Buying MacBook Pro for gaming (Steam)

Hey guys,

This week or next week, I plan on getting the 2.8k mac (Same one listed on Apples site). My question is: How good is it with BootCamp playing games such as Counter-Strike: Source? This is the only game I really play, and would like to know FPS wise and how many players in the server. If you have any recent benchmarks and stuff, please post them.

I'm just worried and hopping that I won't have any graphical lag (aka tearing If you know what that is) like I do with this PC. Thanks alot!

 

It will play fine.

 

I have the 2.4ghz mbp and when I'm playing Counter Strike on the xp side I get constant 60fps no matter what. Hope that helps you out.

 

If you're just going to play CS then even a mac mini will be fine. No, really
Its games like Crysis that will need a powerful system

 

The MBP handles Steam games perfectly fine. My question however is, you're buying the MBP just for gaming?

 

Yeah if you want to buy a MBP just for gaming... go elsewhere. You said the "2.8k" system? The 17" MacBook Pro? If you want to dump that much money into a computer, head over to Alienware. You can get a dual GeForce 8800M GTX system there. Or even newegg! For $1849 at newegg you can get a 17" Toshiba with 3GB of RAM, 2.4GHz C2D, and DUAL GeForce 8600M GTs! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114470

Edit: That system has HDMI output, DUAL HDDs, fingerprint reader, a subwoofer, memory card reader, etc.

 

How good of games can the MacBook Pro handle? Anyone know?

 

The Macbook Pro comes with a 8600GT. For more information, read the sticky: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=260403

 

umm the graphical tearing is still going to happen. you need to turn on triple buffering and vsync in your graphics control panel.

you don't need a brand new computer for this.

 

I did that with this PC. Problem is: Vsync causes mouse lag, and there is no fix for it. It's due to the extra processing that vsync causes, and there is no fix to this. This happens on a few computers, but not sure if Mac is one of them or not until I try it.

 

Did you mess with the mouse smoothing settings?

That shouldn't happen at all. Doesn't when I play Steam games (I won't play a game if theres no v-sync).

And again, seriously, if you're considering dropping $2,800 on a PC you should definitely not get a MacBook Pro. Go for something with a GeForce 8800M GTX in it. Not the bottom of the mid-range cards like those in the MBP.

 

Well, I have nearly 3k to spent. I'm buying this from BestBuy, or Circuit City (The PC). I don't believe they have any great PCs with 3k, right?

 

If gaming is your primary issue and you need to buy from Best Buy, check this out. It will crush the MBP in gaming performance, size and weight.

 

lol. well, it doesn't exactly win the size and weight department...

most people don't ascribe to the "bigger and bulkier is better" philosophy when it comes to electronics.

your machine is almost twice as thick and twice as heavy... so no... it doesn't win size and weight.

it will perform better in games.

i seriously think that if gaming is your primary concern, dropping 3k on a macbook pro is not a great choice. its definitely not primarily a gaming machine. people get the macbook pro for a variety of other reasons:

but its just not that great of a gaming machine.

i mean, if your like me, and gaming is just a fun bonus for your laptop, then its fine. i got it for a variety of other reasons... but its honestly just not the best gaming machine for the price.

 

Check out what dtwn83 posted. Its a little heavier than the MBP and a little "thicker" but you're getting a much better gaming machine. The GeForce 8800M GTS will blow away the 8600M GT in the MBP.

Theres this one too: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8780688&type=product&id=1204332553342 Dual 8600M GTs and dual HDDs. Once those standard height 2.5" 500GB drives come out you could have 2 in there for 1TB of storage on a notebook.

 

imo, 2k is way too expensive for dual 8600m gts, when you can get that single 8800m gts, which is more powerful for like 1.3k

 

wow, just buy a desktop for gaming, and buy a cheap laptop..... that'd be a good solution, but if you need a laptop for the portability, the MBP is actually the lightest 15.4 inch on the market. (can any1 confirm this? i work at BB, and they all weigh 6lbs+. the Dell XPS 1530 weighes like 5.8lbs, so the MBP would be the lightest, correct?)
and that 17 inch gateway with the 8800 series GPU has a pretty crappy processor in it, so unless its strictly for gaming, that's going to be outdated really quickly. there is a 15 inch Asus we sell with a nvidia 9500m GS card in it:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8781339&type=product&id=1204332769810
not too bad, but idk. let me know if this helps.

 

here you go:

if you want portability and sleekness first and foremost, or you are interested in osx, and gaming and budget take a back seat to that, then get a macbook pro.

if gaming is your top concern, above portability and budget, check out a sager/clevo

if portability is a top concern, and your budget is also important, or you aren't that interested in osx, check out the dell xps m1530

if gaming is more important than portability, and budget is also a big consideration, then get that gateway with the 8800m gts.

 

Is steam available for MAC? I would like to try some CSS out for the hell of it & I'm not gonna put Windows on my brand new MBP, haha.

 

no, its not. however, the program by the name of crossover claims it can run steam games on native speed. my friend with a MBA tried to get steam to install, but no luck. so idk. i cant even get the crossover installer to work. it always quits unexpectedly. any1 else have any luck with that program?

 

umm. a macbook air can't handle source games anyway, which is basically the only thing that crossover can handle.

you'll need a dedicated graphics card for crossover and gaming. a macbook pro would work, a macbook or macbook air will not.

yes, i have used crossover, and it worked alright. it wasn't as good as windows, but it could run css at about 40-50 fps on an 8600m gt at medium settings.

in windows, i can run css at 60+ fps at 1440x900 at highest settings and AA/AF.

so crossover gets the job done, but its no replacement for windows.

 

we were probably doing something wrong then. we weren't trying to run CS, just trying to install Steam, and didn't get very far. so idk. i guess dual boot is the best way.

 

in all fairness, steam wasn't exactly perfect. it worked, but it was a little glitchy.