I am new and confused Specs for the new mac

[carrpin]

I want to buy my son a new mac that will run the PC via bootcamp without having to tweak things after purchase except maybe have an apple tech install more ram.
The 3 desktop macs I have will not run PC games via boot camp because the video card is not good enough( cant remember the actual wording of the message).
Dont ask why I have 3 iMacs

He is big into games like Call of Duty .

Will the video cards in the new macs run these kind of games without any difficulty?

I dont want to go crazy but pricing isnt really an isue
TIA

[tears2040]

Buy your son a Gaming console if he's into games.... Any of the current iMacs will run Call Of Duty....

Isn't Call Of Duty for adults anyways?.......

[carrpin]

Originally Posted by tears2040

Buy your son a Gaming console if he's into games.... Any of the current iMacs will run Call Of Duty....

Isn't Call Of Duty for adults anyways?.......

thanks for the reply . He is a near adult .
A console wont do other stuff he needs to do.
and Its a game similar to call of Duty but not CoD

There is one game that he is keen on is PC xbox and probably PS and I tried to get it to run it in XP via bootcamp and thats when I got the "No can Do" message . The imac video card was under spec'd for the game . Apple techs gave me that info and that there was no way of upgrading the iMacs to suit.

[elberggreno]

Go for the 27" with the 680MX BTO, skip fusion & ram, and depending on how much you want to spend go for the i7.

Buy 16GB's of after market ram, and maybe later down the line your son could upgrade the disk with an aftermarket SSD (as soon as iFixit releases their guides.)

That's what I'm planning on doing anyway. I'll go with the i7 mainly for video & vfx work, add an aftermarket ssd for photoshop work (no thanks for paying apple-premium when samsung 830's go for nothing..)

[carrpin]

Originally Posted by elberggreno

Go for the 27" with the 680MX BTO, skip fusion & ram, and depending on how much you want to spend go for the i7.

Buy 16GB's of after market ram, and maybe later down the line your son could upgrade the disk with an aftermarket SSD (as soon as iFixit releases their guides.)

That's what I'm planning on doing anyway. I'll go with the i7 mainly for video & vfx work, add an aftermarket ssd for photoshop work (no thanks for paying apple-premium when samsung 830's go for nothing..)

OK Update. My sons says the game is Battlefield 3? . I was close

[tom vilsack]

Maybe your son should build a pc...for new Imac like money he could built a pretty fast gaming box.

[carrpin]

Originally Posted by tom vilsack

Maybe your son should build a pc...for new Imac like money he could built a pretty fast gaming box.

Thanks for responding... we are a Mac house hold and a dedicated Game machine is not on .

[iMcLovin]

I would go for the 27" with 680mx. Depending on your budget though but this is the only rig that will handle graphics heavy games with ease.
Ram, you don't ask an apple expert for that. Either you buy the ram you need in a 21,5" right away or you buy the 27" and changing ram doesn't require any expert expertise.
With the 27" 680mx you could probably play a lot of the games straight through an emulator like parallel too.

[leman]

Originally Posted by carrpin

Thanks for responding... we are a Mac house hold and a dedicated Game machine is not on .

So basically you are saying that you are willing to buy your son a $2500 machine just so that he can play some games, although a $1000 PC would have done just as well? I know that its not my business but I'd say tat its a rather sure way to spoil a child... And nobody here is talking about 'dedicated gaming machine', he can use the PC for everything else as well.

Nevertheless, if you want to go th iMac route, get the 27" with the GPU upgrade (680MX).

[Overg]

Originally Posted by leman

So basically you are saying that you are willing to buy your son a $2500 machine just so that he can play some games, although a $1000 PC would have done just as well? I know that its not my business but I'd say tat its a rather sure way to spoil a child... And nobody here is talking about 'dedicated gaming machine', he can use the PC for everything else as well.

Nevertheless, if you want to go th iMac route, get the 27" with the GPU upgrade (680MX).

No connection to our business or not, iMac isn't suited for games.
It can't be upgradable, it's pricy, and hard to maintain when something goes wrong.
If I were into gaming the LAST piece of hardware I would have bought is apple, and iMac stuff.
I highly recommend a strong PC, half the price, and down the road after few years you can buy with the extra money another pc.
iMac is for pure work, and to people who don't want to mess with the computer internals while doing so.

[sectime]

Originally Posted by carrpin

Thanks for responding... we are a Mac house hold and a dedicated Game machine is not on .

Good advice here about Mac cost and gaming. $2500 for well equipped 27 inch
that a $800 and up gaming PC will smoke it. Battlefield 3 is on game consoles, best choice. We are a mac house also, Xbox360, plus Live works great.

[leman]

Originally Posted by Overg

No connection to our business or not, iMac isn't suited for games.

I've been playing AAA games on Macs for three years now Maybe I am doing something wrong?

[carrpin]

Originally Posted by sectime

Good advice here about Mac cost and gaming. $2500 for well equipped 27 inch
that a $800 and up gaming PC will smoke it. Battlefield 3 is on game consoles, best choice. We are a mac house also, Xbox360, plus Live works great.

In my 2nd post in this thread I said he has other things to do ( on Mac software which we already have) .

