What PC games are unplayable on the Macbook?

[princealfie]

Thinking about getting a MacBook. Wondering which PC games won't work at all. Perhaps Oblivion or FEAR?

[Dont Hurt Me]

You can forget playing FEAR on any GMA950, also Doom3,Quake4,FarCry any really new modern game. Now if you dont mind some older stuff like 2- 3 yrs old it will be OK. GMA950 is nothing to be excited about and in fact I was lucky to be able to compare a ati 9200 vs gma950 and the old 9200 could draw things with real reflections stuff like that. Beware of people saying something plays fine without giving resolutions ,what they turned off and what they consider playable. For example the new Redline Demo looks like crap playing on gma950,unable to draw things correctly etc.

[7on]

You can forget playing FEAR on any GMA950, also Doom3,Quake4,FarCry any really new modern game. Now if you dont mind some older stuff like 2- 3 yrs old it will be OK. GMA950 is nothing to be excited about and in fact I was lucky to be able to compare a ati 9200 vs gma950 and the old 9200 could draw things with real reflections stuff like that. Beware of people saying something plays fine without giving resolutions ,what they turned off and what they consider playable. For example the new Redline Demo looks like crap playing on gma950,unable to draw things correctly etc.

Quake 4 demo played fine for me (under the Mac side even)

The Spiderman: The Movie game won't even install. (No T&L)

[DougTheImpaler]

Quake 4 demo played fine for me (under the Mac side even)
What's "fine" though? 25-30fps at 640x480 and low settings? 900fps at 1280x800 on the wide screen? I think we need a new "it runs around X FPS with these settings" rule on the forums, so people can try things at those settings and judge for themselves.

WoW on OS X with the GMA950 to me is unplayable (1024x768, sliders lowest, 10-20fps at all times) where in Windows the same settings net me 35-50fps *most* of the time, outside of huge cities like IF or a ton of trees.

[princealfie]

So what's the point of buying a Macbook if you can't play the latest games on it?

[elppa]

Civilisation IV won't play either.

Believe it or not, some people don't play computer games. For other applications the MacBook is a very capable machine.

It will be even better when Adobe and Microsoft get universal binaries out as well.

[Dont Hurt Me]

So what's the point of buying a Macbook if you can't play the latest games on it?
You are suppose to do "fun" stuff like make home movies,read e-mail and count your photo's;) Its for the persons who like that kind of stuff but when you look at its graphics handicap you can do all that with old G3s,G4s etc. Some people dont want more (BORING) and its perfect for those types. If you enjoy gaming you must have a real GPU! Its that simple. There is a reason Tom's hardware never reviews integrated crapo graphics.

[Mackilroy]

For example the new Redline Demo looks like crap playing on gma950,unable to draw things correctly etc.

I play the full game with resolution at max and everything turned up to max. And I am using a GMA 950. ;)

Civilisation IV won't play either.

Funny, I play that too. At full resolution. Granted, many things are turned off but it's smooth and certainly playable.

[Dont Hurt Me]

But is it drawing things right? No its not look at the reflections on the cars, you cant even call them reflections its more like a smudge of a different color paint. Stuff like that, sure that Core Duo is reving the crap out of the Gma950, The new Intels CPU's are terrific, but gma950 isnt. I like things to look like they are suppose to .Like I said earlier though the frame count was a little higher with the core duo/ gma950 but it looked worse then our old 9200 powered machine as far colors,detail,reflections and shadows etc.

[greatdevourer]

So what's the point of buying a Macbook if you can't play the latest games on it? Because if you buy it for games, why not save a whole loada money and get a console? They're the low-end ones made for people who want a computer that works, maybe play a little Alien Arena every so often

[apfhex]

So what's the point of buying a Macbook if you can't play the latest games on it?
Playing games is not the point of the Macbook. Or any laptop, really.

[Mackilroy]

But is it drawing things right? No its not look at the reflections on the cars, you cant even call them reflections its more like a smudge of a different color paint. Stuff like that, sure that Core Duo is reving the crap out of the Gma950, The new Intels CPU's are terrific, but gma950 isnt. I like things to look like they are suppose to .Like I said earlier though the frame count was a little higher with the core duo/ gma950 but it looked worse then our old 9200 powered machine as far colors,detail,reflections and shadows etc.

Everything looks identical to when I play Redline on my dad's 1.9 GHz iMac G5 with a discrete graphics card.

Well, everything except I have a lower maximum resolution.

Also, for frame rates I was getting around 27-33 FPS while playing online with 7 other people.

[Dont Hurt Me]

Playing games is not the point of the Macbook. Or any laptop, really.Stop it, just stop the blatant lies. Maybe Macbook but Dell & Alienware have Laptops that can put desk tops to shame in gaming. Also MacPro is pretty good at gaming so stop the spinning, we get enough lies out of Bush & Congress we dont need them from you. $4 dollar graphics are $4 dollar graphics.

