BF2S Forums Ask a Mac'r. Answer to all things Macintosh/Apple Related.

Marlboroman82 wrote:

max wrote:

ghettoperson wrote:

Is it possible to overclock a Mac? Just curious really, as they don't seem to have a BIOS as such. I suppose in theory you could use one of those programs that overclock it for you through Bootcamp. Anyone done it?

some people apparently OC the x1600's that are inside most of the better macs. Dunno about the CPU though.
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also whats you peoples opinion on osx86 project. Worth checking out?

you can, I have used a couple of different programs in os x that let me change the processor speed. none seem to work that great, the processor all ready kinda run hot as it is so you can imagine what happens when you put the screws to them. anyways never heard of anyone oc the video card.


i have been a member of the os x86 project from the beginning. i think what they are doing is awesome. if you get a chance and you have a spare computer that meets the requirements try it out. I have osx running on my dell right now.

I think overclocking the graphics card is only done under bootcamp with ati tool. Why would you need more graphics power in an OS X environment anyhow? Its not designed for gaming.


how about dual booting it on my AMD rig?

in your opinion whats better all around MAC or PC?

B.Schuss wrote:

yay, me again with a question for Berni and Marlboro.

My GF's family and I have decided to get her a Laptop for B-Day. Since I know she adores Apple computers, I was happy to hear the family had opted to get her a MacBook instead of a regular windows-based Laptop.

As she is going to use it for office stuff, music, e-mail and web browsing and the occasional university paper only ( she is a student at cologne university ), we thought it'd be best to get her the 13'' MacBook, with the 1 GB RAM and the 80 GB HD. The medium size, if you will.
I am sure it will prove to be sufficient for all her computing needs.

One problem remains though. It's her first own PC. Previously, she had been using the family PC, largely operated and maintained by her brother. She knows nothing about OS's, disk drives, drivers, networks, etc.
She is a total computer noob.

1) So you think an Apple is the better choice as a first computer for someone like her ?

2) Would you agree that the medium-sized MacBook is sufficient for her computing needs as I spelled them out ?

3) As far a the actual purchase is concerned, would you recommend online purchase via apple.com, or a retailer? Personally, I'd always go retailer when it comes to buying complete systems, as you can can get back to them more easily if there is a problem.

4) I have discovered that online pricing doesn't vary much from retailers when it comes to Apple products.
Would you agree with that assessment ? What are your personal experiences when buying your Mac ?

1.Yes, its a lot easier to pick up and work with.

2.I think so, she doesn't game so there is no reason to worry about the integrated graphics. if you need to down the road you can bump up the ram and hard drive.

3. Apple doesn't vary at all between online and retail. the only thing is if she is a student she should be apple to get a 10% discount. If you purchase it online you can still go to the retailer to get repairs.

B.Schuss wrote:

yay, me again with a question for Berni and Marlboro.

My GF's family and I have decided to get her a Laptop for B-Day. Since I know she adores Apple computers, I was happy to hear the family had opted to get her a MacBook instead of a regular windows-based Laptop.

As she is going to use it for office stuff, music, e-mail and web browsing and the occasional university paper only ( she is a student at cologne university ), we thought it'd be best to get her the 13'' MacBook, with the 1 GB RAM and the 80 GB HD. The medium size, if you will.
I am sure it will prove to be sufficient for all her computing needs.

One problem remains though. It's her first own PC. Previously, she had been using the family PC, largely operated and maintained by her brother. She knows nothing about OS's, disk drives, drivers, networks, etc.
She is a total computer noob.

1) So you think an Apple is the better choice as a first computer for someone like her ?

2) Would you agree that the medium-sized MacBook is sufficient for her computing needs as I spelled them out ?

3) As far a the actual purchase is concerned, would you recommend online purchase via apple.com, or a retailer? Personally, I'd always go retailer when it comes to buying complete systems, as you can can get back to them more easily if there is a problem.

4) I have discovered that online pricing doesn't vary much from retailers when it comes to Apple products.
Would you agree with that assessment ? What are your personal experiences when buying your Mac ?

1) Yes, Mac OS requires a lot less administrating, has less risk of spyware and virussen and above all is straight forwards. She can't mess around with critical systems if she can't find those, and that is the risk of XP.

