first time buyer thinking about new macbook with XP

I am looking to buy the new macbook ($1300). I never used a macbook before but after seeing how beautiful this machine is I fell in love. The aluminum construction, the simplicity and clean look this notebook has makes all other plastic laptops cheap. I was actually looking to buy the dell m1330 but since the price is nearly identical to the macbook it made my choice much easier. Since the only other laptop I would consider buying over the macbook is the sony z but since the price on that is so high my mind is set on the macbook.

Since bootcamp allows you to run windows natively I thought this would be perfect but in the back of my mind I'm worried I'll have problems. My question is basically will I run into any problems trying to run windows only on the macbook as far as drivers are concerned? Will everything work the way it's supposed too? I have no intention of running mac os so if I buy this can I insert a larger hard drive, boot up boot camp and install just windows without any other partitions or is a mac partition required?

also, is there anything else I should know before buying that I haven't mentioned or don't know about?

 

If you're looking to get a Macbook solely/primarily to run Windows, you should really look elsewhere - this is coming from a recently PC-to-Mac convert. The Macbook is optimized for OS X, and running Windows under it won't provide as good battery life or compatibility as native Windows machines would.

If you're design conscious, may I recommend the HP laptops or the Lenovo Ideapads?

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erhm...

Sony VAIOs?

 

Take a look at the Lenovo IdeaPad U330.

 

Why do so many say that? So what if he wants to mainly run windows on a mac? I think the build quality of macs cannot be compared to, plus the excellent apple support. Nobody complains when someone wants to spend $4000+ on a laptop that can get 3000fps in crysis, so let him spend his $1300 how he wants.
Using bootcamp, you can run windows xp or vista, and natively. Some say windows actually runs better on a mac because of better drivers. Either way, you shouldn't have any problems. Please check the first two stickies on the top of the apple forum here, they will give you a good start.

 

Lol you will have lovely problems with the touchpad and the left/right click.

 

Well, yeah, VAIOs are a spectacular suggestion - I was actually looking to get the VAIO Z until the new MBP tore me away. But the OP says the VAIO Z is out of his price range, so :\

Although, maybe the SR?

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via FoxyTunes

 

btw, i just switched from a sony Z to a MBP and i couldnt be happier, anything i need on a windows i can just run fusion and run whatever i need

but yeah, i think the drivers should be good, i found no troubles using vista natively and everything works fine, even the webcam

but i prefer to run OS X as it runs cooler and battery life is supposed to be longer

 

hey, im not preventing him from buying anything.

however, i will say avoid apple if windows is your primary OS. you are stuck with mac for firmware updates if nothing else, and that sucks down hard drive space. plus there are battery life and trackpad issues with apple laptops in windows, and a slightly different keyboard that can be annoying.

that said, for what you probably do, you very well may find that you convert to mac osx.

 

The SR is the Sony model to compare to the Macbook... it's the one that's closest to the Macbook in price, features, size/weight... pretty much everything.

Both the SR and the Macbook are nice machines IMO... and so is the Z, but as you mentioned, the Z is expensive.

 

I think you need to look much harder, if you are still interested in Windows, the M1330 actually costs very little consider tons of discounts can make it a $700-800 range, look in the Deals section for deals.

You could also get the Macbook white/black, lots of people selling sealed new in box for $800-1000 for a well equipped one.

The problem I have with the new MB is that the screen isn't better at all, I was pretty dissappointed when I saw one in person. It was overly relfective, very problematic in well lit areas and at the highest brightness, it looked a bit washed out compare to my MBP's Matte LED screen.

The m1330 LED screen looks fine, it's glossy but not too reflective, a good masking on it. I've seen them, they are pretty good laptops for about $800-900, comes with HDMI, firewire, and has blu-ray options.

The new MBs, like Sony Vaios are good to look at but has several flaws I listed above. Not saying they are bad, as with Apple sometimes, you have to spend more to get the well equipped models. The MB at $1300, without dedicated graphics, inferior battery life doesn't seem like a great deal to me.

My 2 cents.

 

That wasn't directed toward you masterchef.

 

You can use a mouse (a bluetooth version if you don't want to "waste" one of the USB ports). Perhaps a firmware update will improve the current trackpad situation in Windows, who knows.

