User Name
Password
AppleNova Forums » Purchasing Advice »

Updated Mac mini vs 1.33Ghz TiBook (World of Warcraft performance)


Register Members List Calendar Search FAQ Posting Guidelines
Updated Mac mini vs 1.33Ghz TiBook (World of Warcraft performance)
Thread Tools
StevesMom
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2005-08-15, 05:23

Hi all,

I'm considering getting a Mac mini to "replace" my 17" PowerBook. The mini meets or exceeds the specification of my 17" PowerBook in all but one area - graphics - and it's this that's causing me concern.

I use all the usual Mac applications, but need bearable framerates in World of Warcraft Does anyone with an updated Mac mini know how well the updated graphics chip copes with World of Warcraft ? On paper the PowerBook has much more graphics grunt (it's a 64Mb Mobility Radeon 9600 to the best of my knowledge, maybe a 128Mb, not entirely sure and I'm at work so can't check) than the mini, but the only time I use the graphics grunt is with World of Warcraft.

In case you're wondering, my 17" TiBook spends most of its time on the desktop. I was going to spend £500-ish on the new mini, eBay the 17" PowerBook prior to the Intel switch, wait for Rev B. "Intel Inside" PowerBooks (or whatever they're called) then buy the best one I can afford. The mini will tide me over until then I reckon, and once the Intel PowerBook arrives I can simply give the Mac mini to one of my sons, who will thoroughly appreciate it, meaning that the mini is a very cheap buy overall.

But if it won't do WoW at 1280x1024 with a decent framerate, it's not a goer. Hope someone here can help.

StevesMom
  quote
Luca
ಠ_ರೃ
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2005-08-15, 06:56

Hah! You think you'll somehow get an IMPROVEMENT by switching to a Mac mini? LOLOL!

Yeah, no way man. No freakin' way. Going from a 1.33 GHz PowerBook to a 1.42 GHz mini that has half the VRAM and a much slower graphics chipset is NOT going to help gaming performance AT ALL.

How much RAM do you have? Make sure you have at least a GB. And don't get your hopes up about ever running WoW very well on a Mac. It'll run at playable framerates on most new Macs, but I've heard even the highest-end G5s have trouble getting good performance out of it. A measly 90 MHz upgrade will do absolutely nothing to help, and the video card downgrade can only be a bad thing.
  quote
StevesMom
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2005-08-15, 08:18

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca
Hah! You think you'll somehow get an IMPROVEMENT by switching to a Mac mini? LOLOL!

Yeah, no way man. No freakin' way. Going from a 1.33 GHz PowerBook to a 1.42 GHz mini that has half the VRAM and a much slower graphics chipset is NOT going to help gaming performance AT ALL.

How much RAM do you have? Make sure you have at least a GB. And don't get your hopes up about ever running WoW very well on a Mac. It'll run at playable framerates on most new Macs, but I've heard even the highest-end G5s have trouble getting good performance out of it. A measly 90 MHz upgrade will do absolutely nothing to help, and the video card downgrade can only be a bad thing.
Heh. I'm not looking for an improvement - that'd be insane - but I'm looking to limit the depreciation of my TiBook once the Intel Mac's hit, while still retaining a playable WoW installation. On the other hand your logic pretty much follows my thoughts (video card downgrade can only be a bad thing) so I might just stay put until Intel PowerBooks appear, and hand on the 17" TiBook when I upgrade to the Rev.B latest-n-greatest whenever it appears. It's not like I have a pile of cash burning a hole in my bank account...

StevesMom
  quote
Luca
ಠ_ರೃ
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2005-08-15, 08:30

Ah, I see. Well, from what I've heard, WoW performance isn't affected much by what hardware you have. Obviously there will be a difference between the very low end and the very high end, but supposedly the difference isn't that great. It simply runs "kinda slow, but playable" on just about all recent Macs. I installed it and played for a few hours on my Mac mini with 1 GB of RAM, and it was decent. Certainly not great, but definitely playable, especially given the type of game it is (less reflex-based than a first person shooter).

If you want to save up the money from your 17" PowerBook (it's not a TiBook, btw, it's made of aluminum so if anything it's an AlBook), then what you describe is a viable option. You'll probably miss the portability, though. And remember that if you're getting a Mac mini, you'll have to spend a bit of cash on peripherals to use with it. I don't think you'll end up making a ton of money, in the end. You might get $1800 for the PowerBook, and then you'll have to spend at least $500 on the mini as well as a good $300 on peripherals (assuming you don't already own a decent monitor, a keyboard and mouse, and a 1 GB RAM module). If you use your PowerBook's DVD burner a lot, you might want to get one of those as well, further eroding your little buildup of cash.

I think you need to just look at similar PowerBooks on eBay to estimate how much you'll make from selling it, then total up how much you'd spend on a mini. Compare that to how much you can get by just selling the PowerBook in a year to get a new one. Work out the finances and determine which one makes sense.
  quote
StevesMom
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2005-08-16, 07:33

I already largely use the PowerBook as a desktop replacement, so I already have the monitor/keyboard/mouse/accessories/memory/external FireWire DVD I'd need to "replace" it with a Mac mini. The PowerBook is only occasionally portable to be honest, I'll miss the portability, but not that much I suspect.

I was just worried about the $1800 dropping to more like $1000 once the new Intel Mac's hit (I can see G4 mac values being absolutely savaged second-user by the Intel switch, but I may just be paranoid and entirely wrong on this). I've no idea how much the PowerBook will be worth in a year unfortunately, but I do know that 68k Macs took an absolute nosedive in second-user values when the PPC hit the Mac way back when ... which is why I'm expecting a similar thing when Intel hits.

Decisions, decisions... but thanks very much for your pov, been helpful
  quote
switchr92
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Send a message via AIM to switchr92  
2005-08-17, 02:07

The problem with all mac games is that they were all optomized for windows, and they are later made playable of a mac. Get as much RAM as you can, and it will be playable. I would go for it. Good luck.
  quote
Posting Rules Navigation
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Post Reply

Forum Jump
Thread Tools
Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Thinking of getting a mac mini - Games!? sparky0106 Purchasing Advice 16 2005-05-23 07:51
Why I ordered a Mac mini. bconneen Apple Products 13 2005-01-18 05:34
"Will this little white box... bring down Bill Gates?" Mac Mini: THE REACTION SonOfSylvanus Apple Products 85 2005-01-17 04:41
go get your security update thegelding Apple Products 8 2004-10-05 08:49
Apple releases updated Power Mac G5s staph Apple Products 43 2004-06-09 13:20


« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 16:53.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2024, AppleNova