some Q's about MBP/apple

Hi, I'm a current windows user and buying a laptop for college. I'm probly getin either the 15 inch 2.16 MBP or a Asus S96J. Basically its coming down to money or looks. So before buying I have a few questions about the MBP.

1. If I run a game in windows boot camp, would it perform the same as if it were on a windows-based computer with the same specs? Or would it still be slowed down since its an apple computer?

2. Would I be able to hook up a regular two or three button mouse to the laptop when running mac os x? When running XP?

3. Is it possible to transfer word documents/powerpoints from an apple to a windows pc? or from ur windows portion to ur mac os?

4. I've heard people say that certain programs perform slower due to the rosetta software. Does that perrformance reflect itself when on windows as well?

5. Any word on when the final windows boot camp version will come out?

Thanks for your responses, if I have any further questions i'll be sure to post them. Thanks again.

 

Bootcamp windows is no slower than windows machine. What u ll find is that the GPU is underclocked. That applies for the 15.4inch macbookpro only. 3dmark05 on it is bout 1000points lower than a normal clocked x1600. But if graphic doesnt bothers ur way, then it should b ok for u.

 

Is there any way to overclock the graphics card at all for a little boosted performance without risking damage to the machine? And does anyone know if overclocking a graphics card alters your warranty with the company?

Another question I just remembered....
How easy is it to install windows boot camp? If i have no prior computer programming skills should it be pretty easy with the online instructions?

Thanks agian

 

1. If I run a game in windows boot camp, would it perform the same as if it were on a windows-based computer with the same specs? Or would it still be slowed down since its an apple computer?

As said before there will be a slight slow down because its under clocked, but I'm sure there is some windows app you can get to OC it

2. Would I be able to hook up a regular two or three button mouse to the laptop when running mac os x? When running XP?

Yes, with no problem, OS X does support left clicking as well (normally you do ctl+click, but left click is the same)

3. Is it possible to transfer word documents/powerpoints from an apple to a windows pc? or from ur windows portion to ur mac os?

Yes, when in OS X you can see the XP partition so you can move files from one OS to the Other

4. I've heard people say that certain programs perform slower due to the rosetta software. Does that perrformance reflect itself when on windows as well?

It has nothing to do with windows XP, and will not affect XP at all, Rosetta affects programs made for the PPC architecture (G3, G4, G5), it has to translate them into something the x86 (intel) platform can deal with, and since all of XP is for x86 its not an issue

5. Any word on when the final windows boot camp version will come out?

It should be released simultaniously with OS X 10.5 which should be out by this holiday season, however apply may decide to officially release boot camp before then due to its popularity

 

Oh, there are a few issues with boot camp right now just so you know, like the webcam dosent work in XP, the function keys dont work (like sound volume, but you can use the sys-tray icon to control volume) and there are a couple other little annoyances, but nothing major, and all of these should be fixed for the official release

 

The Windows partition must be in FAT32 in order to write to the partition from OSX. OSX can read NTFS, but not write it.

 

good call! I didnt remember what it needs to be, there is some way to get it so you can read/write the OS X paritition from XP, i think they both need to be FAT32, but I'd rather leave it OS X extended just to be safe

 

OSX can be left alone I think. Windows would have to be in FAT32. You could also use a USB key and not have to worry.

 

You can have an NTFS partition but in order to see the Mac Drive thru windows you will need software. For example, one called MacDrive6

 

if you are going to move a lot of files I think an external HD or a larger (1GB-2GB) USB key would be best

 

usb key is a pain if you ask me. You would have to boot into osx, copy the files to the usb drive, then reboot into bootcamp just to move some files. I'm going to use macdrive and format my xp partition to ntfs. That will give me enough functionality.
Im also considering having a 20 gb hfs 30gb fat32 and a 10gb NTFS. That way, any shared folders/program files can be used from both os's. This will also be handy if you run parallels too, this way you can install your programs to the fat32 from both bootcamp and parallels.

 

This may be the reason why I can't transfer files for os x to my new external hard drive. Because it is in NTFS.

Would repartioning the external drive to FAT32 allow windows and os x to read and write to the drive properly?

 

Yes it will.

 

ummmmm, i kind of just got really confused. what is the format that apple tells u to use when u first make ur windows boot camp partition. and is that enough to just put files on from a usb stick and transfer thru that?

another question, does limewire work for mac? if so, is limewire a safe way to download music without getting viruses? thanks

 

Limewire works.

 

I am fairly certain you cannot do this. As I understand you cannot install boot camp on an already partitioned hard drive. It must be one continuous drive. I could be wrong. I do know that boot camp only allows you to split into 2 partitions. Also, a 10GB NTFS would be pretty much worthless because Windows and essential software(drivers, etc) would take alomost all of that. I still think the best solution is a second drive of some sort. Whether that be a large USB key, external drive or networked drive, that seems the easiest most pain free way to me. But people are different!