How much of a memory hit is MacBook's lack of a dedicated video card? If the only loss is the "64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory" out of 1GB, that's not too bad. But then the fine print on the tech specs says "Memory available to Mac OS X may vary depending on graphics needs. Minimum graphics memory usage is 80MB". How does this 80MB+ number relate to the 64MB number? And the real question is - if graphics can suck additional memory at will, what is the typical maximum amount of memory that can be lost to graphics needs?
I have a 4-year old 1GB TiBook that's showing its age, and I'm thinking of side-grading to MacBook. I've done a lot of work on my TiBook over the years, and have never experienced memory problems. If 1GB was enough for my needs on the TiBook, I wonder why more would be needed on the MacBook - unless the graphics hit is too great!
Bonus question: Is the MacBook's Intel GMA 950 graphics processor a separate processor which does all display processing without extra drain from the main dual CPU? If not, how much additional CPU hit on the MacBooks compared to the MacBook Pros?
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