New White Macbook... deciding questions

[Irosaki]

Hi guys,

I have been considering getting a macbook over the new mbp for both cost and I want to wait until mbp gets sata3 and usb3.

There are only a few things stopping me from buying at the moment.

1) What is the Macbook like for heat? as it will be on my lap most of the time id rather not burn like with my old HP laptop I know the macbook pro doesnt have much heat underneath as I felt a store model that had been on all day connected to an external display and it was like ice all over.

2) How bad is the 9400 gpu? I will only be using if for light stuff, a bit of casual photoshop/flash cs4, maybe the odd World of Warcraft. I dont mind games running on high settings aslong as it is on native resolution. The GPU will mainly be used for watching Movies.

3) Can you install a sataII ssd in the macbook? I will upgrade to an SSD later this year and will probably transfer the drive over to a mbp in 2011 sometime (probably june)

4) How does the screen compare to the older Macbook? Did they change it? I used an older 2008/early 2009 the other day I think and I liked the screen over the glass-covered one in the mbp. (If the new macbook does have a glass screen is the reflection bad? (I will mainly use it in mid-low lit areas such as my room, but also in well lit areas such as in a halogen beam lit office.) The screen on the 13" mbp is the main reason I havent chosen it as I do not like seeing a perfect reflection of my fingers typing in the black bit along the bottom.

5) Is a 2.26 core 2 duo good enough for flash cs4 / World of Warcraft?

Thanks for your time.

EDIT:

6) Forgot this one How noisy is the new macbook? particularly the fans. I have seen a 2009 17" MBP and I couldnt hear a thing even with my ear right up to the underside.

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

2) The 9400M is fine for what you want.
3) No, the SATA controller is built into the logic board.
4) The screen is just as good as the 13" MBP models, but without the extra layer of glass. The panel is still glossy, just no glass cover.
5) Yes.
6) From what I've seen, it's silent, just like the 13" Aluminum Unibody models.

 

[Irosaki]

Thanks for your answers.

hmm, I would really have liked to eventually put an ssd into it....

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

Thanks for your answers.

hmm, I would really have liked to eventually put an ssd into it....

You still can and will most likely see a performance bump. How much of what you do really requires 3Gbps transfer rates from the HDD anyways?

 

[Irosaki]

nothing atm but as I will keepp it a long time I assume an ssd will become necessary

 

[hellojamie]

If you're running CD's, like WoW gamedisks, it can get a little noisy with the fans. Not too bad, it's mostly only noticeable because it's otherwise completely silent. But when I run The Sims 3 the fan blows almost constantly and battery drains quick. I've only noticed this with games, though. DVDs and whatnot, it kind of "memorizes" what's fixing to play, so the fan only runs briefly and intermittently, or if you fast forward and it has to wake up the drive again.

As far as heat, it's WAY cooler than my HP was, but I can't compare it as far as other Mac models. It does get warm, but never uncomfortably so when in my lap.

 

[Alx9876]

I have the new white Unibody Macbook and I will say that the 2.26 ghz and 2 Gigs of ram run World of Warcraft as good if not better than my 24 inch iMac.

To test it out I ran Icecrown Citadel 25 wireless and I never dropped connection once and nothing slowed down.

It stayed fast, smooth and never had any slowdown. I am really impressed with how powerful this unibody Macbook is.

I am planning on making a youtube video soon showing off Wrath of the Lich King content on this laptop.

You can't go wrong. Also I had the same concerns you did and took a chance. I have no regrets and I love my new laptop.

I'm actually glad I didn't pay the extra $$ for the aluminum model.

I hope this helps.