MacBook Pro Gaming?!?!?!

Hey guys, I'm looking at a Macbook Pro straight off from the Mac Store.

Here are the specs:
* 15 in. screen
* 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1440 x 900 resolution
* 2GB DDR2/667 SDRAM
* 120GB hard drive (5400 rpm)
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 128MB SDRAM

***First off, if I actually do buy this laptop, I plan on using Apple's Free Boot Camp software in order to install Vista (mainly for games)***

What I really LIKE about these specs are
* The 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
* Also, the 2 GB of ram is a nice feature
* AND the GeForce 8600M GT would allow me to play DX10 games on Vista

What I really DON'T LIKE about these specs are:
* The 5400 rpm Hard Drive, but I can live without the 7200 rpm
* The video card only has 128 mb
* I would have to buy Vista


And since I will be going to college this upcoming fall, I get an instant $200 off, so this MacBook Pro with these specs would list for $1800. Also, since I'm a student, they will send me a free 4 GB IPOD Nano, which I would sell immediately on Ebay for around $150 (I already have a 30 GB IPOD Video, which I also got for free offline )

So you do the math:
MacBook Pro Originally Costs: +$2000
Microsoft Vista Business: +$175 (on Ebay)
Student Discount: -$200
Selling 4 GB Ipod Nano: -$150

$2000 + $175 - $200 - $150 = $2000 - $175 = $1825 (also comes with free shipping)


SOME QUESTIONS:
1) Would anyone know how this video card (GeForce 8600m GT 128 MB) would perform on the new DX10 games running on Vista (by using Boot Camp)

2) The main reason I want to buy an Apple is that I love the software that comes pre-installed on it (Garage Band, iMovie, etc.). Do you think it would be worth for me to get a Mac for this reason?

3) I've heard the MacBook Pro's have some heat issues, how bad is it?!?!?!

4) Is the processor Santa Rosa?

If I think of some more questions, I'll just post them here.

THANKS

 

The 128mb 8600GT seems to be a decent performance graphics card, providing near top-end performance in current games. No one knows how it will do in DX10 games which aren't released yet, but right now it is about the second best DX10 graphics card available in a notebook.

And yes the processor is Santa Rosa.

 

1) Don't know, havent read up on anyone playing DX10 games on vista yet.

2) If you use the software as often as you would like to, sure its worth it. plus you get to dual boot vista and OSX

3) Some people have reported heat issues because of bad application of thermal paste, but that could be fixed if your daring enough =). Some have taken apart their mbp's and applied better thermal paste, better, and have seen considerable temperture drops.

4) Yes it is the Santa Rosa Chipset, its 2.2 GHz so it is.

 

You'll be better off gaming in XP for the time being. Drivers are much better. I actually went BACK to XP and saw my framerates increase about 12%.


Tests showed that in non-DX10 games (which is basically everything as of right now), the 128MB version was only about 10% slower than the 256MB version.

 

Which one is better than that?

I know, I would like to have XP instead, but when DX10 games come out, the DX10 feature will only be allowed on Vista.

 

you should be able to get vista from your college bookstore for $30 or less.

 

Really? I've never even heard of that, but I'll look.

 

256mb GDDR3 8600GT and the 512mb DDR2 8600GT are both better.

As for XP, I'd stick with it. DX10 games aren't out yet and early results show that DX10 games will be so graphically intensive as to be not even worth it on a laptop for several years. DX9 mode will still be big for the lifetime of this laptop.

 

That is true. Your college need to be part of MSDN Academic Alliance and you'll need to take a IS related course to be eligible. I got my Vista DVD for $25 this way.

 

1) Don't expect to be able to set high/max on the majority of upcoming DX10 games, medium at the very most. 128MB is quite limiting.

2) That's really your own personal decision, I personally wouldn't not unless there's a specific OS X only app you *need* to run, or just like OS X.

3) They're pretty hot most of the time, put it this way, if you were playing a game or doing something else CPU/GPU intensive on it you wouldn't want to do it on your lap. Even next to the touchpad gets quite hot under heavy use.

4) Yes.

 

1) There are not many DX10 games to benchmark, but Quake Wars seems to run extremely well (over 50fps) at native resolution with med-high settings and 4xAA.

2) Absolutely. The two main reasons people get Macs are the design and the included software. If you like both, there's no reason for you not to get a Mac.