2) I think the medium 13" MacBook would be sufficient for her to listen to music, chat, share foto's type school documents etc. etc. But if she wishes to sell the Mac a few years later she is best of getting a black MacBook, or the smallest MacBook Pro. They have the smallest worth deduction over years. For instance, i bought my iMac almost a year ago, just before the C2D processors came out (stupid me) and got a 3 year Apple Care program with it (Extended waranties) that cost me a totdal of 2200 euros, while it should still be apple to sell for about 1900-2000 euros, due to the extended HD and Video card.

3) Retailers is usually better, I live 30 minutes by car from the nearest reseller and it has proven to be a  wise choice buying at a reseller (in words of faster support/expansions). I do however emphasize that you should only buy at a Certified Apple Reseller, and not some sleezy joint that sells a Mac for less than 500 euro's.

And if you do get a cheaper mac, you can always verify data by it's unique serial numbers on the back of the case or inside the body.

4) The Mac Store is cheapest on hardware, but there are exceptions to that rule. I have been to Barcelona and both in the city and on the airport an iPod sold 20 euros higher than on the online/ offline Apple Store.
Note that Apple Certified resellers are obliged to sell their product at the exact same price as the online Apple Store.

11sog_raider wrote:

in your opinion whats better all around MAC or PC?

Mac for all my work, and still a normal PC with XP (I use bootcamp) to play games like BF2142, BF2 etc.

No more questions? Damn.

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

Mac and PC users, you mean. XP isn't the only OS out there for our side of the street. What I want to know is how you feel about paying a premium price for hardware that isn't exactly bleeding-edge? I mean, Apple updates their stuff now and then, but the periods seem few and far between.

Well I have a fully upgraded iMac, so I can;t stuff in anymore.
But somethimes I also wonder why Apple doesn't ship certain models with certain hadware.
Like they still sell the 7300GT with the MacPro, while the nVidia series has far better models allready.

Paying more is annoying when the difference is +50 euro's but you rest asure that using that piece of hardware will not compromise the warantee of your machine.

I can buy hardware specifically for my iMac that may cost more, but it allows me to maintain my 3 year warantee on the machine itself.

I saw recently on lifehacker that there was a new set of terminal commands that you could use to run Linux applications on a Mac. I was wondering if there was any chance in the near or maybe late future of being able to run .exe files on a Mac...
If I'm a complete idiot, just let me know

archmadtramp wrote:

I saw recently on lifehacker that there was a new set of terminal commands that you could use to run Linux applications on a Mac. I was wondering if there was any chance in the near or maybe late future of being able to run .exe files on a Mac...
If I'm a complete idiot, just let me know

There is actually a program called Crossover made by Code Weavers that all ready does that.

evilcartman99 wrote:

Why do women tend to enjoy macs more than men?
(Speaking in generalities of what I personally have seen)

Because a Mac has a higher 'cute' factor than a PC. Less hassle and more enjoyment. You try telling girl that a  program installs DLL's, and then explain what those are. They just want to use the software and OS X makes it easier.

1) What do you think of "ejecting cd = dragging the cd in the recycle bin"? (a friend of me has mac and well I ought it rather strange). (and in case they changed this already, it has been 5 years since I used a mac, oke )

2) Only answer if you have a clue about both OS'es: How would you convince me to buy a Mac over a Linux distro (let's say Ubuntu for example (just because that's the easy one)?

3) I always heard Macs are expensive, is this true?

4) Is it possible (well let's say for an average guy) to replace a HD in a mac pc, or replace some other hardware. (without having to use hammers )? (I think this is important for upgrading your rig, especially if question 3 is true). Rather replacing a GPU for example than to buy another expensive mac just because your GPU can't take it anymore.

5) Are you aware that Mac is not 100% safe? Oke, there are less virusses written for Mac, but there have been found several security issues (some very critical). I really get annoyed by people saying their Mac is virus-free and 100% secure. No it isn't! ^^ (well maybe virus free but not secure).

Although I use mostly XP (gaming main reason), I like Linux (have it on vmware, considering dualboot) more than Mac for several reasons (but as this is a mac thread, I don't want to change it into my personal view) So that's why I hope someone can give a decent reason for question 2.

