The Queue: Roasting a pig on a MacBook Pro
by Allison Robert 
Sep 25th 2009 at 5:00PM
Random article picture is random. Today, we field questions on account transfers, how to keep a Mac cool, why the blood elves are in the Horde, and whether What A Long, Strange Trip will be BoA!
Endless asks...
Regarding the namechange... what about transferring your char from one account to other? Does that remove you from friendlists?
Yep. Moving a character between accounts will remove you from other players' friends lists, and it'll also unguild you. One of our guildies switched his main between his two accounts this past week and we wound up having to reguild him.
Zerzuhl asks...
Do you have any tips for running WoW on Mac? Specifically how to keep a Macbook Pro the coolest without sacrificing too much of the graphic quality?
Mac laptops do tend to get pretty hot while running WoW, and by "pretty hot," I mean "Could host your annual pig roast on top of a MacBook Pro." I play on a late-2006 model MacBook Pro myself, so all I can say is -- you have my sympathy. For some time now, I have lived in fear that my already-gasping graphics card was going to boil itself to death, and the fact that it is soldered to my motherboard and (probably) can't be replaced is even better. Longtime readers of Shifting Perspectives already know that I've been out of the raiding game almost entirely since patch 3.1 hit, and this is one of the larger reasons as to why.
Anyway, there are several things you can do apart from lowering your ingame graphics settings:
- Download and use smcFanControl: While you can (and should) use widgets to monitor your core temperature and performance, smcFanControl allows you to control your fans directly if need be. Crank 'em as high they'll go during your playtime if your laptop runs hotter than you'd like, but make sure to cancel the higher settings afterwards.
- External fan: Not always great, but every little bit helps. Tip: do not use the integrated mic with a fan trained on the computer unless you want everyone on vent to lose their eardrums and hate you.
- Cooling pad: These come in several different varieties. Try to get one that's designed for a Mac so that the fans on it are located where it'll make the biggest difference. The one that I see recommended most frequently for the MacBook Pro is the Targus Chill Mat, but it's expensive. Readers with other recommendations here are most welcome.
- Keep vents and fans clean: You'd be amazed how much gunk can build up on a laptop, and dust bunnies trap heat like it's their job. Compressed air should be used to get your vents free of accumulated muck, and you can get it at any office or computer supply store. If you're comfortable opening your MBP's case to clean the fans, there are guides on how to do it online; if you're not comfortable, take it to an Apple Store and have the techs there do it. As Adam Holisky observed in backchannel discussion here, putting a Mac laptop back together after doing this is not for the faint of heart, and if you have any amount of doubt or reservation over your ability to do it, just take it to someone who does it professionally.
- Cap your framerates: you will notice a huge difference (or at least I did) by deliberately capping your framerates at 30 using the ingame command /console maxfps 30. I also noticed a difference dropping framerates as low as 25. Beyond that is when your eye will really start to notice a negative (or at least annoying) gameplay difference.
- If all else fails: Have someone look at, and possibly replace, your thermal paste. You didn't mention your MBP's year of manufacture, but some of the 2006 and 2007 models are common targets for complaints about absolutely insane heat generation, and the misapplication of thermal paste was traced to a number of them.
- If all else really fails: If you, like me, have done all of the above but can't get through a 5-man without your core temperature exploding past 180 F/82 C, feel free to join me this weekend getting a new one.
Disclaimer for all rabid PC fans out there, if such a creature exists: I love you too. My other laptop is a Dell. Yay PC's!
Disclaimer to self from self: With our ability to wriggle out of potential negative comments, perhaps it is time to apply to law school or the local mob.
Merus asks...
What's keeping Silvermoon in the Horde?
Apart from game mechanics, an overweening hatred for the humans and thousands of years of bitterness and antipathy toward the night elves. Lore-wise, the blood elves have no especial hatred for the dwarves or gnomes, and they're actually in the draenei's debt after the events of the Sunwell, but they despise the Night Elves. Despise them. Nor have they forgotten their treatment at the hands of human commanders (namely Garithos) during the events of The Frozen Throne, which was well into the realm of homicidal negligence. While the sin'dorei have no particular love for the races of the Horde, that's their sole option in the age of a two-faction Azeroth.
Blizzard had another reason for adding the blood elves to the Horde, and that was to balance faction population somewhat. To this day, humans are still the most popular race option (we think), with blood elves and night elves at a rough tie for second place. While the Alliance still has a population advantage (again, we think), Cataclysm is likely to shake this up somewhat. How adding
Colten asks...
Question: With Cataclysm seemingly aimed to encourage players to re-rolling a main, are there any current plans to make the "What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been" meta-achievement's reward something like a BoA?
Not that we've heard of. While I think it would be pretty cool, and I'd especially love for my Horde alts to proceed directly to a proto-drake without messing about on a fugly wyvern, all 310% mounts require a lot of effort to get, and Blizzard seems to prefer it that way. They're not necessities the way that even a basic flying mount pretty much is, and they want you to work toward an ultra-fast mount if you so happen to want it on additional characters.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW.com crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column! Leave your questions in the comments and we'll do our best to answer 'em!Filed under: The Queue, Analysis / Opinion, Lore, Hardware
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Zdouse Sep 25th 2009 5:06PM
I laughed at the werewolf thing.
