[fwtong]

I'm looking for a cheap laptop that I can use to play WoW while I'm on the road. What I'd like to do is sell my MacMini and get a refurb MacBook so I can play WoW using BootCamp and do everything on OSX. But, I'm concerned about the performance of the GMA 950 in WoW, particularly in 40 man raids in BWL, MC and beyond. Does anyone have any experience with using the MacBook to raid in WoW?

If the answer is not good, then I may have to get a Dell, because Apple doesn't offer dedicated video card options with the MacBook and the MacBook Pro is way out of my range. I'm not really looking forward to this solution, but at least I'd get to keep my Mini.

Thanks

[Robo]

Are Apple and Dell really your only options? Did Lenovo, HP, etc. fall off the face of the earth?

[Banana]

My understanding is that you can install whatever you like on demo machines at apple store, so you could go over to your local apple store, put in WoW demo and play on Macbook and see how well it runs for you.

Have you looked into refurbished MacBook Pro? Education Discount? ADC discount?

There's more options if you look carefully.

HTH.

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by Banana My understanding is that you can install whatever you like on demo machines at apple store, so you could go over to your local apple store, put in WoW demo and play on Macbook and see how well it runs for you. .

Yeah, and playing WOW in public you're sure to make a friend, you'll just have to wait till you get home to talk to them.

[fwtong]

Originally Posted by Roboman Are Apple and Dell really your only options? Did Lenovo, HP, etc. fall off the face of the earth?

Thanks for suggesting other brands, but I'm only looking at Apple and Dell because I'd rather get an Apple, but if it's not feasible, Dell is the cheapest. Not to mention, those are the only brands I can get a slightly better deal on through work, which is handy since I'm trying to keep my costs down to around $1000.

[fwtong]

Originally Posted by Banana My understanding is that you can install whatever you like on demo machines at apple store, so you could go over to your local apple store, put in WoW demo and play on Macbook and see how well it runs for you. Have you looked into refurbished MacBook Pro? Education Discount? ADC discount? There's more options if you look carefully. HTH.

Thanks for reminding me that I can play stuff on demo machines. However, I'm mostly concerned about raiding, because that's the part of the game that stresses the hardware the most. I'm not sure if I can be at an Apple store long enough to go through 4 hour dungeon. If I were to get a MacBook, I'd probably get a refurb because I'm trying to keep the cost around $1000 or less.

[Kraetos]

Originally Posted by fwtong Thanks for suggesting other brands, but I'm only looking at Apple and Dell because I'd rather get an Apple, but if it's not feasible, Dell is the cheapest. Not to mention, those are the only brands I can get a slightly better deal on through work.

If you need a portable gaming machine, Dell is not the answer, Alienware is. See if you can sneak it in to your corporate discount because Dell owns Alienware, justify it as needing a "High-performance PC."

Anyways, the m5550 is for you. Linky. Starts at $999.

If you leave the proc bottomed out (T5500, still damn speedy), go 1 G RAM, GeForce Go 6600, you're looking at near-MacBook prices. You can, of course, deck it out, if you so please. This will give you a very formidable WoW machine, and notebook in general.

Leave the res at 1280 x 800, unless for some reason you want that sharpness. Less pixels to push = better gaming.

And to answer your original question, WoW, even in Windows (GMA drivers are superior in Windows), is a bit of a push for a MacBook. The GMA 950 just doesn't have the horsepower, even with the settings pretty low.

Small warning, the m5550 is chunky compared to its Apple cousin, the MacBook Pro. About .4 pounds heavier and .36 inches thicker.

[EDIT] (in response to your edit) A 1k gaming portable is tough. Gaming requires a good deal of horsepower, and few $900-$1100 portables can do it, Dell's are no exception. Your best bet might be a used m5550 on eBay.

