Mac Mini gaming

SkyBell · Oct 4, 2006, 03:33 PM

Just wondering: do you think the newest low-end Mac mini is enough to play Halo?

Thats about all the heavy gaming I do

rogersmj · Oct 4, 2006, 03:35 PM

It will work, although you're not going to be able to crank up the resolution really high.

tipdrill407 · Oct 4, 2006, 03:48 PM

Should work fine in Windows, or when the UB comes out for the Mac version.

rogersmj · Oct 4, 2006, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tipdrill407

Should work fine in Windows, or when the UB comes out for the Mac version.

It is out.

ipoddin · Oct 4, 2006, 04:17 PM

I can't imagine the mini with on board graphics could play Halo with any reasonable frame rate. I don't have a mini so I can't say for sure, but it just doesn't seem to have the horsepower. Anyone done serious 3D gaming on a mini?

Scarlet Fever · Oct 4, 2006, 04:22 PM

I play Halo on my MacBook (essentially the same GPU), and it works, but not well. Very grainy graphics, and teh FPS isn't anything to wow about. If you can cope with that though, its fine.

Just make sure you have at least a gig of RAM in your system; the more the merrier.

rogersmj · Oct 4, 2006, 04:22 PM

well, I could play Halo at 800x600 on my Dell latop with a Pentium M 1.6 GHz (much slower CPU) and Intel GM850 graphics (quite a bit slower than the 950). So I bet the mini could play Halo at 1024x768 or so with medium or medium-low detail settings. Keep in mind Halo for PC turned three years old on Monday. It's not exactly incredibly demanding on modern hardware, so even Intel's junk cards can handle it.

dpaanlka · Oct 4, 2006, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ipoddin

I can't imagine the mini with on board graphics could play Halo with any reasonable frame rate. I don't have a mini so I can't say for sure, but it just doesn't seem to have the horsepower. Anyone done serious 3D gaming on a mini?

You have to keep in mind that "reasonable" might be 24fps for the casual gamer, or someone who doesn't really play games but really likes Halo.

dmw007 · Oct 5, 2006, 11:07 AM

The 1.66GHz Core Duo Mac Mini will be able to play Halo, just don't expect it to a great gaming experience. As Scarlet Fever has suggested, go for some extra RAM if at all possible.

Dont Hurt Me · Oct 5, 2006, 11:18 AM

There is one thing that holds down that Mini and it isnt the Cpu its the GMA950. In gaming terms its garbage, In costs terms its the cheapist chip Apple could find and I almost think that Apple crippled that machine on purpose. A 9200 driven by a duo1.66 would have been pretty sweet but the bottom line is the gma 950 cant do many things that even the cheapist"real gpu's can perform. Its Mini's handicap and Apple themself even busted on Integrated graphics. Man if Apple would mate a X1300 pro with the 1.66 or 1.83 it would be super sweet but then they play the move up game meaning Imac and perhaps a display you dont need or want. Apple Games in marketing suck.

Josias · Oct 5, 2006, 11:30 AM

Tests performed with a 2.0 GHz MacBook with 1 GB RAM and stock 60 GB HDD:
640x480, all eye candy off: 30-80 fps.
640x480, all eye candy on: 20-60 fps.
1280x800, all eye candy off: 10-35 fps.

I didn't try 1280x800 with eye candy on, but it wouldn't make much difference, since the eye candy really don't matter much. If you got a 1.66 GHz Mini with 2 GB RAM, you could get and awesome framerate at 640x480 with all eye candy on. It looks very awesome®, and it is definiantly® a good gaming machine.

rogersmj · Oct 5, 2006, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josias

definiantly®

Yeah, you go ahead and keep your registered trademark on that...no one else wants to spell it like that

Josias · Oct 5, 2006, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrogers

Yeah, you go ahead and keep your registered trademark on that...no one else wants to spell it like that

Well, go on and copy ØMG®, and we'll see. Defiant+definitly= Definiantly.

But seriously, do I have a SupermanBook, or do others get equal results?

JAT · Oct 5, 2006, 04:22 PM

Or even definitely.

SkyBell · 02:26 PM

Don't worry, I don't expect too much. I used to have an HP with an integrated graphics card, which is what I used to play halo on. Can you say 24 colors only?

