13" Macbook pro and gaming.

[wackymacky]

I'm planning on buying a MacBook pro. I haven't had MacBook for many many years, using the last few generations of iMacs and power-Macintosh befor that.

I was planning on getting one of the 13" touch-bar models, and bumping the RAM up to 16 and the 512GB storage. As I am going to be traveling with it I think that the 13' makes sense size wise and the reality is although will use it for viewing PACS/DICOM the 13" specs should be O.K. day-to-day, so the extra $$ for the 15" seems redundant.

However my son wants to be able play games on it occasionally, which will I suspect will mean Boot-camp and a Windows install.

Although called a "pro" without the separate Radeon Pro graphics card on the 15" models, can the 13" run modern windows games in a playable fashion.

 

[xb2003]

It really depends on the game and what he expects. There are games out there that will pull 30 fps on the lowest settings, but to me that's hardly playable.

Build him a computer, it can be done really cheap.

 

[KieranDotW]

I don't recommend it. The 13" doesn't even have a dGPU. I'm not sure how much of a comparison it is, but my 2012 13" MBP could barely handle GTA IV (which was released in 2007) on lowest settings, and I was only getting 24-30fps

 

[szilske]

I was playing Diablo III occasionally on my old 13" rMBP and it was OK with medium settings. On my new 15" tMBP I can easily maximise all settings and it is fast like hell.

Not sure if that helps, but it is definitely a benefit from getting a 15"er this time. If you want to play games, go for 15".

 

[Samuelsan2001]

It's no use for modern AAA games the same as any other small light laptop, if you want that then the 14 inch razor blade is a far better option with a good dGPU, it'll be loud and have crap battery life but it will play modern games a lot better.

 

[wackymacky]

It's no use for modern AAA games the same as any other small light laptop, if you want that then the 14 inch razor blade is a far better option with a good dGPU, it'll be loud and have crap battery life but it will play modern games a lot better.

Lol. I think I'll get the MacBook Pro and make my son save his own pennies.

(Or by 2 razor bladefor the of the 15" MacBook ;-) )

 

[Acronyc]

There are lots of games that will play great on the new MBP. Many new, less demanding titles like STASIS, the Legend of Grimrock series, and SOMA; indie games like The Fall, The Talos Principle, and Hyper Light Drifter; and AAA games from a few years ago like Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, and Mass Effect 3. All these will run great (I have them all and have played them all on the new MBP).

I never understand why some believe gaming only equals the newest AAA 3D titles. You can be a hardcore gamer and have a lot of fun without focusing on these games.

If you do want to only play the latest, most demanding AAA titles, though, I'd recommend a gaming laptop, building a gaming PC, or an external GPU (eGPU) of you want to stick with a Mac. I have an eGPU (GeForce GTX 1050 Ti) running on my 2016 ntbMBP and 2014 mini with great results. Though, the eGPU isn't the cheapest option if all you want to do is game.

 

[wackymacky]

There are lots of games that will play great on the new MBP. Many new, less demanding titles like STASIS, the Legend of Grimrock series, and SOMA; indie games like The Fall, The Talos Principle, and Hyper Light Drifter; and AAA games from a few years ago like Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, and Mass Effect 3. All these will run great (I have them all and have played them all on the new MBP).

I never understand why some believe gaming only equals the newest AAA 3D titles. You can be a hardcore gamer and have a lot of fun without focusing on these games.

If you do want to only play the latest, most demanding AAA titles, though, I'd recommend a gaming laptop, building a gaming PC, or an external GPU (eGPU) of you want to stick with a Mac. I have an eGPU (GeForce GTX 1050 Ti) running on my 2016 ntbMBP and 2014 mini with great results. Though, the eGPU isn't the cheapest option if all you want to do is game.

A eGPU might be an interesting option. I see there are thunderbolt 3 ones available. Kind of means portability on the gaming side is out the window (and make my very expensive MB Pro excruciatingly expensive.

 

[Harthag]

A eGPU might be an interesting option. I see there are thunderbolt 3 ones available. Kind of means portability on the gaming side is out the window (and make my very expensive MB Pro excruciatingly expensive.

I second the suggestion to consider the Razer Blade 14". Not trying to troll MR, I know I've posted a month or so ago touting the Blade. Was a MB + MBP fan for a long time and recently switched. You will be using the laptop on the go, an e-gpu makes no sense for this. The Blade was just updated to the Kabylake quad i7-7700hq and has the gtx 1060. I own it, and also just sold the "old" late 2016 Skylake model. The fans on the 2017 Blade turn - completely off - while idling and basic 2D use. Yes the fans ramp up when gaming, and they shut off again shortly after you stop. There is no throttling or overheating as everyone who has never owned one says. Razer has really nailed the cooling after several iterations.

Comparing the 13" MBP and Blade 512Gb configs, MBP adjusted to include 16Gb of RAM, the Blade is $100 cheaper and gets you a quad core i7 and gtx 1060 vs a dual core i5 and Intel graphics. Blade 512Gb uses the latest Samsung PM961 pci-e SSD.

Battery life is surprisingly good. I've only had my new Blade for a week and haven't used it much on the go yet. My old Skylake model gave me close to 6 hours with office / web / internet use. Probably can get 2-3 hours of battery while gaming.

Build quality is right up there with Apple, except for inferior touchpad and (arguably) the screen. I love a matte 1080p screen on a 14" laptop.

The huge negative is Razer support. It is bad. Good news is you can buy the Blade from Amazon and within 40-45 days bring it into a Microsoft store and add the 2 year MS complete warranty once MS starts selling it.

And, if you really want to go with an e-gpu while at home, the Razer Core does just that.

It isn't even close in my opinion *IF* you are not heavily invested in Mac ecosystem or OS X and are a casual gamer. Razer has done something special, Apple is old and severely over priced.