macbook or macbook pro?

eliehass · Jul 8, 2007

I'm ready to make the leap from windows to mac but im not sure if i should get the powermac or the macbook pro... I plan on using my computer for internet browsing, college work and gaming. The only thing that makes me want the macbook pro is the video card because i think it will help with the gaming. Do i need the macbook pro is the video card not that important? My current windows laptop has no video card and i have a very hard time running games even on low settings.

mongoloido · Jul 8, 2007

Depends on the gaming, but you'll need a MBP for anything even remotely serious. You won't run anything current gen, or next gen with integrated graphics.

Get a MB if you'll be playing Bejeweled.
Get a MBP if you'll be playing any sort of FPS, RTS, MMO, ETC...

eliehass · Jul 8, 2007

yeah, thats pretty much what i was thinking, right now I mainly play WoW but I am also a big FPS fan, i was also wondering, if i install windows with bootcamp, would the macbook pro be able to run DX10 games, bec the nvidia card should have dx10 support right? And would windows on mac run games well? Cause i would pretty much only install windows on my mac to play video games that arent out on the mac.

Ge64 · Jul 9, 2007

MB can handle maybe up to Age of Empires 3, but thats about it. Its graphics card is the thing that limits it, the CPU is good enough for most games. MBP wont run all the new games at max settings either, though, the 8600 M is good for now but its not much compared to desktop graphics cards which have way more power.

Number2MVP · Jul 9, 2007

mongoloido said:
Depends on the gaming, but you'll need a MBP for anything even remotely serious. You won't run anything current gen, or next gen with integrated graphics.

Get a MB if you'll be playing Bejeweled.
Get a MBP if you'll be playing any sort of FPS, RTS, MMO, ETC...

Funny you should say that,
I run Call of Duty 2 on medium settings on my Black MacBook with no lag at all.
Maybe you should do some more research.

Ge64 · Jul 9, 2007

eliehass said:
yeah, thats pretty much what i was thinking, right now I mainly play WoW but I am also a big FPS fan, i was also wondering, if i install windows with bootcamp, would the macbook pro be able to run DX10 games, bec the nvidia card should have dx10 support right? And would windows on mac run games well? Cause i would pretty much only install windows on my mac to play video games that arent out on the mac.

Yeah thats the same thing I have in mind with my new MBP 15" with the 256MB graphics. You need Vista to run DX10 games though, and remember, macs arent made for (and dont support) windows. Laptops are not meant for gaming. A Mac Laptop should not be considered fit for gaming, its just a nice extra if it works.

eliehass · Jul 9, 2007

Ge64 said:
Yeah thats the same thing I have in mind with my new MBP 15" with the 256MB graphics. You need Vista to run DX10 games though, and remember, macs arent made for (and dont support) windows. Laptops are not meant for gaming. A Mac Laptop should not be considered fit for gaming, its just a nice extra if it works.

Doesnt leopard have bootcamp built in (I know its not out yet) and i heard that windows works amazing on mac... i could have been misinformed. Of course, im switching to mac for a reason. I dont want to instal windows on a MPB and use it as my default OS, I'm sick of windows and want to move to the much better OSX, but at the same time i was just wondering if I install vista on my MBP to run windows only games, will it support DX10 and will the games run at a decent level (I'm not expecting all settings maxxed out with no lag, but at the same time i dont want to play todays games, or even games like WoW which came out in 2004 on the lowest setting like i do on my current laptop.)

Number2MVP · Jul 9, 2007

eliehass said:
Doesnt leopard have bootcamp built in (I know its not out yet) and i heard that windows works amazing on mac... i could have been misinformed. Of course, im switching to mac for a reason. I dont want to instal windows on a MPB and use it as my default OS, I'm sick of windows and want to move to the much better OSX, but at the same time i was just wondering if I install vista on my MBP to run windows only games, will it support DX10 and will the games run at a decent level (I'm not expecting all settings maxxed out with no lag, but at the same time i dont want to play todays games, or even games like WoW which came out in 2004 on the lowest setting like i do on my current laptop.)

*sigh* No, it will not support DX10.

eliehass · Jul 9, 2007

Number2MVP said:
*sigh* No, it will not support DX10.

even in windows? isnt the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT a DX10 compatible video card?

mongoloido · Jul 9, 2007

Number2MVP said:
Funny you should say that,
I run Call of Duty 2 on medium settings on my Black MacBook with no lag at all.
Maybe you should do some more research.

CoD2 is 2ish years old. Perhaps you and I should agree on a definition of "current gen" before discussing my research habits.

mongoloido · Jul 9, 2007

Maybe Number2MVP has more information than I, but Vista is the OS of DX10, and the 8600GT is DX10 compatible. Absolutely everything I have read says the MBP (with Vista in bootcamp) will indeed run DX10 games. I have no idea what settings will be possible though.