OK, so I am settling for a Pro and...

Well, I just bought a Asus G50vt-X1 that I have been satisfied with up until now.

After restarting it manually since the mouse pointer would not move, I was greeted by a changed desktop. It was set to the default wallpaper, and some icons were missing, so I decided to see what else has changed.

To my surprise, all of my media and productivity files were gone (with the exception of the sample music that came with the laptop and some Amazon mp3 files that I downloaded on this computer, not the ones I transferred from my old Macbook). While my executable files are there, none of the customizable settings or game saves are there.

All in all, I haven't suffered a big hit, but I am afraid of when I rack up a bigger collection of files. Yes, I back up, but I don't have time to every day, or even every week for that matter, and I have come to a conclusion that I can't trust a Windows platform as my main work platform anymore.

So, I have a couple of questions about the Macbook Pro line, which I will keep posting as they come to mind.

1. If I get the lowest end model of the pro, what are the chances that it will handle Starcraft 2 fine? I don't plan on gaming with it the same way that I did with the Asus, but I still want a little something on the go to enjoy.

2. With Snow Leopard coming, what are the chances the notebook line will get a refresh when the OS hits, or do you know of a coming refresh regardless of Snow's pending release?

I am sure more question will come. Thanks for any and all help.

 

unfortunately so, 9600mgt is a 128bit so there wouldn't be any significant improvement in performance from having 256mb more ram. so you don't miss a lot besides the CPU speed(which should be without 5% difference) and HDD where you can upgrade for cheaper else where.
so are ram.

not many people know about the release date of Sleopard yet.

i bought an acer notebook before and a thinkpad, for your experience i would have to say it is not windows's fault, but asus's.

quality of a notebook between companies like acer/asus to thinkpad is rather dramatic.

 

Right now the Pro comes with a 9600M GT which is about half as good as a 9800M GTS...so whatever frames your getting now, expect around half of that.
And I really do think a new revision will come out later on this year...however it just depends if you are willing to wait. I am guessing the GPU's will be better (probably lower nm process therefore less heat allowing for better GPU), and intel's new 32nm CPU's will hit the market q4 of this year. And snow leopard will most likely be released in june or july, probably along with a new iphone, and the iphone 3.0 os, so apple has a lot on its hands. but since intel's new cpu's aren't going to be released until q4 of this year, a new revision may not happen until then. i would definitely wait for this. you would get snow leopard installed already along with a better GPU and a 32nm CPU.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/core-i7-macbook-apple,7001.html

 

Don't say this!!!! You will make me regret my purchase!!!

 

Haha same! I hate it when people say a new model will come out.... It just makes me frown and look at the big space in my pocket that disappeared

If you can't wait, don't. Yes, the specs of the current model will change in a few months, but so will they in a few months after that

 

Yup and it certainly feels good to have the best machine of the house (Ok not the best, but certainly the newest model)

 

as long as nvdia or ati could not produce a powerful GPU that give off less heat, we will most likely be stick with 128bit.

and for intel's solution, the mobile variant of i7 will very likely be another evolution than revolution...

the mindset of new stuff coming in soon will never get you a notebook. just settle with what you like and upgrade later

i agree with waiting for snow leopard, at least that saves you 200 bucks. but waiting for CPU is needless. and so as GPU to an extend.

 

The only flaw i see on my macbook pro is heat. Right now, im surfing the net and listening to music and i'm at 65c. It's too high for these types of work. Normal laptopa do these at 50's c.

 

both my dell m4400 and hp elitebook 8530 run at nearly same temps (58-65)

 

i'd like to point out that computers don't make errors. i VERY HIGHLY doubt your issue is windows fault, or even asus' fault.....

whos fault does that leave?

nothing personal, just stating the obvious..

 

Computers must make errors for we make errors, and we make computers.

