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Blizzard Games on OSX

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invader56

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 5, 2009
2
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Im thinking about purchasing a mac, the only thing that is stopping me is starcraft 2. Once this game comes out and im 100% sure it works on Mac I will buy one, if not ill have to buy a pc then a mac later....

Whats everyone's blizzard gaming like today? I could care less about anything else like the sims or what ever just blizzard
 
Even if they don't support it (which I don't believe because blizzard has always supported both systems) you can run windows apps in many ways on your mac.
And for that purpose an iMac would be a great option!
 
@invader : no one knows but Rob Barris, the main leader of the Blizzard mac team said that SC2 will run on any Intel Mac as long as it has a real GPU (not Intel GMA)... Now of course it doesnt mean that a 9400 IGP will run SC2 fully maxed but at least it will :)
 
Go with what you can afford, but always try to save enough for a dedicated GPU. You can get a refurbished Alu MBpro or a refurbished imac for a decent price. Why settle for "I can run it" as opposed to "I can run it smooth as butter". SC2 is not out yet so try to wait and save is my advice, that's what I'm doing.

Just my 2cents, good luck.:)
 
Blizzard is pretty popular so they might have simultaneous (or near) release of both platforms. But they are not known for meeting their announced schedules so it’s possible for them to release well into next year. They don’t depend on things like holiday seasons and favor “personal days” like anniversaries of their own history.

I’m going to take a guess at this future, but what I think is that it might incorporate multi-touch interaction. So if you are planning to have a good chance on battle.net, you might consider this. If they don't do it natively, someone will...but mostly on Windows 7 I would guess.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg8yuSKN5aM
 
rasmasyean said:
Blizzard is pretty popular so they might have simultaneous (or near) release of both platforms. But they are not known for meeting their announced schedules so it’s possible for them to release well into next year. They don’t depend on things like holiday seasons and favor “personal days” like anniversaries of their own history.

I’m going to take a guess at this future, but what I think is that it might incorporate multi-touch interaction. So if you are planning to have a good chance on battle.net, you might consider this. If they don't do it natively, someone will...but mostly on Windows 7 I would guess.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg8yuSKN5aM
Click to expand...

Blizzard WILL release simultaneously, they have already announced that.

And I highly doubt there will be any sort of multi-touch interface. There are only a couple of computers that support a touch interface. Blizzard wants to maximize their sales, not limit to a tiny handful of people.
 
spencecb said:
Blizzard WILL release simultaneously, they have already announced that.

And I highly doubt there will be any sort of multi-touch interface. There are only a couple of computers that support a touch interface. Blizzard wants to maximize their sales, not limit to a tiny handful of people.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but that WCIII demo you saw wasn't planned by Blizzard either. If someone has a better keyboard/mouse combo than you, they have an edge. So if they have a multitouch interface with custom control of SC2, they will have a bigger edge. ;)


Here's some Korean Style broadcast in HD...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LERxOtIMif4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDFp6ENWNVA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSwqDPNS7dM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsIySPO-mGY
 
invader56 said:
Im thinking about purchasing a mac, the only thing that is stopping me is starcraft 2. Once this game comes out and im 100% sure it works on Mac I will buy one, if not ill have to buy a pc then a mac later....

Whats everyone's blizzard gaming like today? I could care less about anything else like the sims or what ever just blizzard
Click to expand...

They've been demoing this game since May 2008. While the art has changed, I do not believe the graphics texture count or resolution has gone up at all (although I think they have simplified the CPU requirements -- no longer do we see Warp Ray parts sliding down the ramp after destruction). As such, your worst case scenario is "top of the line PC" in May 2008. Slide that forward another year, and I think we're sitting in a nice place. Nvidia made some major inroads with their chipsets in Mac products, and several have seen a CPU bump. No longer is Apple constraining its customers with Intel GMA.

I'm not 100% certain my 3.06GHz 24" nVidia iMac will be able to do SC2 with full graphics options, but it should be better than "good enough".
 
chrysrobyn said:
They've been demoing this game since May 2008. While the art has changed, I do not believe the graphics texture count or resolution has gone up at all (although I think they have simplified the CPU requirements -- no longer do we see Warp Ray parts sliding down the ramp after destruction). As such, your worst case scenario is "top of the line PC" in May 2008. Slide that forward another year, and I think we're sitting in a nice place. Nvidia made some major inroads with their chipsets in Mac products, and several have seen a CPU bump. No longer is Apple constraining its customers with Intel GMA.

I'm not 100% certain my 3.06GHz 24" nVidia iMac will be able to do SC2 with full graphics options, but it should be better than "good enough".
Click to expand...

It all depends on how you want to play. If you want to compete, that 0.1 second lag counts.
 
invader56 said:
Can you give me like a rough guess as to which mac i should purchase for starcraft 2 and diablo 3?
Click to expand...

Get a top of the line Imac or a mac pro and maybe upgrade the video card. I would recommend the mac pro though if your going to be seriously gaming personally I have blizzard games on my mac and I have yet to expierience a problem with any of them.
 
