05-26-2010, 11:36 AM

Hi,
I'm planning to buy the 13 inch MacBook Pro but I don't know whether to go for the 2.44 or the 2.66 GHz.
I would like to use it to play games like Far Cry Doom 3 etc but does the 2.66 really make that much of a difference when gaming? Is it worth the extra money?

Thanx.

05-26-2010, 11:43 AM

Well, first off, let's get this question over to the right forum, since it's not a comment, question or suggestion about the forum itself.

Personally, I would question the wisdom in buying a notebook - much less a Mac notebook - if playing games is a priority. But assuming gaming isn't at the top of your list, then no - processor speed isn't nearly as important as the graphics card (or GPU in this case) that the machine is equipped with. And certainly 200MHz won't afford that great of a difference in performance.

With that said, if you're rendering 3D or doing complex calculations and an extra 30 seconds of time is a big deal in your line of work, then it would be a consideration. But what really makes the biggest difference in gaming is the power of the GPU.

05-26-2010, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by Dari

Hi,
I'm planning to buy the 13 inch MacBook Pro but I don't know whether to go for the 2.44 or the 2.66 GHz.
I would like to use it to play games like Far Cry Doom 3 etc but does the 2.66 really make that much of a difference when gaming? Is it worth the extra money?

Thanx.

You need to get the 15 inch 2.66... not because of the screen size but because you need the best graphics card and the 13 inch macbook pro uses shared memory.

05-26-2010, 12:53 PM

thanx guys

@thomas998....I'm not a hard core gamer, just like to play games from time to time when I'm bored. I also like the 13 inch coz of it's compactness and also the 15 inch is a strain on my pockets.

Do u know of any other laptop in a similar price range that is better than a Mac? From what I've seen Macs are pretty awesome.

05-26-2010, 01:00 PM

Do u know of any other laptop in a similar price range that is better than a Mac? From what I've seen Macs are pretty awesome.

I've done extensive price comparison with other notebook computers and the MacBook, MacBook Pro computers. You'll find that for the same specifications and overall functionality, the prices are either the same or even higher than what you would pay for a Mac.

But what really seals the deal on buying a Mac over another brand is the superb customer support and service that Apple provides. Also, Windows 7 is pretty but still not as nice as Snow Leopard.

Regards.

05-26-2010, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by Dari

thanx guys

@thomas998....I'm not a hard core gamer, just like to play games from time to time when I'm bored. I also like the 13 inch coz of it's compactness and also the 15 inch is a strain on my pockets.

Do u know of any other laptop in a similar price range that is better than a Mac? From what I've seen Macs are pretty awesome.

It shouldn't be hard to find similarly configured machines from any of the major manufacturers for about the same or less than the MacBook Pro 15". And of course you'll need to factor in buying a copy of Windows in order to play the games you mentioned on that Mac, which will really tip the scales cost-wise.

05-26-2010, 01:06 PM

@cwa107...I remember reading somewhere about a software one can download and use to play windows compatible games

05-26-2010, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by Dari

@cwa107...I remember reading somewhere about a software one can download and use to play windows compatible games

Two options - CrossOver is an implementation of an API translation layer called WINE that can sometimes run Windows software. The trouble is, it's hit-or-miss, it works with some software, but not with others. Sometimes it will work with a package, but only partially. And when we're talking about games with heavy hardware requirements, the last thing you want to do is have a layer of abstraction in software. So, in short, it's a crap shoot.

The better option is to run Windows natively on your Mac. Boot Camp is a feature that guides you through partitioning your hard drive and installing Windows. But you will need to bring your own copy of Windows to do that.

05-26-2010, 03:34 PM

Originally Posted by Dari

thanx guys

@thomas998....I'm not a hard core gamer, just like to play games from time to time when I'm bored. I also like the 13 inch coz of it's compactness and also the 15 inch is a strain on my pockets.

Do u know of any other laptop in a similar price range that is better than a Mac? From what I've seen Macs are pretty awesome.

Even a casual gamer will find some games don't like the shared memory of Mac's no matter how fast the processor. I might consider an Alienware M15x the base version has a slower processor than the mac, but the fact that it has 512 of dedicated graphics memory would would still allow it to play games much better than even the fastest 13 inch macbook pro... I think it start out in base form around 1,199 dollars so its close in price to a 13 inch mac even though its a 15 inch laptop.

05-31-2010, 03:12 AM

Originally Posted by Dari

Hi,
I'm planning to buy the 13 inch MacBook Pro but I don't know whether to go for the 2.44 or the 2.66 GHz.
I would like to use it to play games like Far Cry Doom 3 etc but does the 2.66 really make that much of a difference when gaming? Is it worth the extra money?

Thanx.

There isn't actually a "2.44 GHz" clockspeed, only 2.394 which is rounded up to 2.4 GHz.

05-31-2010, 09:08 AM

Originally Posted by Dari

@cwa107...I remember reading somewhere about a software one can download and use to play windows compatible games

Cider is the one that comes to mind, though it has the notoriety of being a pirating tool.

If you are looking for a gaming laptop, the Asus G73JH is a monster. It might be better to get the base 13" macbook pro, and game on a less expensive desktop or an xbox

06-01-2010, 09:59 PM

Originally Posted by nepenthe

If you are looking for a gaming laptop, the Asus G73JH is a monster. It might be better to get the base 13" macbook pro, and game on a less expensive desktop or an xbox

The G73JH is about the size of a George Foreman grill. It has the best cooling of any laptop out there and a very sleek look (Looks like a stealth fighter jet). If you have the dough, upgrade the CPU to the i7-820 or 920.

06-01-2010, 10:01 PM

Originally Posted by nepenthe

Cider is the one that comes to mind, though it has the notoriety of being a pirating tool.

Cider is a product of Transgaming, and it's a derivative of WINE, mostly geared toward developers interested in porting their games over to the Mac quickly and efficiently. AFAIK, it's not marketed toward, nor useful for everyday users.

06-01-2010, 10:41 PM

The 13-inch Mac Books are severely bottlenecked by the GPU, so getting a better CPU will produce almost no benefit during games.

06-01-2010, 11:08 PM

Just my opinion... buy the right tool for the job. If you want to play Windows games without fuss, buy or build a Windows box. You'll probably be happier and have less hassle and spend less time trying to "fix" the Mac into being a Windows box.