27 iMac for gaming

[Tbdbuckeyeitl]

I am thinking of getting a 27 inch iMac it has a 670 or a 680 graphics card are these good? Will they be goof for a long time?
Are they better than mine now.I have an intel hd 3000 and a 6750m in a MacBook Pro

[tekboi]

If you're a hardcore gamer I would suggest you invest in a dedicated Gaming PC instead. Although Mac's have come a long way in the gaming world, they still don't compare to High End PC's in that regard.

[Tbdbuckeyeitl]

I am not a hardcore gamer but I would like to be ale to play all of the games on the Mac App Store for a few years if I buy a new iMac.

[wrinkster22]

Originally Posted by Tbdbuckeyeitl

I am not a hardcore gamer but I would like to be ale to play all of the games on the Mac App Store for a few years if I buy a new iMac.

My 18 month old macbook air can play all the games in the mac app store

[WilliamG]

Originally Posted by Tbdbuckeyeitl

I am thinking of getting a 27 inch iMac it has a 670 or a 680 graphics card are these good? Will they be goof for a long time?
Are they better than mine now.I have an intel hd 3000 and a 6750m in a MacBook Pro

Yes, the 680MX blows away those cards.

For reference, running Windows 7 via Bootcamp the i7 + 680MX plays Spec Ops: The Line, maxed out at 2560x1440 60fps, Far Cry 3, mostly maxed out at 1920x1080 at 60fps, Sleeping Dogs maxed out at 60fps at 2560x1440 etc. This is a VERY competent gaming Mac, but absolutely a dedicated PC would be better, but I can't imagine there being any game out there on the PC that will struggle to run on the top 27" 2012 iMac.

You can blame the consoles for that. We're in the 8th year of XBOX 360... and most games are sold on the consoles, so PC gaming hasn't moved ahead as much in terms of graphical fidelity since it's held back due to those consoles (in my humble opinion). Can you imagine gaming the latest titles on a 7-8 year-old PC? Crazy...

Digressing here a bit, but I remember the PC-gaming days when you were waiting for the hardware to catch up to the software. Some games didn't run that well on the absolute best hardware available at ANY cost. Now it's the other way around... Any modern-ish graphics card can run any newer game without too much trouble.

In any case, I can't imagine anyone being disappointed with the 680MX, and it's behind a 27" display... Nuts!

[Isengardtom]

Originally Posted by WilliamG

Yes, the 680MX blows away those

Digressing here a bit, but I remember the PC-gaming days when you were waiting for the hardware to catch up to the software. Some games didn't run that well on the absolute best hardware available at ANY cost. Now it's the other way around... Any modern-ish graphics card can run any newer game without too much trouble.

In any case, I can't imagine anyone being disappointed with the 680MX, and it's behind a 27" display... Nuts!

This

[Solomani]

My understanding is that the 680MX does not come "standard" with the stock 27" iMac 2012. You have to specifically choose it during BTO, right?

[luminouslight]

Originally Posted by Solomani

My understanding is that the 680MX does not come "standard" with the stock 27" iMac 2012. You have to specifically choose it during BTO, right?

That is correct.

[THOPMedia]

Been playing DayZ on max settings at 60 fps quite easily. The fan goes into overdrive but I've got headphones on so it doesn't matter. I've got the new 27" with the 680 and 3.4ghz

[Icaras]

The 680MX is oh so beautiful for gaming. Couldn't be happier with the performance

[WilliamG]

Originally Posted by Icaras

The 680MX is oh so beautiful for gaming. Couldn't be happier with the performance

Just spent the evening playing some more Sleeping Dogs. It really is amazing how well the new iMac does with the latest titles. Crazy. The 680MX is going to have a much, much longer shelf life than my (then) top-of-the-line 2009 i7 iMac, which came with the ATI 4850 512MB, which... even then, simply wasn't very good!

[Yebubbleman]

Originally Posted by Tbdbuckeyeitl

I am thinking of getting a 27 inch iMac it has a 670 or a 680 graphics card are these good? Will they be goof for a long time?
Are they better than mine now.I have an intel hd 3000 and a 6750m in a MacBook Pro

Yes, any graphics card that you can get on a 2012 27" iMac will be faster than the Intel HD + AMD Radeon HD 6750M combo in your MacBook Pro. That being said, if you have such a MacBook Pro, then there's no reason to get an iMac if gaming is what you want to be doing. If you want the benefits of a machine for gaming, you should take the money you would've saved for said 27" iMac and you should build yourself a spiffy gaming PC instead.

