Gaming on Mountain Lion vs. Windows 7 Boot Camp

[Calot]

I've been searching all over, but can't find any relevant posts.

A video or at least FPS difference between playing the same game on Mountain Lion vs. Windows 7 on Boot Camp would be nice.

Everybody keeps saying that it's obviously better on Windows 7, but so far, I can't seem to get any hard evidence on it.

The little I could get was gaming experience on Diablo 3 and Starcraft II on Boot Camp but it seems to be very on par with what I'm experiencing.

 

[Calot]

So no one here games on Boot Camp?

 

[isrefel]

I just installed Left 4 Dead 2 on my windows partition to check (I usually play OSX side) and the performance is actually poorer.

However, this is most likely due to the current bug in the i7 2012 MBAs that prevents windows from using the max amount of vram as well as disabling turbo boost.

I would imagine that if these bugs were not a factor, performance would be very similar.

In general, I wouldn't say that windows is 'obviously' better. It will more often come down to whether or not the game was build with OSX in mind, or was a port.

The Source engine (on which l4d2 runs), despite being a port, is a very efficient engine, and is probably not the best benchmark for this, however.

My best advice would be to just try it out and see which runs the game more smoothly. If you're weighing options for a potential purchase, I wouldn't necessarily expect performance to be greater under windows.

 

[aleni]

Use throttlestop 5 beta on bootcamp to enable turbo boost.

 

[nms886]

So why do people say bootcamp is better a lot of the time on forums and whatnot? Does anyone know and specific instances where a game works better on bootcamp windows 7 vs mountain lion?

 

[goinskiing]

So why do people say bootcamp is better a lot of the time on forums and whatnot? Does anyone know and specific instances where a game works better on bootcamp windows 7 vs mountain lion?

Anyone that has a 2012 i5 (which may be a larger population) does not see the Windows issues that us lucky i7 owners see. My 2011 i5 with everything working fine however games about as well as my 2012 i7 with all it's bootcamp issues. Hopefully there's a real fix in the works.

 

[Calot]

Anyone that has a 2012 i5 (which may be a larger population) does not see the Windows issues that us lucky i7 owners see. My 2011 i5 with everything working fine however games about as well as my 2012 i7 with all it's bootcamp issues. Hopefully there's a real fix in the works.

I think I read somewhere that there is a fix for those issues. As I have not installed Boot Camp, I really did not pay too much attention.

 

[goinskiing]

I think I read somewhere that there is a fix for those issues. As I have not installed Boot Camp, I really did not pay too much attention.

They're more of a workaround and not a fix to the UEFI and intel drivers.

 

[Calot]

They're more of a workaround and not a fix to the UEFI and intel drivers.

I have not played much on my 2012 MBA. But I can say Diablo 3 runs pretty decent, except for the choppiness that occurs on even very high end Windows PCs. Starcraft 2 runs at native res on medium settings at 60 FPS.

And I read somewhere that Half-Life 2 runs at max settings at 60+ FPS..?

So I do not really need Boot Camp... I plan no playing the Witcher as it seems it runs great too.

 

[goinskiing]

I have not played much on my 2012 MBA. But I can say Diablo 3 runs pretty decent, except for the choppiness that occurs on even very high end Windows PCs. Starcraft 2 runs at native res on medium settings at 60 FPS.

And I read somewhere that Half-Life 2 runs at max settings at 60+ FPS..?

So I do not really need Boot Camp... I plan no playing the Witcher as it seems it runs great too.

Yeah, anything I play on OSX native works great, however, my PS2 emulator still needs windows to be playable.

 

[nms886]

What exactly is wrong with bootcamp on the i7?

 

[mattopotamus]

So why do people say bootcamp is better a lot of the time on forums and whatnot? Does anyone know and specific instances where a game works better on bootcamp windows 7 vs mountain lion?

I don't think it is so much performance issues as much as it is compatibly issues. Some files and folders or commands are different on macs vs PC side.

 

[lewdvig]

The Mac port of Borderlands is a bit choppy on lowest settings and 1366*768. I'll get that FRAPS like program and get some real numbers, but it looks to me like 30-40 fps just off the bus talking to claptrap.

Seriously though, that's way better than I expected form my '12 MBA.

I caved and installed ML. Maybe that will boost performance.

 

[Calot]

The Mac port of Borderlands is a bit choppy on lowest settings and 1366*768. I'll get that FRAPS like program and get some real numbers, but it looks to me like 30-40 fps just off the bus talking to claptrap.

