A few questions about the MBP...

So II've decided to get a Mac, mainly since the hardware is what I want, rather than the software reason.

My HP DV4 runs around 80 Deg C, with the HDD around 50-60 Celsius.

Somehow I can't play a 720p movie on this laptop, even on a brand new install of Win 7 RC1... I have a 2.2 GHz proc, and a fairly okay graphics card, I don't understand how a netbook can do something I can't...

Anyways, I'm doing the 'live on $40 a week plus donations plus whatever food is left in my fridge for two months until I have money to buy the ultimate rig" diet... (I'm in Beijing so it's possible)

I'm trying to decide on the Low MB, the high end MB, and the low end MBP...
I have a 360, and honestly all I do is watch Hulu, run uTorrent, and use firefox... sadly... I think utorrent is the source of my heating issues, constantly seeding 24/7..

I plan for:
A MacBook
128/256 OCZ Vertex SSD (or whatever OCZ states as it's numbers)
500GB 5400RPM HDD in the Optibay thing (either using the MCE Optibay bracket thing, or I will make my own bracket with lego's)

This is BoBW storage wise, as I hate external stuff, since my last HDD got thrown around like crazy..

Is there a way in OSX to literally "turn off" a second HDD?
For like power saving, noise/heat, ect...?
(like a command to park the heads, then cut power)

I'm mainly concerned with the macbook screen, I have a HP DV4, and the screen seems bad, the whites are yellowey, and compared to my POS Chinese cheapo LCD TV, it looks like garbage...

However that dosen't really bother me, what bothers me is viewing angles while watching movies.. Movies tend to always be dark (why?) at a 0 degree angle, the top of the screen looks fine, the bottom is too dark. So I have to tile the thing forward, making the top a little brighter and the bottom perfect... This still makes me mad. But I'd rather have it too bright than too dark..

The size of the MBP is a problem too, not the laptop itself but the keyboard.. On the MB the keyboard isn't the full width of the laptop, on the MBP it definitely isn't the full width.. I have a 14" HP and it's spread out, seems to be the perfect width. I just don't like how the keyboard looks "centered" instead of "justified" lol

Also how does the MB undervolt? I can't UV this AMD proc, but I really want to get the P8600 and see how cool I can make it run.. Does it produce a noticeable difference in the MBs?

I went from wanting a 2009 MB Poly, to a Unibody, to a MBP lol...
I'll have the money for the SSD+new HDD+ MBP, but I just can't really justify the $900+/- Price difference between the Entry MB and the MBP...
Bigger screen is whatever, but the main difference for ME is the Better screen quality in the MBP... Proc I don't care about, as long as it's in the P series, and not a Txxxx.
It's like MB+New MB Poly for the GF, or a MBP...

I think it really depends on the screen.. In the apple store in Beijing they all look fine, I can't see a difference (based on a 1 minute peek while going to see Wolverine).

Oh yeah:
If I buy the MB in Beijing, does the warranty still work in the US, and vice versa? I'm either buying it here, or in the US in August. If I can score a MBP for less than 1600 I might just buy that.

Using that Optibay bracket thing for a second HDD dosen't void the warranty as long as I don't screw up the rest of the internals right? I'm deff not a noob when it comes to hardware, I'm just afraid of buying it, and having a little stupid problem a month later and having to sell/buy a new one to get rid of the problem..

If you read this far then thanks, I know it's a long disorganized post but I'm starving over here... I really want this Mac lol..

 

Screen quality on DV4 is similar to the Macbook. Macbook Pro has a better screen, higher contrast, better blacklevels and better viewing angles. Sounds like you're only going to be satisfied with the MBP screen.

Apple's warranty is worldwide, as far as I know.

PS. playing 720p or 1080p on DV4 should not be any problem. Try CoreAVC with MPC.

 

Wow thanks for that, I'm never touching VLC again...

 

To be honest, VLC probably sucks in every way.
E.g. efficiency of the integrated codec, the customizability, the interface are all below standards.

Mplayer, Kmplayer (the one I use) is probably much better than VLC. If you have coreavc installed, you can actually use it where as in VLC, you're stuck with the original integrated codec. If you have windows 7, don't even bother with coreavc. The integrated vc-1, h.264 codec is more efficient, also multithreaded and its free with windows 7.

For utorrent, you can cache your data by creating a very large cache. That way, hdd won't be accessed a lot and it'll bring down your temperature a lot.

BTW.. I don't think starving yourself would be worth it.

 

I bumped the cache in uTor upto 128mb or something..
Still it's cookin my lap. My proc actually hit 105 degrees Celcius today and the laptop auto shut down lol. Time #3 that it's happened..

Just at idle my temps are between 65-75C, like when I was playing my xbox just watching my temps... It's crazy like that. My CPU usage was low too..

Firefox seems to crank my CPU to 25% constantly, and take over half a gig of ram. But I think that was Hulu's fault, although it was closed for over an hour.

I'm not starving my self, just not eating as much mcdonald's and chocolate.. I totally miss Chicken Noodle Soup... The canned kind.. It's like $4 in Beijing because they have to import it ect...

