Performance

[knowledge!]

Hey guys, I haven't ever been convinced to get a mac, but after seeing the new generation macbook(13)...I've changed my mind. I just have a few questions 'cause I'm completely oblivious to Mac and how it is.

If I were to turn it into a vista-running system, how fast would it be?
Would it really be worth it? I'd really like to keep vista if I could, but if it's gonna affect the performance of the computer too much, then I'll just end up staying with the Mac OS.

Would the 256 MB graphics card perform like an actual 256 MB if it was running on windows, or it would it be faster than that?

Also, do I lose the 4-finger trackpad features if I convert to Vista?

Thanks, and sorry if these questions have been answered already. I'm pretty well-versed when it comes to PCs but I know absolutely nothing about macs

 

[buddhaface]

Hey guys, I haven't ever been convinced to get a mac, but after seeing the new generation macbook(13)...I've changed my mind. I just have a few questions 'cause I'm completely oblivious to Mac and how it is.

If I were to turn it into a vista-running system, how fast would it be?
Would it really be worth it? I'd really like to keep vista if I could, but if it's gonna affect the performance of the computer too much, then I'll just end up staying with the Mac OS.

Would the 256 MB graphics card perform like an actual 256 MB if it was running on windows, or it would it be faster than that?

Also, do I lose the 4-finger trackpad features if I convert to Vista?

Thanks, and sorry if these questions have been answered already. I'm pretty well-versed when it comes to PCs but I know absolutely nothing about macs

If you want a PC, buy a PC. Don't buy a Macbook just to run Vista. Macs don't have Delete, Print Screen, Pg Down, Pg Up, Break keys that you use all the time in Windows.

Vista on the Macbook has shorter battery life than a Vista laptop with the same battery capacity because Bootcamp has to emulate the BIOS (since Mac's do not use BIOS) so power management is not optimized.

I don't think the 4-finger features are supported for Vista. Again, it's an Apple drivers issues. In fact, two-finger scrolling is even buggy as hell in Vista on a Macbook.

Game performance should be identical.

 

[Stridder44]

Macs don't have Delete, Print Screen, Pg Down, Pg Up, Break keys that you use all the time in Windows.

I don't even think Windows users use that crap. Page up, page down? Come on, what is this, the '80s?

Vista on the Macbook has shorter battery life than a Vista laptop with the same battery capacity because Bootcamp has to emulate the BIOS (since Mac's do not use BIOS) so power management is not optimized.

I don't think the 4-finger features are supported for Vista. Again, it's an Apple drivers issues. In fact, two-finger scrolling is even buggy as hell in Vista on a Macbook.

Game performance should be identical.

x2. The trackpad (driver) is horrible in Vista. The battery life sucks in Vista as well. If you're only using it for gaming though, and will have it plugged in all the time and will be using a mouse, then you'll be fine but then I'd have to ask why you're getting a MacBook for gaming.

 

[iParis]

If you want a PC, buy a PC. Don't buy a Macbook just to run Vista. Macs don't have Delete, Print Screen, Pg Down, Pg Up, Break keys that you use all the time in Windows.

Actually, they do. Apple released drivers for Boot Camp that enables those functions.

 

[Markov]

"knowledge!", no one seems to have been clear, but you can dual boot Mac OS X and Windows Vista if you so choose. You can have the best of both operating systems without having to choose. The only draw back is that you have to reboot to switch from one OS to the other. Depending on what you plan on doing in Windows, you may be able to virtualize it, where you eliminate the need for a reboot but compromise speed. Leopard (the newest version of Mac OS X released to public) comes bundled with software called bootcamp. Bootcamp will take your OS X partition, resize it, and start the Windows installer. Once you finish the install process, insert your Leopard installation DVD into the computer to install Vista drivers.

Apple has made it very, very easy to switch over to a Mac by making it easy to avoid sacrificing your comfort with Windows during your transition.

Go for the Mac!!! Learn how to use the OS while keeping Windows on it too. Enjoy the hardware and the sleek look of a Mac. You can keep Vista on their as long as you like, and it runs completely like a PC (or close enough where you probably won't notice).

I have OS X installed on my laptop along with Windows XP. I use OS X for stability, writing papers, Internet use, movie editing., skype, downloading and a bunch of other things. I use Windows for Auto Cad, 3D modeling software and gaming.

I hardly ever have any issues, and if I come across one, it typically is a very small issue.

Hope this helps!

 

[Stridder44]

OP: You say performance; do you mean gaming or just performance in general? Because if it's for gaming then you're better off going for something else. For the price of a MacBook you can get a decent notebook that has at least it's own dedicated graphics card. Don't get me wrong I'm all for the MacBook, but just being honest. Yes, it's very easy to run Vista on a Mac. But the MacBook's hardware is weak for gaming. But again, this is only a concern if you're using it for gaming.

 

[knowledge!]

First off, I'd like to thank everyone for the very informative replies.

Stridder & Buddha, gaming definitely wouldn't be one of my major priorities, it was just out of curiosity because seeing the 256 MB graphic card spec made me lol

Markov, that was also a very helpful post. I think I've decided to try and learn to use the mac, since the majority of the programs I use are compatible with that now. I guess I'll just have a vista partition for gaming & any other small programs that don't work on the OSX(or I could use the virtualizer for these very small programs).

& Stridder, I meant performance in general

Last question, if I were to alot as little as possible to the windows partition strictly for gaming, how small could I make it? I wouldn't have more than 4 or 5 games at the very most. Would 50 GB be too much, or too little?

 

[Cboss]

50 GB sounds like a lot to me. My partition is about 30 GB and I have about 10 games on it. If your games take up tons of space or you ever plan on getting more then you might want to up it to 40 or 50 GB since you can't resize the partition later.

You could also buy a larger hard drive so you don't have to worry about space. I have a 500 GB coming soon that wasn't too expensive.

 

[Stridder44]

Last question, if I were to alot as little as possible to the windows partition strictly for gaming, how small could I make it? I wouldn't have more than 4 or 5 games at the very most. Would 50 GB be too much, or too little?

No problem.

Meh, I gave mine 80 but I have a 250 GB drive to mess about with.

 

[cathyy]

I still know tons of people who use Page Up, Page Down, Home and End though.

Also, the only way it's going to affect the performance is by taking up HDD space.

 

[Aea]

I still know tons of people who use Page Up, Page Down, Home and End though.

Also, the only way it's going to affect the performance is by taking up HDD space.

I use it all the time, on my mac, it's called fn - arrow

 

[cathyy]

I use it all the time, on my mac, it's called fn - arrow

Um yea, I know that, thanks.