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    A few questions on the Macbook Pro 15"

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by Mikozee, Nov 29, 2011.

  1. Mikozee

    Mikozee Notebook Guru

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    COMPLETE Apple noob here, so please go easy on me.

    1. Where in the world is the ventilation on the MBP? Is there even a fan or moving parts to move the heat? The laptop is undeniably sexy and aesthetically pleasing to look at, but I don't see it doing well in the heat department and that's going to be a problem because...

    2A. I play starcraft 2 and I'm wondering if any gurus on here can tell me if the latest (2011/2012 model) MBP is capable of supporting SC2 on low settings without overheating issues?

    2B. For any of you gamers (especially fellow SC2ers), can you tell me how much battery life you get out of the MBP with moderate/heavy gaming?

    2C. I realize Mac's aren't catered for gamers, but I'm still going to ask how general gaming is in comparison to Windows. Like I asked before, I'm -really- concerned about overheating issues that might crash the computer or, god forbid, fry the motherboard if it gets intense.

    3. I know Mac's are famous for their battery life but I'm wondering if loading Windows 7 onto it and using that instead will decrease performance in anyway, thus lowering battery life? Does W7 use more processes and run more background stuff that might possibly lower battery life?
     
    Mikozee, Nov 29, 2011
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  2. mavo82

    mavo82 Notebook Consultant

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    1. I also wondered, where the air would go out and finally found it. The ventilation system is a the rear, in the gap between the screen and the base unit. You can seen it when you open your macbook and look down from the top.

    2ab. I play Arkham Asylum on my macbook 13" without any problems. The 15" may be different, as it has dedicated graphics. Gaming takes much of the battery life, I would says 2 hours max.

    2c. Heat will never cause the machine to destroy the mainboard. High temps cause the system to throttle, temps over 100°C lead to a shutdown without any other consequences. With my 13inch-Mac, all temps are fine while gaming.

    3. Win7 will have worse drivers, as Apple provides them primarily to work with MacOS. You may get throttling issues, lower performance and lower battery life. If you prefer Win7, I would suggest you'll buy a Sony Vaio or similar.
     
    mavo82, Nov 29, 2011
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  3. Lieto

    Lieto Notebook Deity

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    I confirm around 2 hours of battery while gaming sc2. Maybe a bit more if you play single player. There is an SC2 for mac (obviously) so there shouldnt be any problems with that.

    I didnt quite noticed win7 eating more battery either. I mean i know it was proven but its not something that is easy to notice. I am also gaming under win7, all drivers are fine etc.

    However if you dont love mac os, mbp might not be the best choice for you since you are paying quite a lot for the os to not use it.
     
    Lieto, Nov 29, 2011
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