wgeddes Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 how will the GMA graphics affect performance? my girlfriend is planning to get one. she is in advertising, and will likely be using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign a lot (will pick up CS3 when it comes out). How does the performance on a 2GHz Macbook compare to a 2GHz MBP? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114155 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollfaster Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Got mine this evening. I got the 2.0Ghz in white. Here are some thoughts: The screen brightness is nice, the onscreen white is much brighter than my dell 2405fpw (ie good contrast). The keyboard is many steps up from the crappy ibook one-piece ones, some people have beef with how it looks, but I have a feeling it will stand up better to time than those ibook ones. The keyboard area does get warm when plugged in, but the ibook wrist-rests got warm too under those conditions. It is considerably faster than the ibook that it is replacing, but we all knew that would be true. When picking it up with the 12" ibook, there is not a noticeable weight difference, but I'm not picky. So far all of the universal apps, components, and drivers that I have assembled for my osx86 box work great. I should note that it has the same airport as the mbp, the atheros card. I'm gonna sign off for the night, see ya in the morning. -RF Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114181 Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooki Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 "how will the GMA graphics affect performance? my girlfriend is planning to get one. she is in advertising, and will likely be using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign" If it's anything like a similar spec PC laptop with the GMA it'll be fine for design applications. I have a similar spec dell that i use for design and video editing and it works a treat. Only think to be aware of is what i consider a poor resolution screen for doing design work. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114197 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Severnya Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 GMA graphics only effect 3D performance. I belive as a 2D chip its quite good. It is the reason the battery life is so good on these machines. I cant wait for mine to arrive. Ive missed OS X since I sold my iBook, and im glad that the new ones are faster. Lets just hope that all the leopard features are supported with it. Rich Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114258 Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlepr Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Hi everybody! This is my first post. I think I can bring some light here The difference in price is because US prices on apple's site are without taxes, and I'm almost sure that prices in UK's site include VAT. At least that's the way it is in Spain where I'm from. Saludossss PS: Excuse my poor english. Folken, No need to excuse your poor English. You spelled everything correctly and it looks like you were paying attention when covering the basics in English grammer. I know people who were born and raised in an English speaking country (not going to mention country to not offend) that can't even spell the word "this". BTW, You are correct about the VAT charge. If I am correct the VAT is a tax imposed on any product being imported into most regions of Eastern Europe. I don't know if it applies to all the countries in the region but I am pretty sure the UK is one of them. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114260 Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOlkeN Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Thanks littlepr... Maybe I'm getting better and I didn't realize, hehehe Anyway if you find something strange in my posts it's because I'm a stranger In Spain and Germany we've 16% VAT... A friend who lives in UK told me that they even charge you taxes for watching tv... Saludosss Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114281 Share on other sites More sharing options...
John the Geek Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 A friend who lives in UK told me that they even charge you taxes for watching tv... Even in the US we pay taxes on subscription TV services (cable, satellite) but only to subscribe to it, we don't get charged to actually watch it. Free TV (local broadcast) is still free, and not taxed. =) Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114309 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernalzero Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 does anyone who actually has a new macbook have xbench numbers on this system? I'm thinking about selling my Dell D600 running 10.4.6 in the hopes I can pull a few hundred $$$ to afford one of these and am curious about the numbers. Thanks Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114358 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickPeter Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 just order one from apple store......the big waiting has began. as i saw here, graphics are not so bad http://support.intel.com/products/chipsets/gma950/index.htm Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Core 256-bit graphics core running at 400MHz Up to 10.6 GB/sec memory bandwidth with DDR2 667 system memory 1.6 GPixels/sec and 1.6 GTexels/sec fill rate Up to 224 MB maximum video memory 2048x1536 at 75 Hz maximum resolution Dynamic Display Modes for flat-panel, wide-screen and Digital TV support Operating systems supported: Microsoft Windows* XP, Windows* XP 64bit, Media Center Edition 2004/2005, Windows 2000; Linux-compatible (Xfree86 source available) I think it's pretty cute that OSX wasn't listed as a supported OS... I dono why, I just did. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114383 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzie123 Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Maybe they haven't updated their page. I believe that's all ;-) Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114390 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Why aren't they including more RAM? (Here's a good article) http://www.applematters.com/index.php/sect...ll-it-with-ram/ Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114419 Share on other sites More sharing options...
