Planning on buying a Mac, just a couple of questions

[AssassuN]

Hi,
I am planning on buying a MacBook Pro 15. I just have a couple of questions.

1. Compared to a 14" laptop (specifically the Vaio EA series), just how large would the MacBook Pro look like? Will I notice a difference at all or a small difference?

2. How easy is it for a life long Windows user to adapt to Mac OS?

3. Is it better to wait for Lion or go ahead and purchase now? Could there also be some possible flaws that I should wait for to be straightened out?

4. When playing games such as Crysis, will the 6750 1GB graphics be able to play on High with the resolution of 1680x1050 or should I choose the 1400x900 option?

Thank you, I hope I can get good answers to my questions, leaving no doubt or regret in my mind

 

[hushmartin]

1) I doubt you'll even notice a difference. I had a 13" Vaio and got a 13" MBP, I could definitely tell the difference between these and the 15, but between a 14 and 15 I couldn't.

2) I've had my new MBP since Sunday the 6th. It's my first. I am already about over the learning curve... and I had barely even seen one before, let alone done anything with one. It's fine. If that's your biggest problem, be happy.

3) Flaws: don't worry about it. That's what a one year warranty and/or applecare is for. Besides that, I haven't heard of many people having problems. Nothing wrong with mine either. Waiting for Lion: Only if you really have to save the money you'll spend for upgrading to Lion. From what I can tell, we can expect the upgrade cost to be probably around 79 bucks, maybe less if Apple feels generous. If you are that worried about $80, then probably you should just buy a PC, ha ha.

4) I have no idea, I'm not a hardcore gamer... but from what I've *heard* you should have no problems if you get the higher end 15.

 

[kryptonitejesus]

Hi,
I am planning on buying a MacBook Pro 15. I just have a couple of questions.

1. Compared to a 14" laptop (specifically the Vaio EA series), just how large would the MacBook Pro look like? Will I notice a difference at all or a small difference?

2. How easy is it for a life long Windows user to adapt to Mac OS?

3. Is it better to wait for Lion or go ahead and purchase now? Could there also be some possible flaws that I should wait for to be straightened out?

4. When playing games such as Crysis, will the 6750 1GB graphics be able to play on High with the resolution of 1680x1050 or should I choose the 1400x900 option?

Thank you, I hope I can get good answers to my questions, leaving no doubt or regret in my mind

1. You will notice a 1.6" difference in screen size, that's about it.

2. Mac OS is ridiculously simple to learn, there are some things that you'll learn over time but the majority of the same rules still apply.

3. The only perk of waiting for Lion is the fact that you won't have to pay to upgrade to it, however sometimes it's better to wait till the OS have been used and been out on the market for a little bit before you jump right in.

4. Lol... don't quote me but I doubt you'd have much luck running Crysis on High in any resolution on the MBP... just saying.

 

[DudeMartin]

If you look at 'gaming' AlienWare laptops, they have 1GB VRAM, and since they are called 'gaming laptops,' they can probably run all the games with good frame rates.

The high-end 15" also has 1GB VRAM, along with a new graphics card, so I would assume it's graphics performance is on-par with AlienWare's, so I would assume it would run the games without any problems.

Also, I wouldn't just whether you need a high-res screen on whether or not you can run a game ... !


Also, I got a 13" MacBook Pro on the 26th of February, and Windows XP has been the only OS I have ever used (ever since I was a child lol). By this point, I am comfortable with OS, almost as much as Windows XP. In fact, after you use Mac OS X you sort of get crafty of the way that you do things... like I don't want to go Pastebin.com to post something - I just download a widget; I don't wanna look through all the open programs on the Dock, let's just open Expose and see them all right in front of you. Really nice OS.

 

[Looon]

If you look at 'gaming' AlienWare laptops, they have 1GB VRAM, and since they are called 'gaming laptops,' they can probably run all the games with good frame rates.

The high-end 15" also has 1GB VRAM, along with a new graphics card, so I would assume it's graphics performance is on-par with AlienWare's, so I would assume it would run the games without any problems.

Also, I wouldn't just whether you need a high-res screen on whether or not you can run a game ... !


