[gioele]

I'm very disappointed by latest update to iBook and PowerBook line.

Since I bought an iBook about 2 years ago I suggested everybody to buy a mac: iBook for mobile computing and iMac for classical home damand.

This february I suggested my last iBook... But my friend was not fully happy of his new laptop and I aggree with him.

OSX is a great software and a great platform, but I can't pay 1400 EUR and then play Simcity 4 (or any other 3D game) at mininum resolution with all the fx off. Or watch hires mpeg4/2 videos with frameskips!
Baseline cheap (1000 EUR) x86 laptops are heavier, have less battery life, but still have at least DDR2700 memory, ATI or nVidia programmable video cards with 64MB and 40GB disks!

Now, I hate to suggest x86 computers, but what should I do? Should I lie saying that you can work and PLAY with your iBook as with any other laptop?
Yes, you can browse the web and send email, but I was doing that with my 486SX back in 1995; from a recent computer I expect some more: not those latest great audio/video/performance features as found on many PCs and some notebooks, but some stupid 3D game that don't look like 1996 at least!


I like PowerPC, but I think that my passion for Apple's hardware is fading away.

[desvenne]

Originally posted by gioele:
ATI or nVidia programmable video cards with 64MB

Shared graphics isn't that great. Most low-end 1000 euros laptops here come with shared graphics (programmable my ass!)

Anyway, I'd never recommend a low-end Mac as a 'pure' gaming machine to anyone. It's not because I enjoy warcraft 3 at 1024x 768 on my iBook G3 that everyone has the same pain treshhold

have you tried playing the game at the native res, wth details turned down?

And how much RAM you got?

Anyway, over the years I've always immensely enjoyed my Macs, and never ever advocated them or recommended them. I let my friends and family figure out their own computer stuff, it keeps me from going insane...

The fun I'm having with my iBook should be enough ringing endorsement for apple in itself.

Cheers.

[pat++]

Buying a Mac to play is stupid. Buying a laptop to play is even more stupid (even a PC)
If you want to play, get a PC, you won't find any better performance/price anywhere, except game consoles maybe.

Now, if you want to do anything else, go for a Mac. Quite simple.

[sniffer]

IBM competible computers running windows is better at gaming in general. Games that are made specifically for a platform in mind, runs best on that platform. It's that simple.
However, the price/feature/mobility of the iBook is very competable in what you else get in this segment. If your friend isn't happy about hid iBook and the Mac platform, he should buy an IBM competible PC. Mac doesn't suit everyone, neither does windows for some. Let it go, don't worry.

[freakboy2]

yeah you want a gaming box, why buy a laptop.. also simcity 4 is not exactly fast on any computer.. my friend who had a p4 2.53 was slowing to a crawl running that thing, and it wasn't the video card tht was the problm (he has a 9700) it was that it is a SLOW game.

if it is smp aware it would probably run best on a dual g4 or dual g5.

i'm not trying to say you should buy an ibook for gaming.. don't. buy it b/c osx rules, you don't have to update every 3 days with the latest critical security patch, and you don't have new virus definitions and adware that gets into your box every time you turn around. my pcs are almost around the clock running some anti-crapware software. scanning for this and that.. and they find stuff every once in a while. and NO i don't use IE anymore and NO i don't have an open network.

M$ Os's suck.

[Graymalkin]

My friend was able to play Neverwinter Nights at 1024x768 on her 933MHz G3 iBook (April '03) well enough to keep up with my 867MHz 12" Powerbook. In Quake 3 the Radeon 7500 in her iBooks did a pretty good job at keeping the framerate close to my Powerbook's GeForce4 MX. The new Radeon 9200s and G4s in the iBooks make them pretty nice little systems for quite a few games. SimCity 4 doesn't run well on any computer, PC or Mac, quite a few other games do however.

If you're buying a Mac specifically to play games you're really doing yourself a disservice. It is well known that the Mac gets fewer games and gets them later than the PC does. If you're only interested in games a PC would be a much better choice. I've got enough games on my Powerbook to keep me pretty content. When I want a stronger dose of gaming goodness I play my Gamecube.

Don't naysay the iBooks simply because one game ran poorly on it. There's a whole slew of games that run nicely and won't give you any trouble. It sucks if you're a SimCity fan but then SC4 was a disappointment for fans on both platforms.

[brutal]

If you want gaming - buy an Xbox.

[msuper69]

Get a PS2.

[bartman00]

Sim city4 is a poor example. It dosn't play well on my P4 2.46, 9600pro box!

I'd sugest try playing some of these games on the $1000 PC laptops you're talking about. All of them will have shared graphics memory and BLOW! I have 20 Presario 2100's I'm deploying at a library. Athlon 2600XP(or close) ATI intigrated chipset. They feel so slow and are huge!

I'd love you see you run Simcity4 on one of these.. I'm sure it'd fly... lol.. not. It cracks me up in your little rant when you say "programmable video cards with 64MB" dood.. that's shared memory. Do a little research on shared memory and report back.

Bart

[:dragonflypro:]

Originally posted by brutal:
If you want gaming - buy an Xbox.

Originally posted by msuper69:
Get a PS2.

...and a GameCube. All for less then even basic PC gaming sys.

'sides. I sit in front of my PB all day as it is. When I play I want to grab a whisky and kick it on the couch.

T