Anyway, the point here is Apple & Sony seem to be the most consistent with the quality/design of their notebooks at the moment. With HP & Lenovo, it's hit or miss. With Dell, it's also hit or miss, mostly miss. I know when I first saw the new Aluminum MacBook/MBP, I thought to myself if only every notebook over $1,000 was constructed this well. I might buy my first Mac soon.

 

Seeing as how I was in the very same boat as you a few months back, hopefully I can be of some help! To answer your question regarding running Windows as your primary OS, Google "running windows as primary os on mac" and go to the first link (I am under 15 posts so I dont have link previlages ).

From my understanding, and if I am wrong please correct me, I am almost positive that you must run an OSX partition in order to run a boot camp partition. However, you can always assign the OSX partition minimum space, and allocate the rest into Windows. Once you have installed Windows, you can select it as your primary boot OS within boot camp settings. On the other hand, I STRONGLY encourage you not to, and I will explain why.

When I first installed XP on my black Macbook via boot camp, it ran impressively well. They aren't kidding when they say that boot camp runs Windows better than, if not as well as, any other (similarly configured) Intel based PC. But after having used Leopard for just a few hours however, I found myself hooked on its features and simplicity. Seeing as how the only downfall in the Macbook was its lack of dedicated graphics (which is still the present issue since the new integrated 9400m isn't exactly ideal for gaming), I did not intend to use my laptop for gaming purposes. Hence, I figured I would combine the best of both worlds by running my boot camp partition via a virtual machine (VMWare Fusion). The result was beyond my expectations.

VMWare (and other virtual managers) now offer a feature that allows you to embed your Windows partition within Leopard, and there is nothing like running the two simultaneously. I was able to launch ANY native Windows application within XP, at the same time as native OSX applications via Leopard. On top of that, since Leopard isn't nearly as much a resource hog as Windows is, I gained nearly 40 minutes of battery life! As a student, that was the deciding factor for me, and since then I have always ran the two simultaneously. The best part is being able to use the Mac features with all my Windows applications, such as expose and spaces. I can practically write a novel, so simply put: TRY IT.

From the sound of it however, I would not jump into purchasing a Macbook for the sole intent of running Windows. The bottom line is, for ~$1,300, there are much faster and better Windows suited PC's! But if it's looks that sells you over the competition, then I suppose it's down to personal preference.

As much as I love my Macbook, I am planning on selling it for a notebook with dedicated graphics (9800GTS ). Once a gamer, always a gamer!

 

If you are using Windows on your macbook, just a heads up that your battery life will be worse than if you were in OS X and your temperatures will be higher.

And like the poster above me said, give OS X a try, it really beats the hell out of Windows form what I have seen(don't own a mac as yet).

 

Indeed. Running XP within Leopard via VMWare took me from 3.5 hours to 4 hours and 20 minutes (wifi disabled & battery dimmed of course). Winning combination.

 

Can anyone list the temps. they got under Windows and OS X? I'm curious how much higher the temps get under Windows.

 

Ive gotta head out in a few minutes time, but if no one has done it by tomorrow morning, I will try and post my temps.

 

I'm also looking into getting a MBP and running WMWare at work.

I recently got a T400, but have had a couple BSOD issues while running XP Pro.....

 

Thanks, I would appreciate it.

 

Update your system via system update, that should take care of the BSODs for the most part. But in general, Lenovo software is really crummy, try to stay away from it as much as possible. All I really have is the power manager.

 

You can run XP/VISTA without OSX installed if you really want.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=314441

 

Why are temps said to be higher in Windows than OS X? Is Apple simply downclocking or keeping the CPU/GPU in a lower powered state than Windows is doing? The fan behaviour should be the same on both systems since it's controled by firmware.

People even say gaming in Windows gives higher temp than in OS X. A fully pushed CPU or GPU should yield the same heat regardless of OS, you think.

 

the ATI X1600 was Under clocked, so was the 8600mGT albeit not by a lot, so I guess there is a high prob that the 9600mGT is under clocked, unless someone can run the nvidia control panel in windows under load to prove otherwise...