[TStewart422]

Hey everyone! Just joined the site and am looking forward to becoming one of the Mac community.
I'm currently running a DELL XPS M140 (don't throw any rocks yet) and
am looking for something different. I've had the opportunity to use
last year's iMacs at school and fell in love. Now, with several keys
missing, a broken CD/DVD-ROM drive, and a love affair with Apple later:
It's time for a change.
Because of mostly a lack of space, a laptop is the direction I'm going
in. However, after looking at the mid-level Macbooks and the baseline
Macbook Pros, I have found myself in a rut. Which fits my own needs
better?
I do very little besides surf the web, play on iTunes, a LITTLE World
of Warcraft, some SNES/PSX emulator fun, working with Cool Edit Pro,
and a little Picasa (can't wait to replace that with iPhoto).
Also, I have a hard time fathoming switching to a smaller screen, yet
at the same time, don't really know how to justify spending $400 just
for the super-sized screen.
So, I bring my situation to you, the ones who know. Thanks and I look forward to joining you guys in Mac ecstasy!

[wgood]

Hey Stewart, welcome to the community!

The choice between an MB or MBP definitely comes down to usage. The main difference between the two machines is graphics options, and the screen size. If you're into gaming, the MBP is definitely the way to go; the MacBook's integrated chip can only push out a few frames per second on all but the oldest games. When you say Cool Edit Pro, I assume you're talking about the Windows audio editing program. Garageband seems to be the logical replacement, and for that a MacBook would do quite nicely.

So, you should think of what you're planning on doing with your computer. If you only game occasionally, the MacBook would be perfect for you. I love the high resolutions screen of mine, and even on a stand, it is easy to read.

Hopefully that will give you some direction.

[TStewart422]

Thanks, dude!

The extent of my gaming is World of Warcraft and the SNES/PSX emulators I run. Cool Edit is standard at the radio station that I work, so I'll probably be investing in a copy of XP Professional (Vista sucks SO BAD!) for that purpose alone. That and I CANNOT be parted with Exact Audio Copy (best CD ripping program EVER!).

[wgood]

You're welcome.

If you're still on the fence about gaming with the Macbook, I'd suggest asking for people's experience with Macbooks and WoW.

[TStewart422]

Changed the title to attract a different crowd.

Has anyone had any experience with the mid-level (2.2 Ghz) Macbook with the Santa Rosa platform playing WoW?

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
If I could afford a 17" MBP, I would have one but I don't mind my MB's 13" either. Anwyho...Everything should be plenty fine and the only choices you'll need to make is for WoW and the screen size. I haven't looked in quite some time but finding Universal Binary versions of the emulators would help a lot as far as performance is concerned. Some helpful links for WoW...

• Bare Feats: MacBook 2.2GHz with GMA X3100 versus 2 rival Mac laptops
• The Apple Store (U.S.) - World of Warcraft by Vivendi Universal
• Macgamefiles.com: World of Warcraft (Universal Patch)

[TStewart422]

I've been playing WoW with the XPS M140 for two years now and haven't had too much of a problem with it. I usually run it with everything except terrain distance on low. I can pull a solid 30 FPS with that config.

Does the dedicated graphics card make that much of a difference for everyday tasks?

[wgood]

I'm running the Macbook Core 2 Duo and it is surprisingly powerful for everyday tasks. It is MUCH more powerful than the previous iBooks and for the most part, PowerBooks. It even supports Core Image, so there are a few more pieces of eye candy (like the rippling effect in Dashboard). The only time you notice the some of the limitations is when you do start up a game, or other graphics-intensive application and the fans sound like they're about to make the computer hover.

[TStewart422]

How much better is the new integrated graphics chip compared to the XPS M140's from two years ago (it was REVOLUTIONARY for a laptop to have a 128 MB mintegrated chip back in 2005)?

[wgood]

My MacBook uses the Intel GMA950 graphics chip, which apparently uses at least 64MB of system memory, although in practice it is usually about 80MB. The current Santa Rosa MacBooks have the new Intel X1300 integrated chip, and they use 128MB, and are much more powerful than the 950. I think that since computer technology becomes more advanced so quickly, the chip in the new MacBooks will be much more powerful than the M140's.

[TStewart422]

OK, that just about makes up my mind. It's not worth it to me to spend the extra $700 for a bigger screen and better performance on a game that I play for a few hours a week.

That leaves just one more question: black or white?

The blacks look MUCH nicer, but have major problems with rubbing off. Is that consistent with the updated line?

The whites are cool and all, but they appear almost girly to me. Are they better in person?

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
Your XPS has an Intel 915 chipset, which has the GMA 900. The previous MacBooks and MacBook Pros ( but disable the chipset graphics component in replacement for the dedicated ) and all Mac minis have the Intel 945 chipset chipset, which has the GMA 950 and the latest MacBooks and MacBook Pros ( but disable the chipset graphics component in replacement for the dedicated ) have the Intel 965 chipset, which has the GMA X3100.

Some more fun links...

? Intel GMA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
? Intel? 915G Express Chipset
? Intel? 945G Express Chipset
? Intel? G965 Express Chipset Overview
? Technology@Intel ? Gaming on Integrated Graphics: No Longer Crazy Talk

[TStewart422]

Very good! Now, one more question...

... what the heck does it all mean? :^0

[wgood]

The white MacBooks are definitely not girly. I like the white one because it stands out from the crowd of black/grey ThinkPads and Dells. My friend has the black one, and the only real difference I can see is that the black finish doesn't scratch quite so easily. Be careful with the while macbook and it looks really nice.