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Considering an iMac for home ( casual gaming )

F

Fouracre44

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 6, 2012
114
0
Hi guys,

I've just moved into a new house with my girlfriend, she needs a computer and was going to buy a desktop from JB hi fi when I told her that seing as I have no need for a laptop, we could save a bit of money and buy one together as we both work too much to use the computer all the time anyway.We both loved the iMac, and I have convinced her that Mac is easy enough to learn and use so she agreed to go halves with me.

There are several things that this pc will be used for, she's into photography a little bit, I also do some music production & recording ( for leisure, not work ) and lastly a little bit of gaming. We are both console gamers usually, but we don't own a console and I'm waiting for the ps4 :)

I still really need to chill out occasionally, and I do that by either going to the gym, reading a book or playing a game. I want to be able to play steam games off an imac. Will that be possible via bootcamp and running windows or is this not reccommended? Not hardcore gaming, just the casual game of borderlands, maybe a little bit of battlefield 3.

Cheers guys ;)
 
Im in the same situation.. Looking to maybe buy a 27 Imac with SSD, to use it for photos and maybe bootcamp Microsoft FSX .. How would flight simulator work in bootcamp? Drivers for the video card etc etc? Thanks!!
 
Fouracre44 said:
Hi guys,

I've just moved into a new house with my girlfriend, she needs a computer and was going to buy a desktop from JB hi fi when I told her that seing as I have no need for a laptop, we could save a bit of money and buy one together as we both work too much to use the computer all the time anyway.We both loved the iMac, and I have convinced her that Mac is easy enough to learn and use so she agreed to go halves with me.

There are several things that this pc will be used for, she's into photography a little bit, I also do some music production & recording ( for leisure, not work ) and lastly a little bit of gaming. We are both console gamers usually, but we don't own a console and I'm waiting for the ps4 :)

I still really need to chill out occasionally, and I do that by either going to the gym, reading a book or playing a game. I want to be able to play steam games off an imac. Will that be possible via bootcamp and running windows or is this not reccommended? Not hardcore gaming, just the casual game of borderlands, maybe a little bit of battlefield 3.

Cheers guys ;)
Click to expand...

Perfectly possible. I play cod black ops 2 all the time on my 2012 27 imac with 680mx. I use bootcamp obviously. I sold my powerful gaming rig for this and it has been working well. Everything on high I see 120fps at 1920x1080 resolution.
 
Fouracre44 said:
Hi guys,

I've just moved into a new house with my girlfriend, she needs a computer and was going to buy a desktop from JB hi fi when I told her that seing as I have no need for a laptop, we could save a bit of money and buy one together as we both work too much to use the computer all the time anyway.We both loved the iMac, and I have convinced her that Mac is easy enough to learn and use so she agreed to go halves with me.

There are several things that this pc will be used for, she's into photography a little bit, I also do some music production & recording ( for leisure, not work ) and lastly a little bit of gaming. We are both console gamers usually, but we don't own a console and I'm waiting for the ps4 :)

I still really need to chill out occasionally, and I do that by either going to the gym, reading a book or playing a game. I want to be able to play steam games off an imac. Will that be possible via bootcamp and running windows or is this not reccommended? Not hardcore gaming, just the casual game of borderlands, maybe a little bit of battlefield 3.

Cheers guys ;)
Click to expand...


First of all, your girlfriend plays video games ? She's a keeper!

I do play on a mac, just casually and it works really well. I prefer gaming on a console but that's just me. The higher end you buy, the most demanding game you'll be able to play. For longer. I would choose a model with the higher end video card and a ssd if that is an option for you.
 
My iMac is about 2.5 years old and I primarily use it for the usual stuff, e-mail, web surfing, etc. But I also do some gaming (WoW, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2) which I play natively in OS X. Frame rates aren't as awesome as they once were but this is due to expansions getting better not the computer getting worse.

