2017 iMac Gaming Performance

[Kyakou]

Hello!
I've been looking into purchasing a 2017 iMac. I'm coming from a Dell Inspiron 17r (it's basically 17 inch laptop with a really crappy intel processor and intel hd graphics, I've been using it for the last 6 years) and I'm a casual gamer. I'm looking to play games like Warframe and Team Fortress, but I'm wondering if I should get a gaming computer instead of a 5k iMac. I do a lot of photo editing. If you can, please tell me how your gaming performance and over all experience is on your iMac, and any issues.

Thank you and have a good day! Cheers
[doublepost=1503985365][/doublepost]Oh, and, are there anyways to make it cheaper? Cheers!

 

[Luxtrau]

You should check the „Radeon 580 Performance“ Thread. You can find some gaming experiences there.

 

[Kyakou]

Thanks for the reply! I'll read that but I'm still stuck on the choice of either getting a really good pc or just getting an iMac.

 

[Luxtrau]

Oh sorry, I got you wrong. Hmm, the games you mentioned aren't very graphic intense. You should know that the iMac is able to render everything smoothly up to 1440p. Everything above that is too heavy, except old games. If gaming is your primary goal get a gaming pc. But you should also ask yourself "Does it need to be an iMac?". You can edit photos on a Windows machine too.

So a Windows gaming pc is the best choice I guess.

 

[Kyakou]

You do make a good point. To be frank, I've been using Windows for around 8 years (I'm 12 at the time or writing this) and I really want a change. Windows is getting old to me.
It's kinda hard for me to make a choice. I can either buy a gaming pc for super cheap and do my photo editing there, but then support and what not won't be good as opposed to getting an Apple product, or b), I can get an Apple product and not only have something that'll last me a long time, but since there are so few models and combinations compared to others, getting help is really easy.

 

[Luxtrau]

Ok, then have a try.
This years iMac generation is the first that is also capable of rendering games pretty decent.

 

[robjulo]

It can do better than 1440. I've had no issues running good, smooth FPS with BF1, Prepar3D v4, BF4 and ARMA3 at 2880.

Oh sorry, I got you wrong. Hmm, the games you mentioned aren't very graphic intense. You should know that the iMac is able to render everything smoothly up to 1440p. Everything above that is too heavy, except old games. If gaming is your primary goal get a gaming pc. But you should also ask yourself "Does it need to be an iMac?". You can edit photos on a Windows machine too.

So a Windows gaming pc is the best choice I guess.

 

[_Kiki_]

depends what you want, do you need MacOS or Windows? How about future upgrades, in iMac you can replace only memory, on desktop everything

 

[RUQRU]

I love Macs and that is all I use. However, for less money you can build a kickass Windows gaming rig with top shelf components that can be easily upgraded over time. So, it all you want is gaming then a hand built Windows machine is the most cost effective and highest performing.

Another option if you really want MacOS, build a Hacintosh and dual boot Windows for gaming.

 

[Luxtrau]

It can do better than 1440. I've had no issues running good, smooth FPS with BF1, Prepar3D v4, BF4 and ARMA3 at 2880.

I tried Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza Horizon 3 and Project Cars. They ran fine in 1440, but at 5k I got around 15fps. The games you mentioned are a bit older and because of that less intense, so I would say thats why they run good.

 

[Kyakou]

I'm not really that big of a PC gamer since I've got a console but I've been wondering about the performance of the Pro 570. Are there any GPUs like it so I might be able to get a feel of it's performance?

 

[Luxtrau]

I'm not really that big of a PC gamer since I've got a console but I've been wondering about the performance of the Pro 570. Are there any GPUs like it so I might be able to get a feel of it's performance?

If you really want to choose the iMac, you really should consider maxing out GPU, which means taking 580 Pro.

 

[Kyakou]

Hmm... is there any way beside: refurb that I can get an iMac cheaper?

 

[mrchrispy]

Ran up BF1 last night at 1440p with Medium settings, first impressions (only a 5 min play).....awesome, really happy
I still need to take a closer look at the gfx settings (should easily do HIGH) but out the box it was great.

I tried the Hackintosh root a few years back but it was too much hassle so it remained windows, i waited ages for them to release something that'd play games well enough and the 580 certainly ticks that box.

I went with the i5 580 + 512SSD so it's not cheap but its exactly what I want.
[doublepost=1504093009][/doublepost]educational discount. find yourself a friendly student

 

[Glideslope]

It can do better than 1440. I've had no issues running good, smooth FPS with BF1, Prepar3D v4, BF4 and ARMA3 at 2880.

What's you FPS on P3D? What resolution, windowed or full screen, detail levels? There is no way your getting anywhere near 50- 60fps at 2880 on High settings with a 2017 iMac 580 in Boot Crap.

