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    Mac Gaming

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by childbirth, Jul 2, 2012.

  1. childbirth

    childbirth Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello,
    I'm thinking about getting a Macbook pro, and bootcamping windows in order to play games.
    My questions are these; how much of a hit on performance am I going to realistically see? none? a lot?
    Is this a route worth going down?
    Is it as good as a top of the range PC laptop (with similar spec)?
    does the nature of dual-booting really slow things up or create big incompatibility problems etc - is it a total b*llache or is it just like having windows on a similar spec PC?

    Thanks for reading,
    Jonathan
     
    childbirth, Jul 2, 2012
    #1
  2. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    For what you'd have to spend to get a MacBook Pro with decent gaming chops, no.
     
    saturnotaku, Jul 2, 2012
    #2
  3. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Combining gaming, apple, and budget...


    [​IMG]


    Get the NP6165 (W150ER) or the M14x for MBP 15" GT 650M performance levels
     
    Mobius 1, Jul 2, 2012
    #3
  4. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    saturnotaku, Jul 2, 2012
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  5. nissangtr786

    nissangtr786 Notebook Deity

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    Well if you are a photographer the new macbook retina would be good for you with the high res screen which beats any other competitor. If you don't need high res or mac os get a normal windows laptop. GT650m will be able to play games at 1080p on high at 30fps ish for most games.
     
    nissangtr786, Jul 2, 2012
    #5
  6. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    The Retina only wins in terms of quantity of pixels. Its color gamut (similarly important for photography) is well below what would be acceptable for even high-level amateur work.
     
    saturnotaku, Jul 2, 2012
    #6
  7. KernalPanic

    KernalPanic White Knight

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    The 650m is roughly between a desktop 640GT and 550Ti.
    Mobile graphics high-end is at Desktop GTX570 to GTX580 levels. (7970m or 680m)

    The 650m is reasonably impressive given what it can do in its small package, but the MBPr is just not meant to be compared with gaming performance laptops as it just plain does not compete in terms of price/performance.

    The MBPr is based upon a "thin and light" concept... comparing it to enthusiast gaming machines isn't really fair.

    You can purchase $1100 laptops that are not the MBPr, and get better performance.

    The MBPr also has issues with cooling... The people overclocking their 650m are reaching critical temperatures (105C+) on their MBPr.

    You CAN game on a MBPr... you can even so reasonably well with a decent OC and notebook cooler. However, you are going to pay more than twice the price for a MBPr (not counting the cooler) than you would for a laptop without an Apple symbol on it for the same performance.

    If you aren't going to use OSX, then I do not recommend buying a MBP.

    If you want a laptop with OSX, and want to game sometimes, then the MBP is your only choice.
     
    KernalPanic, Jul 2, 2012
    #7
  8. MacHater

    MacHater Notebook Evangelist

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    Or, InsanelyMac
     
    MacHater, Jul 2, 2012
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  9. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

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    None. It'll run the same as a Windows PC with the same performance hardware.

    No. The Windows PC with the same performance hardware generally costs half of what an MBP does. And then you need to throw in a $180 copy of Windows on top of the price of the MBP.

    A top-of-the-range PC laptop does not have similar spec. High-performance gaming or business-class PC laptops run circles around an MBP performance-wise, but tend to be thicker and heavier. The MBP has mid-range performance hardware in a portable case, not high-end performance hardware.

    It's just like having Windows on a similar spec PC, only you've spent an extra $1000 or so, and you've got two partitions on your hard drive instead of one (limiting hard drive space). Plus, you need to retain your OSX partition in order to get firmware updates.
     
    Mitlov, Jul 2, 2012
    #9