a few questions before switching....

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To start: I know very little about MACS.

In a few months, I am either going to upgrade from a Dual core AMD to Quad Core Intel or Macbook/Macbook pro. I dont want an IMac because I already have a 24" screen I dont want to part with so would just hookup Macbook to screen. And price wise, I dont want to spend the cash on a macbook pro or Mac pro.

My main concern is will the macbook integrated video be ok for playing Civilization 2(old game, I know) and just watching dvd's, random videos(youtube) or would I have to go with a macbook pro? I dont do video editing, or playing games besides civilization.

2nd, I already have a linksys router, so do I have to buy an airport express to go wireless or does the linksys router I have do the job?

3rd, what is the sound quality with a macbook? I have a SB x-fi Xtreme audio sound card in my pc and it's not the greatest thing ever but it gets the job done. I do play a lot of music so this is a pretty big issue.

Performance wise, how much greater is the 2.4 ghz vs the 2.1ghz? Is it worth the money?

2gigs ram vs 4gigs ram? Worth the upgrade? Does OS use it all or is it like windows where you have to have the 64 bit xp to use all that ram.
 

CrimsonRequiem


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Your Mac's Specs
MBP 2.3 Ghz 4GB RAM 860 GB SSD, iMac 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 32GB RAM, Fusion Drive 1TB
I think you should be fine with a Macbook.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
24" iMac 2.4 - 4GB RAM, Logitech S530 Kbrd/Mouse, Logitech Z2300 Speakers
Just food for thought... you won't always want to play CivII and you may find you have limited yourself. What about considering a Refurb MBP?
 
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Just food for thought... you won't always want to play CivII and you may find you have limited yourself. What about considering a Refurb MBP?

i could look into the refurb. Recommendations on sites to look for those? As for civ2, it is the only game I have ever played on pc. I use the 360 for all my gaming needs.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Black MB 2.4 c2d 4g ram
about the ram, when you buy a mac pro with 32 gigs of ram, you still get the same OSX. so I would assume that it does, in fact, use all the ram
 
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24" iMac 2.4 - 4GB RAM, Logitech S530 Kbrd/Mouse, Logitech Z2300 Speakers
i could look into the refurb. Recommendations on sites to look for those? As for civ2, it is the only game I have ever played on pc. I use the 360 for all my gaming needs.
apple.com has the refurbs. I've picked up my iMac & Airport Extreme on the Refub pages and been very happy with the products and the savings.
 
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Civ... 2? I'd be pretty shocked if the integrated graphics couldn't handle it. Civ 4 would be an entirely different story, however.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Macbook(W) 2GHz, 80GB HD, 1G RAM, Windows XP
you should be plenty fine with a macbook.

http://www.civfanatics.com/civ2/
here is the system requirements for civ 2 (at the bottom), and a macbook is WAY more then you need for that.
i have a 2.0GHz macbook with 1GB ram and i can watch dvds, and internet videos, and i play a lot of starcraft. and it works pretty great for all this.

your linksys router will work fine.

the speakers in the macbook are very poor IMO, and if you go this route, i would recommend purchasing external speakers to hook up.

i would imagine you wouldn't really notice that big of a difference between 2.1, and 2.4Ghz, but if you want to watch a lot of movies, then it's probably best to go for the 2.4

as for RAM, the best idea is too order it with the minimum amount and then buy more from a third party. apple ram is very expensive.

if you check crucial.com, you can find very good ram, and you can find any model of macbook and it tells you the max ram you can put in it that it will use.

hope i answered most of your questions ;)
 
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you should be plenty fine with a macbook.


as for RAM, the best idea is too order it with the minimum amount and then buy more from a third party. apple ram is very expensive.

if you check crucial.com, you can find very good ram, and you can find any model of macbook and it tells you the max ram you can put in it that it will use.

hope i answered most of your questions ;)

thanks for the response. is it simple to add ram to a macbook? just unscrew a cover, add new ram or is it like some pc laptops where you have to dismantle half the thing just to get to it? Same question applies to the HDD as well.
 
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Macbook White 2.16GHz 2Gb OS X 10.5, 16Gb iPhone 3G Black
thanks for the response. is it simple to add ram to a macbook? just unscrew a cover, add new ram or is it like some pc laptops where you have to dismantle half the thing just to get to it? Same question applies to the HDD as well.

it's not difficult at all to add new ram. take the battery out, unscrew one metal plate and slip it in. there are instructions on the apple website.

like everyone else has already said, you'll be fine with a macbook. only drawback being the poor speakers, but if you're working at a desk then its not too much hassle to hook up an external set.
 

Hit


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Your Mac's Specs
Macbook 2.4Ghz
I can play GTA SA at high settings in windows
So Civ2 should definitely do
 
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like everyone else has already said, you'll be fine with a macbook. only drawback being the poor speakers, but if you're working at a desk then its not too much hassle to hook up an external set.

appreciate the response but im looking for a different answer. The speakers arent my concern, its the sound card itself. I assume the sound is integrated and in my experience makes for poor sound. Is the mac any different?

http://soundblaster.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=16642

Is there something like that but Mac compatible as that is only xp and vista compatible?
 

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