Is the 13 inch MBP right for me?

Summary: I prefer the 13 inch to the faster 15 inch, but I would like to know if it will handle my casual gaming (Warcraft 3, Civ4, Counterstrike source, and in the future Starcraft II and hopefully even Diablo III).

I hope that this is an acceptable place to pose this question and I am sure you all helpful members get this all the time, but I would love your advice.

I have been looking at the MBP 13 and 15 inch laptops. On a pure spec perspective, the 15 is a faster computer, but in terms of form factor, I strongly prefer the size of the 13. To me, the 15 inch feels much more bulky than it is because of the size of the palmrest due to the placement of the keyboard towards the very back of the computer.

Unfortunately, there is only one problem. I like to play a handful of games casually. Fortunately, these games are Mac compatable. Furthermore, I am sure that the games I currently own should run acceptably on a MBP 13 (Warcraft 3, Civ 4, Counter Strike: Source). I am reasonably sure the upcoming release of Civ 5 will work, as the developers have frequently mentioned their focus to make sure it will scale to run on integrated graphics. I am not so sure about Starcraft 2. There have been several people who claim that it will work well enough on one, but I would like to know more concerning this. Finally, I would like to know the odds that Diablo 3 will be playable on a MBP 13 if it is released in the next two years. I hope it is not much more demanding that SC2, but who knows. I am sure others have thought of these things too. What are your opinions?

 

WC3, Civ 4 and CS:S should all run fine. I would wait for people who own the MBP13 inch to tell you how SC2 runs. As for D3, we really have no way of finding out.

I suggest buying the MBP 13 inch if you need a portable computer, and building yourself a proper gaming desktop instead of purchasing the 15 inch model. Microcenter has the 13 inch for $999.

 

That is some fairly sound advice. Unfortunately, a desktop is not really an option at the moment because I am still in college. Finally, the wonderful deal at Microcenter is not really an option as it is over two and a half hours drive to the nearest one. Fortunately, I can get one for 1100$ with student discount. Finally, there are some people who says the beta works. Unfortunately, just waiting indefinately is not preferable as I would like to get things before school gets started going again.

I am in the dark on Diablo 3 and requirements. I was mostly interested in making sure I have not missed something.

 

We're just in the dark as you are

Diablo 3 - System Requirements - BattleForums.com Blizzard Gaming Forums

Remember, if you purchase a desktop, it will more than likely be able to play D3 at max settings when it comes out, but low-med on a 13 inch MBP (that is what I believe). If you're looking for a gaming rig for the long run, invest in a desktop and you won't be disappointed. I know you're at college but I'm sure you can make it work

 

Micro Center - Shipping Options and Rates

Microcenter also ships, you should check if it comes out to be cheaper. But from the education store you get an iPod touch + free printer I believe

 

Unfortunately, the deal at Microcenter is in-store pickup only.

 

Chasing game performance is a losing battle on a laptop, but I can definitely respect the desire to have StarCraft or any other Blizzard title play well. They've usually got modest system requirements and they're released with lower frequency than the frequency with which you'll be replacing your laptop.

The biggest downer so far is that the Mac OS version of Starcraft 2 runs pretty poorly compared to the Windows one. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a Mac version of the game if you're just going to have to reboot into 7 everytime you want to play it.

Still, "in college" is a silly reason to avoid a desktop. Get a microATX board, a decent video card, a small case, and a cheap LCD monitor. You'll spend like 700 bucks and have a flawless gaming experience. It's real easy to find room for one -- I brought my desktop to my tiny-butt dorm to play games on (Counter-Strike 1.6, haha), and so did a lot of people. And that was back when everyone was using CRTs. Even though laptops were horrible at the time, I'll admit that I spent most of my computing time using mine.

StarCraft2 feels pretty demanding on my desktop, though. I can't run it smoothly at "high" or "ultra", but it runs great on medium at native res (1680x1050 for me). My desktop has a C2D E8400 @ 3.0 GHz and a GeForce 8800 GTS 512 in it.

Still, a few people here have reported good performance on their 2010 MBPs. I imagine it would be decent if you keep the settings on "low."

 

Fair enough.

Yeah, if I had a nice desktop "high" would obviously be nice, but honestly on several occasions I have trolled newegg and the numbers just do not add up.

Thanks! That is what I heard too. To me, "low" is 100% acceptable. Really the only thing I care about is native resolution.

 

reading the posts and your comments, yeah I do believe the MBP13 will be right for you. You haven't mentioned price, but that doesn't really matter since you strongly prefer a 13" and what the MBP 13 offers can do everything you're asking of it - especially gaming wise. So yeah go for it!

I'm in nearly the same boat and I've ruled that the MBP is the right fit for me. SC2 was a big factor in that but seeing how it performs, I'm gold.

 

If your going to play Starcraft 2 and especially Diablo III, I'd highly recommend the 15" with the Nvidia 330m.

 

Care to expand on this? Does the MBP in your sig struggle with Starcraft 2?

 

If you want future-proof go with the 15". SC2 is playable on MBP 13" with medium settings, we know this from beta. But SC2 running "okay" means games coming out in 2+ years will have to be run in low-medium settings max to run playable. Although Blizzard is definitely conservative with its system requirements. If you want a system that will for sure last you ~3 years go with the 15".

 

"Futureproofing" and computers should not be used in the same sentence; there's no such thing. Your $5000 laptop will be outdated in 1 year.

FYI the 320M at 1280x800 runs about the same as the 330M at 1440x900 at the same settings.

 

But microcenter doesn't ship items that's over $500. So shipping is out of the question.