graphics card on macbook

i'm looking into a macbook (13" screen size), and was concerned about the graphics card that comes standard with it. having a mac myself, i know they're equipped to handle all graphics applications, but i'm also going to be using this machine for 3dmodelling (rhino) in the windows environment (probably with parallels).

on a side note, i was also planning to dock this laptop while at home and use my 20" monitor (instead of buying the macbook pro).

so, my questions are:

1) does anyone know if i can order the macbook with a different graphics card, OR can I have another graphics card installed

2) does anyone have any experience with the "bookendz" docking station. it seems to be the only one out there.

thanks much
g

 

1) You cannot upgrade after you purchase. What you buy is what you keep.
2) Docking stations will not improve graphics performance. I'm guessing that is not why you are asking about the dock though.

Just FYI...but Macbooks are not "just equipped" to handle anything. They have the same hardware as PCs. We all have the same limitations.

You are probably thinking about 2D rendering stuff...which most computers are capable of anything without fuss. But as soon as you ask about any 3D stuff, you need to do research.

 

For what you want to do, you would need a notebook with discreet graphics, which the Macbook doesn't have.

If you're going to be doing 3D modeling in Windows, you would save a lot of time, effort, and money simply by getting a native Windows notebook.

 

I have maya 8.0 running on my intel macbook. It runs pretty well. Even while zooming around models and such. Its very nice. The GPU isnt made for heavy work though but its capable.