB to a 2.33GHz C2D MBP, the difference is extraordinary. Apps I loaded at login I'm now happy to start when I need them. But Firefox does take a bunch of bounces to startup where Safari will load with a single bounce. I can only assume Apple does some preload stuff to make this happen (disregarding conspiracy theories). I installed an Hitachi 7200 rpm drive in my PB which did make a huge difference, like buying a brand new machine; I'm not sure how this would affect the MBP performance. I cannot compare it to a MB but I sure do like my MBP.
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You know why that is? Cause its a quality true-multitasking operating system. That's why it loads so fast. Safari on my computer loads in 2 bounces - iBook G4 1.33GHz, 1GB RAM, 32MB VRAM, OS X 10.4.8.

So see its the quality of the OS. =P
 
brbubba said:
I have to agree with OP. I have had my blackbook since day two and now regret not getting a MBP. I am very happy with the speed and all that jazz. Its the small stuff that annoys me.

1. The speakers SUCK. Worst speakers I have ever had to listen to, they just don't get loud enough. The MBP probably isn't a huge leap, but would have made things better.

2. I like the backlit keyboard on the MBP, I occasionally have a hard time finding rarely used keys when sitting in a dark room while watching tv. Not a huge issue, just a very minor gripe.

3. Graphics. The integrated intel graphics just SUCK. There is no other way to describe it. I don't expect to be playing the latest and greatest at 60fps, but I do expect to at least get decent framerates on lower end games for those rare times I dust them off.

4. The case feels cheap. Although it has held up it just feels like a cheap knockoff and on top of that it retains way too much hand grease.

I also had to pay for the 1GB of memory I upgraded to which, by the time all is said and done had brought my blackbook not too far off the retail price of the MBP. Now of course they include 1GB RAM and 120GB drive as standard with the blackbook, which makes it a much better deal in comparison to the MBP and which would have saved me quite a bit of cash.

My biggest reason for not going to the MBP in the first place was the size. I loved the size of the old 12" powerbook, so I thought 15" would be way too big. Now I really don't mind and 13" even seems small. I guess next upgrade I can wait for the super slim MBP.
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I think I 1000% agree with you dude, besides fricken apple only gave me 1gig of RAM even tho I ordered 2, and they said that I only ordered one. I wonder how that came out to like 1800 bucks? hmm, plus the CD1 hard drives are small as heck, and are a pain to upgrade, and genius bar costs a lot.
 
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