Windows: Best way to play PC games?

[doobybiggs]

Is the best way to play PC games on an iMac just to install bootcamp and go that route? I have heard about problems with out programs ... so just curious before I get my new iMac I am wanting to figure this out first.

... I will be using win 7 - not that 8 crap

[Mackilroy]

Yes, Boot Camp is your best bet–while there are a fair number of games that would work well in a VM or by being converted with Wineskin, playing a game in Windows natively is still the optimum method (assuming you want the highest performance).

[Dagless]

Bootcamp, as nature intended.

[doobybiggs]

Originally Posted by Mackilroy

Yes, Boot Camp is your best bet–while there are a fair number of games that would work well in a VM or by being converted with Wineskin, playing a game in Windows natively is still the optimum method (assuming you want the highest performance).

OK, I thought it would be, but I always like to ask before I go diving off into anything Apple related

[doh123]

question: What is the best way to play PC games?

answer: It depends what is "best" to you. For most people that would mean... play on a PC. Using Bootcamp to dual boot your mac turns your Mac into a PC when you are booted into Windows... so for most people, don't play on a Mac, just play on a PC (aka Bootcamp) is the "best" way to go. For others, they don't want to run a PC, so they find other solutions, but then there is no "best" that way, it varies from game to game.

[MacGamerHQ]

Originally Posted by doh123

question: What is the best way to play PC games?

answer: It depends what is "best" to you. For most people that would mean... play on a PC. Using Bootcamp to dual boot your mac turns your Mac into a PC when you are booted into Windows... so for most people, don't play on a Mac, just play on a PC (aka Bootcamp) is the "best" way to go. For others, they don't want to run a PC, so they find other solutions, but then there is no "best" that way, it varies from game to game.

Good comment.

The initial question is way more complicated than that.

The best way is bootcamp, IF you don't mind booting windows all the time. If you play a LOT and plan to spend a lot of time on wndows, then the BEST setup would be to just get a PC (cheaper and you can get a more adapted machine for playing)...

In my case (I prefer not to boot windows) is to get the best native OSX games out there and play them (there are more than you know) and for the rare exception try a wineskin or bootcamp...

My 2 cts..

[Wardenski]

Bootcamp is best.

If you want a gaming experience, why settle for anything else than the best your computer can give you. Waiting a few minutes for a re-boot is a worthy compromise.

[vkd]

If you got an up-to-date computer - mac or hack - and are running latest OS 10.8 Mountain Lion, you can put VMWare Fusion latest version and get a virtually native fluidity in Win7, any perceivable loss far more satisfactory than the time lost in needing to reboot again and again.

[doh123]

Originally Posted by vkd

If you got an up-to-date computer - mac or hack - and are running latest OS 10.8 Mountain Lion, you can put VMWare Fusion latest version and get a virtually native fluidity in Win7, any perceivable loss far more satisfactory than the time lost in needing to reboot again and again.

not for games... which runs like 25% to 50% the performance.

Also Parallels 8 is the highest performance for gaming with a VM, and even has some DX10 support.

[phoenixsan]

bother with VM to run a game. Any software I had to run in Windows, runs better using Bootcamp. Not saying VMs are not useful

[Chewbaca]

I think if you're playing more casual/adventure games you can look into VM but if it's something you really want performance from then Bootcamp all the way.

Just my 2 cents.

[vicecity]

All the info can be found here about all the softwares that could help you run window games on mac os x.

http://civicactions.com/node/1271

[doh123]

Originally Posted by vicecity

All the info can be found here about all the softwares that could help you run window games on mac os x.

http://civicactions.com/node/1271

no.. thats old info and missing some good options.

[mentaluproar]

Try wineskin first. If you don't like it, it's a quick easy cleanup. No partitioning, installing an OS, updating said OS, etc.

[doh123]

Bootcamp cannot play games.... it lets you dual boot Windows.

saying to "Use Bootcamp" is a bit misleading as i run into so many people that think that it is some type of program they run that lets them run their games.

While most people would install Windows using Bootcamp, its not required to use Bootcamp, and its also not required to install Windows if you do use it... you can use the Bootcamp utility and install Linux if you want wether Apple 'supports' that or not.

