06-09-2006, 09:39 PM

I'm considering purchasing a MacBook in the near future. I've always worked with gaming PC's, but now that I've grown out of gaming, I'm looking to Macs, because all I do is browse and listen to music.

However, could I upgrade the videocard of the $1099 Macbook enough to be able to play World of Warcraft smoothly?

The req's for the game are:

Mac® System OS X 10.3.5 OS:
933 MHz or higher G4 or G5 processor.
512 MB RAM or higher. DDR RAM recommended.
ATI or NVIDIA video hardware with 32 MB VRAM or more.
4 GB or more of available hard drive space.
MacOS X 10.3.5 or newer.
A 56k or higher modem with an Internet connection.

I know that a Macbook has all of it except video. So again, what videocard could go in the macbook that would allow me to run it SMOOTHLY, with as little lag as possible.

Thanks

06-09-2006, 09:51 PM

You can't change the video card in the MacBook.

The GMA950 will be playable but not very good.

06-09-2006, 09:55 PM

Forgive me if I seem ignorant... but why is it that people always seem to think you can change out the "video card" that comes in laptops?

I have NEVER seen ANY laptop EVER that has had a user upgradable video card/RAM.

06-09-2006, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by D3v1L80Y

Forgive me if I seem ignorant... but why is it that people always seem to think you can change out the "video card" that comes in laptops?

I have NEVER seen ANY laptop EVER that has had a user upgradable video card/RAM.

I think MXM(or something like that) GPU's are upgradable, but are rare. However, becoming more common. Both Nvidia and ATI have them. But, this doesnt mean you can put it in the MacBook. The whole point of MXM is to start out with a MXM card, and upgrade it later. And No, they GMA 950 is not one.

06-09-2006, 10:54 PM

Okay, so I might have been somewhat ignorant. :black:
After reading up on MxM though, it turns out that you still really can't upgrade them without a hassle...

Originally Posted by www.mxm-upgrade.com

The tough part is you can't buy these modules.

Why? Because right now, if you are not happy with the graphic performance of your laptop, you have to buy a new one. If you would be able to buy an MXM card off Newegg or your local computer shop instead, that would be a transaction where the laptop manufacturers have nothing to gain, while they have lost the sale of a new laptop in the process.

And so they shield the market as much as they can. Very few manufactures even mention MXM. They carefully use the word 'module', or they mention nothing at all.

So it would seem that even if your new laptop came equipped with an MxM GPU (which the MacBook clearly doesn't), you are going to have a ****ens of a time trying to locate a card to perform the upgrade with.
*shrug*

06-10-2006, 12:41 AM

Originally Posted by D3v1L80Y

Okay, so I might have been somewhat ignorant. :black:
After reading up on MxM though, it turns out that you still really can't upgrade them without a hassle...

So it would seem that even if your new laptop came equipped with an MxM GPU (which the MacBook clearly doesn't), you are going to have a ****ens of a time trying to locate a card to perform the upgrade with.
*shrug*

Exactly, hence why they are so rare.

06-10-2006, 02:00 AM

plus! not to be a bad news bringer, but that gma950? thats an onboard video chip, and will steal from your RAM and your processor!!! really sucks down the system in my opinion. so!!! if you have your integrated GPU supporting 128 mb of shared memory, and you have512 mb, then youre down to 384! sucks dont it? but thats only if youre using it all...

06-10-2006, 02:24 AM

Originally Posted by D3v1L80Y

Forgive me if I seem ignorant... but why is it that people always seem to think you can change out the "video card" that comes in laptops?

I have NEVER seen ANY laptop EVER that has had a user upgradable video card/RAM.

People think this because it is true. User upgradeable video cards have been used for some time in PC laptops. Dell's line of XPS machine, as well as some of their standard Inspiron laptops can all be upgraded graphics wise. Alienware, Sager, and many other boutique manufacturers have this option as well. Given, all of these models are directly aimed towards gamers. If you only use or look at Apple laptops then yes, video upgrades are not going to happen, but in the PC world they are common place.

Dell actually just released a 12" Widescreen laptop with an upgradeable graphics card.

06-10-2006, 03:46 AM

Originally Posted by sharpie05

plus! not to be a bad news bringer, but that gma950? thats an onboard video chip, and will steal from your RAM and your processor!!! really sucks down the system in my opinion. so!!! if you have your integrated GPU supporting 128 mb of shared memory, and you have512 mb, then youre down to 384! sucks dont it? but thats only if youre using it all...

The graphics chip can reserve up to 80MB for itself, in the MacBook and the Mac mini. It can use more for textures (for example), but only if the system makes them available. So on a standard 512MB config, it won't use more than 80MB.
Which is why I have 2GB in mine... :cool:

06-10-2006, 11:12 AM

I have had a couple laptops with upgradeable video.

That new Dell XPS M1210 is pretty amazing, I wish something like that was out when I was in the market for a laptop.