Need Advice..

[Wassa09]

Hey guys, i currently own and 2008 macbook pro, and its literally about to snap and it never could really run games very well.....

I personally prefer macs because of just the actual way it works compared to windows, but i also play games (World of Warcraft, League of Legends and others)
Now, my dad said he will give me his mid 2010 Macbook pro when he upgrades, and it has i7 and ssd and its in pretty good shape. I don't know whether i should get a an asus g74sx, razer blade or my dads macbook.

I would prefer the mac, but it can't run games as well as windows, and also all my mates tend to make fun of me owning a mac lol, and if i get a windows, i don't want to regret it in the future...

And also, is it possible to upgrade my dads graphics card and processor if i wanted to? To make it perform more like a gaming laptop?

Would be great if someone could give me some advice,

Thanks in advance

 

[eric/]

No you can't upgrade the gpu or processor.

Windows doesn't run games better.

I say get the macbook pro due to the fact that it has an SSD.

and who cares if people make fun of you. If you like something than that should be all that matters.

 

[miles01110]

Macs are not gaming laptops. If you are a "gamer" you should buy or build your own desktop.

 

[The-Pro]

If he has a 2010 MBP with i7 then it has a GT 330M 512MB VRAM. And trust me you can play games with it.
I play MW3 on highest settings at 1680x1050. BF3 on low to medium settings at 1280x852. COD Black Ops on high settings at 1680x1050 and METRO 2033 on low settings at 1440x900. All of this on Vista 32bit. If you want to run games on a Mac, install Windows, dont bother doing it on OSX if you want the best performance.
If you tend to work more with your computers than game then get the mac. As you know its much nicer to use. No MBP will compare graphics performance to money wise with a gaming laptop but they are not bad. I have heaps of fun on it.
You cant upgrade CPU or GPU. CPU wouldn't be needed anyway, the i7 is pretty fast and you don't need more then 2 threads anyway for the majority of games.

And like miles01110 said, if you want something to only play games with with very good performance, a cheap desktop is the way to go.

 

[Wassa09]

oh ok thanks guys, but what if i get a good pc laptop with better specs then any macbook, and get Hackintosh (i believe its called) and turn it into and mac with better specs?

WOuld that work?

Thanks in advance

 

[MRU]

I would prefer the mac, but it can't run games as well as windows, and also all my mates tend to make fun of me owning a mac lol, and if i get a windows, i don't want to regret it in the future...

You can install windows on your MBP regardless (and it's incredibly simple to do with bootcamp) and so still have the benefits of superior design with the mac hardware.

So by going bootcamp and MBP, you get windows for gaming, and mac for all it's specific applications such as iLife etc. Best of both worlds.

Windows doesn't run games better....

Err Yep it does. Most mac ports that are cider ports these days have an additional overhead (work wise) and are no way near 'on par' with the same game run natively in windows. Likewise they are often missing effects like AA and such, additionally they don't support your console controller like the 360 wired pad, where the windows version may.

Likewise the plethora of choice on Windows compared to Mac for games is massive.

Windows DOES run games better.....

oh ok thanks guys, but what if i get a good pc laptop with better specs then any macbook, and get Hackintosh (i believe its called) and turn it into and mac with better specs?

WOuld that work?

Thanks in advance

No a hackintosh is not the ideal scenario. They are often behind in OS revisions, they can often crap out with Kernel Panics and you really need to know what you are doing in terminal if you want to start fixing them and injecting kexts etc.

It will NEVER be as stable as a dedicated MAC for OSX and you may spend more time getting it to run smoothly, that actually using it proficiently.


If you want a mac, get a mac. The i7 MBP will be a good mac, with reasonable/good gaming credentials on PC side too. (it will at least match PS3 & 360 in terms of performance if not better them).

If you want a headache, get a Hackintosh

If you really 'do care' that your friends are either jealous or mildly ignorant of the Mac Platform and the worry of them teasing you for owning a mac is a genuine concern, get a PC it may be cheaper and put the rest of the money towards a bit of emtotional counseling ;-) j/k




Just don't go the hackintosh way, especially as your first mac. It will make you hate OSX.

 

[jlc1978]

oh ok thanks guys, but what if i get a good pc laptop with better specs then any macbook, and get Hackintosh (i believe its called) and turn it into and mac with better specs?

WOuld that work?

Depends what you mean by "work." You can get OSX up and running, and for many things it'll do just fine; but it's still a hack that requires patience, a willingness to accept problems that crop up, and the realization that your experience will not be as good as with a real Mac.

----------

Macs are not gaming laptops. If you are a "gamer" you should buy or build your own desktop.

True. In fact, Apple seems to be pushing the iPad as the next great gaming device at the expense of the Mac. That's fine by me as I rarely play games, but Apple's stance seems to me the Mac will always be limited, compared to the PC, in terms of gaming.

 

[Cougarcat]

MacRumorUser paints an unrealistically dark picture concerning hackintoshes. As long as you do your research and buy well-supported parts, you should have few problems. They do not "crap out" with random KPs and you do not need terminal knowledge. Also, it is untrue they are behind in OS updates--in fact, you can already install mountain lion on them.

That said, no, it's not as nice as owning a real Mac. I have a MBP and a hackintosh and it's a nice combination. If I were you, I would take your dad's laptop, and then save for a gaming PC. Build it with the idea of making it into a hackintosh, but if you run into difficulties, you still have your real Mac.

 

[pulawman]

If he is going to give you the MBP then take it and run! I have the best of both worlds. I have my iMac for my daily grind and then I have my G74SX-DH71 for my gaming needs.

 

[No1nfoProvided]

I have a question that doesn't seem to be mentioned here. How much money are you willing to spend on a gaming PC? I would recommend that you game mainly on a desktop PC running Windows (forget the Hackintoshes) depending on how hardcore of a gamer you are. This is because you can keep swapping out the graphics cards as time passes by to keep the rig updated for current games (or buy one card and then a second one a year or two later for crossfire/SLI).

In my opinion, you should just take your dad's MBP. It has more than enough power to run games like LoL or WoW. You might have to play at lower resolutions for the newer games, but a free 2010 MBP is nothing to scoff at. Even if you were to find a better machine, it will still cost at least $500 which you can save for use on other things.