questions about my macbook pro.

is the gpu upgradable? i currently have the 128mb 8600gt. i heard there is now a 512mb version. if i can upgrade it how much better will games be on the laptop? also i have trouble with vlc player. on a laptop screen i like to watch videos in true fullscreen. for some reason vlc does not have (or i cant find the 16:10 aspect ratio option) i know the pc version does. also wmv videos are still choppy when seeking, even after flip for mac. thanks guys, i am new here

 

no you can't upgrade the gpu.
double click the screen when the movies are playing

 

really , that sucks. i did double click but theres letterboxing , which i hate on small screens.

 

You can't upgrade the GPU since it's soldered onto the logic board. If here's any chance of upgrade, you'll be spending a whole lot more (more than 50% maybe, of the cost of a new machine) to get a logic board that fits.

As for VLC, it's under the menu "Video > Aspect-ratio". If it isn't there, probably you should do an update to the latest version?

You're probably better off using the Crop feature to preserve the aspect ratio. MBP screen's running on 16:10 ratio. Cropping it to 16:10 would give you perfect ratio, at the cost of removing certain view of the movie.

 

cool man. thanks. also video playback is just as good as windows with all types? because i usaully watch vids on my desktop, but i would like to start using my macbook.

 

Just FYI, you aren't missing out on a lot of performance between the 128 MB and 512 MB cards. The 128-bit membus on the 8600M GT is the real limiting factor, and makes it so that it can't make much use of extra VRAM on the card. So you're probably only missing out on about 10-15% performance, even in the most trying situations.

 

the 256mb card is the sweet spot for sure.

going from 128 to 256 is much bigger than 256 to 512. this is the main reason i stuck with a baseline MBP. the 256 is the sweet spot.

games will be better on the 256 rather than the 128. but the difference from 256 to 512 is minimal.

128 to 512, well thats gonna be about as noticable as 128 to 256, seeing as how like others have said the 128bit interface really limits the whole 8600 lineup.

 

Video playback is no problem .

 

Yeah. You could try the Perian QuickTime component add-in and you'll get to play loads of file from other formats in QuickTime player itself. Too bad it's still a pain to play RealMedia files in OSX without using the player from Real itself.

 

I hate Realplayer. Just had to get that in .