[Macworld]

Post your comments for Gaming finally comes to the MacBook here

[gandhi]

how about final cut real time rendering? will that be a possiblity now?

[Jarmo]

Great! This probably doubles the amount of macs (in the current line) a game developer can target for. Assuming about half of the macs being sold are portables, and 90% of portables being macbooks.
Now this is not a GPU you'll want for new AA games, no integrated part is. So it's not just "hardcore gamers" that'll shun this, it's "gamers" in general. *

But "casual gamers" should like this a lot, (not the ones playing solitaire, needing no graphics performance at all) but the ones playing World of Warcraft, or the ones to pick up the upcoming Diablo or Starcraft. Or the ones playing Civilization or Age of Empires.
*Admittedly, there's no clear definition of "Hardcore", but I'm assuming there's something between that and casual.

[Luis_Alejandro]

quote:
"“For the vast majority of users, if they can run AAA titles at decent settings on the MacBook, that’s a huge win for them and Apple,” said Smith."
I think that, as usual for Apple, it began building the foundations and then let the top came alone: here Apple is preparing the ground for Snow Leopard multi-core/GPU [game] development and also allowing faster displaying with DisplayPort.

[sujovian]

A) Final Cut rendering is done on the CPU, not the GPU, so Apple would need to re-code the app for that.
B) What difference does it make? The new macbook doesn't have an express card slot or firewire port, so good luck editing video over USB.

[BigSexy135]

While true that the macbook won't satisfy "hardcore" gamers, it'll play some of the latest games, just with the settings turned down. I have a 20in iMac (2.0ghz, 128mb radeon) and I play COD4 on med-low settings. These updated macbook graphics cards should be fine in running games at medium settings (with the exception of crysis) so people who wan't a mac would be able to have fun with their "hardcore" gamer friends.

[Peter Cohen]

BigSexy135 said:

These updated macbook graphics cards should be fine in running games at medium settings (with the exception of crysis) so people who wan't a mac would be able to have fun with their "hardcore" gamer friends.

Yeah. I don't think there's a 13-inch laptop on the market with specs to satisfying hardcore gamers, and I'm certainly not suggesting that you'll get a top-quality cutting edge FPS experience out of the MacBook. But I do think it's safe to say that the new MacBook is going to run newer games that come out for the Mac satisfactorily, such as some of Blizzard's new games. And I couldn't say that before yesterday.

[cgrscott]

I'm glad for the better video performance on the Macbook but Apple either needs to bring FireWire connectivity back in future revisions of the Macbook or make future releases of Mac OS bootable on USB2 external drives.
Rob

[trip1ex]

Ah sensational headlines. It's going to be an upgrade of course, but 1/2 speed of 8600gt pretty much says it all.

And btw, a refurb MBP from Apple's website is $1349. It has a faster 2.4ghz cpu, 256mb 8600gt vidcard, backlit keyboard, a bigger screen and bigger hard drive compared to the $1299 new MB.

[Switched112002]

NO FIREWIRE! Am I missing something? Have I missed the 1394 obituary? That is a huge support drawback. This reminds me of when they came out with MBP's with no firewire 800 and week DVD drives on the first Intel models. I recommend these things to newbies and switchers all the time. Love the new song and dance, but supporting them just took a step backward unless Apple is enabling new capability that they chose not to introduce? (Due to these very concerns) Are scoping the market for what people will live without. What limitation forced this port off the board? Why not drop a USB port and offer a hub solution for free for a little while or something? And as Sujovian and Cgrscott pointed out, the loss of firewire begs the question, just who Apple is targeting. Cool and hip yes, at what cost? Is the gaming experience the driving factor among college students deciding between PC and Mac? Is the video camera market dropping firewire? Has migration assistant been altered too allow USB? I am getting the impression that Apple is attempting to condition people into the cool, sleek, pro like look with the promise of better gaming capability, while drawing attention away from the fact they have been cannibalizing the higher end sales that they have to create greater differentiation between the pro line and the consumer line. This very publication did point out the fact that they are so close now that most users no longer need to demand pro models since the consumer line got so powerful and offers greater connectivity. Until the firewire issue is cleared up, I would be hard pressed to recommend these flashy new models over the cheaper more functional white macbook.

[mr.steevo]

"I'm glad for the better
video performance on the Macbook but Apple either needs to bring
FireWire connectivity back in future revisions of the Macbook or make
future releases of Mac OS bootable on USB2 external drives.
Rob"



Hi,



As far as I know, USB drives have been bootable since Apple moved to Intel processors.

http://www.tuaw.com/...rom-usb-drives/

s.

[montgomery_burns]

With Apple using Nvidia chipsets, what's next? Real SLI on the Mac Pro?

[robco]

I'm hopeful the new chipset will be able to play most games at full rez with medium settings. I just want to be able to play SC2, Spore, WoW and Civ without choking the machine. I was resigned to having to spend more on a Pro - not to mention dealing with the heftier, bulkier 15" form factor. Or worse, going with something like the Lenovo T400 or Dell XPS 1330.
I've pretty much moved most racing/FPS gaming to the 360. But some games still require a PC or Mac.
If the GPU performance is decent, I would recommend the new MB (after checking out the new trackpad in person) to others like me who don't do any video editing and are content with external USB drives (which can be access wirelessly, even better). For those who do a lot of video editing, it probably isn't a great choice.

[h8appl]

I hate you apple. I actually registered just for this post, thats how much I hate you.
Anonymous Capitalist-in-Denial