 

the chances of computer making errors against human's? the ratio of that is like 1 in several hundreds to thousands respectively. consider how much simpler computer handles their tasks, we would never be able to do that.

and if virus is a posibility in this issue; anti-virus(proper one, free ones don't count) might well be a solution. many people voice out their disappointment in windows but is that even representative to the masses? not always. norton09 is a great offering imo and it ran well under even the P-M 1.5ghz system listed below while it served me and i am as much of an advocate against norton prior to that ever since they had a globe on the side they were much like a virus instaed.

while os/x at times do feel more secure, i don't see any difference between the two OSes when i use them to the same extend(less pirated games, that might skew a little). i remember running windows xp/vista for days without crashing and the same for os/x; and infact, i feel less secure on os/x sometimes due to the less-prone-to-attack means vulnerability.

not trying to convince you going back to an asus for obvious reasons, but if you had try a more reputable brand(s), your view of windows(other than your view on windows+ASUS) might change. not all hardware are made the same and it is definitely the case here with notebooks. admittedly though, apple does offer a satisfactory product; one issue might be where you spend more time polishing it than say a thinkpad

while i am pleased with the offering from apple right now, i don't foresee myself getting another macbook pro myself due to various reasons(good and bad) and it is dangerous to have a one-way thinking about things; maybe it is me but i always bump my head when i do

 

that is human error not computer error. Computers only do what they're told. They do it to the T.

lots of people complain about windows but i often wonder how many of those people realize the difference between a driver and a os...
If windows messed up.. you did something to make it mess up...

The computer didn't one day decide okay well today we're gonna delete these files just for the heck of it. delete! haha take that human!

If you want a mac, by all means get a mac... but don't think a different OS is going to be the answer to your problem when the OS was never the problem in the first place.

 

I completely agree with your statements. I've spoken to too many so-called Mac users who hated Windows for the wrong reasons, mainly their own fault. It's like they have to justify tha somehow their Macs are superior to whatever system I'm using.

 

both are os'es mates. so cheer up!!

 

Get both CoolBook(undervolting) and SMCfancontrol and see your temps drop. Of course, go read the undervolting guide in the hardware aftermarket forums before using Coolbook, you will also need to get CPUtest to check for stability under OSX.

My MBP idles at 48 degrees when running at 1600mhz (41 degrees core temp).
it maxes out at about 72 degrees full load (2.4ghz). Now it used to be about 60 degrees idle, 85 full.

In boot camp, I used both RivaTuner and RMClock to acheive similar results. Although because of the use of the 9600M it's higher in temp, I was able to lower it with a combination of undervolting the CPU and underclocking the videocard.

Temps are 55 idle - 78 Full in boot Camp. Well below normal operating temperatures for even OSX if you ramped it into performance mode(utilizing the 9600) without any tweaking. So Windows isn't to blame here but more of the lack of support from Apple on boot camp as we are unable to use the 9400M for better battery and portability.

 

Did cpu undervolting decrease your temps by a large amount in vista?

 

LOL...I've been using windows since it was DOS. If you think that Windows doesn't have issues with its' registry that is absolutely no fault of the user, I believe you may be mistaken. When I can take a brand new clean install from a legal commercial copy of Windows (so zero shareware or other garbage), run a registry cleaner, such as ccleaner, and find dozens of registry problems, I would have to say that would be an OS issue...

 

Yes, at least 6-10 degrees on idle. If I had some type of better fan control in Vista it would likely be lower, but nothing like that exists yet...

But undervolting has allowed me to overclock it my MacBook Pro in Vista to 2.6ghz and still have lower temps than before...

 

Does RMClock work now with the montevina chips? I remeber when i got this laptop back last july RMClock didnt support the new montevina chips.

 

I wouldn't. Just because your registry cleaner says something is a problem doesn't mean it's actually a problem.

Computing errors are almost always attributable to humans... Sometimes the humans at fault are the users, but other times they're the programmers.

 

But, if i under clock in vista, will my cpu also get under clocked when using os x?

