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Macbook pro for the sake of running windows7 on it?

T

thomaskc

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 19, 2010
347
0
Hi guys,

I have a question or a request on opinions I suppose it is.

I was thinking about if anyone would or if there would be any complications in buying a 15" macbook pro and sorely run windows7 on it meaning it would be like any other windows platform laptop, but in a very nice and sexy macbook shell :)

Are anyone doing this? any reason why "not" to in technical terms?

Im not trying to get people all angry about why buy a macbook if you dont want osx because I look forward to potentially have my first real go with osx. But you never know, you might be forced due to program support to one day only use a windows platform.

But are there any downsides hardware - feature - driver wise and so on from it being a macbook and not any other "pc laptop"

Thanks a lot in advance!
 
If you're just going to run windows on it, you're paying over the odds for the hardware - unless you really really want the unibody shell.

Seems a bit ludicrous though, if you'll pardon my saying.
 
I know, thats the standard thought. And of course I wouldn't. But since I haven't had a macbook before I just want to know if it would be an option, IF SO. :)
 
Unless it's changed, the drivers Apple gives you don't have the same battery life, the keyboard might not work properly, and same with the trackpad. Also, you'll need to keep a small OS X partition for system firmware updates.

Just get the HP Envy... it costs less, has better specs, and runs Windows 7 naively.
 
I can't see any reason why not, technically. Make sure you buy a 64bit version of 7 though :)
 
Haha I love offending apple fanboys ;)

No but thanks for the answers. Well point is I will be bootcamping Win7 no matter what most likely as starcraft II being the only game i play these days runs like crap apparently on the osx still.

For the rest of what I need and want it for OSX will be pretty sweet.
 
thomaskc said:
Haha I love offending apple fanboys ;)

No but thanks for the answers. Well point is I will be bootcamping Win7 no matter what most likely as starcraft II being the only game i play these days runs like crap apparently on the osx still.

For the rest of what I need and want it for OSX will be pretty sweet.
Click to expand...

I run SC II on my 17" - runs fine on medium/high settings, in OS X, the graphics update did wonders :)
 
Really? I read that for some that new update did a lot and for others it did absolutely nothing. And what is your definition of "fine" if you dont mind me asking? :) average fps around 40-60 fps? and does it actually feel smooth too?

Thanks mate.
 
I get 25-35 FPS, if you buy the 15" you will be getting lots better FPS then I do, simply because you have about 2/3 the amount of pixels I do.

and I read you can OverClock the GPU from windows, herd some getting an extra 8-12 FPS
 
Sweet, thanks a lot guys! I will be back hopefully soon when I realize my 20 years of PC use for both personal and work use is worth nothing on my first boot on osx ;)
 
thomaskc said:
Sweet, thanks a lot guys! I will be back hopefully soon when I realize my 20 years of PC use for both personal and work use is worth nothing on my first boot on osx ;)
Click to expand...

If you have been using Windows 7 at all, it's not that big of a leap to learn OSX. I'd been using Windows or shall we say DOS since 1985. Loved my Commodore 64 too. Switched over to Mac a few years ago and wish I had done it earlier. Nothing against Windows 7 (I do like it), but prefer OSX. I think you'll come to the same conclusion.

And with programs like Office for Mac (new 2011 version in particular), I think you'll find less and less need to use the Bootcamp partition and just stay in OSX.
 
thomaskc said:
Sweet, thanks a lot guys! I will be back hopefully soon when I realize my 20 years of PC use for both personal and work use is worth nothing on my first boot on osx ;)
Click to expand...

My answer:

IF your goal is to actually use OSX and you just want the ability to boot Windows for the one-off games, then yes you can, and yes it might be worth it.

If your goal is just to get the look and feel of the MacBook, I submit that you might just save money and time and get the i7 HP Envy. It's $1600 on outlet at Best Buy right now, virtually identical visual form factor, comparable battery life, and will be more compatible with Windows.

It's up to what your real objective is though. I would never buy the Envy myself, because even though with me it's the hardware, I actually USE Snow Leopard to get things done when possible. Windows is the exception when there are one-off things that Snow Leopard can't do.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
Unless it's changed, the drivers Apple gives you don't have the same battery life, the keyboard might not work properly, and same with the trackpad. Also, you'll need to keep a small OS X partition for system firmware updates.

Just get the HP Envy... it costs less, has better specs, and runs Windows 7 naively.
Click to expand...

