[dietrich78]

Hi guys, i hope this is the right place to ask the following questions. i couldn't find the answer while searching.
i am about to make the switch to mac. i will be getting a macbook 2.0/1gb/120gb next week and i have the following questions:
1. can i use my ext lg usb burner i used for my pc for this macbook? is there a place i find compatibilities for mac?
2. i just puchased a wd ext hdd, am i correct to assume that only fat32 partitions will be recognized by my mac?
3. with a mini dvi adapter, i can connect my 19" monitor used previously with my pc on my macbook?
4. can i use my version of xp, if i install fusion or bootcamp, parrallel to leopard?
5. is i upgrade the ram, is it worth it to upgrade to 4gb, or are 2gb enough (planning to use final cut express)?
thanks a lot for your time. all answer are greatly appreciated. i hope they arent too noob.

[ghporter]

1-Yes, you can use an external burner-Macbooks have USB ports, right? Seriously, it'll work.
2-Your Mac can recognize FAT32 partitions and read and write them, and it can read NTFS partitions, but cannot natively write them. If you're using this for a Mac exclusively, you may want to look into whether you can change the drive's format to Apple's HFS (a long shot, but it could work). Or Google "NTFS and OS X" and find MacFuse which lets you read AND write NTFS partitions natively in OS X. Of course the external drive may make that immaterial-some "abstract" the actual drive so that it's not an issue. Read the tech data on your drive to find out.
3-Monitors are monitors. If you can plug it in, it'll work.
4-Depends. If you completely remove that copy of XP from any and all other computers, yes you can. But it's illegal to install a single-license version of XP on more than one machine. It WILL work with Boot Camp, Fusion, and Parallels, but do it the legal way.
5-Go big. I'd fill out any computer's RAM-I just did max out my aluminum iMac. Read in this forum about how your particular Macbook will be able to use the RAM you install-some versions have limitations-and decide accordingly.

Oh, and WELCOME to the MacNN Forums!

[@pplejaxkz]

Originally Posted by dietrich78 

Hi guys, i hope this is the right place to ask the following questions. i couldn't find the answer while searching.
i am about to make the switch to mac. i will be getting a macbook 2.0/1gb/120gb next week and i have the following questions:
1. can i use my ext lg usb burner i used for my pc for this macbook? is there a place i find compatibilities for mac?
2. i just puchased a wd ext hdd, am i correct to assume that only fat32 partitions will be recognized by my mac?
3. with a mini dvi adapter, i can connect my 19" monitor used previously with my pc on my macbook?
4. can i use my version of xp, if i install fusion or bootcamp, parrallel to leopard?
5. is i upgrade the ram, is it worth it to upgrade to 4gb, or are 2gb enough (planning to use final cut express)?
thanks a lot for your time. all answer are greatly appreciated. i hope they arent too noob.

1. I don't see why you couldn't use your burner
4. I myself am using the same version of XP that I used with my other PC laptop, with Bootcamp by the way.
5. I believe you can only address up to 3GB's in the Macbook. MacSales has a 3Gb kit for $80 (From OWC). I'm about to purchase in a week or two.

Somebody else should answer 3 and 4 as I am not too sure myself and don't want to give out false information.

Ya beat me ghporter! =] Also Welcome to MacNN!

[amazing]

Just out of curiosity, are you aware that MacWorld Expo in San Francisco is going to happen on January 15? 'Cause that's when Apple has introduced new stuff--so it's never to great an idea to buy just before the Expo.

Are there special circumstances where you're absolutely gonna get the MB next week? Could it be delayed a week?

I almost didn't post the above (didn't wanna contradict a new poster,) but then I thought about I'd have felt if I'd been about to buy and someone hadn't clued me in about the possibility of new stuff coming out real soon afterwards...Of course, nobody knows what could be announced at MacWorld, but if you can wait just an extra week...

[dietrich78]

Thanks guys!

@ghporter: thanks for the info. I will see if i can format the hdd to HFS as it will be exclusively mac. I always do it the legal way with operating systems.

The difference between the recommended 3gb and 4gb is negligible. Since i only have two slots I will go with the 4gb. Isn't a good idea anyway to use two sims of equal capacity? at least that was the pc rule. maybe macs are different.

@amazing: I live in germany which means that it will take a while for the "new" models to show up here. plus the outgoing model/update from nov 2007 might be cheaper becase of it. i also checked macrumors and they give it a green light. (not sure how acurate their info is) sure, i would love to wait a while and get more bang for my buck. this macbook is part of a deal my college has with apple. all students get a macbook at the begin of their studies. thus i suppose that i won't have much say which exact model i get.)

Thanks a lot guys. I am excited to maccing it up. now i finally get to use my very own! yay!

P.S. One last question: this macbbook comes with the intel graphics chip x3100, is it possible or worth it to upgrade that? I can't just buy the faster one that has the better chip, i would have to do it aftermarket.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by dietrich78 

@amazing: I live in germany which means that it will take a while for the "new" models to show up here. plus the outgoing model/update from nov 2007 might be cheaper becase of it. i also checked macrumors and they give it a green light. (not sure how acurate their info is) sure, i would love to wait a while and get more bang for my buck. this macbook is part of a deal my college has with apple. all students get a macbook at the begin of their studies. thus i suppose that i won't have much say which exact model i get.)

