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Alu Macbook - COD4 Settings?

nope7308

nope7308

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 6, 2008
1,040
537
Ontario, Canada
I've heard that COD 4 is demanding from a hardware perspective, so what are the best settings for optimal play? That is, where is the balance between good FPS and 'eye candy' (for lack of a better term)? My configuration is in my sig and COD 4 should be arriving today in the mail.

Keep in mind that I'm a complete noob with gaming... this is my first game in over 5(ish) years. I'm really excited in a nerdy kind of way!

Thanks for the help!
 
New to Macs, but I've been a competitive PC gamer for years. The specs for COD4 were really not that demanding as it was developed in DirectX 9. Gaming is much, much more GPU dependent, do you happen to know what that is for your rig?

FWIW, I always detract from recommended settings in order to get more frames per second. In competitive play, it's quite the norm to run at lowest settings even on high end rigs. Kinda cheap, especially when game designed "dark areas" are bright as day. If you're going to play single player, and COD4 does have an excellent one at that, play at a resolution that makes you happy. Adjust the AA if your computer can handle it. You'll prolly need to tone it down if you're going to play online.
 
First try medium settings with AA off, if it isn't smooth then go low but if it does feel smooth turn AA on at 2x. Also, put the res on the 2nd lowest one.

ChrisN
 
Thanks for the replies, but I have a few follow-up questions.

First, I'm running the nVidia 9400 in the new Aluminum MB. Now, I realize that this is not a gaming machine (bought it for other reasons), but it sounds like you two are recommending that I keep the settings extremely low. Is this just for improved MP gaming (i.e. higher FPS), or is this because my machine can't handle the detail at medium/high settings?

Finally, what is AA?
 
Sorry to ramble, but I have two very simple questions.

1) Is there a no-cd patch for COD4 Mac? I want to avoid the torrent-crack because I had problems with MP when I tried it.
2) Is there a copy of Return to Castle Wolfenstein (RTCW) for Mac floating around anywhere? I have a legit copy for Windows, but I can't find a working rip for the OS X version. The one available via torrents crashes in MP.

Thanks again for the help.
 
nope7308: yes you have to insert the CD (and yes i know that sucks) but that's how it's been in the gaming world for quiet some time now....

I to have the new macbook unibody model (Aluminum) and let me just say no matter what settings HIGH or LOW game play (both single player or multi player) is choppy :mad:

so choppy that i can't bare to play it it's like every 7 or 8 secs it jerks

i'm hoping for a patch to fix this because i really wanted to play this game on a mac

i think the problem is the HD on these models, they come stock with 5400 RPM drives..... which would explain the choppiness in game play maybe a 7200 rpm would do the trick.....
 
overcast said:
You're trying to play Call of Duty 4 on a laptop on a 9400M, what do you honestly expect?

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/apple-macbook-2008.aspx?page=3

At 1280x800 with everything off they were only getting 18.5fps, with frequent drops to 11fps.

The hard drive is not helping but it's certainly not the cause. Laptops are not for gaming. No patch is going to fix that, a faster graphics card will.

http://optimitza.cat/news/2008/10/16/nvidia-geforce-9400m-benchmarks/
Click to expand...
The MacBook isn't a hardcore gaming machine and it's not intended to be one, the 9400M will do alright with old and some new but I can't see the MacBook playing many new first person shooters but the MacBook Pro is a different story.

ChrisN
 
nope7308 said:
I've heard that COD 4 is demanding from a hardware perspective, so what are the best settings for optimal play? That is, where is the balance between good FPS and 'eye candy' (for lack of a better term)? My configuration is in my sig and COD 4 should be arriving today in the mail.

Keep in mind that I'm a complete noob with gaming... this is my first game in over 5(ish) years. I'm really excited in a nerdy kind of way!

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

The Alu MacBook will handle COD4 just fine. My Asus N10J netbook with Intel Atom 1.6Ghz and NVidia 9300m plays it at low-medium details and AA off no problems. Beautiful game. You won't be disappointed.
 
nope7308 said:
First, I'm running the nVidia 9400 in the new Aluminum MB. Now, I realize that this is not a gaming machine (bought it for other reasons), but it sounds like you two are recommending that I keep the settings extremely low. Is this just for improved MP gaming (i.e. higher FPS), or is this because my machine can't handle the detail at medium/high settings?
Click to expand...

Someone listed the laptop review with COD4 at OPTIMAL (you'd have to research what these are for the site; for PCs, it's usually set on highest settings).

What I was saying is that for Single Player, start with the recommended settings and work from there. Game running slow/lags? Tone down the settings. Online play - set your settings as low as possible, with discretion for your "eye candy." You'll get more frames this way, very important.

nope7308 said:
Finally, what is AA?
Click to expand...

Anti-Aliasing. Basically a smoothing of the edges. At high settings it greatly slows the game down. If you ever want to see true eye candy, get to know someone with a very high end PC gaming rig. Crysis on max settings and AA maxed is an unbelievably beautiful game.
 
overcast said:
You're trying to play Call of Duty 4 on a laptop on a 9400M, what do you honestly expect?

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/apple-macbook-2008.aspx?page=3

At 1280x800 with everything off they were only getting 18.5fps, with frequent drops to 11fps.