So has anyone tried undervolting the macbook?
How are "lap" temps? My HP Burns my leg, badly, sometimes. Only on one side, the side with the CPU and HDD, some genius put them both there...

 

Yes, I have done quite a bit of testing on my MacBook Pro. It should be fairly similar temperatures in OSX.

See thread here for details on how to.

If I run with the 9400M(like the MacBook Aluminum), it's much cooler and it does not heat up and quite comfortable as a "lap" top. For $10, using Coolbook(undervolting software) would drop those temps even further.

 

if your plastic casing laptop will burn your leg, the al. chassis macbook pro will fry it given the design.

check out the physical property of metal and plastic and you will see how much worse your macbook feel under warm environment.

under 9600mgt that is...
remember macbook pro (uni) requires a reboot to switch graphic card

 

lol!!! All i can say is that the mbp gets quite hot under windows. So look well what you are looking for before buying. If you love os x for its stability like me and use windows for programming. The macbook/pro will be suitable. If you love windows only. Steer away, it's not the machine for you.

 

To be honest, that is so dump if you get the MBP because of the hardware rather than the design and OS X.
You can find a machine with way better hardware for less than the cost of a macbook pro.

 

i second this!!

 

Just realized that you are located in China. Why dont you take a look at Lenovo model? They have excellent quality build. There are other brands that I know should be available in China such as Asus. Take a look at Clevo/Sager also.
You can't undervolt in OS X because there is no software that is supported it. You only can do that in Windows, but buying a MBP and using Windows all the time is the worst idea ever!!!! One of the reasons you paid the premium for MBP is because of OS X.
MBP warranty is uniform globally. It will work in any country in the world that have an apple store or apple reseller.

 

noo!!!! don't say that!!! I love os x but im compelled to use windows because of uni work!!!

 

I would have to agree, I wouldn't get a Mac without the want for OS X and just for specs. You could get a loaded Dell and you'd have the specs, but you wouldn't have OS X or the aesthetics of a Mac. Take a look at the ThinkPad's for a nice Windows notebook, but it comes with Windows.

 

lol!!! i'm eyeing my sister's soon to be coming thinkpad. I'll jump at it if i find it nice.

 

Does that mean you're leaving the Mac side? Don't leave us, Luke! ThinkPad's are some nice laptops, if you're looking for Windows.

 

When I dais hardware I meant the build not the actual parts. I love the specs of a built X200s, but I absolutely hate the design, and most importantly, the screen latch and the case of the X200.

Most laptops are creaky, and I don't want one with mainly windows on it.

Money-Hardware wise Apple sucks, They overcharge for crap hardware specs, yeah woohoo DDR3 but the gfx card is junk (on the macbook) and why have a P7350 when the P8600 is barely different in price (then they charge you 300 more for that proc)

But noone else has the minimalist design that I love, If I end up liking OSX then I'll like it, if I don't then I wont, but atleast I'll have a good notebook.

I could get a loaded Dell and get like 2x the specs and maby even save money, but I don't like the design of the current Dell line. I love Lenovo, but their design is crap. I need something that isn't going to melt my crotch, and something that I think looks nice since I'm on it all day, every day, all the time. Go big or go home you know?

I think if I had to run windows, I'd do it in a VM, my friends mac has his VM setup do that he like does something with his finger and then his VM will pop up and do stuff. lol. The guy like has 1000 different finger gestures and can remember them all, show all the 90 windows he has open, pick one, group it to a different virtual desktop, whip open the vm, ect.

I just woke up and picked my laptop off my glass table, and the CPU is 71C and the HDD is 57C... uTorrent is on and I left firefox on accidentally (I think FF is the culprit now) from the temps I was reading about, the mac seems to get that hot under stress. Stress. I was idling, with the HDD hanging off the edge of the table, it's pretty cool in my house too.

Hulu stutters lol.

I just want a computer that works, which is why I'm looking at a Mac.

I'm in China but all electronics are way more expensive, since they get shipped back to the us, then shipped back to china (the chinese store buys it from the US company and re imports it again) This means shipping and tax charges... Complicated and dumb but whatever. It just means I have to bargain hunt more lol. But then it's hard to find used Macs anyways, since most of the people here only know windows, they just throw a cracked version on it then dust it off and it's ready for resale.

Lenovo has a house brand here similiar to HP's compaq, and it's like dried playdoh with computer parts inside...

 

Actually you can undervolt in OS X. The software is called Coolbook.

 

yup. Cool book is a good software for underclocking,

 

Make sure that you love os x before you buy it.
If you end up hating os x, you dont get what you paid for the premium "apple tax."
Keep your post short and concise so that more ppl are willing to read and post comment.
@Phil: thanks for correcting me.

 

no it is not.it is one of the best(of not the best) for the size

 

The 9400m is the best igp on the market atm.

 

stronger then most low end GPU btw

 

Hey how is the regular Uni Macbook's screen, im comparison to other laptops?
I think I'm more concerned of the vertical viewing angle specifically. When I looked at the X200 and X200s they both seemed fine, as did the macbook in the apple store. I'm not sure if I want to spend that much on a MBP, but if I can get a used 2.4 MB that'd be great, I'd have more money to throw at stupid stuff. Like an external battery for those long plane flights hehe..