 

[TransPNG]

I'm now using i5, 580, 2TB FD. (Standard Spec)
Playing Euro Trucks Simulator 2 in 1440p.
Just well, No lagging.

 

[Ph.D.]

The huge advantages that an iMac has over a PC "rig" is that unbelievable 5k screen plus the high physical quality control and smooth operating system. But an iMac isn't intended to be a gaming machine. Know what you are getting into.

That said, even the base 570 (27") is quite good in most games at 1440. Really! Borderlands series, Civ. V, Portal series, Enemy Unknown, and a whole bunch of other such titles that I have tried all run smoothly.

Don't get sucked into the top-spec model just because of a few games. Older games work great, and newer games are getting more efficient all the time. It's just a few particularly-inefficient games that are too demanding. For those, whip out your 1080ti and still suffer.

 

[BergerFan]

I thought about getting a Windows PC earlier this year, as there no Mac that was capable of VR gaming, due to the sub-optimal GPUs.
All that changed when I saw the WWDC keynote, where Industrial Light & Magic demonstrated how the 2017 27-inch iMac could pump out excellent VR visuals with the HTC Vive. I originally assumed that they were using the iMac Pro for the VR, as I wasn't paying enough attention when viewing it live.
Upon watching it again though, I noticed that it was indeed the 2017 27-inch iMac that they were using.
That got me to thinking: "Okay, so this iMac clearly has the CPU and GPU required for VR when native under macOS, but how does that translate to Windows?"

About 3 weeks after I purchased and took delivery of this iMac, I asked on this forum, on Reddit, and elsewhere, to see if someone had already tried VR with this iMac, but I came up short.
So, I decided to "find out for myself". I installed Windows 10 to a 500 GB partition of my 3TB total storage and installed a few Steam games (Doom demo, Assetto Corsa etc).
Those were running fine in 1440p with medium/high general settings, which was very nice indeed.

Then I noticed Oculus had VR sale going on, and without any prior confirmation of it working, I took the plunge and ordered a Rift CV1 - if it didn't work, I figured I could just return it, no problem.
After a few niggling issues with the default Bootcamp drivers(stuttering frame rates in VR), I discovered bootcampdrivers.com, which has optimised AMD Radeon 580 drivers. I installed those, and my VR performance was transformed.

TL;DR - this iMac saved me from buying a separate gaming PC, as I really didn't want to do that, and I now have an excellent dual-option machine.

 

[cynics]

I thought about getting a Windows PC earlier this year, as there no Mac that was capable of VR gaming, due to the sub-optimal GPUs.
All that changed when I saw the WWDC keynote, where Industrial Light & Magic demonstrated how the 2017 27-inch iMac could pump out excellent VR visuals with the HTC Vive. I originally assumed that they were using the iMac Pro for the VR, as I wasn't paying enough attention when viewing it live.
Upon watching it again though, I noticed that it was indeed the 2017 27-inch iMac that they were using.
That got me to thinking: "Okay, so this iMac clearly has the CPU and GPU required for VR when native under macOS, but how does that translate to Windows?"

About 3 weeks after I purchased and took delivery of this iMac, I asked on this forum, on Reddit, and elsewhere, to see if someone had already tried VR with this iMac, but I came up short.
So, I decided to "find out for myself". I installed Windows 10 to a 500 GB partition of my 3TB total storage and installed a few Steam games (Doom demo, Assetto Corsa etc).
Those were running fine in 1440p with medium/high general settings, which was very nice indeed.

Then I noticed Oculus had VR sale going on, and without any prior confirmation of it working, I took the plunge and ordered a Rift CV1 - if it didn't work, I figured I could just return it, no problem.
After a few niggling issues with the default Bootcamp drivers(stuttering frame rates in VR), I discovered bootcampdrivers.com, which has optimised AMD Radeon 580 drivers. I installed those, and my VR performance was transformed.

TL;DR - this iMac saved me from buying a separate gaming PC, as I really didn't want to do that, and I now have an excellent dual-option machine.

That is your video correct? Looks really good.

Assetto VR offers display quality options, in that video what were all your settings (resolution, anti aliasing, world detail, shadow resolution, etc etc)?

 

[BergerFan]

That is your video correct? Looks really good.

Assetto VR offers display quality options, in that video what were all your settings (resolution, anti aliasing, world detail, shadow resolution, etc etc)?

Yeah, the videos are mine. I can't remember the precise settings right now, but they're in the medium range.
The resolution was 1080p, but I haven't tried optimizing them yet, so I'm sure I can go higher in many areas, as I encounter no performance drops currently.