Yeah dude almost everything about your post has changed:

-on my 13" mbp windows battery life is about 4.5 hours.
-keyboard works properly. C = windows button, holding function enables Del, Home, End, PgUp, PgDn
-trackpad works properly. tap two fingers to right click, two fingers down and click is also right click, double tap drag is an option, tap to click is an option.
-you do not need an osx partition to run win7, but you're right you need a osx partition or separate hard drive to update firmware.
 
e.n.d. said:
Yeah dude almost everything about your post has changed:

-on my 13" mbp windows battery life is about 4.5 hours.
-keyboard works properly. C = windows button, holding function enables Del, Home, End, PgUp, PgDn
-trackpad works properly. tap two fingers to right click, two fingers down and click is also right click, double tap drag is an option, tap to click is an option.
-you do not need an osx partition to run win7, but you're right you need a osx partition or separate hard drive to update firmware.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but windows is a mess on the 13" MBP compared to a PC designed to run it.

Battery life is dismal...I get 3 hours tops if I'm doing anything other than just browsing or typing.
Keyboard is flakey and virtually all of the fn+function key combinations are sketchy. Brightness and volume control for example only work when they feel like it.
Trackpad is nasty in windows...it works, but dragging is horrible and sensitivity is not nearly as good as in OSX. Also, anything that requires holding a mouse button and moving the mouse simultaneously is virtually impossible.

Bottom line, windows works on a macbook, but it works much better on a dedicated PC.
 
mikeo007 said:
Sorry, but windows is a mess on the 13" MBP compared to a PC designed to run it.

Battery life is dismal...I get 3 hours tops if I'm doing anything other than just browsing or typing.
Keyboard is flakey and virtually all of the fn+function key combinations are sketchy. Brightness and volume control for example only work when they feel like it.
Trackpad is nasty in windows...it works, but dragging is horrible and sensitivity is not nearly as good as in OSX. Also, anything that requires holding a mouse button and moving the mouse simultaneously is virtually impossible.

Bottom line, windows works on a macbook, but it works much better on a dedicated PC.
Click to expand...

Apple's support for Boot Camp and Windows is a joke. They clearly don't want to properly support it. Don't know why they bothered in the first place.
 
Mackan said:
Apple's support for Boot Camp and Windows is a joke. They clearly don't want to properly support it. Don't know why they bothered in the first place.
Click to expand...

I guess it didn't change much, huh? :rolleyes:

And they only came out with bootcamp because tinkerers were finding ways to install Windows anyway. This allowed Apple to receive credit for something that would have happened, no matter what, and stop people from digging into their EFI internals, in one fell swoop.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
I guess it didn't change much, huh? :rolleyes:

And they only came out with bootcamp because tinkerers were finding ways to install Windows anyway. This allowed Apple to receive credit for something that would have happened, no matter what, and stop people from digging into their EFI internals, in one fell swoop.
Click to expand...

The interesting part is now with Windows 7 x64 you don't really need the Apple OS on the computer at all to install it. It will boot and install with EFI (64). Drivers would still be the biggest achilles heel.
 
I recently moved to a MBP recently because i wanted a high end machine that was portable and with good battery life. Prior to this i have always used Windows PC and hated mac's, I purchased the MBP with the intention of using bootcamp with Win 7, because i have all my programs that i have purchased on Windows.....

I no longer use bootcamp, not because its buggy but because i prefer OS X, it does pain me to say it and i feel a little like i have cheated on Microsoft lol.

I never thought i would make the switch but i am glad i did. I use Paralells to run Office 2010 but i will get Office 2011 when it is released so i can run it native.

I did notice and read about bootcamp running hotter than normal, most of the time it sits on a griffin stand so it didn't effect me too much
 
devan963 said:
I recently moved to a MBP recently because i wanted a high end machine that was portable and with good battery life. Prior to this i have always used Windows PC and hated mac's, I purchased the MBP with the intention of using bootcamp with Win 7, because i have all my programs that i have purchased on Windows.....

I no longer use bootcamp, not because its buggy but because i prefer OS X, it does pain me to say it and i feel a little like i have cheated on Microsoft lol.

I never thought i would make the switch but i am glad i did. I use Paralells to run Office 2010 but i will get Office 2011 when it is released so i can run it native.

I did notice and read about bootcamp running hotter than normal, most of the time it sits on a griffin stand so it didn't effect me too much
Click to expand...

Almost the exact opposite is true for me :) I use OSX out of necessity due to how poorly windows 7 runs on my MBP. Even though I could accomplish more and get things done quicker in windows, I still find myself using OSX since it's my only viable option. Interesting to find someone who's moved from W7 to OSX, I know a lot of my classmates have done the exact opposite :)
 
Hehe that is my only concern, that I will regret OSX and then have a lot of trouble making win7 work properly after that ;) joking, im sure ill be a happy camper! few more weeks and its order time.
 
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