Base i3 27" iMac is horrendous in gaming, my options?

[The Final Cut]

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So I went from a 24" 8800GS iMac to this and lost all performance . With my old Mac I easily maxed L4D2 and mass effect and now i can't even run L4D 1 on high settings. I threw more ram for a total of 6GB. Performance is great but gaming is a joke on this thing. Assuming I can sell it for $1200 where do I go from here? I don't want to drop another $1000 on the 6970 iMac. But I want to max

Fallout 3
Mass effect
Bioshock
Borderlands
L4D

I am convinced that this resolution has ruined gaming for me...

 

[Squicken]

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It should be able to run those games..

 

[The Final Cut]

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I mean it runs then but poorly or at the most
Medicore... Maybe I will give it another try later...

 

[NutsNGum]

OSX or Windows 7 on bootcamp?

 

[The Final Cut]

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Both. CSS in Mac is getting 25-30 fps maxed l4d In Windows is the same frame rate about.

 

[macman1man]

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Performance is great but gaming is a joke on this thing.

Build a gaming PC or buy an xbox/PS3... Mac is probably the last thing on the list if gaming is your priority... Did you not know this before buying?

 

[peskaa]

You're suprised at this? You made a huge jump in resolution (from 1920x1200 to 2560x1440), whilst getting a GPU that was probably about the same in terms of performance, if not worse. That 60% increase in pixels is going to kill your frame rates.

The obvious solution is to simply drop the resolution in-game to 1920x1080. Beyond that, a new computer.


EDIT: Apple always dicks over the base 27" for gaming performance, but it was the same for the 24" models - just not as noticeable as the increase in resolution from 1680x1050 to 1920x1200 wasn't as great. With the iMacs it has always been you have to get the top end model for anything approaching decent gaming performance - as you did when you got the BTO only 8800GS.

 

[leman]

Reduce the resolution to 1080p. Its not realistic to expect to play modern games at native resolution with that GPU. The high-end iMac does a better job at native resolution, but I won't expect it to run demanding games. Anyway, 1080p is your best bet.

 

[krazzix]

If you want to play everything maxed out on native resolution, just don't be cheap on yourself and get the 27" iMac with the 6970M GPU, i just got this machine and i can play all new games on max and i will probably be able to that for a few years.

Spending alot a few times is mostly better than spending few alot of times imho

 

[qzxyu]

This is prolly a very dumb question I am sure, but I am getting the base 27" with the 6770 and was wondering if it is going to make playing counter strike terrible. I dont game except maybe a few hours a week and counter strike is the only game I play. Since the game i so old, will this eff up the FPS or pixel it out?

 

[jvmxtra]

Is building a pc to run on imac's beautiful screen not an option for you?
Should be able to build a decent gaming pc w/ about 600 bucks or so.

 

[mrfoof82]

This is prolly a very dumb question I am sure, but I am getting the base 27" with the 6770 and was wondering if it is going to make playing counter strike terrible.

CounterStrike 1.6 or CounterStrike Source? The former would run at 2560x1440 just fine. The latter? Not so much -- expect to knock your resolution down to 1920x1080.

In all seriousness folks, most gaming rigs people build don't run at 2560x1440. Yes. You heard me. Most people are running somewhere between 1280x1024 and 1920x1080 (70% are in this range, with the majority at 1440x900 or lower) and are just fine with it. (Steam Hardware and Software Survey) The ones that do run at very high resolutions (or on multiple displays) are A) spending a lot more than $800 on a custom-built PC and B) are dealing with the noise and very high power draws -- it's not uncommon for SLI and CrossFire setups to be kicking in the 550-750W power draw range, not the ~175W of a decked out 27" iMac at 60% brightness.

Let's also keep in mind that iMacs have mobile GPUs, not desktop GPUs. This is because desktop GPUs pull down several times more power, which the iMac doesn't have the space to dissipate. The 6970M is no slouch, but quite a ways away from a desktop version of a 6970, and does not compare to a 6990 or a CrossFire setup.

If you want to run games at very high settings on an iMac, the 6970M is your only choice. In some cases, some folks have even overclocked their iMac's GPU to run games like Metro 2033 and Crysis 2 at very high resolutions (considering it's a mobile GPU) and settings and still maintain a 40fps average.

 

[jvmxtra]

so why not buy dedicated gaming console?

 

[Mr Rogers]

Not sure what you're complaining about, graphics on 2010 iMacs suck full stop.

That said, you can try over clocking the GPU - loads of stuff on these boards about that - this may give a 15% speed boost.

Maybe system is set-up wrong, move to Lion, do a clean install and see how you progress from there.

Best advice, do not think of your 27in iMac as a computer, think of it as an expensive HQ monitor with a Macbook strapped to the back, in which case, get an Xbox or PS3 - I've got an Xbox360 Kinect for good price but using 2011 iMacs currently, you can actually link to your Xbox on your 2010 with a bit of tweaking - games look awesome.

Just change your mindset, even with low specs its a great monitor - its just not too brilliant for playing games I'm afraid.

For your info, I'm getting this same model for a great price used, and I have no complaints - I say this as someone with two high end 2011 i7's - its a brilliant family machine and great second monitor, so take a deep breath and smile, you'll soon be happy with your purchase.