I think the late 2012 iMac would suit your needs just fine.
 
I think the iMac is fine for your needs. Since your Girlfriend is into photography and you're into music, a larger storage would help and have a back up external HD.
 
I use my computer for basically the same sort of things you're talking about, and it's really great. Granted, I do need to use Bootcamp for certain games, but there's still a ton of really great stuff that works with the Mac right out of the box. Get the iMac, it's a wonderful machine, and you won't look back!
 
Fouracre44 said:
Hi guys,

I've just moved into a new house with my girlfriend, she needs a computer and was going to buy a desktop from JB hi fi when I told her that seing as I have no need for a laptop, we could save a bit of money and buy one together as we both work too much to use the computer all the time anyway.We both loved the iMac, and I have convinced her that Mac is easy enough to learn and use so she agreed to go halves with me.

There are several things that this pc will be used for, she's into photography a little bit, I also do some music production & recording ( for leisure, not work ) and lastly a little bit of gaming. We are both console gamers usually, but we don't own a console and I'm waiting for the ps4 :)

I still really need to chill out occasionally, and I do that by either going to the gym, reading a book or playing a game. I want to be able to play steam games off an imac. Will that be possible via bootcamp and running windows or is this not reccommended? Not hardcore gaming, just the casual game of borderlands, maybe a little bit of battlefield 3.

Cheers guys ;)
Click to expand...

I think the high-end 27" iMac with the 680 graphics card is capable of way more than casual gaming. I have a huge Steam library, play Borderlands 2 at 2560x1440 at 60fps etc on the iMac, and love it. It's been rock solid for gaming in Windows 7, so I can't imagine you'd be disappointed.
 
Wow guys, got an excellent response from you. Really appreciate your quick responses. I'll have to do a bit of research on how to setup bootcamp, cheers.

Yes, my girlfriend plays video games, it's awesome, we like the same movies too, I am very lucky. She likes playing older games like crash bandicoot and she always plays Tarzan on xbox 360, but I have convinced her to get into some of the games I like so I'll see how that ends up.

What would be the best way to do this guys? I'm looking at the computer to last a bit longer so I don't mind speccing it up a bit. Is it preferable to run windows 8 or revert to windows 7 on bootcamp incase of compatibility issues with games?

I'm excited now, I didn't want to build a gaming rig, I had done so in the past and quite enjoyed it ( built it in a cooler master storm sniper ) but man that thing was huge and in the end decided it was not for me, and I love mac, didn't really want to do a hackintosh. I'm busy quite often now, and I'd love to be able to just buy the mac and have it working, then set it up as I go.

What would be the best guide to setup a successful / good bootcamp partition on an imac? Just google it do you guys think?
 
Fouracre44 said:
Excellent, thanks very much.

Is it worth waiting for the iMac with the new Haswell cpu's to arrive? I understand they probably might not be around until october, is this correct?

Cheers
Click to expand...

The current iMac has a new design, so the next iteration is only likely to be a just a spec bump. Given that some who ordered the new iMac when it was first released only received their new Mac in January, I think October is realistic for the next iteration. Whenever you buy a computer if will be out of date within a few months of buying it. The current iMac should last 5+ years so I personally would not wait.

Not sure what your budget is, but if you are using it for gaming I would aim for the 27" that has the better graphics card in it.
 
Thanks, cheers :)

Ilikemacssomuch - I prefer console gaming also, like I said I built a gaming pc and I guess I enjoyed the console more. I am well aware of the steam box and using mini itx in conjunction with an xbox controller or gamepad, however I still prefer console gaming.

I like to kick back in front of the tv, and just click my console on and play the game. I also prefer the tactile feel of a game controller, and I just enjoy having my gaming experience seperate from my pc experience, but an imac is good because it gives me the ability to do so until then.