Also, I got a 13" MacBook Pro on the 26th of February, and Windows XP has been the only OS I have ever used (ever since I was a child lol). By this point, I am comfortable with OS, almost as much as Windows XP. In fact, after you use Mac OS X you sort of get crafty of the way that you do things... like I don't want to go Pastebin.com to post something - I just download a widget; I don't wanna look through all the open programs on the Dock, let's just open Expose and see them all right in front of you. Really nice OS.

Sorry but that's not how that works

 

[impulse462]

If you look at 'gaming' AlienWare laptops, they have 1GB VRAM, and since they are called 'gaming laptops,' they can probably run all the games with good frame rates.

The high-end 15" also has 1GB VRAM, along with a new graphics card, so I would assume it's graphics performance is on-par with AlienWare's, so I would assume it would run the games without any problems.

Also, I wouldn't just whether you need a high-res screen on whether or not you can run a game ... !


Also, I got a 13" MacBook Pro on the 26th of February, and Windows XP has been the only OS I have ever used (ever since I was a child lol). By this point, I am comfortable with OS, almost as much as Windows XP. In fact, after you use Mac OS X you sort of get crafty of the way that you do things... like I don't want to go Pastebin.com to post something - I just download a widget; I don't wanna look through all the open programs on the Dock, let's just open Expose and see them all right in front of you. Really nice OS.

VRAM is pretty much meaningless. Depends on the type of card as well as the architecture of the GPU core.

 

[davidg4781]

1. Can't really answer that, since I've never played with both.

2. I've been using Windows since 3.1. It was a weird first few hours when I got my MacBook in 2006, but after I realized that OS X is designed to make sense, it's actually weird to use Windows, even though I use them at work.

3. If you can wait, wait. I'm guessing there may be button changes, maybe a hardware change, but I can't totally be sure. My MacBook doesn't have some of the buttons the newer ones had, and while I can still get by, if I had the choice of waiting a couple of months to get the new hardware, I would've waited.

4. Not a gamer... but The Sims works pretty good on my CD MacBook running Windows XP under BootCamp on full screen .

 

[thinkinblue613]

Hi,
I am planning on buying a MacBook Pro 15. I just have a couple of questions.

1. Compared to a 14" laptop (specifically the Vaio EA series), just how large would the MacBook Pro look like? Will I notice a difference at all or a small difference?

Honestly, I think my 13" is the perfect size for a laptop. If I put it on my desk, then its better to just use an external monitor.

But to answer you question, it's going to be bigger. I'd look at the dimensions and compare between them.

2. How easy is it for a life long Windows user to adapt to Mac OS?

It may take a while to get used to the inverted options (like the status bar being on top, and the close button on the left instead of right) but it's a very simple operating system to use. You'll also realize a lot of small features that allow your production to be faster. (Spaces, gestures)

3. Is it better to wait for Lion or go ahead and purchase now? Could there also be some possible flaws that I should wait for to be straightened out?

No need to worry about flaws. Purchasing now would be fine. Both of my laptops were bought days from a lineup release and I've had my 2006 15" MBP still working (aside from replacing the left fan, batteries and upgrading the airport card)

4. When playing games such as Crysis, will the 6750 1GB graphics be able to play on High with the resolution of 1680x1050 or should I choose the 1400x900 option?

It'll be too hot to play processor heavy games on your lap, but on a desk it'll be fine.

As for graphics, don't expect too much out of it. If you want good graphics in a game get a laptop with a video card designed for it.

As for being able to play, you can do it with this new lineup with Mac OS X or Windows just fine.

Whatever you do with your decision, you can't go wrong with a Macbook Pro. Especially this new lineup. Even though a lot of people were "let-down" with the specs, I am happy with my purchase and hoping it'll stay with me for at least 3-5 years before going outdated.

 

[paleriderc2d]

My first Mac was a Performa 405. Then my dad decided that it was time to transition over to the windows 95 club. When I finally made it back to the world again, Panther was the current OS. I spent many days at the Germantown, TN Apple store waiting for my future wife to get off from work and I used that time to get reacquainted with OS X.

OS X has been far more reliable than Windows XP, Vista, and 7 in my experiences. I use Windows 7 to game on and I use my MacBook Pro to do everything else.