[shortyes]

Hi all, I preordered World of Warcraft from Blizzard and am eagerly awaiting November 17th when it should be available in stores. I have a 15" PB 1.5Ghz with 128mb Vram and 512mb of ram.

I just ordered a stick of 1gb of pc2700 making it 1.25 GB of ram

What I would like to ask is I recently pruchased a Dell 2001FP for an external LCD, just waiting for it to be shipped. I was just wondering how the performance for the game would be like? Aka will the Vram be split if I use both the 15" LCD and the 20" ?

If I close the PB while the external LCD is on will all 128mb go to the external LCD?

Thanks all in advance for the replies

[SSharon]

If both screens are being used it definately splits the vram. I am not sure if you can close the lid without the computer going to sleep without a hack. I think this is because apple relies on heat dissipating from the keyboard up and this would hamper that.

[SLam]

Originally posted by SSharon:
If both screens are being used it definately splits the vram. I am not sure if you can close the lid without the computer going to sleep without a hack. I think this is because apple relies on heat dissipating from the keyboard up and this would hamper that.

It works quite well. I do it all the time for my 12". I have it attached to a 17" lcd. I only use the built-in screen when I'm on the go.

[s0litude]

Originally posted by shortyes:
Hi all, I preordered World of Warcraft from Blizzard and am eagerly awaiting November 17th when it should be available in stores. I have a 15" PB 1.5Ghz with 128mb Vram and 512mb of ram.

I just ordered a stick of 1gb of pc2700 making it 1.25 GB of ram

What I would like to ask is I recently pruchased a Dell 2001FP for an external LCD, just waiting for it to be shipped. I was just wondering how the performance for the game would be like? Aka will the Vram be split if I use both the 15" LCD and the 20" ?

If I close the PB while the external LCD is on will all 128mb go to the external LCD?

Thanks all in advance for the replies

Heya, and welcome to the WoW community. I've been playing since beta push 2 on a powerbook 1.25 15", with 2GB of RAM. I have two 20in apple lcds connected to my pb and it doesn't hamper performance at all. In fact I play WoW in windowed mode in the middle LCD, have my chats, and itunes, and other apps on the right LCD, and i regularly use my laptop screen for the web, specifically, www.thottbot.com, to help with questing in WoW. I was using 512 ram up until 2 months ago, and even then it was working fine. You should be fine.

PVP and certain areas of the game cause lag, but the RAM fixed it. Enjoy, and see you online!

[Powaqqatsi]

Originally posted by SSharon:
If both screens are being used it definately splits the vram. I am not sure if you can close the lid without the computer going to sleep without a hack. I think this is because apple relies on heat dissipating from the keyboard up and this would hamper that.

IIRC they don't rely on the keyboard for heat dissipation, at least not on the TiBooks so I can imagine it's the same with the AlBooks. It would be stupid since clamshell mode is officially supported.

[jbr]

Running your pb in clamshell mode will devote all your VRAM to the Dell. This is exactly what I do with my AlBook (running the Dell 2001fp as my second monitor). I run it in dual monitor mode for daily work (the VRAM is split between the two monitors but it runs fine with no noticable glitches). When I want to play games I run clamshell mode. Specifically, I turn off the Dell and then close my AlBook lid. Once it goes to sleep I let it cycle through about 4-5 "pulses" of the front light, then turn on the Dell. I wait for it to signal that it too is asleep (green ight next to power switch turns to orange) and then awaken my AlBook by clicking my mouse button (I've got an external keyboard and mouse hooked up). This wakes up the Dell and because it's the only monitor running it gets all the VRAM. Running clamshell mode does generate a bit of heat in the AlBook but it is designed to run this way. To further mitigate any concerns with heat buildup I just open my AlBook lid at this point (the monitor stays off). I've also got my AlBook sitting on an iCurve which raises it up nicely and allows good air circulation for heat dissipation. I've found that I do need to wait a bit as I mentioned before "waking up" the AlBook in order to make this work well, sometimes if I hurry the process the Dell doesn't get recognized.

[Mafia]

i've always wondered, if you turn your screen off with the brightness does the video card still divert vram towards it? j/w

[Powaqqatsi]

Originally posted by Mafia:
i've always wondered, if you turn your screen off with the brightness does the video card still divert vram towards it? j/w

Yes, the only thing that turning down the brightness do is turn down the brightness. If you turn it all the way down you can still see a faint image on the screen.

[jbr]

Originally posted by Powaqqatsi:
Yes, the only thing that turning down the brightness do is turn down the brightness. If you turn it all the way down you can still see a faint image on the screen.

Agreed. Tried this to compare with clamshell mode running a game and noted significant difference in game play.

[tooki]

Originally posted by SSharon:
If both screens are being used it definately splits the vram. I am not sure if you can close the lid without the computer going to sleep without a hack. I think this is because apple relies on heat dissipating from the keyboard up and this would hamper that.

Can this myth PLEASE die once and for all? The last PowerBook to rely on the keyboard for cooling was the Wallstreet series from 1998. ALL subsequent PowerBook models are fully supported in lid-closed operation, using only an external display, plus external keyboard and mouse.

Yes, closing the lid always puts the machine to sleep -- but opening the lid is NOT the only way to wake it up!

How to do it?
1. With the machine awake, connect a USB keyboard and mouse.
2. Close the lid.
3. Connect the external display, if not already connected.
4. Press any key on the keyboard to wake up the computer.

Now, all the VRAM is used for the external display, and the internal display will remain off, even if you open the lid.

If you use both screens simultaneously (i.e. by waking with the external display attached and the lid open) then the VRAM is split evenly between both displays (System Profiler will tell you how much VRAM is allocated to each display).

tooki

[Simon]

Excellent guide tooki! Apple should make a Tech Note of it.

May I add that you can also switch to closed-lid operation when the PowerBook is already asleep, no need to wake it first.

Let's say you just arrived at home or at the office and took your sleeping PowerBook out of its bag. Just make sure you attach AC power and display first (with the lid remaining closed) and then attach the keyboard. As soon as the PowerBook senses that the USB keyboard has been attached it will wake up, display to the external screen (with the full VRAM allocated) and the internal screen will remain off.

[drmcnutt]

How does this work with wireless mouse? Is it different?

[Powaqqatsi]

Originally posted by drmcnutt:
How does this work with wireless mouse? Is it different?

It should work the same, if it doesn't then just touch a key on your keyboard.