Oct 4, 2006, 03:33 PM	#1
SkyBell macrumors 603 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas	Mac Mini gaming Just wondering: do you think the newest low-end Mac mini is enough to play Halo? Thats about all the heavy gaming I do __________________ MR's PowerPC Fangirl eMac 1.42 GHz - 10.4.11 Pink iPod mini 2G 4 GB R.I.P Apple Computer, 1976-2007
	0

Oct 4, 2006, 03:35 PM	#2
rogersmj macrumors 68020 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Indianapolis, IN	It will work, although you're not going to be able to crank up the resolution really high. __________________ Me: 27" iMac 2.7 12GB 128gbSSD+1tbHDD \| 15" MBP 2.8 8GB 500GB \| iPhone 4S 32GB white \| iPad 3 16GB 4G black Wife: 13" MacBook Air 1.86 2GB 128GB \| iPhone 4 16GB black \| iPad 2 16GB white
	0

Oct 4, 2006, 04:17 PM	#5
ipoddin macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Los Angeles	I can't imagine the mini with on board graphics could play Halo with any reasonable frame rate. I don't have a mini so I can't say for sure, but it just doesn't seem to have the horsepower. Anyone done serious 3D gaming on a mini? __________________ 15" MBP 2.4ghz i5, 8gb ram iPad Mini 32gb Black 32gb Verizon iPhone 5 - white TV2
	0

Oct 4, 2006, 04:22 PM	#7
rogersmj macrumors 68020 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Indianapolis, IN	well, I could play Halo at 800x600 on my Dell latop with a Pentium M 1.6 GHz (much slower CPU) and Intel GM850 graphics (quite a bit slower than the 950). So I bet the mini could play Halo at 1024x768 or so with medium or medium-low detail settings. Keep in mind Halo for PC turned three years old on Monday. It's not exactly incredibly demanding on modern hardware, so even Intel's junk cards can handle it. __________________ Me: 27" iMac 2.7 12GB 128gbSSD+1tbHDD \| 15" MBP 2.8 8GB 500GB \| iPhone 4S 32GB white \| iPad 3 16GB 4G black Wife: 13" MacBook Air 1.86 2GB 128GB \| iPhone 4 16GB black \| iPad 2 16GB white
	0

Oct 5, 2006, 11:07 AM	#9
dmw007 macrumors 603 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Working for MI-6	The 1.66GHz Core Duo Mac Mini will be able to play Halo, just don't expect it to a great gaming experience. As Scarlet Fever has suggested, go for some extra RAM if at all possible. __________________ 3.2 GHz Mac Pro Nehalem PowerBook 1400cs/133, 450MHz G4 Cube, 500MHz Pismo iPhone 3GS, 60GB iPod
	0

Oct 4, 2006, 03:48 PM	#3
tipdrill407 macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2006	Should work fine in Windows, or when the UB comes out for the Mac version.
	0

Oct 4, 2006, 04:22 PM	#6
Scarlet Fever macrumors 68040 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bookshop!	I play Halo on my MacBook (essentially the same GPU), and it works, but not well. Very grainy graphics, and teh FPS isn't anything to wow about. If you can cope with that though, its fine. Just make sure you have at least a gig of RAM in your system; the more the merrier.
	0

Oct 5, 2006, 11:18 AM	#10
Dont Hurt Me macrumors 601 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Yahooville S.C.	There is one thing that holds down that Mini and it isnt the Cpu its the GMA950. In gaming terms its garbage, In costs terms its the cheapist chip Apple could find and I almost think that Apple crippled that machine on purpose. A 9200 driven by a duo1.66 would have been pretty sweet but the bottom line is the gma 950 cant do many things that even the cheapist"real gpu's can perform. Its Mini's handicap and Apple themself even busted on Integrated graphics. Man if Apple would mate a X1300 pro with the 1.66 or 1.83 it would be super sweet but then they play the move up game meaning Imac and perhaps a display you dont need or want. Apple Games in marketing suck. __________________ Those that give up Liberty to have temporary Security deserve Neither......Benjamin Franklin.
	0

Oct 5, 2006, 11:30 AM	#11
Josias macrumors 68000 Join Date: Mar 2006	Tests performed with a 2.0 GHz MacBook with 1 GB RAM and stock 60 GB HDD: 640x480, all eye candy off: 30-80 fps. 640x480, all eye candy on: 20-60 fps. 1280x800, all eye candy off: 10-35 fps. I didn't try 1280x800 with eye candy on, but it wouldn't make much difference, since the eye candy really don't matter much. If you got a 1.66 GHz Mini with 2 GB RAM, you could get and awesome framerate at 640x480 with all eye candy on. It looks very awesome®, and it is definiantly® a good gaming machine. __________________ Consistent crushes on random female singers - current: Mariah Carey
	0

Oct 5, 2006, 04:22 PM	#14
JAT macrumors 601 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Mpls, MN	Or even definitely.
	0

Oct 6, 2006, 02:21 PM	#15
SkyBell Thread Starter macrumors 603 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas	Don't worry, I don't expect too much. I used to have an HP with an integrated graphics card, which is what I used to play halo on. Can you say 24 colors only? __________________ MR's PowerPC Fangirl eMac 1.42 GHz - 10.4.11 Pink iPod mini 2G 4 GB R.I.P Apple Computer, 1976-2007 Last edited by SkyBell; Oct 6, 2006 at 02:26 PM.
	0

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