IMO I'd would get something a bit beefier than the 9400m thats in the lower end laptops, mac mini, and iMac. It will most likely be fully playable (but not maxed out) on the 9400m but I wouldn't expect high settings. Even with my MBP's 9600m WoW can dip below 20fps while in Wintergrasp or Ulduar as an example so I would guess SC2 would see large dips when being zerg rushed. :p

As others have suggested a Macbook Pro, higher end iMac, or Mac Pro would be best as a gaming mac (I never thought I'd say those words as a "pc gamer" :D )
 
When i used to play wow it ran better under OSX than XP.

A basic macpro with a good GPU, or a higher-spec'd iMac would be my pick.... personally.... MACPRO.

Depends if you can deduct it on tax or not.
 
As someone already pointed out, rbarris from blizzard previously stated that any of the intel macs with dedicated gpu would do, which includes the x1600 iMacs. That means a MB with 9400 should be able to run it, although it might not run fast enough for someone very demanding.

Myself, I picked up a MB instead of a MBP, since it's smaller, cheaper and hopefully should be able to run SC2 satisfactory.

Depending on your economic situation and whether you want a laptop or not, I would buy an iMac with 4850 GPU, a MBP or a MB.

Whatever you do, do not buy a Mac Pro. They will only be slightly faster than a top specced iMac, and that's only if they are specced correspondingly. And they cost a lot more.

You can see comparisons between different iMacs and Mac Pro at http://barefeats.com/ .
As you can see, 4850 is a much, much faster GPU than GT120/130.
 
How about the new Mac Mini

Hi Folks -

This seems to be the best place to ask this. Does anyone have experience with playing World of Warcraft (latest expansions - Wrath of the Lich King included) on a newer Mac Mini?

My 63 year-old mother (yes, MOTHER) plays WoW on an older DELL and when it goes, I'd like to switch her to a Mac, but I really don't want to pay for the iMac if I can get away with a newer Mini.

Will she be able to play decently on the Mini?

Thanks!
 
Blizzard games always run great on Macs because they are built for both operating systems from the start. Never had a problem with a Blizzard game going all the way back to Diablo 1.

The closest thing Apple has to a gaming machine without breaking the bank would be the 2.93 iMac with 4gb ram upgraded with the 4850 gpu (<$2000, and even less if you are a student). Look on youtube for "iMac 4850" and you will see it running some games very well. It even can run a slightly toned down Crysis ar playable speeds, so it should handle anything Blizzard puts out hands down.

(Yes, we all know you can build a gaming PC for less with better parts. This is the Mac games forum, which is why we talk about Macs here.)
 
invader56 said:
Whats everyone's blizzard gaming like today? I could care less about anything else like the sims or what ever just blizzard
Click to expand...

There are a lot of employees at Blizzard who are huge Mac fans. It's been over 10 years since Blizzard hasn't done a simultaneous release - that was the first Starcraft. As previously stated in this thread, SCII will be a simulataneous Mac/Windows release (probably on the same disk). Diablo III will be no different.

Just get the best graphics card you can afford which will offer the most longevity. And keep in mind one of the key aspects of Blizzard's success - their games have never, ever been designed to run exclusively on top of the line systems. Yes, if you want every bell & whistle you'll need a more powerful machine but they make their games a quality experience for Mac's/PC's that are five years old.

I have an '08 24" iMac with the 8800 graphics and I'm a part of the SC2 beta. Once that starts, I'll post thoughts on the performance.
 
tYsopz said:
As someone already pointed out, rbarris from blizzard previously stated that any of the intel macs with dedicated gpu would do, which includes the x1600 iMacs. That means a MB with 9400 should be able to run it, although it might not run fast enough for someone very demanding.
Click to expand...


Cool nice to know Rbarris has specifically said that. Means I can play my gf on her Mac! :)
 
powersurge said:
IMO I'd would get something a bit beefier than the 9400m thats in the lower end laptops, mac mini, and iMac. It will most likely be fully playable (but not maxed out) on the 9400m but I wouldn't expect high settings. Even with my MBP's 9600m WoW can dip below 20fps while in Wintergrasp or Ulduar as an example so I would guess SC2 would see large dips when being zerg rushed. :p

As others have suggested a Macbook Pro, higher end iMac, or Mac Pro would be best as a gaming mac (I never thought I'd say those words as a "pc gamer" :D )
Click to expand...

WoW is a crazy resource-hog, I dipped down to 15fps in Wintergrasp the other day. I won't normally go below 30fps on UT3 at max settings.
 
CJM said:
WoW is a crazy resource-hog, I dipped down to 15fps in Wintergrasp the other day. I won't normally go below 30fps on UT3 at max settings.
Click to expand...

This is what concerns me. If you get fps-challenged with your hardware, I'm wondering how a new Mac Mini (with 9600m graphics) would fare? How about if I bumped the RAM to 4GB?

Anyone have experience with their new Mini playing WoW? Low settings? High settings? In Dalaran? :cool:
 
While I haven't played WoW on a mini, it has pretty much the same specs as a low-end aluminum Macbook/Macbook Pro with a 9400M IGP, so the performance should be about the same.
 
savvos said:
While I haven't played WoW on a mini, it has pretty much the same specs as a low-end aluminum Macbook/Macbook Pro with a 9400M IGP, so the performance should be about the same.
Click to expand...

I hope so - or for it to be even better if I pimp it out with more RAM! I'd like to pull the trigger on a Mac Mini if it will serve Mom well ... but if not ... I may have to buy another DELL. :(
 
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