[spottynatty]

Hey,
I currently us PC but I am strongly thinking about switching to Mac. All of the people I have spoken to about swapping say that macs are 100x better.
I need a laptop for school (but would use it for light gaming) and I would like to know if a Macbook would fit my needs. I want it to be portable but still have enough things to do on it to keep me interested. I think that the problem is I dont really know much about Mac and I dont want to get the wrong thing or something that is about to be outdated.
Thanks

[alexhook]

Hi,
Ive also made the decision recently to switch to a mac. I visited my nearest macstore so i could check out all their products, and the friendly service assistant was an excellent help.
I got to have a test-drive of the mac, he showed me through all the word processing, graphic/video editing programs and even loaded up the doom 3 game on the macbook i was looking at.
I reccomend taht you visit your nearest macstore and have a test drive yourself.
What kind of games will you be running on the macbook?

I personally am waiting for the core 2 duo to be released in the macbook range before i make my purchase. And im confident that this technology will carry me well into 2008 and possibly 2009 before i want to upgrade it.

Hope i was of assistance!
-Alex

[alexhook]

I probably should mention that i chose to go with the black macbook - because i want maximum portability and a relatively low price. My budget does not allow me to choose a macbook pro at the moment, however i would definitely choose the macbook pro if i was interested in a moderate amount of gaming.
From reviews i have read the macbook pro sports a dedicated graphics card - a must have if you are going to be playing graphics intensive games (for example - half life 2 on the windows bootcamp option) which utilise openGL and other 3D graphics rendering engines.
The standard macbook range features integrated graphics - ideal for general use (word processing etc), graphic and video editing (although the smaller screen was a compromise i am prepared to make) and media center functionality - and light gaming.

[d00d]

It sounds like a MacBook would fine for your needs (at least not without more detail). I would pump the RAM up as much as possible though. The integrated graphics uses system memory and sharing 512 between the video and the rest of the system is a bit "tight". I'd say 1 GB is a must and 2 GB would be a great idea if you have the cash.

[RichL]

I love my MacBook, but I agree with the RAM suggestion.
Pump it up as much as you can.

[spottynatty]

Thanks for the advice guys /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I want to be able to play games like Unreal Tournament (It'll have to be on lowest settings), Flight Simulator 2004 and FSX when it comes out, Age of empires. I know ill have to install bootcamp to do so.
With the expansion of RAM, 2Gig costs an extra 700 or 800$ but if you buy it from (i think its) OEM its only $300. Is there any danger in buying non-macshop RAM? Is it hard to swap the RAM over?
Also I've been reading about the 'possible' release of Core Duo 2 for Macbooks. Does anyone have any idea about when/if this will be realeased?
Sorry for asking so many questions I just want to get the right Mac.
Thanks

[RichL]

I bought my RAM at OWC ...ran about $200 at the time for 2 GB..matched 1GB modules.
OWC has a movie that you can download that explains how to install it (it's easy) and also had to install a bigger HD.

[spottynatty]

Thanks Rich,
I would definatly upgrade the RAM myself, you'd be crazy not to. I was looking at the HD and it is cheaper to upgrade it youself but how hard is it to do it? I mean reinstalling all the software ect. I wouldnt really know what to do as I currently use PC:(
What is the best HD to use?
Thanks

[RichL]

I believe the Hitachi drives are good.....
In order to upgrade the HD you'd need tha ability to clone your current drive, and then copy that to a new HD.
Couple of ways you could do that....
Take your old MB HD and plug it into an external enclosure (they sell those at OWC as well), then you have a new external drive for other uses, or to BU your new HD.
Use a program like Super Duper to clone your drive back to the NEW HD.
It's not really very hard to do......thought I admit, it sounds like it is.

[spottynatty]

Thanks for the help Rich.
One more thing, are mac going to bring the Core Duo 2 processors into the macbook or is it a MBP exclusive thing? If anyone has any idea about whether or not Mac are going to do it please say. Id wait until it came out.
Many Thanks

[RichL]

Lots of rumors around on the MB upgrade.
Last one I saw said Nov. 13 or 14 is possible.
I think if they have not updated the MB by then, it may not happen until next year, but that is just my opinion.

[RichL]

Looks like they came out today...
MacBook

[ianj]

Quote:

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With the expansion of RAM, 2Gig costs an extra 700 or 800$ but if you buy it from (i think its) OEM its only $300. Is there any danger in buying non-macshop RAM? Is it hard to swap the RAM over?

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No - there's nothing special about the RAM that's included in Macs. I bought a 1 GB card for my MacBook Pro for $60 on newegg.com, and I think MacBooks use the same kind. Just about all the 667 MHz notebook RAM listed on newegg has positive comments from people who put them in MacBooks. Never, under any circumstances, buy RAM from Apple.

[d00d]

Quote:

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Never, under any circumstances, buy RAM from Apple.

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Not good advice. There are situation in which buying Apple RAM upgrades make sense. It's just necessary to do a price comparison.