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WilliamG

macrumors G4
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
10,067
3,991
Seattle
So much iMac negativity, I thought we could use some fun!

2012 27" iMac i7 3.4Ghz + 680MX + 32GB RAM

Here's my example. I really like Torchlight 2, but there's no Mac client for it so the only ways to play it are Bootcamp or...

Parallels 8 (or VMWare Fusion, I'd guess?)

I figured what the heck. I'll try and play Torchlight 2 in a Windows 7 VM. I let Windows 7 have 16GB RAM, so everything just flies in it. Fired up Parallels 8, loaded up my Steam client and launched Torchlight 2. I then set every graphical setting to max at 2560x1440.

O
M
G!

This game runs at 60fps (with only very, very occasional dips into 56-57fps) at 2560x1440 with every setting turned on, including antialiasing!

That is crazy to me. I no longer need to Bootcamp for Torchlight 2. Yay!

(Same results for Age of Empires 3 in 2560x1440. Sure this isn't a newer title, but it's nice to know we can play those games without having to reboot.)

Anyone else have some examples of some OMG moments?
 
Alas, I wish I could share my OMG moments, laugh, and enjoy these past times with my new toy. But I, like so many others, are stuck in the black, emotionless void of "Processing Land.":(
 
Wow that is impressive.

Running a game at max res on a VM?

Colour me impressed.

I would be curious to know how Left 4 Dead 2 ran within a VM.
 
Call of Duty Black Ops 2 (bootcamp) 100 fps - max settings, fans barely over idle.

Also scoring 1000 points higher in 3d mark test than a friends gaming built PC from 2 yrs ago. That felt good :)
 
DVD Rip: 166 minute movie in 26 minutes

My machine's humming along with an i7, 680MX, 1TB Fusion drive, and 8GB RAM. Admittedly, it's a bit short on RAM, but it ripped a 166 minute DVD in 26 minutes (roughly 8x faster than my old first get MBP). My optical drive is an LG 12x USB 3 BluRay burner.

It probably would have finished a bit faster, but iPhoto was running in the background and sucking up about 15% of the CPU (though keep in mind that Handbrake can use hyper-threading, so the total CPU usage is 800%).
 
So much iMac negativity, I thought we could use some fun!

2012 27" iMac i7 3.4Ghz + 680MX + 32GB RAM

Here's my example. I really like Torchlight 2, but there's no Mac client for it so the only ways to play it are Bootcamp or...

Parallels 8 (or VMWare Fusion, I'd guess?)

I figured what the heck. I'll try and play Torchlight 2 in a Windows 7 VM. I let Windows 7 have 16GB RAM, so everything just flies in it. Fired up Parallels 8, loaded up my Steam client and launched Torchlight 2. I then set every graphical setting to max at 2560x1440.

O
M
G!

This game runs at 60fps (with only very, very occasional dips into 56-57fps) at 2560x1440 with every setting turned on, including antialiasing!

That is crazy to me. I no longer need to Bootcamp for Torchlight 2. Yay!

(Same results for Age of Empires 3 in 2560x1440. Sure this isn't a newer title, but it's nice to know we can play those games without having to reboot.)

Anyone else have some examples of some OMG moments?

What HD option do you have?
 
Standard 1TB 7200rpm inside, and then I boot to OS X from a Samsung 830 25GB connected via Thunderbolt. My Windows partition is on the internal 1TB disk.

What external enclosure did you end up going with? I'm using a Samsung 840 500GB (not 840 Pro) in a Buffalo Ministation.

But I've just learned about the Pegasus J4 and I'm salivating. SALIVATING.
 
What external enclosure did you end up going with? I'm using a Samsung 840 500GB (not 840 Pro) in a Buffalo Ministation.

But I've just learned about the Pegasus J4 and I'm salivating. SALIVATING.

I've used the Mini station, and it gives me the exact same results as the one I'm using now - which is the Seagate Backup Plus 2.5". So you won't get better results with the Seagate if you're wondering. My wife uses the Ministation, and it's a nice piece of kit (especially with the USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connectors), but it looks a little worse for wear after removing the drive from it just twice. :(
 
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