(edit: and sorry, I didn't read the whole thread through so some questions have been answered already )

Last edited by De_Jappe (2007-05-20 11:52:58)

De_Jappe wrote:

1) What do you think of "ejecting cd = dragging the cd in the recycle bin"? (a friend of me has mac and well I ought it rather strange). (and in case they changed this already, it has been 5 years since I used a mac, oke )

2) Only answer if you have a clue about both OS'es: How would you convince me to buy a Mac over a Linux distro (let's say Ubuntu for example (just because that's the easy one)?

3) I always heard Macs are expensive, is this true?

4) Is it possible (well let's say for an average guy) to replace a HD in a mac pc, or replace some other hardware. (without having to use hammers )? (I think this is important for upgrading your rig, especially if question 3 is true). Rather replacing a GPU for example than to buy another expensive mac just because your GPU can't take it anymore.

5) Are you aware that Mac is not 100% safe? Oke, there are less virusses written for Mac, but there have been found several security issues (some very critical). I really get annoyed by people saying their Mac is virus-free and 100% secure. No it isn't! ^^ (well maybe virus free but not secure).

Although I use mostly XP (gaming main reason), I like Linux (have it on vmware, considering dualboot) more than Mac for several reasons (but as this is a mac thread, I don't want to change it into my personal view) So that's why I hope someone can give a decent reason for question 2.

(edit: and sorry, I didn't read the whole thread through so some questions have been answered already )

1. Dragging is still the way to disconnect any network or external drive and to eject your CD. Nowadays there is an Eject button on the top right of the keyboard.

2. I worked with Ubuntu and I can't really give you a "why" you should prefer OS X over Linux.
OS X just has a different more friendly feel on it and everything just works, no difficult terminal commands etc.

3. You might see them as expensive, but when you calculate it down it isn't. For example the OS is included in the price, and you get everything. There are no 6 different OS X versions like Vista.

4. You can replace the GPU in some newer models (24" iMac, MacPro) but the majority of the systems can only have their HD / RAM replaced. Do note that Mac's have less value depreciation over years.

5. Yes I am aware that OS X is not 100% solid, but in the years I have worked with them, I have never had a virus or a malicious code exploiting my system.

trippy982 wrote:

Default keyboard layout is ALT = Command and CTRL = Control.  Its more comfortable to have the CTRL = command, and assign ALT = CTRL.  I can make the changes in System Preferences -> Modifier Key, however if I reboot the computer or shutdown and turn it on, the changes are gone.  How do I make it so that the changes are permenant?

With all due respect? why do you want to do that? All App's are fixed to the CTRL-ALT-COMMAND layout.
If you have problems adjusting train on it. The command key has been chosen because you can make some commands one handed.

Back with two small questions:

1.) Can I plug in any retail keyboard instead of the standard issue Mac Keyboard ? Or does it have to be "build for Mac" ?

2.) Will a MacBook support a standard retail mouse with two or more buttons and a normal mouse wheel ? How does the "right-click" work under those circumstances ? Is there something like a  context menu ( as in windows ) or drag and drop ?

mikeshw wrote:

B.Schuss wrote:

Back with two small questions:

2.) Will a MacBook support a standard retail mouse with two or more buttons and a normal mouse wheel ? How does the "right-click" work under those circumstances ? Is there something like a  context menu ( as in windows ) or drag and drop ?

I answer the easier one and leave the really difficult ones to Marlboro and Bernadictus.. the answer is yes. I plugged in a Microsoft Optical Mouse and it worked (its sacrilegious, i know ) just like it would on a PC. I also stuck in a Razer mouse and worked the same. The only thing that may not be available is the on-the-fly dpi settings/software (i think) that comes with the mouse.

so.. stop asking questions and go get the mac for your girlfriend (and don't forget to send one here in my direction)..

well, I need to be prepared, since I'll be the one she will come to when she has a question about the damn thing, or needs help. And since I have never used a Mac in my life, I need to plan ahead.

Don't worry, her birthday is in less than three weeks, and the funding has been secured. It's only a matter of picking the right retailer, and deciding on peripherals.

But as it looks, I'll only be buying the MacBook and the APP, and let her pick additional peripherals ( external HD for backups and regular mouse ) herself. Women are picky about design issues, even if they know nothing about the product itself..:

boy, can't wait to see her face...