The Macbook And The GMA 950

So I've caught an interest in getting a Mac as of late, for the most part because I've noticed that it can now run most of the programs I use.

The $1299 Macbook looks like the best system for me. I own a notebook PC now, but It's large and not very portable at all. Not to mention the battery dies quick with even the most basic things running. Give it an hour and a half, and it's gone. I'll also most likely be starting college in a few years. I'm sure a nice small Macbook would benefit me.

The main thing that I think I won't like is the GMA 950. While I don't play games on my computer (That's what consoles are for), I do create 3D models and renders. I use Blender to do this. I hear that the GMA can allow for a good sized scene of half a million polygons while remaining use able, which is about double what my current computer can do.

Besides 3D work, I mostly use the internet, watch videos, and manage/edit images.

I would get a Macbook Pro, but that isn't really an option. Although I hear Macs "last longer" then a PC (A PC seems to start to become trash after about four or five years or so even when you take good care of them). A MBP might not be a bad idea, but I would have to look into that more. How long do you think a regular MB would last me?

nakile said:

I own a notebook PC now, but It's large and not very portable at all. Not to mention the battery dies quick with even the most basic things running. Give it an hour and a half, and it's gone.

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I too used to have a 17" HP Laptop, the battery lasted about an hour under normal use and it was simply too large to really be portable.

Recently picked up a 15" MB Pro, the core 2 duo model. It seemed a bit small at first going from a 17" laptop and having a 20" Cinema Display on my desk unit but have quickly gotten used to the somewhat smaller screen. The unit is very small and portable in comparison with the 17" widescreen laptop I used to own.

The battery in the MB Pro lasts about 3 hours under normal use, I think it starts out with an approximate battery life of 3.5 hours when I first unplug it.

As far as life of the unit, I hope to get about 3-5 years out of it before upgrading and giving it to one of my kids.

Sorry, no help with the 3-D Graphics stuff as I do not work with any of that but thought I would chime in with the above information.

What you've mentioned is more or less why I'm looking at the Macbook Pro. The Macbook screens are too small and the graphic card a little low for what will become my main system (I do plan on playing games on it, but probably no graphic design/modeling). If you really want the system to last you for a while, I'd suggest going with the MBP if only because the video card has twice as much memory (256MB) as the MB.

Thyamine said:

What you've mentioned is more or less why I'm looking at the Macbook Pro. The Macbook screens are too small and the graphic card a little low for what will become my main system (I do plan on playing games on it, but probably no graphic design/modeling). If you really want the system to last you for a while, I'd suggest going with the MBP if only because the video card has twice as much memory (256MB) as the MB.

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This is not quite accurate. Some MBP models have 256MB of RAM, others have 128MB of RAM. The MacBook allocates 64MB of system RAM to the video processor.

Just on rendering, the GMA950 will struggle with 24 bit pixel shading in modern games etc, but for a 500,000 flat polygon or textured polygon scene, it's hardly going to break into a sweat unless you're using huge uncompressed textures.

On video processing, the GMA950 is very competent, HD output being very good.

That's true now that I go back and look. I've been going over the specs of all the Macbooks trying to decide what I want and they're obviously starting to get a bit garbled in my head.

Good things to know. Most scenes use gouraud shading, though. A lot of times I work with wire frames. But I don't think that would make much of any difference.

About it. Although I hear rumors of some better hardware in late May. But it's all rumors after all.

Wow, ya'll keep a computer for 5 yrs as your main system? I'm impressed.
Must not be gamers. Personally, haven't had but one system longer than 12-18 months in the last 25 years. Of course the continuing increase in processor capabilities came to an almost screeching halt in '04 up until the dual core's last year.
Could have saved myself a lot of money if I could ever keep one that long. Maybe this MBP will be the one.

bobtomay said:

Wow, ya'll keep a computer for 5 yrs as your main system? I'm impressed.
Must not be gamers. Personally, haven't had but one system longer than 12-18 months in the last 25 years. Of course the continuing increase in processor capabilities came to an almost screeching halt in '04 up until the dual core's last year.
Could have saved myself a lot of money if I could ever keep one that long. Maybe this MBP will be the one.

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My mother has a desktop PC that's seven years old.

Although you can only browse the internet with it. Even still, this new Web 2.0 content slows it down.