The hard drive is not helping but it's certainly not the cause. Laptops are not for gaming. No patch is going to fix that, a faster graphics card will.

http://optimitza.cat/news/2008/10/16/nvidia-geforce-9400m-benchmarks/
Click to expand...

Just to let you guys know installing it on XP via bootcamp makes it playable on the same system.... it doesn't jerk as much, almost unnoticeable!!! ;)

looks like a sloppy job porting it over to the mac native side :mad:

i guess i'll have to boot in XP mode in order to enjoy this game

hopefully future releases won't have these problems
 
killasapo said:
nope7308: yes you have to insert the CD (and yes i know that sucks) but that's how it's been in the gaming world for quiet some time now....

I to have the new macbook unibody model (Aluminum) and let me just say no matter what settings HIGH or LOW game play (both single player or multi player) is choppy :mad:

so choppy that i can't bare to play it it's like every 7 or 8 secs it jerks

i'm hoping for a patch to fix this because i really wanted to play this game on a mac

i think the problem is the HD on these models, they come stock with 5400 RPM drives..... which would explain the choppiness in game play maybe a 7200 rpm would do the trick.....
Click to expand...

I assumed you turned off the AA? Also, NVidia just released new drivers for their mobile GPUs 8000 series and up, these may help. Kinda ticks me off because I have an Alienware laptop with dual 7950s in SLI.
 
Scuall said:
I assumed you turned off the AA? Also, NVidia just released new drivers for their mobile GPUs 8000 series and up, these may help. Kinda ticks me off because I have an Alienware laptop with dual 7950s in SLI.
Click to expand...

do you have a link to these new drivers.....

looking on the nvidia web site all i see is a 9400M G drivers which to my understanding isn't what we have in the new macbook unibody systems


thank you for your time

P.S. Yes AA is off as well as any other settings that i could have lowered
 
cod4 works fine on my macbook alum.


you guys went out and actually bought the game right... just making sure you arnt using a bootleg version or free version...because all bets are off the table with those.
 
killasapo said:
do you have a link to these new drivers.....

looking on the nvidia web site all i see is a 9400M G drivers which to my understanding isn't what we have in the new macbook unibody systems


thank you for your time

P.S. Yes AA is off as well as any other settings that i could have lowered
Click to expand...

What is the exact GPU you have in the macbook?
 
overcast said:
You're trying to play Call of Duty 4 on a laptop on a 9400M, what do you honestly expect?

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/apple-macbook-2008.aspx?page=3

At 1280x800 with everything off they were only getting 18.5fps, with frequent drops to 11fps.

The hard drive is not helping but it's certainly not the cause. Laptops are not for gaming. No patch is going to fix that, a faster graphics card will.

http://optimitza.cat/news/2008/10/16/nvidia-geforce-9400m-benchmarks/
Click to expand...

Thats nonsense, ;) CoD4 isn't *that* high end that it shouldn't work. Granted I'm on a MBP but I've run the game on the 9400 and its fine...unless other factors (L2 cache, processor etc) are at play here it should be fine on the new MBs.
 
iOrlando said:
cod4 works fine on my macbook alum.


you guys went out and actually bought the game right... just making sure you arnt using a bootleg version or free version...because all bets are off the table with those.
Click to expand...


please don't insult me


but that wouldn't matter "retail" or "bootleg" 9 times out of 10 they are one to one images


please post your spec's as to see why your Legit version works better then my legit version please
 
You shouldn't need the DVD in the drive if you're only playing Multiplayer - I don't under Windows, at least. Anyone corroborate this?
 
killasapo said:
Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
Type: Display
Bus: PCI
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0863
Revision ID: 0x00b1
ROM Revision: 3343
Click to expand...

You're correct, only saw Windows drivers for that card. One other option (at your own risk and discretion) is to go to Insanely Mac and see if an updated and converted driver is available there. It's a pretty common card, so I wouldn't be surprised if its available.
 
I had a feeling that this thread might degenerate into a debate about the gaming capabilities of the MB...

I know the MB is not designed for gaming; that is not why I purchased the machine. I bought the game because I wanted to kill some free time whenever I had the chance. In all likelihood, I will buy a desktop Mac in the next 3/4 years, so I will be able to run the game at full settings then.

ANYWAY

If someone could answer the two questions that I posted, it would be greatly appreciated. The questions were:
1) Is there a no-cd patch for the Mac version of COD4? The cracked version works without a CD, so how do I get the legit version to do the same?
2) Is there a working copy of RTCW for Mac floating around anywhere? I have a legit key, so I just need a proper rip. Currently, the only one available via torrents doesn't work in MP.

Thanks!

P.S. I've tinkered with the settings and I max at about 40-45 fps in MP. Is that acceptable given my hardware config? Some people are WAY too good at COD4!
 
nope7308 said:
P.S. I've tinkered with the settings and I max at about 40-45 fps in MP. Is that acceptable given my hardware config? Some people are WAY too good at COD4!
Click to expand...

40-45 is great for the MB, what settings are you playing on? Lowest res and low everything else?

ChrisN
 
There is a game review for CoD4: MW at macgamers.tk
It should tell you pretty much everything you want to know.
 
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