Can you connect the ps3 and upcoming ps4 to the imac's display? Might save me money on getting a tele if I can just throw it in my room :)
 
Fouracre44 said:
Thanks, cheers :)


Can you connect the ps3 and upcoming ps4 to the imac's display? Might save me money on getting a tele if I can just throw it in my room :)
Click to expand...

You can connect another Mac with Thunderbolt to the display, but unfortunately the only video in on the iMac is Thunderbolt, so you will not be able to connect a console to it.
 
I'm also considering buying the 27" imac and would like to use it as a monitor for my xbox, I was thinking of just buying the standard version, does anyone recommend getting a graphics card update or anything else?
 
sinphase said:
I'm also considering buying the 27" imac and would like to use it as a monitor for my xbox, I was thinking of just buying the standard version, does anyone recommend getting a graphics card update or anything else?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately you can't connect the current iMac directly to an xbox, the only video in connection for the iMac is Thunderbolt. The only 'video in' at the moment is by connecting another Thunderbolt capable mac to the iMac.
 
James Craner said:
Unfortunately you can't connect the current iMac directly to an xbox, the only video in connection for the iMac is Thunderbolt. The only 'video in' at the moment is by connecting another Thunderbolt capable mac to the iMac.
Click to expand...

Wow. $2000+, no HDMI port and no option to connect non-thunderbolt devices. I still can't get over the fact that apple slapped on an HDMI port onto the retina macbooks before the either of the imacs. I know that getting the mini and a monitor would be a better (and probably a cheaper) option, but I can't get over how clean the 27" looks on a desk. O well, I guess I'll be on the hunt for a good 27" monitor.
 
James Craner said:
Unfortunately you can't connect the current iMac directly to an xbox, the only video in connection for the iMac is Thunderbolt. The only 'video in' at the moment is by connecting another Thunderbolt capable mac to the iMac.
Click to expand...

It's worse, you can't even connect the iMac to a thunderbolt PC/Windows machine. It's a big flaw with the current iMac.
 
Fouracre44 said:
Thanks, cheers :)

Ilikemacssomuch - I prefer console gaming also, like I said I built a gaming pc and I guess I enjoyed the console more. I am well aware of the steam box and using mini itx in conjunction with an xbox controller or gamepad, however I still prefer console gaming.

I like to kick back in front of the tv, and just click my console on and play the game. I also prefer the tactile feel of a game controller, and I just enjoy having my gaming experience seperate from my pc experience, but an imac is good because it gives me the ability to do so until then.

Can you connect the ps3 and upcoming ps4 to the imac's display? Might save me money on getting a tele if I can just throw it in my room :)
Click to expand...


Sadly no, you can't use the thunderbolt iMac as an external monitor with anything but another thunderbolt mac or maybe a PC with a thunderbolt graphic card, but for the later I'm not sure.

That is why I'll keep my late 2009 imac for as long as it will last, with a converter i can use it as a monitor for anything, but it doesn't happen very often. And to be honest, 1080P on a 27 inches iMac looks horrible.
 
Macs are not for gaming, but the new ones do very well with the higher end graphics cards.
 
B... said:
Macs are not for gaming, but the new ones do very well with the higher end graphics cards.
Click to expand...

The high-end 27" iMac is absolutely "for gaming" as much as it is "for working" in that it does both equally well, without issues. It's amazing for gaming, actually.
 
WilliamG said:
The high-end 27" iMac is absolutely "for gaming" as much as it is "for working" in that it does both equally well, without issues. It's amazing for gaming, actually.
Click to expand...

Macs and OSX. Macs and Windows are very good for gaming.
 
IlikeMacsSoMuch said:
Sadly no, you can't use the thunderbolt iMac as an external monitor with anything but another thunderbolt mac or maybe a PC with a thunderbolt graphic card, but for the later I'm not sure.
.
Click to expand...

Huh, 27" imac as a standalone monitor seems like overkill. But I guess upgrading to the mini and using the imac as a monitor may make sense for future use.
 
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