[jreniew]

I'm thinking of returning the 12 inch powerbook g4 1.5ghz I just got to get a macbook. However the graphics issue has come to mind and is making me think.

After some research I found a test can give me an idea of what to expect from the macbook 2.0guz duo here:
http://www.barefeats.com/mincd.html

note this is a 1.63 duo but it is running same video card and memory... as you can see the results on the video gaming part are weak as hell... specially for someone like me who loves warcraft!

Now I wonder if the jump from 1.63 to 2.0 ghz will make a significant improvement...?

I also went to intel's site: http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/gma950/
for the Intel GMA 950 graphics processor and it states that the share memory could be expanded to 224 mb.

I wonder if that could be done on the macbook and if it will make any difference?

Any opinion or ideas welcome i want to make sure my exchange is justified...


Thanks
CArlos

[breakbeat46]

No its the video card that makes 3D games go. Playing something like rollercoaster tycoon 1 and the like will run just fine. Any game with 3D graphics will be a pain to play.

[lookmark]

Keep an eye on this thread for details about the MacBook and WoW.

The MacBook looks like a really nice notebook, but it's not for gamers, really. The 950 is all right for casual games and not-too-intensive 3-D games at lower settings. The 64MB shared video memory is set by Apple and can't be changed. It totals 80MB (64MB + other resources) taken from your RAM.

Your 12" Powerbook will be better for WoW and other such games.

[jreniew]

How about for regular desktop software... or something like iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, Bryce etc??

[amazing]

Shared video RAM really makes you wonder who Apple is aiming the MacBook at? Don't they think the core market for this laptop plays games?

Yeah, they wanna keep the price down, and set a clear distinction between MB and MBP, but at the cost of crippling a key target-audience interest in gaming?

What were they thinking...

[lookmark]

Originally Posted by warchieft2k

How about for regular desktop software... or something like iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, Bryce etc??

Everything else will run great. The Core Duo is a dual-core chip (basically dual-processor) that just knocks the G4 down in nearly every area.

Originally Posted by amazing

Shared video RAM really makes you wonder who Apple is aiming the MacBook at? Don't they think the core market for this laptop plays games?

Yeah, they wanna keep the price down, and set a clear distinction between MB and MBP, but at the cost of crippling a key target-audience interest in gaming?

I don't think Apple had much of a choice. The Core is a much better but more expensive chip, so something had to go. The G950 costs peanuts compared to a real graphics card, so it went.

It is too bad, esp with Boot Camp, that Apple's most affordable laptop isn't that good for gamers. Hopefully Apple will be able to squeeze a little more performance out of the 950 (see WoW thread above), and hopefully Intel's G965, supposedly coming this fall, will be a little better.

Alternately, Apple could include a MacBook with a BTO videocard option (for, say, $1599). That would be ideal.

[Extyx]

Originally Posted by lookmark

Everything else will run great. The Core Duo is a dual-core chip (basically dual-processor) that just knocks the G4 down in nearly every area.



I don't think Apple had much of a choice. The Core is a much better but more expensive chip, so something had to go. The G950 costs peanuts compared to a real graphics card, so it went.

It is too bad, esp with Boot Camp, that Apple's most affordable laptop isn't that good for gamers. Hopefully Apple will be able to squeeze a little more performance out of the 950 (see WoW thread above), and hopefully Intel's G965, supposedly coming this fall, will be a little better.

Alternately, Apple could include a MacBook with a BTO videocard option (for, say, $1599). That would be ideal.

$599 would be more ideal; I'd say up and snatch it up right away (Or, a lower-end $149
ATI X1300. that'd rock! ) But I'm just dreaming. I'll snatch a White 1.83 MacBook anyways.

[jreniew]

What we need is a way to be able to modify the amount of RAM shared say to 128 or 192...

And well upgrade the system overall memory to 2 gbs which on ebay you can get the memory for about $230 shipped.

So you Mac geniuses get to work! hack that lock!
/

[b11051973]

I'm a gamer and have no interest in playing games on a laptop. I have a PC desktop for that. I guess if I could only have a laptop and no desktop PC, then a real videocard would be required.