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Just got my first Macbook, need help testing it out

B

bronconash

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 10, 2009
25
0
Hello folks

I'm new to mac, I just got a Macbook 2.4GHz Unibody ... also ordered a 4gig RAM upgrade kit from Crucial which I'll be installing once I receive it.

I want to know how to test out the system to make sure that everything is working properly.
- Like I want to check if there are any deadpixels on the screen.
- Maybe do some benchmark testing.
- Want to check out the fan control and see how hot does the macbook get.
- Finally, when I get my RAM and I install it, how can I check for any issues with the new ram?

If anybody can tell me or direct me to a place where I Can find info about testing out my new laptop, that would be really appreciated.

Thanks
 
Well, "testing" for dead pixels just requires you to look at your screen...maybe get a fully white picture or blank page or something, and see if there are any dead pixels.

There are a lot of benchmark apps out there, just google it...xbench and geekbench are a couple.

For fan control...there really isn't anything to check, since the fan doesn't really kick in until 70* C or so...but if you want to get something that will monitor temps and fan speed, SMCfancontrol is what you want.

The new unibodies seem to be really picky with 4GB, but when you install your RAM, just make sure the system recognizes it all (in the About This Mac menu) and use it for a bit, and just look for any random freezing or crashes.

Hope that helps
 
bronconash said:
Hello folks

I'm new to mac, I just got a Macbook 2.4GHz Unibody ... also ordered a 4gig RAM upgrade kit from Crucial which I'll be installing once I receive it.
Click to expand...

Hi, bronconash. Welcome to the world of Mac.


Like I want to check if there are any deadpixels on the screen.
Click to expand...

You can use Pixel Check to set your screen to a certain colour (I think you change colour by clicking the mouse) which will show any dead or stuck pixels more easily.

Maybe do some benchmark testing.
Click to expand...

Geekbench
xbench
Photoshop Speed Test

Want to check out the fan control and see how hot does the macbook get.
Click to expand...

The above tests will give your machine a bit of a work out. Shouldn't be a problem. If you're worried then run your hardware test.

Finally, when I get my RAM and I install it, how can I check for any issues with the new ram?
Click to expand...

If there is a problem then normally one of two things will happen. 1. Your machine won't start and it'll make a beeeeeeep sound. 2. It won't show up in system profile.

In both cases you want to make sure that the RAM is seated properly. You need to give it a nice push into the slot to make sure.
 
Thank you!

Thanks for the awesome reply és: and the links :).

The RAM I ordered was
http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=2E9B2B4EA5CA7304 from the reviews online, it looks like it should be pretty stable *crosses fingers*

Also, is there any way I can run .SWF files in the latest version of Quicktime? I know that apple stopped .SWF support for quicktime long time back, right now in my PC I run Quicktime 7.01 to get .SWF working, but I cannot run iTunes as an older version of quicktime is installed ... this is a pain.

So my question is this, if I use VMWare Fusion 2 and run windows and leopard simultaneously; can I run the latest quicktime 'n iTunes in Leopard .... and use an older version of quicktime in Windows XP? Is that possible?
 
bronconash said:
So my question is this, if I use VMWare Fusion 2 and run windows and leopard simultaneously; can I run the latest quicktime 'n iTunes in Leopard .... and use an older version of quicktime in Windows XP? Is that possible?
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Or, there is an alternative. With the free Flash player installed in your browser (I will assume you already have it), you can directly view the SWF files there by dragging the SWFs into the address bar (might have to then click on the address and hit Enter). The address will be something like file:///Users/YourName/Desktop/myswf.swf. This is a less preferred alternative because the SWF will be displayed as large as necessary to fill the browser window and you may see objects that are outside the bounds of the movie. However, this method lets you do it inside Leopard.
 
Update:

Ran the pixeltest 'n looks like the screen is free of any dead-pixel
I'll post the results of the benchmark tools soon.

