Can a Macbook do this? ima noob.

Hello Apple/Macbook fans.

I need your help. I have been using Windows for my whole PC life. I am planning on purchasing a Windows laptop, but after my friend showed my iLife'08, i became very interested in purchasing a macbook.

But before i buy, i need to know what it can and can not do. As i have an existing PC (windows vista) that i will continue to use as my HTPC and would like to have a laptop that can communicate with it.


Q1

Can the MB and HTPC interact on the same network? Meaning, can i access files from MB that are store on my HTPC? Can i write to my HTPC?

(i have a ton of pictures on my HTPC that i want to use in iPhoto)

Q2

Is installing a partition to have both Vista and OS X hard to do? Do they both exist exclusive, or is there access to both worlds on the same HDD when using either OS?

Q3

Is the MB powerful enough to play games that are going to be coming out, ie Spore? Starcraft 2?

Q4

Can MB OS X remote into my HTPC or will i have to boot into Vista then, remote in?

As you can tell, i have no clue when it comes to Apple and how it relates to PC.

What are some limitations that i may need to know?

 

I'll help you out with what I can. XD
Q1
If you have a server set up you should be able to access the files from both computers. Otherwise just throw them on a flash drive or DVD and transfer them XD

Q2
You CAN dual boot both OSX and Vista on any Apple product. Many people use software called Bootcamp.

Q3
MB MAY be powerful enough, but to be honest, Apple charges a very pretty penny to get decent hardware options, so unless you really want OSX, you can find much better hardware for cheaper than what you get with Apple...

Q4
I know you can boot into Vista and Remote and then you could play with Partitions and bring over your files if you wanted...

As for other limitations, IMO OSX is a finnicky OS to try to get wireless working on because of the auto connect options that are default. This may just be me who has problems because I haven't messed with it enough, but I know being mostly a Windows user this was frustrating for me...

Hope this helps!

 

Q1
If both the MB and HTPC are on the same network and they are both setup to have their drives shared, then yes you can access each other's networked shares just like you would on Windows.

Q2
Boot Camp makes the process very simple. Just run the app, choose how much space you want for each OS, let it partition, and it'll restart to the Windows installer. You'll just need to insert the Leopard disk after windows installs to install drivers.

If the Windows partition is formated FAT32 then OS X can read and rewrite to it like a native HDD. If the partition is formated NTFS, then you can only read to it. From Windows, accessing the Mac partition requires a third party program called MacDrive which gives read and write support.

Q3
The MB's GMA X3100 meets the requirements for the Spore Content Creator that is out and should meet the requirements for Spore. Don't know about SC2 yet, but it's almost certain it'll run on a GMA X3100 given that Blizzard's requirements are always very low for a larger target market.

The MBP is a much better gaming choice for a portable Mac though. Since even games that run on a MB, you can't expect high settings.

Q4
Microsoft has just released their new Remote Desktop Connection 2, which is a free download for Mac OS X. That should allow remote connections to a properly setup XP MCE, XP Pro, Vista Business or Vista Ultimate, and of course any of the server OS.

 

you should be able to do all of those things, with varying degrees of difficulty. it will not all work out of the box, but it all can be done.

not 100% on spore or starcraft 2 (the macbook has a poor graphics card) - but they SHOULD both be playable on low settings and resolution.

 

I couldn't find any immediate answers regarding HTCP, but I'm sure that someone with firsthand experience with OS X can tell you.

Q2: No, its not difficult to do. Using Apple's Bootcamp utility, you can easily set up a dual-boot system between OS X and Windows.

Q3: The MB uses Intel's X3100 graphics, so it won't play any recent 3D games. In other words, it will run StarCraft 2, but it will probably run it at low settings.

 

Thanx everyone for your input, its really good info. Keep the input coming...

 

So basically, i can do the same thing with a MB that i could with a Windows Vista laptop. (plus using Apple applications)

 

Is dual boot even needed then if remote connection 2 can control my htpc on my laptop... and i can access files in mac os x from vista.

and if my htpc is upgraded to current technology, then i can also play games from it and just use my MB as a screen? no?

 

You will need to dual boot if you want to take both OS X and Windows with you everywhere you go.

You may want to ensure that Windows Aero effects are turned off (all the fancy stuff) if you are going to install Vista as if I remember correctly it needs a 64mb dedicated card for all the fancy effects in Windows Vista?

On the Macbook you can keep all the effects as it is designed to work even with integrated intel graphics.

If I was you I would install XP instead if you have it. I am an XP user myself on my PC Laptop and I am holding out on upgrading to Vista. At the moment I don't need to as I don't play games. Once they start release other vista-only software then it may be time to upgrade,

 

Actually, I think SC2 will need some pretty decent graphic requirements, so I'm not sure how well it will play for you...