Thanks a lot guys. I am excited to maccing it up. now i finally get to use my very own! yay!

P.S. One last question: this macbbook comes with the intel graphics chip x3100, is it possible or worth it to upgrade that? I can't just buy the faster one that has the better chip, i would have to do it aftermarket.

No upgrades possible.

And as for how fast new models are available: There have been cases in the past few years where a model was announced on Tuesday and first shipments arrived at our store on Thursday.

At this point, it would be silly NOT to wait the two weeks until the Expo.

It is *very* unlikely that the MacBook will be updated, but they *might* expand the line to include another model, which might be even more attractive to you (seeing as you already have an external burner....)

[Cadaver]

Current MacBooks with X3100 graphics can use up to 4GB of RAM. Previous models with Intel 950 graphics (and a Core 2 Duo processor) could only use up to 3GB. The first models, with the Core Duo processor, had a 2GB limit.

The graphics on the MacBooks is not upgradable. Its integrated into the Intel chipset on the motherboard. FYI, the graphics on the MacBook Pros also are not upgradable, but do use discrete chips (current models use nVidia 8600M GT with either 128MB or 256MB of VRAM, previous models used ATI X1600) for better performance than the Intel integrated solutions on the MacBooks.

[dietrich78]

Ok, thanks guys.

One last question however, lets say these guys at my college are cheap and i get an "old" version of the macbook with the intel 950 graphics chip... can i still throw 4gb in there? obviously it can only use 3gb as stated above. but will it be detremental to the entire setup? never really heard of a thing as too much ram... but hey i am a mac noob. (the reason for this is that i will need to remove both 512mb sims and replace them with 2x2gb or 1x1gb +1x2gb sim. From what i find online here in krautland (germany) it won't be much cheaper than just going for the full 4gb.)

btw, one last last last question while i am at it. is there anything else that i will absolutely need for my mac? other than a bluetooth mouse and a case? like any software musts? ( i don't even know whether its gonna come with tiger or leopard) thanks
let the pimping begin

[analogika]

Pass on the mouse - give the trackpad a chance for about three weeks.
Many people I know thought they needed a mouse, but ended up just having it lie around somewhere.

With scrolling and right-click support, it's really *that* good.

You can get a 2GB SO-DIMM for under €30. There is almost no measurable, and certainly no perceptible, benefit to sticking 4GB in the previous-generation MacBooks, but it doesn't hurt, either, even though only 3GB are recognized.

[Waragainstsleep]

The original Core 2 Duo MacBooks will apparently see 3.25GB RAM if 4GB is installed. Haven't tried it et myself but will do reasonably soon. The original Core Duo MacBook will only see 2GB of RAM but I believe the limit is imposed by the memory controller rather than the CPU. 32-bit CPUs can only address 2GB, but it has two cores so in theory, thats 2GB per core. It does not boot with over 2GB installed however.

You can easily reformat your external HD to HFS+, you will of course have to empty it if it has important data on it.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by dietrich78 

One last question however, lets say these guys at my college are cheap and i get an "old" version of the macbook with the intel 950 graphics chip... can i still throw 4gb in there? obviously it can only use 3gb as stated above. but will it be detremental to the entire setup? never really heard of a thing as too much ram... but hey i am a mac noob. (the reason for this is that i will need to remove both 512mb sims and replace them with 2x2gb or 1x1gb +1x2gb sim. From what i find online here in krautland (germany) it won't be much cheaper than just going for the full 4gb.)

This thread has the answers.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

The original Core 2 Duo MacBooks will apparently see 3.25GB RAM if 4GB is installed. Haven't tried it et myself but will do reasonably soon. The original Core Duo MacBook will only see 2GB of RAM but I believe the limit is imposed by the memory controller rather than the CPU. 32-bit CPUs can only address 2GB, but it has two cores so in theory, thats 2GB per core. It does not boot with over 2GB installed however.

The addressable memory limit for Core 2 Duo/Calistoga (945 mobile) platform is about 3.1 or 3.2GB; Apple limits it to an even 3GB with their firmware. The addressable memory limit for Core Duo/Calistoga (945 mobile) is about the same, but Apple cripples it in firmware to 2GB. 32-bit CPUs have no problem addressing more than 2GB RAM, and in fact can address up to about 64GB with extensions like PAE. There is no change in addressable memory space depending on the number of cores since Intel Core is a non-NUMA architecture.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

The original Core 2 Duo MacBooks will apparently see 3.25GB RAM if 4GB is installed. Haven't tried it et myself but will do reasonably soon.

The Calistoga C2D MacBooks (the ones with 667 MHz FSB and GMA 950) will actually see 4GB if you install 2x2GB. The "About This Mac" box will show 4GB as well as Sys Profiler and Activity Monitor.

You will however see the 3GB limit of usable RAM when you take a look at actual RAM consumption (free + used (= wired + active + inactive)). The addressing limit of Calistoga is just slightly above 3GB. So while your Mac actually will report that you have 4GB installed, you will only be able to use 3GB.

[ankurcd]

Hey Dietrich,

Did you get the MB already or waiting for MWSF ? just 6 more days to go buddy....