Still did not install the 4gig RAM, dont have a Philips0 screwdriver :D

Installed Windows XP Pro SP3 using Bootcamp and the .swf playback works as expected using the older version of quicktime in Windows

VMware Fusion2 will arrive tomorrow, so I'll test out the .swf playback through windows in an older version of Quicktime while running a newer version in Leopard.


I've noticed that my laptop got a bit hot today while performing normal updates and running iTunes ... I will install iStat Pro and add in smcFanControl to monitor CPU temp.

How hot does your macbooks run at? (for regular net browsing, IM and a musicplayer running? )
 
bronconash said:
I've noticed that my laptop got a bit hot today while performing normal updates and running iTunes ... I will install iStat Pro and add in smcFanControl to monitor CPU temp.

How hot does your macbooks run at? (for regular net browsing, IM and a musicplayer running? )
Click to expand...

Should be around 50* C or so when running that stuff...at least that is what I get. Although, if you are browsing on sites that have flash based content, then the CPU will get a little warmer.
 
DeusInvictus7 said:
Should be around 50* C or so when running that stuff...at least that is what I get. Although, if you are browsing on sites that have flash based content, then the CPU will get a little warmer.
Click to expand...

nice! ... did you set the fancontrol so that it maintains the CPU at certain temp? or are you just monitoring the temp w/o any sort of control over the fan rotations?

Thanks :)
 
bronconash said:
nice! ... did you set the fancontrol so that it maintains the CPU at certain temp? or are you just monitoring the temp w/o any sort of control over the fan rotations?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Umm, I pretty much just have SMC there to monitor what my temp is in my menu bar along with the fan rpm's. However, when I do something that is CPU intensive for a while, like rip movies or convert a lot of music or something, then I usually set SMC to the "higher RPM" setting, and the temp stays below 60* for the most part.

I don't think you can make the fans dynamically change to "make sure" that the temp is, say, 50*C. Either you have to change the preset on SMC yourself, or wait until the fans automatically kick in.
 
the SMCfancontrol shows the temperature like a charm.

My macbook is running at 39C on my office desk ... but right now I am on my couch with the macbook on my lap 'n its running at 48C.

Also I upgraded my 2gig Hynix RAM to a 4gig Corsair RAM 'n its working great! No hiccups so far :)

Cant wait to try out the VMwarefusion 2 tomorrow! You guys are awesome .. thanks for the support :)
 
bronconash said:
Cant wait to try out the VMwarefusion 2 tomorrow! You guys are awesome .. thanks for the support :)
Click to expand...

Btw, after you install the vmware fusion, it picks up and shows your already installed Bootcamp installation! So no need to re-install your windows. Just let the vmware do its "thing" to the bootcamp(installs the vmware-tools etc) :)
 
johto said:
Btw, after you install the vmware fusion, it picks up and shows your already installed Bootcamp installation! So no need to re-install your windows. Just let the vmware do its "thing" to the bootcamp(installs the vmware-tools etc) :)
Click to expand...

Out of interest, does that mean you can use the same partition for both bootcamp and vmware? By that I mean can you change a file whilst in bootcamp and it'll be the same file when using vmare?
 
és: said:
Out of interest, does that mean you can use the same partition for both bootcamp and vmware? By that I mean can you change a file whilst in bootcamp and it'll be the same file when using vmare?
Click to expand...

INDEED! That is the main point! ;)



You just need to make the bootcamp installation first. After that vmware fusion will find that you have bootcamp and show it automaticly as a "virtual machine" in the list. Also disk usage should be a little faster because it uses real physical windows partition scheme. :)
 

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johto said:
INDEED! That is the main point! ;)

You just need to make the bootcamp installation first. After that vmware fusion will find that you have bootcamp and show it automaticly as a "virtual machine" in the list. Also disk usage should be a little faster because it uses real physical windows partition scheme. :)
Click to expand...

Hello Johto ... I did the exact same today when I got my VMware CD in ... I am running Windows XP Pro using my installation from Bootcamp ... I noticed that using Unity XP was glitchy 'n was running a bit slow.

I just noticed that in the settings options,
Virtual Machine is configured to use 1 Virtual processor ... is using 2 Virtual proessors a recommended option?