"A console wont do other stuff he needs to do.
and Its a game similar to call of Duty but not CoD"


No way is it a mac purely for gaming>Maybe I didnt make that clear.
But thanks all for your generous advice

[zhandri]

yeah i'd go for the 27 inch with the 680MX buy some crucial ram. if money is no issue get the 1 or 3TB fusion drive.

but seriously it's just hard to build an imac for gaming.... for 1500$ you can build a gaming beast for windows but on the other hand i can understand that you love the macs . thats why we are all here.... aren't we ?

[carrpin]

Originally Posted by zhandri

yeah i'd go for the 27 inch with the 680MX buy some crucial ram. if money is no issue get the 1 or 3TB fusion drive.

but seriously it's just hard to build an imac for gaming.... for 1500$ you can build a gaming beast for windows but on the other hand i can understand that you love the macs . thats why we are all here.... aren't we ?

Thanks . My original question which seems to have got lost was "
Will the video cards in the new macs run these kind of games without any difficulty?"

I wasnt asking for the best possible gaming machine .
The game that raised the question was battlefield 3 which doesnt have a mac version but will apparently run in VMfusion Parallels and bootcamp if the video card is up to scratch

[zhandri]

Originally Posted by carrpin

Thanks . My original question which seems to have got lost was "
Will the video cards in the new macs run these kind of games without any difficulty?"

I wasnt asking for the best possible gaming machine .
The game that raised the question was battlefield 3 which doesnt have a mac version but will apparently run in VMfusion Parallels and bootcamp if the video card is up to scratch

yes! the 680MX can be compared to the GTX 670 desktop version. maybe a little weaker but not by much! you will be able to play most new games on ultra settings

just run the imac with bootamp and you will have wonderful gaming performance

[leman]

Originally Posted by carrpin

[COLOR="Teal"]
The game that raised the question was battlefield 3 which doesnt have a mac version but will apparently run in VMfusion Parallels and bootcamp if the video card is up to scratch

BF3 won't run in Parallels. It is a very demanding game, especially if you want to play it on native resolution. It would do ok though in Bootcamp.

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Originally Posted by sectime

Good advice here about Mac cost and gaming. $2500 for well equipped 27 inch
that a $800 and up gaming PC will smoke it. Battlefield 3 is on game consoles, best choice. We are a mac house also, Xbox360, plus Live works great.

A desktop GPU with the performance of the 680MX already costs $400. I have no clue how you are going to build a whole PC for $800.

[Mac32]

Hyperthreading creates microstuttering for a lot of people in Battlefield 3. There is no way to turn off hyperthreading on the iMac (no bios). It's very likely that the stuttering issue is not present on the iMac, but just so you know..

[bflowers]

Battlefield 3 is on game consoles, best choice. We are a mac house also, Xbox360, plus Live works great.[/QUOTE]

Same here, a $200-$300 console seems a more sensible choice. Depending on your older macs, some of them can accept HDMI IN via the Display Port and adapter. Save a ton of money!

[swordsmn]

Since it sounds like you'll use bootcamp, it has been reported bootcamp cannot run if you choose the 3TB fusion drive, just fyi

[HurtinMinorKey]

Originally Posted by sectime

Good advice here about Mac cost and gaming. $2500 for well equipped 27 inch
that a $800 and up gaming PC will smoke it. Battlefield 3 is on game consoles, best choice. We are a mac house also, Xbox360, plus Live works great.

That's totally not true. $800 will get you the equivalent monitor, that's about it.

At best a similarly specked monitor, GPU/CPU PC will save you 20%. If you build it yourself, you might save 30%.

And for people that care about gaming, Battlefield III on a sic desktop totally destroys the console experience. The game pushes current high end graphics tech to the edge. The Xbox 360 is 7 year old, mid-level graphics tech.

[sectime]

Originally Posted by HurtinMinorKey

That's totally not true. $800 will get you the equivalent monitor, that's about it.

At best a similarly specked monitor, GPU/CPU PC will save you 20%. If you build it yourself, you might save 30%.

And for people that care about gaming, Battlefield III on a sic desktop totally destroys the console experience. The game pushes current high end graphics tech to the edge. The Xbox 360 is 7 year old, mid-level graphics tech.

I agree ultimate gamers can and do spend many thousands. This kid and most gamers likely do not fall into that category. A console on a large 1080p Tv is a nice experience for majority of casual players. Buy what you can afford that works for you.

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Originally Posted by leman

BF3 won't run in Parallels. It is a very demanding game, especially if you want to play it on native resolution. It would do ok though in Bootcamp.

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A desktop GPU with the performance of the 680MX already costs $400. I have no clue how you are going to build a whole PC for $800.

Cyberpower and other makers comes to mind and I thought I posted $800 and up.

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Originally Posted by carrpin

In my 2nd post in this thread I said he has other things to do ( on Mac software which we already have) .

"A console wont do other stuff he needs to do.
and Its a game similar to call of Duty but not CoD"


No way is it a mac purely for gaming>Maybe I didnt make that clear.
But thanks all for your generous advice

You did, I didn't make my point clear. Buy the cheaper mac and a console. Works for me, YMMV

[inscrewtable]

@OP

I have a 2011 27" imac with a 6970m video card and it runs x-plane which is a heavy duty flight sim adequately, therefore the current top of the range imac with a GTX680mx should absolutely smoke any game you can throw at it.

Seeing as cost is not an issue, you might as well get the 3TB fusion drive too.

Certainly don't buy ram from apple, you can get pretty cheap ram on ebay in 8GB modules, so it's worth putting 32GB of aftermarket ram in, pretty straightforward to do yourself, basically open a little cover and plug it in.