First, some quick background. I bought my first Mac in 2005. It was a Mac Mini. I bought a MacBook Pro in 2006. I bought an iMac in 2010, which is where I am now.
I've found that I've been gaming more and more in Windows 7 via Boot Camp on my iMac. My computer does a decent job for video game graphics—I really don't need to pay a lot of money to be able to play games on the ultra setting to get 100 FPS, for instance—but for recent games, I'd be lucky to get 50 FPS on the absolutely lowest settings.
So, I was thinking, should my next computer be a Mac Pro, which although is more expensive than an iMac, should theoretically last me longer and be more customizable, where I can install my own graphics as I please, etc.? I'm not really a computer hardware expert or anything; I can install RAM and hard drives no problem, but have never installed a graphics card, although I imagine I could pick it up by watching YouTube videos if necessary.
Speaking of which, can any graphics card be installed in a Mac Pro, or does it have to be Mac-specific, and is it difficult to do? Can the Mac Pro only handle certain graphics cards, and will others be too powerful for it? Will the generic Boot Camp drivers that Apple provides for graphics cards be sufficient? Is the Mac Pro primarily for power users who need an incredibly powerful Mac at work, for instance, or is it also relatively often used for personal purposes?
So, thoughts on getting a Mac Pro for day-to-day use of course, but also for gaming purposes so that hopefully I wouldn't have to buy yet another computer any time soon after that?
I've found that I've been gaming more and more in Windows 7 via Boot Camp on my iMac. My computer does a decent job for video game graphics—I really don't need to pay a lot of money to be able to play games on the ultra setting to get 100 FPS, for instance—but for recent games, I'd be lucky to get 50 FPS on the absolutely lowest settings.
So, I was thinking, should my next computer be a Mac Pro, which although is more expensive than an iMac, should theoretically last me longer and be more customizable, where I can install my own graphics as I please, etc.? I'm not really a computer hardware expert or anything; I can install RAM and hard drives no problem, but have never installed a graphics card, although I imagine I could pick it up by watching YouTube videos if necessary.
Speaking of which, can any graphics card be installed in a Mac Pro, or does it have to be Mac-specific, and is it difficult to do? Can the Mac Pro only handle certain graphics cards, and will others be too powerful for it? Will the generic Boot Camp drivers that Apple provides for graphics cards be sufficient? Is the Mac Pro primarily for power users who need an incredibly powerful Mac at work, for instance, or is it also relatively often used for personal purposes?
So, thoughts on getting a Mac Pro for day-to-day use of course, but also for gaming purposes so that hopefully I wouldn't have to buy yet another computer any time soon after that?
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