16” Intel MBP or wait for M1X for Windows GAMING?

[FrankySavvy]

Will the new m1X MacBook Pro be better for Windows Gaming than the current high end Radeon 5500m 16”?

I own a new m1 24” iMac I use for my creative/everyday use. I am selling my old 27” iMac I used for gaming because I don’t need two desktops.

I love Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and other AAA Windows games and have run them through bootcamp on the old imac.

Since Apple Silicon Macs can’t run x64 Windows natively, will going with an Intel based 16” MacBook Pro be the better bet for windows gaming?

Can I rely on the M1X and virtualization of windows for a better gaming experience?

thanks!

 

[IceStormNG]

It likely won't. Windows games are still x86 in 99% of cases. M1X will only be able to run ARM OSes. And Windows for ARM still cannot be installed natively on any Mac.

But: The 16" is garbage for gaming. It has massive throttling and overheating issues under sustained load (apple didn't cooled the VRMs at all).

If you want to play demanding Windows games and have a good experience, really, buy a Windows Gaming PC for that.

 

[FrankySavvy]

The thing is I also want a Mac laptop, I hate windows lol.

 

[IceStormNG]

Then get both?

If you want to play Windows games (like all bigger titles are), you need Windows. That's the deal.
Gaming on a Mac (even with Windows installed), especially AAA games, is a joke. Period.

M1 lacks necessary compatibility.
16" lacks necessary sustained performance.

 

[arche3]

The 16 with 5600m is very very good in boot camp gaming. Reviews all over with frame rates etc...

 

[Yebubbleman]

Will the new m1X MacBook Pro be better for Windows Gaming than the current high end Radeon 5500m 16”?

I own a new m1 24” iMac I use for my creative/everyday use. I am selling my old 27” iMac I used for gaming because I don’t need two desktops.

I love Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and other AAA Windows games and have run them through bootcamp on the old imac.

Since Apple Silicon Macs can’t run x64 Windows natively, will going with an Intel based 16” MacBook Pro be the better bet for windows gaming?

Can I rely on the M1X and virtualization of windows for a better gaming experience?

thanks!

Microsoft still doesn't license Windows 10 for ARM64 outside of OEMs (i.e. devices that are supposed to come with it preloaded). There is no native dual-booting solution for Apple Silicon Macs with Windows 10 for ARM64 the way that there currently is with Intel Macs and the x86-64 version of Windows 10. You CAN get the Insider Preview version of Windows 10 for ARM64 to run in a Parallels Desktop virtual machine on a Mac, but even then, as others have said, most games are x86 or x86-64 only (with the former being very slow to emulate. If you were to go the Apple Silicon route, a better way to do so would be to get Codeweavers CrossOver solution and run that through Rosetta (so, x86 Windows binary, translated to x86-64 Intel Mac via CrossOver, and then again to Apple Silicon [ARM64] Mac via Rosetta 2.

That being said, I would say that if Windows gaming is a top priority, just get the current 16" MacBook Pro. It's going to be a much smoother ride than any Apple Silicon Mac for the reasons I've mentioned here.

 

[IceStormNG]

The 16 with 5600m is very very good in boot camp gaming. Reviews all over with frame rates etc...

Short term...yes. If you play for half an hour or longer, your framerates will drop significantly down to unplayable values in any halfway demanding game. That's what the reviews don't tell you.

Just google for "MBP 16 VRM overheat" and you will find tons of posts and threads about that all over the internet. I have the 16" and know that. It's not only a problem for gaming. But for anything that causes GPU load.

 

[more fps]

Gaming on a Mac is just plain stupid if the games are graphic intensive. I got a 16" and it's only good for light gaming. I would build a desktop, that's what I have done and I only use it for gaming. Like you I also don't like using Windows.

 

[lord nuker]

If you want to play anything new with high graphics settings there is no other choice than buy either a pc, or as I did, a console. I do play some light games while at work, but heavier stuff I save to my Series X. And since you love flight sim 2020, it will be released on Series S/X next month, and run more smooth there on any Mac, or windows based laptops for that matter! Its cheaper also than the upgrade from base gpu to upgraded on 16"map, and will have support for all the popular flight sticks and yokes

 

[arche3]

Short term...yes. If you play for half an hour or longer, your framerates will drop significantly down to unplayable values in any halfway demanding game. That's what the reviews don't tell you.

Just google for "MBP 16 VRM overheat" and you will find tons of posts and threads about that all over the internet. I have the 16" and know that. It's not only a problem for gaming. But for anything that causes GPU load.

Do you have the 5600m? I use mine at home when I'm not in my studio on my desktop rigs.. I'm a director and I can render after effects etc... and I don't get the vrm over heat if I just turn fan on full from the start. I also have it attached to a pro display xdr. Laptop open. I don't boot camp though. So I am not sure how that affects it.

 

[arche3]

I play warzone and I debated boot camping my 16 w 5600m. I ended up just buying a pre built pc from New egg with a rtx 3080 last month. Only way to get that card. It is awesome for gaming. I previously played on my Xbox x. The pc is better than the Xbox in every aspect for warzone.

 

[IceStormNG]

Do you have the 5600m? I use mine at home when I'm not in my studio on my desktop rigs.. I'm a director and I can render after effects etc... and I don't get the vrm over heat if I just turn fan on full from the start. I also have it attached to a pro display xdr. Laptop open. I don't boot camp though. So I am not sure how that affects it.

Hm... No. Sadly, Apple introduced that 2 weeks after I got mine. Otherwise I would've got that. I only have the 5500M. Maybe the 5600M variant has some fixes (for the extra 800€ that one costs). But the other variants have VRM heating issues. Like the previous generations of 15" dGPU MacBooks.

 

[mzeb]

How important is gaming on the go? My rig is a 2019 13" MacBook Pro with an eGPU and desktop class Vega64. It runs Cyberpunk 2077 and Guildwars 2 with ultra graphics setting with 4k res and adaptive sync very well. The catch is that when I go I don't take my GPU with me so if that's something you need then this won't work for you. If you do your gaming at a desk, though, this is great.