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Ordinary MacBook

J

jiggajoyce88

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 5, 2007
22
0
Hello all,
I have a dell 15" laptop and I'm looking to sell it in exchange for a 13" more manageable MacBook. The only thing that concerns me is that everyone on these forums seems to complain about its graphics card, and I have gotten comfortable with my 256mb graphics card on my Dell. I don't mean to give the impression that I know alot about laptops at all, all I know is that I can play games very comfortably on it. I was wondering if they are planning on coming out with an upgraded model like I see they did with the pro's that may improve upon this. Failing that, is there any loophole that one can exploit to get more out of it when playing games?
Thanks in advance for the help,
Mike.
 
Well first off what video card is in your Dell. As 256MB means nothing, as the GPU is what matters in graphics performance.

It is doubtful no matter how much we pray to the Apple Computer gods. That they will put a good video card in the Macbook, effectively killing the price they get for Macbook Pros. The only likely graphics update would be the latest Intel integrated graphics

However you can boost the system RAM to enhance game performance some. Lower the graphics settings (i.e. lower resolution, low quality textures, no shadows, no environment effects, no anti-aliasing, basically low/no filters of any kind)

The only solid options are the old Macbook Pro's though the new ones have much better GPU's.
 
I see...well if I got the macbook pro I wouldnt be solving my problem of it being too big, maybe I'll just suffer the drop in graphics. I don't play games much even especially not any of those quake or doom ones but I wouldnt mind i being able to handle games like Warcraft well... I think my card is an Nvidia Geforce or something? Is there anyway you can get the spec of your computer from your computer as I lost the sheet I got when I bought it and now that I think of it I'm not very sure if this is a 15" or a 17"...I'm an ass, I know....
 
Fair enough looks like I'll have to go with the macbook thanks for the help. Just a few more questions man sorry

1) When getting the macbook should I et the optional software? It seems like good fun but 300 is pretty steep

2) I read something on another forum about new macbooks coming out in october, if this is true should I wait for that?

3) Finally, I know its not relevant to a Mac but since I really dont know who else to ask: I got the specs for my laptop there, it goes something like:

2.33Ghz Processor,4mb shared L2 Cache
1024 RAM
15" Screen
120Gb Harddrive
DVD Re-Writer and all of that stuff
256MB Nvidia Geforce Graphics card
Its in perfect condition

Ballpark How much should I ask for It?
It also has three years warranty,
Thanks
 
jiggajoyce88 said:
Fair enough looks like I'll have to go with the macbook thanks for the help. Just a few more questions man sorry

1) When getting the macbook should I et the optional software? It seems like good fun but 300 is pretty steep

2) I read something on another forum about new macbooks coming out in october, if this is true should I wait for that?

3) Finally, I know its not relevant to a Mac but since I really dont know who else to ask: I got the specs for my laptop there, it goes something like:

2.33Ghz Processor,4mb shared L2 Cache
1024 RAM
15" Screen
120Gb Harddrive
DVD Re-Writer and all of that stuff
256MB Nvidia Geforce Graphics card
Its in perfect condition

Ballpark How much should I ask for It?
It also has three years warranty,
Thanks
Click to expand...

Heh, that's like the newly outdated MBPs. By what do you mean "optional software," I'm guessing that you mean FCE, Aperture, Logic Exp... if you're a switcher don't get any extra software, except iWork if you need it.
 
jiggajoyce88 said:
Failing that, is there any loophole that one can exploit to get more out of it when playing games?
Click to expand...
What type of games are you looking at playing?

In the MacRumors Games Forum (and also the MB/MBP Forum) there are quite a few (actually a lot!) threads about the MB's gaming performance - worth having a look. Also if there are any particular games you're interested in, try a search.

On Youtube, some users have posted footage of games being played on MBs - not v scientific, but it will give you some idea.

As to what price you should ask for your laptop, you would be best of asking on a PC-centric form or checking eBay.

As to the new MBs, no one knows when they're coming out - it's probably more likely Nov or Dec, as I say, who knows for sure? Whether you should buy one now or later depends on how much you want it now!
 
