Hi everyone, thanks in advance for any help you can give me on this.
I've never owned a Mac before, but have a couple of friends who love theirs. So when the stunning new Air came out, I decided I'd join them after using only Windows PCs for so many years. I am trying to decide between the 128GB base 11.6" Air and the base 13.3" one. I prefer the form factor of the 11.6", and ideally, I'd just go ahead and get it, because portability is high on my wishlist. However, my decision hinges on whether the 11.6" can play 1080p MKVs so I can output them to my TV when I'm not mobile.
I've read elsewhere that the 11.6" with the 1.4GHz CPU struggles in OSX, but I'd be installing Windows 7 as well, my media player of choice being Media Player Classic. The reason for this is that it supports hardware acceleration of movie files with the GPU, so allows the CPU to be relatively unused, or assists a slow CPU in playing high bitrate/resolution movies.
So, after the drawn out intro, I guess my questions are: Does the GeForce 320M in the Air support hardware acceleration (DXVA) in Media Player Classic in Windows? If yes, is it capable of playing 1080p MKVs smoothly (for example, a 24 minute show weighing in at roughly 1-1.5GB)?
I would really, really appreciate it if some kind soul would be willing to try this out to help me make my buying decision. As I say, it would be my first Mac, so I'm really not sure when it comes to this kind of thing. And I do realise that what I'm asking is ridiculously specific, but I thought that if anyone could help me, it would be you guys.
Thanks a lot!
I've never owned a Mac before, but have a couple of friends who love theirs. So when the stunning new Air came out, I decided I'd join them after using only Windows PCs for so many years. I am trying to decide between the 128GB base 11.6" Air and the base 13.3" one. I prefer the form factor of the 11.6", and ideally, I'd just go ahead and get it, because portability is high on my wishlist. However, my decision hinges on whether the 11.6" can play 1080p MKVs so I can output them to my TV when I'm not mobile.
I've read elsewhere that the 11.6" with the 1.4GHz CPU struggles in OSX, but I'd be installing Windows 7 as well, my media player of choice being Media Player Classic. The reason for this is that it supports hardware acceleration of movie files with the GPU, so allows the CPU to be relatively unused, or assists a slow CPU in playing high bitrate/resolution movies.
So, after the drawn out intro, I guess my questions are: Does the GeForce 320M in the Air support hardware acceleration (DXVA) in Media Player Classic in Windows? If yes, is it capable of playing 1080p MKVs smoothly (for example, a 24 minute show weighing in at roughly 1-1.5GB)?
I would really, really appreciate it if some kind soul would be willing to try this out to help me make my buying decision. As I say, it would be my first Mac, so I'm really not sure when it comes to this kind of thing. And I do realise that what I'm asking is ridiculously specific, but I thought that if anyone could help me, it would be you guys.
Thanks a lot!