 

If you want something for gaming for a similar price to the Macbook I would suggest the 15" Dell XPS. Price wise it can match the 13" Macbook with better specs for the same price. Most notably for you it has a dedicated graphics card up to the 8600M GT, which will easily run those two games.

It really depends how desperately you want to play those games. I plan to buy a Macbook soon but I don't do PC gaming. I will at most install a few classics onto a Windows partition such as some old Age of Empries, Civillisations: Civnet etc and Escape from monkey Island

You could probably run Half-Life 2 without a problem at very low settings as it will run on a lot of machines and is old, but still has life left in it due to the strong modding community.

If you want a computer to play newer games a Windows Desktop is the cheapest option for best performance, Second a Windows Laptop, you could go for the macbook pro but they start at £1,300 in the UK so a LOT more than a Macbook

 

Actually, the intel integrated graphics is capable of running aero (though that's about all it's capable of doing ). I run it on my Latitude D420 with a GMA 950 and it runs fine.

Seconded, and if you want something in the same 13" form factor than the M1330 is a good bet with an 8400GS (which will still turn out cheaper than a macbook).

The macbook should run half life 2 just about playably, but don't expect much more than that.

 

Thanks for the info

 

lets eliminate playing games on the MB.

The MB can interact the same way as a Windows laptop but with a few changes in the procedure.

and if i wanted Vista to be portable, then i would need dual boot. Other REmote connection 2 will connect to my existing HTPC and therefore its the same usage as a windows laptop.

 

When you say you want to remotely connect to your HTPC do you mean that you want to be able to control the HTPC desktop via the network but on your Mac? That is easy to achieve if it's what you are after...

Definitely dual boot into Windows as well though incase you need it when mobile. For me I couldn't do without Windows, but there is plenty of room for two OS's in my life lol.

I'm sure i'll slowly move over to doing more and more on the Mac unless I end up hating it (not likely), but will never be able to do a full switch when:

A) .NET Framework and Visual Studio can't be run natively on OS X (obviously)

B) Most UK companies are on Windows based machines in the field that I work in

 

The MB would be more for personal use. I dont plan on programming. Just surfing the web, emailing, etc.

and photo stuff.`

 

very helpful information for a noob like me too. Thanks a lot guys and gals.

 

Considering that games such as World of Warcraft released in 2004 doesn't run too good on the Macbook (Not unplayable..) I wouldn't count on StarCraft 2 having realistically playable effects.

 

I'm suprised world of warcraft doesn't run quite well even on integrated graphic as long as you have it on low settings? I know that sucks a bit though.

If you want to play any games as a use for the macbook don't get one :-o

The processor and ram etc is plenty even for games but the integrated graphics aren't any good for it. Also remember some of your RAM is shared to the graphics card, I think approx 300mb

So if you get a Macbook with only 1GB of RAM you will get approx 700mb ram available for use. So i'd say get atleast 2 GB..

 

Definetly not stating it's unplayable, but were talking about a game relased in late 04'. So StarCraft set to release perhaps... Next year wouldn't do well on a Int Card. I had a integrated graphics card when wow originally came out and it didn't run at all on the machine.

 

Durious, out of interest what do you use your Macbook for and how do you think it performs in apps you use mostly?

I'm looking at the base spec one and the middle one. I'd be fine with the base spec if it just had a DVD-RW lol, so i'm not sure which to go for.

Thing is I want to upgrade to a big 2.5" HDD and adding RAM myself would also be cheap. So The extra money gets you:

DVD-RW
1GB more of RAM
40GB More space

Thing is I can get ram cheap anyway, and i'd rather fit a 250 - 320gb HDD myself rather than getting the 160gb lol.

Does adding a diff HDD and more RAM void your warranty and Apple Care?

 

In the MB, you can change the HDD and the ram without voiding the warranty. The only thing, is that the new stuff won't be covered under Apple care, which is kinda obvious.

As for actual usage, the only thing thats bad about the laptop, is the integrated video. Other then that, it should perform as any other 2.2/2.4 on the market (dunno what the current model ghz is in the MB)

 

Current MB in the UK are 2.1 and 2.4 ghz as far as I know. For the white ones that is.

I don't think they will ever put in a dedicated graphics for the Macbook otherwise it would pretty much be a 13" Macbook Pro. I have integrated graphics in my Acer laptop and it kinda doesn't feel complete. But I think the 1.8 Turion processors are pretty slow anyway. Its about 1.5 - 2 years newer than my GF's 1.6 Pentium M and hers is faster.

I'm wondering if they will make the DVD-RW drive standard at the next refresh though. But that could be months and months away. Probably Oct - Feb some time.

 

Awesome info... thanx.

 

Actually I gave the Macbook to the wife but I had used it for several months before I purchased my Macbook Pro. It runs fantastically and the only reason I had purchased the MBP over it was for gaming. Aside from that apps ran perfect and seamlessly. And yes I got the DVD superdrive version over the combo drive but to look back on it I never burn anything so it is kind of a waste