[BornAgainMac]

I used Bootcamp for years for gaming but then when it was time to upgrade my iMac I picked a dedicated PC gaming system instead. The money I save getting a simple Mac without a powerful GPU is enough to pay for a nice gaming PC. No more rebooting between Windows / Mac or dealing with the tradeoffs of gaming in a virtual.

For my needs, I ended up getting a gaming laptop that cost a bit more but it isn't as much of a eye sore as a traditional PC desktop. My frame rates exceed the iMac I was using before it.

[Wardenski]

Originally Posted by doh123

Bootcamp cannot play games.... it lets you dual boot Windows.

saying to "Use Bootcamp" is a bit misleading as i run into so many people that think that it is some type of program they run that lets them run their games.

While most people would install Windows using Bootcamp, its not required to use Bootcamp, and its also not required to install Windows if you do use it... you can use the Bootcamp utility and install Linux if you want wether Apple 'supports' that or not.

So what would you say instead?

[doh123]

Originally Posted by Wardenski

So what would you say instead?

"Dual boot with Windows" ... the more normal term.

"Use Bootcamp to install Windows" .... may be the easiest for most people to understand, but many still wouldn't have a clue what that meant.

[throAU]

Originally Posted by vkd

If you got an up-to-date computer - mac or hack - and are running latest OS 10.8 Mountain Lion, you can put VMWare Fusion latest version and get a virtually native fluidity in Win7, any perceivable loss far more satisfactory than the time lost in needing to reboot again and again.

Now, i'm a massive vmware fanboy (been using it since Workstation 1.0), but this simply isn't true.

IF the game works, it may be acceptable, but very few of the games I want to play actually work in fusion yet - let alone perform anywhere near the same.

Yes I am up to date, and yes I've tried them.

[softypolimer]

My friend using bootcamp on his mbp and never switch back to osx since then.

[Liverpudlian]

I'm glad I found this thread and I believe this is my first post to the forums. I do not play any games but my sons do. They each have PC laptops but prefer the iMacs in the house but unfortunately cannot play their online PC based games. In reading this thread I'm curious to know if while using any of the programs (Parallels, VM, Boot Camp) do I have to purchase Windows separately in order for their games to run on the iMac? Or, is there another way to get these to run? Our systems are running 10.5.8.

[David085]

Why bother getting a Mac if you're going to run PC Games for Windows.

[iWantanewmacpro]

Originally Posted by Liverpudlian

I'm glad I found this thread and I believe this is my first post to the forums. I do not play any games but my sons do. They each have PC laptops but prefer the iMacs in the house but unfortunately cannot play their online PC based games. In reading this thread I'm curious to know if while using any of the programs (Parallels, VM, Boot Camp) do I have to purchase Windows separately in order for their games to run on the iMac? Or, is there another way to get these to run? Our systems are running 10.5.8.

My first post too , whether you use a virtual machine (VM/Parallels) or use Bootcamp, you do require a seperate Windows licence. Just think of it as a completely independent computer (sharing the same hardware).

One thing to be aware of, even if you're running a VM, the security software running on your OSX instance will not be protecting you when you're using Windows, so you'll also need to purchase a licence for any software you need/want to run (e.g. AV/Firewall).

I've only used Parallels VM but as I understand it, the trade off between VM or Bootcamp is essentially that Bootcamp will give better performance but you will need to 'give up' dedicated storage space (easily used up if your sons like to install lots of big games) and you can't switch between OSX/Windows dynamically. VM's will handle storage and alternating between OSX/Windows more dynamically but you will be giving up some on performance and sharing the RAM.

Happy to be corrected if anyone knows better.

[doh123]

Originally Posted by David085

Why bother getting a Mac if you're going to run PC Games for Windows.

Some people do more than one thing on their computers.

[Wardenski]

Originally Posted by David085

Why bother getting a Mac if you're going to run PC Games for Windows.

IMO if you already have a recent Mac Pro then theres no point in spending the doh for a gaming PC - just need to get a worthy GPU. Which was my situation. Next main machine is a gaming PC though .