[Mackilroy]

Maybe Macbook but Dell & Alienware have Laptops that can put desk tops to shame in gaming.

They're also extremely expensive. :)

[ToastMaster]

That's where consoles are more economical than computers for gaming. You can get a 360 for $399 and run Oblivion great on your television, but you're going to end up paying a lot more than that for a computer to run it...

[princealfie]

You are suppose to do "fun" stuff like make home movies,read e-mail and count your photo's;) Its for the persons who like that kind of stuff but when you look at its graphics handicap you can do all that with old G3s,G4s etc. Some people dont want more (BORING) and its perfect for those types. If you enjoy gaming you must have a real GPU! Its that simple. There is a reason Tom's hardware never reviews integrated crapo graphics.

Damn. I'm going to be buying a Thinkpad T60 after doing the research. Light and does the trick.

I love the Macbook design but for gaming it's a pile of s****

[Dont Hurt Me]

Damn. I'm going to be buying a Thinkpad T60 after doing the research. Light and does the trick.

I love the Macbook design but for gaming it's a pile of s****Apple just forgot to use a real Gpu or even offer one. Its nothing that a $50 chip couldnt fix because really those intel CPU's kick butt. Its just a shame. Even a x1300 class GPU would make a huge difference.

[redbandit]

Apple just forgot to use a real Gpu or even offer one. Its nothing that a $50 chip couldnt fix because really those intel CPU's kick butt. Its just a shame. Even a x1300 class GPU would make a huge difference.

I love reading your posts! I'm such a fan, hehe. You always come out swinging, everytime, without fail! It's kinda funni to think that you think that increasing the cost of a component by five fold is no big deal! Did you complain about price when the MacBook's came out? Maybe, maybe not. But apparently you don't understand the economics of business.

(But, that's okay because I don't either, although I am being logical. I just wanted to respond to one of your posts.)

[princealfie]

I love reading your posts! I'm such a fan, hehe. You always come out swinging, everytime, without fail! It's kinda funni to think that you think that increasing the cost of a component by five fold is no big deal! Did you complain about price when the MacBook's came out? Maybe, maybe not. But apparently you don't understand the economics of business.

(But, that's okay because I don't either, although I am being logical. I just wanted to respond to one of your posts.)

Wow, you think that an integrated graphics card can beat a Radeon X1300? Huh, back to skool for you.

[Dont Hurt Me]

Here is a little edumacation. Been saving just for you;) Also here's a good read from anandtechhttp://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2427&p=1 They provide many benches of GMA950 vs other low end GPU's. If you look at the very bottom (surprise) of each game benches there you will find GMA950. My main point in all of this is that Apple should have just offered a $50 or even $100 option for those Macbook buyers who want to enjoy some modern games.

[Dont Hurt Me]

1 more bench for HalfLife2:) again these are GMA950 benches not GMA950 Macbook benches

[greatdevourer]

Wow, you think that an integrated graphics card can beat a Radeon X1300? Huh, back to skool for you. Wow, you can't read the guy's post? Back to school for you :rolleyes: His comment was that it's more expensive, foo

[Mord]

You are suppose to do "fun" stuff like make home movies,read e-mail and count your photo's;) Its for the persons who like that kind of stuff but when you look at its graphics handicap you can do all that with old G3s,G4s etc. Some people dont want more (BORING) and its perfect for those types. If you enjoy gaming you must have a real GPU! Its that simple. There is a reason Tom's hardware never reviews integrated crapo graphics.

aka 90% of users?

[princealfie]

geewhiz looks like even the macbook pro will have a hard time to deal with the alienware M9700 with dual graphics cards. Ouch!

[SpankyPenzaanz]

geewhiz looks like even the macbook pro will have a hard time to deal with the alienware M9700 with dual graphics cards. Ouch!
well alienware is generally created for gamers

[bobber205]

well alienware is generally created for gamers
And cost 2000. :)

[Mac_Max]

geewhiz looks like even the macbook pro will have a hard time to deal with the alienware M9700 with dual graphics cards. Ouch!

It also weighs 8.5LB and won't have the same battery life. You seem confused as to what you want. An Alienware Desktop Replacement is a very different machine from a MacBook or MacBook Pro. You need to decide what you really want. If windows gaming is all you care about and you need it to be somewhat portable, get the Alienware, or better yet, a shuttle style PC and a 15" LCD.

Most people I've talked to who have purchased Desktop replacement 'Gaming notebooks" regret not getting a small desktop and a simpler notebook because of the weight, poor upgradability (read expensive and not very often), and generally low performance as compared to a desktop in the same price range. You're probably better off just building a true gaming PC and getting a MacBook for work on the road.

Easy portability (weight, size), power, battery, price - pick any three.