 

No it wont, RMClock is a software so it is a soft underclock/undervolt so it will only be applied when the RMClock program is executed. Compared to a hard over/under clock which is usually done via the BIOS which means it is always in effect.

 

Cool!!! I will install it tomorrow. One last question, when i use my vistual os, rm clock will be activated, will this cause any malfunction? What will hapen? Will it under clock my processor? because i need the most of my cpu power when virtualising.

 

there is a coolbook for mac for 10USD, haven't try it yet

 

Um.. There is undervolting and underclocking, don't get confused with either one of these terms.

First of all In both Vista and OSX I undervolt the Processor for lower temperatures, both need their respective programs for the undervolting to happen, once I reboot or shutdown the software the processor reverts to stock voltages.

As for underclocking, I'm only doing it via RivaTuner on Vista(works on XP too) to lower the clockspeed and memory speed of the 9600m, that way it uses a little less power and generates a little less heat.

Both Video card and cpu uses the same heatpipe/heatsink cooler, so lowering the heat output of either one of these would lower the entire system temp.

 

which program do you use?

 

I don't see why not. But the new unibody MacBooks don't use the Montevina chipset, it use the Nforce chipset, which is supported by RMClock.

 

Use for what?

Read above...

 

i am debating whether or not to buy coolbook to downclock(and downvolt) to conserve power consumption since most of the time i don't need 2.5Ghz running, more like fixing them at 800 or 1.2.

is that doable with coolbook?

 

@d3x, what settings you use with rm clock? Im downloading it now.

 

The lowest multiplier for your CPU is 6x, which is 1600ghz. There is no way you can use a lower speed.

In CoolBook the only thing you can do is lower the voltages for each of the available clock settings. Mine is set to 0.9250 Volts as opposed to 1.0V stock.

 

My settings are in RM clock:

6x 0.9250V
7x 0.9850V
8x 1.0250V
9x 1.1250V

Of course, this is on my system, you will have to individually check stability as each CPU is different, some undervolt better than others. You will need to follow the Undervolting Guide, and use Orthos (for Vista) or CPUTest (for OSX)

 

hmm, under coolbookconroller it is telling me the cpu is running at [email protected] though

 

Really? Hmm...perhaps those T9550s are a bit different.
EDIT: Nevermind you are using a Santa Rosa Based MacBook. My bad...

 

i've heard somewhere about the new macbook doesn't downclock as much as the previous version, maybe this applies to macbookpro as well

 

Yes, the new CPUs have a higher idle clock frequency.

 

You shouldnt have to lower underclock the gfx card. The voltage is the only thing that controls the heat output. The clock speeds just need enough voltage to run so past a point which should the lowest you can undervolt it should generate the same heat. Im getting my MBP soon, I think im going to a hard undervolt via NBitor so it stays the same in OS X and Vista.

 

From my knowledge, faster frequency even at the same voltage generates more heat ie; Overclocking 101. So the reverse should apply, when it comes to underclocking, personally I did see a difference by running the GPU core clock about 100mhz slower although not much (1-2 degrees difference).

 

not sure about the temperature when underclock(same voltage), but undervoltage(same freq. if possible) should always produce less heat given less current going through the board.

haven't try to run my notebook on battery(w/ restraint @ 800-1200) to note the battery life yet, i am positive though. update later

 

Wikipedia has a good explaination of "Underclocking" that supports my claims.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underclocking

 

I guess its a bit different in systems that are more sensitive to heat. My Clevo right here didnt notice a different but then again this thing has ginormous fans..

 

Well in most laptops, temperatures don't change too much from GPU underclocking simply because the Fans are made to only spin up when they reach a certain temperature. In otherwords, the temps are still the same, but it could be that the GPU is generating less heat and it would take a little longer in comparison for the fan to spin up.

 

True, is there a program for a soft clock for the GPU in OS X?

 

Unfortunately, not that I know of.

 

Hmm, guess Ill have to mess with NBitor when i get my MBP. Hopefully they support the 9600M Gt