Also, RAM allocated to Virtual machine was 512MB lol ... I'll change it to 1024MB 'n see how it affects the performace.

If there are anymore changes that are needed to be made in the settings so that both OS's run happily ... please let me know. Thanks
 
bronconash said:
Hello Johto ... I did the exact same today when I got my VMware CD in ... I am running Windows XP Pro using my installation from Bootcamp ... I noticed that using Unity XP was glitchy 'n was running a bit slow.

I just noticed that in the settings options,
Virtual Machine is configured to use 1 Virtual processor ... is using 2 Virtual proessors a recommended option?

Also, RAM allocated to Virtual machine was 512MB lol ... I'll change it to 1024MB 'n see how it affects the performace.

If there are anymore changes that are needed to be made in the settings so that both OS's run happily ... please let me know. Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi! Most important settings are the memory size. As you said, 1024 should be much better than 512. The size of course depends how much physical RAM your Mac has to "waste". I too, usually have 512-1024 RAM allocated to vmware. I have 4 Gigs of RAM total. Dunno about the 1 vs 2 CPU. Because its still "virtualized, i have had mine as "1" so that at least one full core (i have dual core cpu) is left for the main OS(OSX) if the vmware decides to f00bar my CPU to 100%(windows) :p

You need to experiment with the 1 vs 2 cpu settings. Imho it makes little differences on the apps i run inside vmware :)
 
Johto, thanks for the reply.

I changed my settings to 2048MB :D ... just for kicks while running VMware, as I upgraded my macbook to a 4gig RAM. I will be using windows only when needed, during which I prolly wont be using OSX other than to play music, so I thought alloting 2gig for each while using Vmware was a good option.

I left the CPU cores to 1, the online vmware documentation suggests to do the same.

Also, the windows software that was glitchy via vmware was a Java based software ... but when I copied the same .jar file into OSX and ran using the java from OSX it runs smooth like butter! :) :D

So far alls well 'n I think most of my concerns as a new beginner to Macbooks have been answered.

Last but not least ... since I've been a Windows user since Win3.2 :D ... I am used to do a lot of housekeeping like updating the anti-virus, cleaning up spyware, malware, editing the registry, using a Firewall .... etc ... phew! (Sorry for being paranoid, I dont like other people stealing my identity :D)

From what I've read, Macs are safer and dont really need any anti-virus, is that true? How was your experience? Do you guys do any house keeping on your macs? If yes, what software's do you use ... Thank you for your responses guys! :)
 
No need for anti-virus software. There are "no" viruses. :cool:

You find lot of threads about maintanance of your mac if you use the forum's search function ;)
 
johto said:
No need for anti-virus software. There are "no" viruses. :cool:

You find lot of threads about maintanance of your mac if you use the forum's search function ;)
Click to expand...

lol yeah, my bad. Just found a few clean up softwares.

Right now I always login as an administrator ... but other threads suggest to login as a regular user as it is much safer due to the restrictions on a normal account. Do you guys do that?

P.S: This is a link I found about Virus in Macs ... pretty interesting http://i.gizmodo.com/5101337/giz-explains-why-os-x-shrugs-off-viruses-better-than-windows
 
bronconash said:
lol yeah, my bad. Just found a few clean up softwares.

Right now I always login as an administrator ... but other threads suggest to login as a regular user as it is much safer due to the restrictions on a normal account. Do you guys do that?

P.S: This is a link I found about Virus in Macs ... pretty interesting http://i.gizmodo.com/5101337/giz-explains-why-os-x-shrugs-off-viruses-better-than-windows
Click to expand...

Yeah, last time i reinstalled my whole system, i made the fist user account as named "admin", and then created another main account for my daily use as normal user. This adds a little extra security layer, because then i cannot modify/write outside my home directory without the password prompt. Also if anything weird ever happens to my daily account, i still have my "admin" account safe for diagnosing and fixing the problem :)
 
sweet! ... Thanks for your assistance Johto! I guess most of my questions are answered now :) ...
 
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