time to buy a macbook pro

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guys, thinking seriously about going for a 15.4" macbook bro..

Can get one for £1500 student discount.. anyone here recommend them?

Was going to go for new macbooks but need the gfx cards for video/photo editing + gaming.

Have used windows up till now and would still use my beast of a desktop as a file storage machine.

Any tips are welcome!

Jonny
 
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shifty_uk said:
There a thread on the macbook just below this one.

Also, I don't think you can use games on Mac's

as far as i know u can use some games! wouldnt be a major issue tho.

Is 15.4 almost the same as 17" except for screensize?

Were they released together/same problems???
 
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spirit said:
doesnt matter you can use bootcamp to boot into xp.
Just a note on this: Unless the world has been turned on its head since I last checked, driver support isn't too hot for Windows XP on the intel macs running through bootcamp. I've heard reports that some games work fine, but bare in mind bootcamp is still in beta at the moment and you will take a performance hit when it comes to games :(
 
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Al Vallario said:
Just a note on this: Unless the world has been turned on its head since I last checked, driver support isn't too hot for Windows XP on the intel macs running through bootcamp. I've heard reports that some games work fine, but bare in mind bootcamp is still in beta at the moment and you will take a performance hit when it comes to games :(

but he will be able to play them, better to take the hit than no games at all!
 
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i can use my big desktop for games but its still nice to know that (hopefully) once bootcamp is sorted and all the driver issues are resolved then gaming should be no problem. I am so tempted to hit the buy now button but think i might hold off for a wee while. Uni dont start till late september but then again the guy I was talking to at apple said no changes will be made to any macbooks in the next 6 months.

My mate says I will have no regrets about going down the apple road.. I hope he is right!

J
 
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appealing thing of dual boot is not having to rebuy your whole collection!

and it makes a good safety net for those 1st time mac buyers!
 
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You should be able to run most Windows games on the MacBook Pro. My 17" MBP runs all my Windows XP games without a problem... and runs them very well.

Doom 3 with all the graphics setting on Maximum runs silky smooth. I've also tried Myst V, Elite Force 2 and Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. No problems so far.
 
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nomore said:
You should be able to run most Windows games on the MacBook Pro. My 17" MBP runs all my Windows XP games without a problem... and runs them very well.

Doom 3 with all the graphics setting on Maximum runs silky smooth. I've also tried Myst V, Elite Force 2 and Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. No problems so far.

what rez do you play D3 in?
 
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another question?

Did u all go for the glossy screen? Which is best for gaming?
Which is best for video/photo editing (not quite broadcast stuff im doin so doesnt need to be perfect)

just off fone with apple..

final prices
15.4" - £1512
17" - £1747


This is with further education discount.

Im still thinking 15.4.. cant really afford the 17" and its probably not as portable
 
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spirit said:
what rez do you play D3 in?

The highest it would go before it was higher resolution than my screen was something like 1280x1024... the highest was 1600x1200.. but my screen is 1680x1050. I've seen online that there's a way to make Doom 3 run in a custom resolution. I might try it again at 1680x1050.
 
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jonnyc747 said:
another question?

Did u all go for the glossy screen? Which is best for gaming?
Which is best for video/photo editing (not quite broadcast stuff im doin so doesnt need to be perfect)

just off fone with apple..

final prices
15.4" - £1512
17" - £1747


This is with further education discount.

Im still thinking 15.4.. cant really afford the 17" and its probably not as portable

Glossy screens are really nice for general use, but not good at all for graphics/video editing. The colours are over saturated and the contrast is usually wrong too. Matte screens are much better for graphics use.

However, if you're not planning on doing many graphics, then glossy may be cool. From my experience, glossy screens show finger prints much more than matte screens.

The 17" is very portable IMO. It's only 1" wider physically than the 15.4... it doesn't seem overly large. The screen resolution is worth the increase with width/depth for me.
 
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nomore said:
Glossy screens are really nice for general use, but not good at all for graphics/video editing. The colours are over saturated and the contrast is usually wrong too. Matte screens are much better for graphics use.

However, if you're not planning on doing many graphics, then glossy may be cool. From my experience, glossy screens show finger prints much more than matte screens.

The 17" is very portable IMO. It's only 1" wider physically than the 15.4... it doesn't seem overly large. The screen resolution is worth the increase with width/depth for me.

thanks for the advice..

dvds etc look better on a glossy screen?

ive never had a mac b4 so im not wanting to go for 17" just yet as its just too much cash but I can always plug it into my 19" TFT here and use it for editing/graphics.. it means i wont need a mac desktop as well as laptop..

I hate having to make these decisions!
 
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