New MBP with Penryn owners please help!!!

Hello everybody,
i am trying to decide to buy MBP 2.5 nex week but I have some issues. I love Mac os X and I think it is great OS, but I still need to use Windows for my work. I would love to get MBP but I have read lots of forums and I can see there is still lots of problems running Vista on MBP so I have a few questions.

1. Is LCD high pitched noise still an issue in Vista
2. How erratic is two finger scroll in Vista and is is usable at all
3. How about sound cracklin and wireless card
4. Are there problems when you disable Broadcomm WLAN card in Vista
5. HOw about power management in Vista, in normal work (writing, Internet with wlan - what is battery time)
6.Is heat a problem, how are new penryns MBP heat wise in Vista. (What is fan speed, is it noisy)
7.I also saw somewhare that screen tili angle on MBP is not so great, is it really a problem.(I dont have any place near me to check that myself)

Thanks in advance for all your help

 

I'm a Macbook owner but I'm a Penryn owner so I might be able to help here.

Mac cpu load (OSX idle): 20-25% fan speed 1800 rpm cpu 55-60c
Mac cpu load (windows idle): 75-90% fan speed gonzo fast cpu hot

Macos kernel sits there quietly servicing requests as it receives them. Windows message pump sits there violently cramming 14,000 messages per second down every application's throat as well as writing registry entries 14,000 times a second. Even inside a VM, it's bound to raise your cpu temp.

The Mac heat problem running Windows isn't poor hardware design. It's hardware design geared toward an OS that is efficient. Since more and more users are running windows either in boot camp or parallels, I expect future Macbook designs to be designed for a little higher average cpu load. While my Penryn runs cooler than the SantaRosa it replaced, it isn't to the point that Windows can't make it run hot.

 

Don't use Vista? I have a penryn MBP but I haven't tried vista on it yet (and probably never will )
<3 Leopard and XP

 

Agreed....I had a Vista notebook for 6 months and it was a horrible experience... I use windows for work and vista just isn't ready for a production environment.

 

Ok guys,
thanks for suggesions, I will consider using xp no matter what laptop I buy , but please can someone answer my questions..

PLEASE I have to decide soon!!!
Thanks

 

Sorry, I'm not a MBP owner nor do I use Windows on my Macbook so I can't directly answer all of these questions. I am not happy with the screen tilt and viewing angle on my Macbook but it's better than the old Dell it replaced.

The new Penryn MBP has the Macbook Air style multi-touch trackpad. That thing has received mixed reviews and I'm sure there won't be much support for it in Windows. Of course heat will be a problem if you run windows because Mac's are designed for a "quiet kernel" that doesn't gobble up 99% of the cpu if you aren't actively working on something. Another big offender for heat will be the antivirus software which is a necessity even running windows on a mac.

If windows was my priority, I'd find myself hard pressed to choose MBP. Apple hardware tends to be relatively expensive and is not a great value proposition based purely on hardware for the money. A lot of the value is in elegant design like the magsafe adapter, well thought out design, and overall build quality. But the overriding reason to go Mac is OS X. Bootcamp, Parallels and Vmware Fusion are really training wheels to get people past the "I cant run this or that software" objection. Once you've been using a Mac for a while, there really is no justification for wasting system resources on Windows OS or software. I just got my Macbook, but I've had a Mini for 3 years and figured it all out during that time. I tinker with Crossover and I might tinker with Parallels but it will be a cold rainy day in the bad place before I run Bootcamp to put my Macbook in the clutches of XP or Vista.

 

Well, I have a Penryn MBP, but I use XP not vista. I'll answer what I can here.

1. Is LCD high pitched noise still an issue in Vista
-I've been using my laptop for just over a month now and I have not heard a sound from the screen in OSX or XP.

2. How erratic is two finger scroll in Vista and is is usable at all
-In OSX the scroll works amazingly, but in XP its nearly useless. I havn't mess with the mouse sensitivity too much, and its possible you could slow it down if you took the time, but if your using Windows, I suggest getting an external mouse (also helps with right clicking, otherwise you need to place 2 fingers on the trackpad and click the button, all while praying the cursor remains still when you put that second finger down)

3. How about sound cracklin and wireless card
-wifi works 20x better than my old toshiba laptop.
-Sound wise, its iffy. From time to time you will hear what I can only describe as R2-D2 type sounds coming from your headphones (non-existant using the laptops speakers). From what I have read I think this is an issue with the design of the laptop and interference from the HDD. But other than that the sound is very good compared to other laptops.

4. Are there problems when you disable Broadcomm WLAN card in Vista
-not sure, in XP I've had no problems.

5. HOw about power management in Vista, in normal work (writing, Internet with wlan - what is battery time)
-XP lacks just about any form of power management that I am aware of. I get 2 hours with screen at full brightness, but can push 3.5 with the screen turned down. In OSX I easily get atleast 3, usually 4 hours and sometimes over 5, really depends on screen brightness, and HDD use. For normal use in MS Word, surfing the internet with 80% screen brightness 4 hours is very possible.

6.Is heat a problem, how are new penryns MBP heat wise in Vista. (What is fan speed, is it noisy)
-XP is power hungry, so the MBP can get warm (plus if I'm in XP I'm usually doing gaming or 3d modeling). Normally in OSX I run at about 45-55 degrees C. But it can get upto 70-80 during game play. No lap friendly IMO.
-As for noise, if you put your ear within 6 inches of the keyboard you MAY hear something, but for the most part I start to wonder if this thing has a fan, because its usually dead silent.

7.I also saw somewhare that screen tili angle on MBP is not so great, is it really a problem.(I dont have any place near me to check that myself)
-Hmm, well, this is kinda true. Some laptops let the screen open to nearly 180 degrees, the MBP is NOT one of them. The screen will open to maybe 120 degrees. I don't notice it that often, but sometimes I wish it would open more.

Hope I made your decision a little easier! Good luck shopping!

 

I love my MBPRO, but if I REALLY wanted a Vista Laptop I'd go XPS M1530

 

yeah don't get a MBP if you want Vista.