[Dr FranknFurter]

Originally Posted by Icaras

The 680MX is oh so beautiful for gaming. Couldn't be happier with the performance

In mac OS or windows from bootcamp? trying to decide if the expense of bootcamp and windows 7 is worth it for an light to moderate gamer?

[forty2j]

Originally Posted by Dr FranknFurter

In mac OS or windows from bootcamp? trying to decide if the expense of bootcamp and windows 7 is worth it for an light to moderate gamer?

The performance difference for OS X is acceptable IMO. But I still find myself in bootcamp due o game availability...

Someday...

[Icaras]

Originally Posted by Dr FranknFurter

In mac OS or windows from bootcamp? trying to decide if the expense of bootcamp and windows 7 is worth it for an light to moderate gamer?

Both actually. But I'm biased. I love OS X and I'm not too keen on Windows. As Forty2J mentions, performance under OS X is definitely acceptable, and in fact can be very enjoyable if nitpicking performance simply isn't your priority. I personally really wish I didn't have to have Windows, but as mentioned again, it's because of the game selection. It's the only reason why I am tethered.

I seriously don't think you'll mind sticking to OS X for gaming in terms of performance. There's no doubt on these forums that they run better on Windows, but they still run well on OS X with the 680MX. What matters most I suppose now, is just the question of if you'd be ok with the smaller selection of games on OS X and the lag time between a game being released on Mac after it's been released on Windows. Although Aspyr has gone on the record saying they're getting much faster at churning out titles. If you also look at Feral, they too seem to be accelerating development times. And both Blizzard and Valve release both Mac and Windows versions day and date on launch. Already got Heart of the Swarm pre-ordered in fact!

I own a lot of titles from the Mac App Store and it's really great to see the growth of game titles expanding faster than it was before. Same thing with Steam. And whether you love them or hate them, EA is also scheduled to release Origin out for Mac next month, so I'm really hoping to see some big EA franchises finally make their way to the Mac.

Originally Posted by forty2j

Someday...

I can't wait for that day

Aspyr recently did a cool Q&A with 9to5Mac. (http://9to5mac.com/2013/01/16/aspyr-...y/#more-257967)

Both production times and selection have been ramping up so the future at least looks bright.

[OlMighty]

Has anyone tried using Crossover for gaming? It doesn't seem to play all games well, but I used it a year or two back for running a couple of windows programs and those worked well.

[turtlez]

Originally Posted by OlMighty

Has anyone tried using Crossover for gaming? It doesn't seem to play all games well, but I used it a year or two back for running a couple of windows programs and those worked well.

only problem with crossover is it takes them a long long while to bug free their game versions. May as well just install windows and have better performance with direct x.

[Dr FranknFurter]

Originally Posted by forty2j

The performance difference for OS X is acceptable IMO. But I still find myself in bootcamp due o game availability...

Someday...

Originally Posted by Icaras

Both actually. But I'm biased. I love OS X and I'm not too keen on Windows. As Forty2J mentions, performance under OS X is definitely acceptable, and in fact can be very enjoyable if nitpicking performance simply isn't your priority. I personally really wish I didn't have to have Windows, but as mentioned again, it's because of the game selection. It's the only reason why I am tethered.

I seriously don't think you'll mind sticking to OS X for gaming in terms of performance. There's no doubt on these forums that they run better on Windows, but they still run well on OS X with the 680MX. What matters most I suppose now, is just the question of if you'd be ok with the smaller selection of games on OS X and the lag time between a game being released on Mac after it's been released on Windows. Although Aspyr has gone on the record saying they're getting much faster at churning out titles. If you also look at Feral, they too seem to be accelerating development times. And both Blizzard and Valve release both Mac and Windows versions day and date on launch. Already got Heart of the Swarm pre-ordered in fact!

I own a lot of titles from the Mac App Store and it's really great to see the growth of game titles expanding faster than it was before. Same thing with Steam. And whether you love them or hate them, EA is also scheduled to release Origin out for Mac next month, so I'm really hoping to see some big EA franchises finally make their way to the Mac.



I can't wait for that day

Aspyr recently did a cool Q&A with 9to5Mac. (http://9to5mac.com/2013/01/16/aspyr-...y/#more-257967)

Both production times and selection have been ramping up so the future at least looks bright.

Thanks for the info. Think i'll stick to Mac games for now as i'm so busy with PS CS6 etc so limited game time at the mo. Can always go the Windoze route at a later date