 

[snowtrooper1966]

I thought about getting a Windows PC earlier this year, as there no Mac that was capable of VR gaming, due to the sub-optimal GPUs.
All that changed when I saw the WWDC keynote, where Industrial Light & Magic demonstrated how the 2017 27-inch iMac could pump out excellent VR visuals with the HTC Vive. I originally assumed that they were using the iMac Pro for the VR, as I wasn't paying enough attention when viewing it live.
Upon watching it again though, I noticed that it was indeed the 2017 27-inch iMac that they were using.
That got me to thinking: "Okay, so this iMac clearly has the CPU and GPU required for VR when native under macOS, but how does that translate to Windows?"

About 3 weeks after I purchased and took delivery of this iMac, I asked on this forum, on Reddit, and elsewhere, to see if someone had already tried VR with this iMac, but I came up short.
So, I decided to "find out for myself". I installed Windows 10 to a 500 GB partition of my 3TB total storage and installed a few Steam games (Doom demo, Assetto Corsa etc).
Those were running fine in 1440p with medium/high general settings, which was very nice indeed.

Then I noticed Oculus had VR sale going on, and without any prior confirmation of it working, I took the plunge and ordered a Rift CV1 - if it didn't work, I figured I could just return it, no problem.
After a few niggling issues with the default Bootcamp drivers(stuttering frame rates in VR), I discovered bootcampdrivers.com, which has optimised AMD Radeon 580 drivers. I installed those, and my VR performance was transformed.

TL;DR - this iMac saved me from buying a separate gaming PC, as I really didn't want to do that, and I now have an excellent dual-option machine.

Curious about your take on using Steam on iMac. My 11 year old used it quite a bit under his user profile on our old late 2012 MacMini that our new 2017 27" iMac replaced, but I am (perhaps baselessly so) leery of downloading any browser based games on the new. We had adware creep into the system a few years ago, and had tracked it down to his user profile.

Also gutted that Star Wars Battlefront and the upcoming II appears to be PC only. I do not want to use any system resources on running PC emulator for a game.....

 

[cynics]

Curious about your take on using Steam on iMac. My 11 year old used it quite a bit under his user profile on our old late 2012 MacMini that our new 2017 27" iMac replaced, but I am (perhaps baselessly so) leery of downloading any browser based games on the new. We had adware creep into the system a few years ago, and had tracked it down to his user profile.

Also gutted that Star Wars Battlefront and the upcoming II appears to be PC only. I do not want to use any system resources on running PC emulator for a game.....

Browser based?

Download Steam and then download your games from that.

I apologize if I'm missing something here....lol

 

[BergerFan]

Curious about your take on using Steam on iMac. My 11 year old used it quite a bit under his user profile on our old late 2012 MacMini that our new 2017 27" iMac replaced, but I am (perhaps baselessly so) leery of downloading any browser based games on the new. We had adware creep into the system a few years ago, and had tracked it down to his user profile.

Also gutted that Star Wars Battlefront and the upcoming II appears to be PC only. I do not want to use any system resources on running PC emulator for a game.....

There's a dedicated Steam client. There's no browser games - they're fully native.

 

[Ledgem]

Hello!
I've been looking into purchasing a 2017 iMac. I'm coming from a Dell Inspiron 17r (it's basically 17 inch laptop with a really crappy intel processor and intel hd graphics, I've been using it for the last 6 years) and I'm a casual gamer. I'm looking to play games like Warframe and Team Fortress, but I'm wondering if I should get a gaming computer instead of a 5k iMac. I do a lot of photo editing. If you can, please tell me how your gaming performance and over all experience is on your iMac, and any issues.

Some other things to think about are based around your software. Most people are focusing on the gaming, but you're talking about making the switch from Windows to Mac. Does the photo-editing software you're using even exist on the Mac? Will it require purchasing an expensive new license? Are there other Windows features you'd need to replace if you moved to Mac?

For gaming, building your own (or even buying a pre-made system) and running Windows is still superior. The ability to upgrade things yourself is still more economical and gives you better performance than what is available from Apple. That may change a bit with Thunderbolt 3 and support for external graphics cards, but we'll have to see; estimations are that it still won't be able to match internal graphics cards.

For casual gaming, the iMac is fine... for general usage, the iMac is fine... and there's something to be said for being proficient in multiple operating systems. You can always virtualize Windows if you need to, as well (which is what I did when I transitioned from Windows to Mac a decade ago - basically lived in Parallels for that first week or two, and gradually did more on the Mac side). But "Windows is getting old" doesn't strike me as a great argument for taking the plunge to transition over to the Mac side of things.

Unless you can find some compelling reason for your own usage to switch over to Mac, my advice would be to save money and upgrade your Windows computer. A computer built for gaming will be fine for editing photos from standard consumer cameras, as well.

 

[Kyakou]

Thank you for all the answers I'm really considering getting a gaming PC instead, but for some reason my dad reall, really hates Windows. If I got a gaming PC, would I be able to dual boot Windows and Hackintosh and is Hackintosh stable? I really don't want to spend $3000 (I'm in Canada)