[fwtong]

Originally Posted by Kraetos If you need a portable gaming machine, Dell is not the answer, Alienware is. See if you can sneak it in to your corporate discount because Dell owns Alienware, justify it as needing a "High-performance PC." Anyways, the m5550 is for you. Linky. Starts at $999. If you leave the proc bottomed out (T5500, still damn speedy), go 1 G RAM, GeForce Go 6600, you're looking at near-MacBook prices. You can, of course, deck it out, if you so please. This will give you a very formidable WoW machine, and notebook in general. Leave the res at 1280 x 800, unless for some reason you want that sharpness. Less pixels to push = better gaming. And to answer your original question, WoW, even in Windows (GMA drivers are superior in Windows), is a bit of a push for a MacBook. The GMA 950 just doesn't have the horsepower, even with the settings pretty low. Small warning, the m5550 is chunky compared to its Apple cousin, the MacBook Pro. About .4 pounds heavier and .36 inches thicker. [EDIT] (in response to your edit) A 1k gaming portable is tough. Gaming requires a good deal of horsepower, and few $900-$1100 portables can do it, Dell's are no exception. Your best bet might be a used m5550 on eBay.

Thanks for suggesting Alienware. I know that getting a laptop in that price range might be tough. I just might go to my fall back plan and get a small LCD monitor to go along with my gaming machine. My current gaming machine is a Small Form Factor, so it's already small, light and portable.

[digitaldave]

Originally Posted by fwtong ...play WoW using BootCamp and do everything on OSX.

Any reason you want to use Boot Camp to play WoW? The Mac version is apparently pretty good on the new Intel machines now they've got a universal binary .

[fwtong]

Originally Posted by digitaldave Any reason you want to use Boot Camp to play WoW? The Mac version is apparently pretty good on the new Intel machines now they've got a universal binary .

I heard that the GMA 950 WinXP drivers were better then the OSX ones...

[digitaldave]

Ah, I see .

Have you looked at the official WoW Mac support forums? There's bound to be loads of info there about using WoW on a MacBook, and possibly OSX vs Boot Camp XP.

[autodata]

WoW runs awful on the MacBook. Very low FPS.

[alcimedes]

Dell pricing for laptops through your company won't be as good as what you can get online if you browse around with discount codes and the like. I work for an employer of 12,000 and we can still get better deals through retail channels for Dell. (if we hunt around)

[fwtong]

Thanks for all the suggestions, but after thinking things through, I've settled on 2 possible options whcih I'll do after the Apple's expected notebook refresh. The first is to sell both of my machines, my PC and my G4 Mini, and get a MacBook Pro. The other option is to sell my PC to get a game laptop and continue to do most of my real work on my G4 Mini. Naturally, I prefer to get the MacBook Pro, but that'll only work if I can get at least $800 for both of my machines.

Of course, by the time the notebook refresh happens, my project might be over and I may not need it anymore...

[fwtong]

Now that the new MBP are out, I decided to sell my PC and my Mini and use the money from that to help pay for the MBP. I checked on eBay, and it looks like I won't get the $800 from both that I was hoping for, so it's going to hurt a lot more then I had hoped. It took a lot of thinking to pull the trigger, but I rationalized it because I can write it off on my taxes since I'm going to be using it for work (being an independent contractor has a few advantages). But, it'll be nice going to a 1 computer system instead of using the Mini to work on and using the PC to play games. Admittedly, I won't get the same performance out of the MBP as my Nvidia 6800, but nothing's perfect.

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by fwtong Now that the new MBP are out, I decided to sell my PC and my Mini and use the money from that to help pay for the MBP. I checked on eBay, and it looks like I won't get the $800 from both that I was hoping for, so it's going to hurt a lot more then I had hoped. It took a lot of thinking to pull the trigger, but I rationalized it because I can write it off on my taxes since I'm going to be using it for work (being an independent contractor has a few advantages). But, it'll be nice going to a 1 computer system instead of using the Mini to work on and using the PC to play games. Admittedly, I won't get the same performance out of the MBP as my Nvidia 6800, but nothing's perfect.

Use Craigslist to sell the mini. I put mine on there and sold it within three days. I was still getting offers three or four weeks later.

[autodata]

Originally Posted by fwtong Admittedly, I won't get the same performance out of the MBP as my Nvidia 6800, but nothing's perfect.

I think you'll be happy with it. Even if you need to set terrain distance lower, the difference between high and medium is much less of a problem than the difference between low and medium. Just remember to go to new egg and max out the RAM.

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by autodata I think you'll be happy with it. Even if you need to set terrain distance lower, the difference between high and medium is much less of a problem than the difference between low and medium. Just remember to go to new egg and max out the RAM.

Definitely go for at least 2GB RAM total, 3GB if you can swing it. I had a first-gen MBP for a while, and I found it to be a more than capable gaming machine. I wish I had been able to keep it.