2010 13" MBP or 2011 13" MBP(i5) for gaming ?

[mjoshi123]

Here is quick question 2010 13" MBP has dedicated video card whereas 2011 13" MBP comes with Intel integrated card but with i5 processor. So in case of gaming will 2010 be better machine ? Also how good is gaming on 2010 MBP using Windows 7 thru Parallels assuming both machines 2011 13" MBP and 2010 13" MBP both are using 4GB of RAM with stock HDD. Will i5 perform better for gaming instead of dedicated nVidia card on 2010 MBP ?

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

use the SEARCH... this question has been answered a million times.

the processor is going to have almost no affect on gaming, the gpu in the older mbp is considered to be better than the HD 3000. If you look at benchmarks, sometimes the 320m is better, sometimes HD3000 is better, sometimes they are tied, just depends on the game.

Neither is "good" for gaming, and you are going to have trouble playing at "high" settings and playing new games. If your main objective is to game, don't get a mac.

Don't even try to game under parallels, use boot camp.

 

[' r i S e n]

I have a 2010 13'' and I played WoW on it before for a couple of months to test it out and I was getting really good frames and no lag at all. On low (game still looks just fine) I could get 100+ frames and 60+ with better settings that were still under maximum, however. I knew I wouldn't be sticking with playing for too long and I just wanted to test gaming on Mac OS X and see what this machine is capable of. It was fun, and well, I guess it just costed me quite a few battery cycles in the end.

I agree with Burton in saying don't get a mac if you primarily want to use your machine for gaming.

 

[snaky69]

Neither, both will suck at running any recent games on anything but low graphics settings.

Gaming on a laptop is pretty stupid anyways, the components are non-upgradable, there is poor heat dissipation and the power just isn't there. Build a gaming desktop, it'll serve you much better.

 

[mjoshi123]

Thanks all for your comments. I think 2010 MBP will be better value for money.

 

[KwanMan]

Thanks all for your comments. I think 2010 MBP will be better value for money.

Actually I would say the new 2011 13" will be better value for money. As said before the hd3000 performs on par with (or in some cases better than) the 320m. But the processor makes a big difference for any other task. And if you're going to get a 13" MBP I don't think which one does gaming better should be a deciding factor.

side note: I have the new 2011 13" i5 and i can run black ops on low settings through bootcamp with no hiccups

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Actually I would say the new 2011 13" will be better value for money. As said before the hd3000 performs on par with (or in some cases better than) the 320m. But the processor makes a big difference for any other task. And if you're going to get a 13" MBP I don't think which one does gaming better should be a deciding factor.

side note: I have the new 2011 13" i5 and i can run black ops on low settings through bootcamp with no hiccups

Couldn't agree more with the first part... buying a mac for gaming is DUMB, buy the new ones, they have much better processors.

Just proof that the 13" sucks at gaming when a game that's about a year old needs to be played on "low" settings to run. If you get a mbp for gaming be prepared to play old games on low settings and don't get your hopes up for playing many games coming out in the future.

 

[adnoh]

go with the 15" for gaming

 

[mac00l]

Here is quick question 2010 13" MBP has dedicated video card whereas 2011 13" MBP comes with Intel integrated card but with i5 processor. So in case of gaming will 2010 be better machine ? Also how good is gaming on 2010 MBP using Windows 7 thru Parallels assuming both machines 2011 13" MBP and 2010 13" MBP both are using 4GB of RAM with stock HDD. Will i5 perform better for gaming instead of dedicated nVidia card on 2010 MBP ?

Hardcore gaming???? NO!!!!

I play WOW with high settings nicely, and SC2 in medium with average 40-60 FPS (GPU intensive tasks all in low, or deactivated)

If you want the MBP just to play, regardless of the graphics, then go for the 2011, if you are too worried about graphics then don't buy a MBP, build your own rig.

EDIT: I have the 2011 13" i5

 

[thunng8]

Here is quick question 2010 13" MBP has dedicated video card whereas 2011 13" MBP comes with Intel integrated card but with i5 processor. So in case of gaming will 2010 be better machine ? Also how good is gaming on 2010 MBP using Windows 7 thru Parallels assuming both machines 2011 13" MBP and 2010 13" MBP both are using 4GB of RAM with stock HDD. Will i5 perform better for gaming instead of dedicated nVidia card on 2010 MBP ?

Here is a comprehensive revew:


http://www.anandtech.com/show/4205/the-macbook-pro-review-13-and-15-inch-2011-brings-sandy-bridge/8

And here

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4205/the-macbook-pro-review-13-and-15-inch-2011-brings-sandy-bridge/19

Mac os x performance about the same but under Windows the 2010 model is quite a lot faster.