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adamtj11

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 26, 2011
418
41
Belfast
Interested to know if anyone is daring enough to load it on and try it on friday, severely doubt it'll even run, but would be great if it ran on low settings even! Would love it to but not holding out for it, any ideas, I know the intel hd 3000 is crap for gaming and all, but on my MBA I can run Oblivion pretty well.
 
I may give it a go. I think this one might be better optimized than some of the newer games and should also work on the 2011 model. I would think that they want to get this in the hands as many notebook gamers as possible. I wouldn't mind getting it for the console but it's more accessible to me on my Air. Btw, I am currently playing the Witcher 2 at 28-30 fps and enjoying it, but the resolution is pretty awful on the Air to get the framerates up. I really enjoy playing these action RPGs on my Air versus worrying about having my kid exposed to some of the violent parts.
 
I may give it a go. I think this one might be better optimized than some of the newer games and should also work on the 2011 model. I would think that they want to get this in the hands as many notebook gamers as possible. I wouldn't mind getting it for the console but it's more accessible to me on my Air. Btw, I am currently playing the Witcher 2 at 28-30 fps and enjoying it, but the resolution is pretty awful on the Air to get the framerates up. I really enjoy playing these action RPGs on my Air versus worrying about having my kid exposed to some of the violent parts.

Yeah I hope your right, I would like it on the Air so I can sit somewhere away from the couch (as great an experience as that is), I would love to try it for the modding capability, I mean all the Airs meet the minimum requirements Except for the Graphics at 512mb, but I'm sure on Low enough settings the air will play it decently. Will try someones steam copy before I buy it myself on the Air. Im not expecting high frame rates at all, but hopefully playable non the less!
 
Your post got me thinking hard about getting Skyrim on Friday. I am trying to figure out if any stores are giving a discount on it or should I just buy it off Steam? I played Oblivion on the original Xbox and loved the game. I think Skyrim and Batman AC will be the only games I play on my Air over the next 6 months! :D
 
It would probably be playable on the 2010 model, but I doubt the 2011 can handle this game.
 
The problem is, the HD3000 driver under windows is not well programmed and needs an update, that's why you can forget to play new games on your 2011 Air under windows. GTA4 and Mass Effects2 for example run fine on the 2010 Air under windows, but these games are unplayable on the 2011 model.
 
I just read a review from PC Gamer and it seems as though the graphics are extremely well optimized to run on all sorts of machines. They said that if you can run at high settings for Oblivion at 50-60 fps then you should get 30-40 on high for Skyrim. My guess is that both the 2011 and 2010 should be able to get awesome visuals with framerates at 30 or higher. I am definitely getting this.
 
Skyrim Works but not great on a Maxed 2010 13 inch MBA

Hello All:

I am running Windows 7 64 bit with bootcamp.

I thought I'd reply here since I was also interested to see if Skyrim would run on a MBA. Mine is Dual Core 2.13 4 GB of ram / Geforce 320m 256.

After a short play (30 minutes), I've found that I can play Skyrim on low settings with a FPS fluctuating from 25-33. On occasion, it deeps lower than that but just for a second. On medium settings (which is recommends at the start), more slow down occurs but if you are willing, you could probably play it on medium.

Overall, even on low, it is a pretty game. I have it on PS3 (coming tomorrow) but wanted to do it on MBA because it is easier to play over the holidays and while the wife is watching TV.

I do not know how to capture video but if you want me to figure it out, I can try later.
 
vintagejoel: I'd be interested to hear how it compares to the PS3. I'm currently weekly commuting for work, so I'm only home with my PS3 on the weekends, so a playable game on my 2011 MacBook Air in Bootcamp would be ideal. Otherwise I'm going to have to spend a bit more and get a working setup for my PS3 at my home away from home.
 
vintagejoel: I'd be interested to hear how it compares to the PS3. I'm currently weekly commuting for work, so I'm only home with my PS3 on the weekends, so a playable game on my 2011 MacBook Air in Bootcamp would be ideal. Otherwise I'm going to have to spend a bit more and get a working setup for my PS3 at my home away from home.

I have played it on my 2011 MacBook air this morning on medium settings, I am glad to inform that it is playable and looks amazing, low and it will fly but for me medium is a sweet spot. when I get home from College I will post a video of it running if anyone is interested.
 
Hello All:

I am running Windows 7 64 bit with bootcamp.

I thought I'd reply here since I was also interested to see if Skyrim would run on a MBA. Mine is Dual Core 2.13 4 GB of ram / Geforce 320m 256.

After a short play (30 minutes), I've found that I can play Skyrim on low settings with a FPS fluctuating from 25-33. On occasion, it deeps lower than that but just for a second. On medium settings (which is recommends at the start), more slow down occurs but if you are willing, you could probably play it on medium.

Overall, even on low, it is a pretty game. I have it on PS3 (coming tomorrow) but wanted to do it on MBA because it is easier to play over the holidays and while the wife is watching TV.

I do not know how to capture video but if you want me to figure it out, I can try later.

Thanks for the update! What resolution are you playing this and getting those fps? If you get 1440x900 at low settings and 25-33 fps, that would be perfect. I am sure the ps3 version would still not be as pretty as how it looks on the Air!
 
MacBook Pro?

Hey guys, this thread almost made me go crazy! I'm shaking right now. I have a MacBook Pro 2010 13', I exceed you requirements, Joe, except for the L2 cache- I have 3gb of it. I can still run it, right?
 
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I have the 2011 13" air and game runs smooth on low settings and it looks good with some tweaking in the ini file. I play this on my pc which is a lot better but only downside is that the game doesn't save on steam cloud. Can't really hop back and forth.
 
I have the 2011 13" air and game runs smooth on low settings and it looks good with some tweaking in the ini file. I play this on my pc which is a lot better but only downside is that the game doesn't save on steam cloud. Can't really hop back and forth.

Does the retail version work on Steam? What resolution are you playing it on your air?
 
Just bought it at Target! I stayed away from buying it on Steam due to the latest issue. Target gave me a $10 gift card with my purchase. I'll report back later tonight how it runs at 1440x900 at medium (with some tweaking hopefully) and using gamebooster.
 
Thanks for the update! What resolution are you playing this and getting those fps? If you get 1440x900 at low settings and 25-33 fps, that would be perfect. I am sure the ps3 version would still not be as pretty as how it looks on the Air!

1400 * 900. Sorry for leaving that out. I was half asleep when posting.

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Does the retail version work on Steam? What resolution are you playing it on your air?

Yes. I bought mine at bestbuy last night. I wanted the physical map.

You are required to log in and play it on steam (I think).

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vintagejoel: I'd be interested to hear how it compares to the PS3. I'm currently weekly commuting for work, so I'm only home with my PS3 on the weekends, so a playable game on my 2011 MacBook Air in Bootcamp would be ideal. Otherwise I'm going to have to spend a bit more and get a working setup for my PS3 at my home away from home.

I'll try and do a comparison today. It depends on when UPS delivers it. I have a college hockey game tonight so it may have to wait until tomorrow (why do I have two games this weekend? Why this weekend? Why!).
 
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