John the Geek Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Why aren't they including more RAM? (Here's a good article) http://www.applematters.com/index.php/sect...ll-it-with-ram/ My thoughts on the RAM: Apple RAM is expensive, most people go buy Crucial or Samsung at NewEgg for 1/4 of Apple's price. Ironically, it's usually the same chip too. If you want to stock it full of RAM, save your money and buy the same chip at NewEgg. My tower has 1.5GB of RAM, (three 512s) and I didn't buy them from Apple. I think I got a free chip with the money I saved. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114428 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernalzero Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Mash - That's a good article and I agree with JohntheGeek. Buying 3rd party ram is the way to go but how cost effective is it with the new macbooks? You get 2 SODIMM slots to work with and both are filled with 256 sticks if you buy the low end model (both slots are filled no matter which option you go with 2x512mb or 2x1gb). I'd ask if this was done on purpose but it's a stupid question. If you buy 3rd party sticks and sell the 2x256 sticks on ebay to make some $$ back who is going to buy them (and is it only cost efficient if you buy 2x1GB sticks (~$308+shipping on newegg compared to the $500 to upgrade))? **I'm not sure of the compatibility of these sticks they are just for example** It's a tough call but I am planning on getting another 1GB for my mactel desktop I built. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114455 Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipper Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Some inetersting links. Internals photos And another ones: http://suyama.co.jp/ Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114467 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lkr Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Keep us posted, lkr! will do. also, is it possible to take pics with iSight? and can I add RAM to the GMA? thats the only reason i went ahead and spent so much $$$ on the RAM Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114532 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysaor Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Some users are reporting that the matte black finish has begun peeling and flaking off on their new MacBooks http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2397 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114544 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboss Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Apple could do something like SONY for the GMA issue. With some SONY laptops, both a GeForce 7400 and a GMA 950 are present and when you want to save batteries, you use the GMA and when you want a bit more power, you use the 7400. Incase you are wondering about space requirements, SONY has implemented this on 12-14 inch laptops with a T2300 or T2400. Check the links below for more details: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16834117161 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16834117151 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16834117150 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114553 Share on other sites More sharing options...
badg2k Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Hey is it true that the power brick for the macbook is smaller than the one for the macbook pro? I was looking at pictures and it would appear that way. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114562 Share on other sites More sharing options...
INFNITE Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 check the price: it's close to $2000, which is the price of MacBook Pro's. The main reason Apple is using integrated graphics is not to save power, but to make it more affordable. Maybe Apple should've went with a lower end ATI card as an option? That would've been a nice compromise. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114563 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogabean Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 I'm interested in this portion from apple's site: in the complete specs it says.. "Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory1" #1 states "Memory available to Mac OS X may vary depending on graphics needs. Minimum graphics memory usage is 80MB, resulting in 432MB of system memory available." so what is it? 64? 80? will it actually go up to the 224 the GMA950 supports if needed?? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114586 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboss Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 check the price: it's close to $2000, which is the price of MacBook Pro's. The main reason Apple is using integrated graphics is not to save power, but to make it more affordable. Maybe Apple should've went with a lower end ATI card as an option? That would've been a nice compromise. i think it has more to do with sony overpricing their hardware.. besides, it comes with enough ram and hd space so even if it is 1900, it includes everything. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114672 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernalzero Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 I'm interested in this portion from apple's site: in the complete specs it says.. "Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory1" #1 states "Memory available to Mac OS X may vary depending on graphics needs. Minimum graphics memory usage is 80MB, resulting in 432MB of system memory available." so what is it? 64? 80? will it actually go up to the 224 the GMA950 supports if needed?? Good question Rogabean! I'm interested to see what the answer is to that and if the GMA950 with the Macbook can go upto 224 if you have enough system memory. I don't need the Macbook for graphics intensive stuff so it's not a real down selling point but always good to know. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-114679 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jouissance Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 Will the Macbook's Intel video handle Windows Vista adequately? Are the Macbook's video capabilities DX9 ready? Is semi-hardcore gaming (Half-Life2, Halo) possible on the new Macbooks? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-115284 Share on other sites More sharing options...
quagmire Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 for anyone who's interested, I ran xbench on 3 different laptops at the apple store (mbp/blackmb/whitemb1.83). The results can be viewed here. I know xbench isn't the most precise way to test, but the results are rather interesting (based purely on an xbench perspective). Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-116772 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRP Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 Will the Macbook's Intel video handle Windows Vista adequately? Are the Macbook's video capabilities DX9 ready? Is semi-hardcore gaming (Half-Life2, Halo) possible on the new Macbooks? Possible? The Internets are telling me yes. Enjoyable? That's yet to be seen (just kidding, it depends on your definition of semi-hardcore and I'll just be rather presumptuous here and guess ... no) Too bad I'm putting off any other OS till school's out, so no Vista testing over on my end... but apparently the GMA 950 stuck at 64MB doesn't meet the requirements for Aero. My conclusion is that you should either wait for budget computers to get up to Vista-friendly (and in my silly little opinion it's really just a gimmicky expensive ad for "Vienna", just like ME was for XP, or Xbox was for Xbox 360; basically the ol' one-two, where the "two" is the one that goes BAM), or if you have a MacBook, stick with the older stuff and/or use lower settings for everything. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/17596-apple-releases-macbook-for-just-1099/page/4/#findComment-116816 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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