Games like World of Warcraft 3, Freedom force etc. It would be nice to playsomething ike halflife 2 or something but if it can't that wouldnt kill me...
 
jiggajoyce88 said:
Games like World of Warcraft 3, Freedom force etc. It would be nice to playsomething ike halflife 2 or something but if it can't that wouldnt kill me...
Click to expand...
'Kay - well, do have a search through the forums as I'm sure that will be v useful for you... WOW has certainly been discussed quite a bit in teh Games Forum for sure. Overall, WOW seems to play pretty well although you're going to have to turn down some of the settings. This kind of thing must has been discussed on the official WOW forums.

Half Life 2 I think is playable, but not great. Freedom Force... I would guess would be fine.

As I say, you would best off doing a few searches (Googling it would be best) to get some decent info.
 
WoW plays fine on Macbooks. Since I installed it, I havent changed any of the performance messures. It's all default and plays around 15fps.

The Mac Pro plays it at 60fps :eek: :D
 
So to sum up....would it be worth my while waiting to see if there is any macbook upgrade or should I just go ahead and get one since there wont be any upgrade...not a major one anyway...
Also! I usually do my college work using microsoft word......is there something similar to that on the mac?...is it easy to use as I find microsoft word to be ok...
 
It looks like the Macbooks may be getting LED backlit screens with the next upgrade, so I'd wait for that.

Microsoft makes (or made) Office for Mac. Latest version is 2004, I think.
 
shipdestroyer said:
It looks like the Macbooks may be getting LED backlit screens with the next upgrade, so I'd wait for that.

Microsoft makes (or made) Office for Mac. Latest version is 2004, I think.
Click to expand...
The next MB update 'should' contain SR and LED screens, but nothing to that's definitely makes it worth waiting for.

But if some is able to wait comfortably until then as they don't desperately need it, I think their patience would be well be well rewarded.

However, no one is able to say when the next MB will be updated next. If I had to bet, I would say November - but there's no way I would bet on something like that.

Also it's worth remembering, when a machine has the kind of updating that the next MB will have (probably), the first revision will inevitably have teething problems.
 
Igantius said:
The next MB update 'should' contain SR and LED screens, but nothing to that's definitely makes it worth waiting for.

But if some is able to wait comfortably until then as they don't desperately need it, I think their patience would be well be well rewarded.

However, no one is able to say when the next MB will be updated next. If I had to bet, I would say November - but there's no way I would bet on something like that.

Also it's worth remembering, when a machine has the kind of updating that the next MB will have (probably), the first revision will inevitably have teething problems.
Click to expand...

I should have italicized I'd - I didn't mean you should.
 
What would the latest date for a macbook update be...November/Decenber..?
Because I can wait that long...
 
velocityg4 said:
That they will put a good video card in the Macbook, effectively killing the price they get for Macbook Pros.
Click to expand...

The iBook G4 had a dedicated graphics card and I think it didn't make an effect on PowerBook G4 sales. Apple has done it before (adding a dedicated graphics card to a consumer model) and they could do it again.
 
What about back-lit keyboards on the macbook...I think thats a really cool feature of the Pro...
 
shipdestroyer said:
I should have italicized I'd - I didn't mean you should.
Click to expand...
Sorry! I did read it as you meant it... think my rushed, awful typing led to the confusion!

dartzorichalcos said:
The iBook G4 had a dedicated graphics card and I think it didn't make an effect on PowerBook G4 sales. Apple has done it before (adding a dedicated graphics card to a consumer model) and they could do it again.
Click to expand...
Maybe price of production is a factor here?

You're dead dead right about the impact on PB G4 sales, although the differential between the pro and consumer laptops was greater back then than say a few months ago.

Looking through various threads, some posters here cite the MBP's video card to be a major reason why they opted for one over a MB.

I do agree though, that Apple could go down that path again without too much risk.
 
Igantius said:
I do agree though, that Apple could go down that path again without too much risk.
Click to expand...

Like for the next update, they could give the MacBook an ATI Radeon X1600 (the one that the MacBook Pro used to have and don't worry, the 8600M in the pros is better than X1600 and the consumer model will never have a better graphics card than the pro model;))
 
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