Seriously though, that's way better than I expected form my '12 MBA.

I caved and installed ML. Maybe that will boost performance.

What MBA do you have?

I played Borderlands on PS3 and it was kind of choppy, but very playable and I actually enjoyed it so much, I went and got the platinum trophy.


Im not sure if I should get The Witcher or The Orange Box..

 

[lewdvig]

Currently I am using a 11" 2012. Not sure if I will keep it though.

I'd get the orange box if I were you. Witcher has steep (realistic) requirements on PC, and the Mac version uses WINE.

 

[aleni]

Just tried cod mw3 on my ultimate 212 11" air through bootcamp. I can't believe i can play this game. It's very playable on high setting with 1336x768 res.

 

[lwk321]

Hello

I'm new to this forum. I happened to buy a MBA 11" 2012 (4gb + 128gb) and I installed Diablo 3 which is happens to run ok with almost everything low. I was wondering too if anybody have tried this game on bootcamp.

btw Aleni what are ur MBA specs?

 

[aleni]

Hello

I'm new to this forum. I happened to buy a MBA 11" 2012 (4gb + 128gb) and I installed Diablo 3 which is happens to run ok with almost everything low. I was wondering too if anybody have tried this game on bootcamp.

btw Aleni what are ur MBA specs?

Mine is 2012 11" corei7 2.0ghz, 8gb ram, and owc mercury aura pro 240gb.

Played cod mw3 on bootcamp. Native res, everything off but image quality set to extra, textures set on high. It's running very smooth.

Make sure to use macfan application too to set the fan on 6500rpm.

Because in bootcamp, i believe the fan never rotates past 2000rpm hence makes the machine hot.

 

[lwk321]

thanks for the reply

First, I was expecting that kind of specs, since mw3 is a kinda heavy.

I didn't know that the fans will not pass the 2k mark, so once again thanks of the advice. btw I'm a noob regarding OSX (it's my first mac ever).

One more question....did u try diablo 3?

 

[Calot]

thanks for the reply

First, I was expecting that kind of specs, since mw3 is a kinda heavy.

I didn't know that the fans will not pass the 2k mark, so once again thanks of the advice. btw I'm a noob regarding OSX (it's my first mac ever).

One more question....did u try diablo 3?

Diablo 3 is currently broken. Filled with bugs, stuttering, micro-lag, etc. Check the forums, even very, very high end PCs are having issues. I kinda hate Blizzard right now.

 

[aleni]

thanks for the reply

First, I was expecting that kind of specs, since mw3 is a kinda heavy.

I didn't know that the fans will not pass the 2k mark, so once again thanks of the advice. btw I'm a noob regarding OSX (it's my first mac ever).

One more question....did u try diablo 3?

Will not above 2000rpm only in bootcamp though.

No i didnt have a gut to buy it because i'm afraid it will be waste because i only have mba as my computer. So if i shell the money for d3 and find out it doesn't run well then im pretty much fkd up.

 

[Wokis]

Will not above 2000rpm only in bootcamp though.

My fan certainly goes over 2000 if it needs to in bootcamp. It'd be a serious problem if it wouldn't.

 

[aleni]

My fan certainly goes over 2000 if it needs to in bootcamp. It'd be a serious problem if it wouldn't.

Really? Because i never heard a loud fan while in bootcamp. Without macfan running at 6500rpm, skyrim is playable at the first 2 minutes and suddenly became choppy. Must be intel processor throtttled down the speed to accomodate the heat.

With macfan running at 6500rpm, the temp is ok, gameplay is playable for hours.

All with throttlestop running turboboost.

 

[lwk321]

Diablo 3 is currently broken. Filled with bugs, stuttering, micro-lag, etc. Check the forums, even very, very high end PCs are having issues. I kinda hate Blizzard right now.

That's what I was thinking too, but do u think the performance will increase drastically if they happen to fix the game over time. Meaning playing Diablo on a MBA 11'' i5 4gb?

 

[Calot]

That's what I was thinking too, but do u think the performance will increase drastically if they happen to fix the game over time. Meaning playing Diablo on a MBA 11'' i5 4gb?

They're releasing the "new" patch tomorrow. It's supposed to be ready to be downloaded at around 1pm PDT.

The game was playable on low settings on the Intel HD 3000 so I assume it is playable at a lower resolution on medium settings on the mba you mention. (It doesn't look bad at all)