3) As of the last generation, it's no worse than any other laptop. Since the MBP's chassis is made of anodized aluminum, it acts as a giant heatsink. While this lowers operating temperatures, you may feel the warmth in hot areas like the hard drive and CPU under load.

4) The Macbook Pros are currently the only Macs with Santa Rosa.

 

Over 50fps, thats not bad. I could deal with that.

 

i got all my copies of windows for free : D i was in the net working class at my school and we could get free windows software. it had to do with the msdn sutff

 

"DX10 games aren't out yet and early results show that DX10 games will be so graphically intensive as to be not even worth it on a laptop for several years."

doubtful. although the "early results" like call of juarez and those other toss-in-trash-can games show weak performance under dx 10 shader path, you will really have to wait until crysis comes out to make any sort of realistic assessment.

 

That's why they're called "early results". And it's not doubtful. The early results absolutely agree with everything I said. Whether that will change in the near future with better coding (a la Crysis) is yet to be seen, and I seriously doubt you have any insider info on the future. Therefore, what I said was absolutely correct.

 

Ditto with others that mention that you should really use XP for gaming. At this point in time you will be very disappointed. You may even find more gaming available on the Mac side based on Vista's incompatibility right now and lack of drivers.
You mentioned that what you didn't like about the specs was that you would have to buy Vista? Um, don't take this the wrong dude, but it IS a Mac. Installing Vista is an option, otherwise it wouldn't be a Mac. Were you planning on using OS X at all?

 

Of course I plan on using the OS X, or else there would be no point in getting the mac.

 

Hey you didn't get the free 100$printer and sell that too on ebay?

 

I havn't bought this yet, and also, I think its $100 towards a printer and the printer cost $200 sooo...

 

nooooooo.......some printers are $200 but there are 2 models that are $100 and one thats $109. You missed out on saving more money

 

Oops, sorry, my bad. I didn't read your entire post mentioning you like the suite of apps on OS X.

 

Like I said before, I have NOT bought this laptop yet. So I still have the chance on getting the other printer, and on saving some more money. Thanks.

 

HAHHAHAHA my bad its midnight and I'm tired lol...Just trying to help ppl save money =)

 

If you want 256mb instead of 128 go for the 17", however, the 15 inch one is the only laptop in apple that has LED.

 

I can only repeat what someone else said... Check if you can get Vista through MSDN AA. I got my license (and one for XP) for free... I guess bookstores might charge a small amout to give you the disks instead of letting you burn them yourself.

 

yeahh my computer teacher just gave us the disk and a key so we could just burn a copy for ourselves and give him back the original

 

I never knew about this. I probably will not take advantage of this, instead just buy XP Pro.

 

I would suggest that you wait till October, waiting for the leopard. Leopard has bootcamp built in. Leopard is a nice OS from apple. It is so worth waiting, just my presonal opinion

 

I don't know if I can wait til' October... thats 3.5 months from now. Will bootcamp be updated with the new Leopard? If it is updated, will us OS X users be able to download the new update for free?

 

larson: You can get a license for XP Pro through your university as well... What you get through MSDN AA is licenses for most Microsoft software (Office is not included though).

I have licenses for both XP Pro and Vista Business that I got through MSDN AA.

I don't have to go through the university to get the physical disks, I got a login from MSDN to a site where I can download and get the serials for the whole range of software when I want to.

If you want to read up on it, go here: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/default.aspx

 

yepp me too : D

 

Leopard is not an OS, it is a service pack, that you have to pay for.
the 8600 found in the Macs has a lower clock speed than the one found on Windows machines.

 

hahhaa good point phritz!

 

I'm almost certain the 8600 in the MBP has the same clocks as all other 8600s found in notebooks.

Check your facts.

 

According to what I've seen, it's not clocked as high as in the G1s. Don't know about any others, though.

(It makes sense, the MBP is so thin that it would be hard pressed to have a fully clocked 8600GT.)

 

there was a thread somewhere around here where someone clocked their mbp up to the "proper" numbers, and got a best case performance boost of 5%, usually less. its no big deal. and if it really bothers you, it is a mild oc to get the gpu to full power, and users who have done this report no significant heat or stability issues.

 

According to http://www.barefeats.com/rosa03.html the MBP (15'') has clocks of 470/635 (core/mem), and the reference clocks from NVidia are 475/700. That's pretty close in my opinion.

I bet you can't find many notebooks which clock their GPUs to reference clocks, and I doubt even the G1s has higher core clock than the MBP.

Feel free to prove me wrong though