CallMeIrd Sep 25th 2009 7:58PM
^ This. And it's also so true. Fellow Hordies, we are screwed. Say goodbye to world PvP.
matt Sep 25th 2009 8:41PM
world pvp has been dead for long time. The faction balance thing does worry me too but I guess blizzard has made it chooses see how they work out.
mibluvr13 Sep 25th 2009 8:49PM
I don't understand all the complaints about world PVP. Do you play on a PVP server? Both factions on my server have a general "kill on sight and call for backup if you lose" agreement.
Zamboni Sep 25th 2009 9:18PM
There aren't many PvE servers with a Horde majority, and some are ridiculously lopsided (my old server was 83:17). I can only imagine what playing Horde-side will be like when werewolves become available for faction transfers. It seems like half of the raiders on our guild are planning on switching, and many have already start building up alts on the Alliance side (RAF FTW).
I, for one, welcome out new Twilight overlords...
tim Sep 26th 2009 2:08AM
Yeah, that was a good call. Garrosh+werewolves will go a long way towards stretching thin the Horde population. And yet there's a number of players posting on official forums about Horde favoritism... lol?
Zal Sep 26th 2009 6:09AM
Yeah it's something me and my girlfriend talked a bunch about too. Adding a race that is like "Wow! Cool!" to the faction that is the most popular?! D'oh!
Also the mob comment made me laugh aloud. Very well written and witty article.
Agerath Sep 26th 2009 9:43AM
Maybe its a US thing? I plan on a realm that is 3%:97% ally:horde (no joke) and horde outnumbering seems to be par for the course aside from on odd realms like Silvermoon and Ravencrest where most of the alliance have clustered.
We've been outnumbered like this since BC, and its only got worse thanks to a good minority of ally switching factions.
I'm looking forward to cata because since Blizzard seems not to give two shits about us, this might help the situation of maintaining a progressing raid guild on a server that has so few people.
jmehiln Sep 25th 2009 5:09PM
Love the Ideas for keeping a mac cool. Are there any tips or addons such as the SMC fan control that will work well for PC's?
durendul Sep 25th 2009 5:11PM
great reminder on how to keep macs cool, i saw the tittle to this and was wondering if you would cover them all it looks like you got every pretty much every thing i personally use a cooling pad fan control and have an industrial fan 1 foot away. when in vent i sound like im speeding though a wind tune so for raids i go without the fan :P.
the only other tip i can give for people come to think about it is know whats over heating theres a widget called i stat that will keep track of the temperatures of multiple parts of you computer GPU CPU HD heat sink extra what this is nice for is fiddling with graphics if say its always one part of your computer thats hot you can fiddle with a particular setting that well help keep it cool for example view distance and GPU over heating or turn frame rates down like you mentioned
Firestride Sep 25th 2009 5:32PM
My Dell Inspiron 1420 actually DID melt down the integrated video card (a month out of warranty: don't buy a Dell). Only, since I have a PC and not a Mac, I was able to purchase a replacement motherboard and install it myself.
Tom Sep 25th 2009 5:47PM
@Firestride : Macs have replaceable parts too. And guess what, you can buy them, and install them yourself. Amazing!
rmesteprogram Sep 25th 2009 7:27PM
I have an HP and have a integrated video card chip right to the motherboard as well and have burned it out twice now...have a 4 year warenty :) so it isn't just with macs, after a lot of reasurch it's almost not possible to play WoW reliably for long periods of time without burning it our...just not enough airflow through the PC (especialy if your fan is on the bottom of the laptop and not the side...sigh at HP).
Zanthexter Sep 26th 2009 11:40AM
The problem isn't Mac vs PC, it's Laptop vs Desktop. The compromises made when designing a laptop (due to heat, battery life, etc) just make them soso at best for gaming.
Yes I know there are gaming laptops. Yeahp, you get a much better gaming experience for the same dollars with a desktop.
Don't upgrade the laptop, replace it with a desktop, keep the laptop for the times when you need portability.
Paisley Sep 25th 2009 5:15PM
Another thing to note about running on a MBP, is that if you do have one of the ones that runs particularly hot (I have a mid-07 model), never ever ever rest it on your leg. It will give you a burn. It is that hot.
Missescake Sep 25th 2009 5:17PM
Allison, feel free to take over any column any day. You always manage to make me laugh (and finally level my baby druid).
Thanks!
Yakuko Sep 25th 2009 5:18PM
I have a 2009 Macbook Pro, and I don't seem to have the same overheating problems as many. Only time I've had issues was on those humid summer days, but usually I get ~80C at worst. I sometimes even raid with it on my lap without issues. (Although I do prefer playing from a desk.)
kabshiel Sep 25th 2009 7:35PM
Isn't 80C almost 180F? That seems pretty hot to me.
Ology Sep 25th 2009 7:49PM
I also have a "unibody" 2009 MacBook Pro 17", and I raid both 10 and 25-mans on it with no noticeable heat issues. My previous MacBook Pro 17" was a 2006, and that thing got hot as heck, even if I wasn't playing WoW.
Aureliusz Sep 26th 2009 3:23AM
IDK, but when I'm running my PC, my CPU is at about 60-65C. Not sure on comparison, but I'm sure I could overclock it much warmer than this without any problems. Ofc, macs may be different.
Or, it's just always running super-hot and I could lose my CPU at any time, without me knowing. Meh. I need a new one anyway.