How well would a 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 MBP run FFXIV?

[Lifeguy]

Hello,

I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on a 15" MBP with the following specs:

2.66 GHz Intel Core i7
4GB 1066 MHz Memory
128 SSD (Solid State Drive)
Hi-Res Antiglare Widescreen Display
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M w/ 512MB

I eventually plan on running a few games with Windows 7 64-bit on Boot camp. Most likely StarCraft 2 and FFXIV when those are released. I was particularly interested in seeing how this comp would run FFXIV. The system requirements are the following:

Windows XP/Vista/7
Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz or AMD Athlon X2 2GHz
2GB of RAM
15GB HDD space
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 512MB or ATI Radeon HD 2900 512MB
DirectX 9

Thanks in advance

 

[Hellhammer]

That MBP will run it just fine, just don't expect to have the best graphics or FPS

 

[Hisdem]

Considering the specs only it will run fine, however I'm not sure if the fact that you will be running bootcamp will affect performance.

 

[0186279]

I'm guessing (and hoping) around medium settings.

 

[nayr]

The game itself should run fine like others have stated. I personally picked up a i5 baseline with the upgraded high-res display. It is able to crunch most games just fine at 1680x1050. As well you mentioned Starcraft 2. You more than likely will see a better performance boost while running that in OSX do to the fact that Blizzard develops very well for the platform and the game is a dual release , similar to WoW. - Just my 2cents.

 

[MBHockey]

The game itself should run fine like others have stated. I personally picked up a i5 baseline with the upgraded high-res display. It is able to crunch most games just fine at 1680x1050. As well you mentioned Starcraft 2. You more than likely will see a better performance boost while running that in OSX do to the fact that Blizzard develops very well for the platform and the game is a dual release , similar to WoW. - Just my 2cents.

Completely wrong. SC2 runs SIGNIFICANTLY better in Windows via boot camp than on OS X.

 

[MrFlynn]

I agree with nayr on this one. FF should be no problem, and Starcraft 2 will fly because Blizzard optimizes for OSX...not just a cider port but true parallel development. May get more fps in Windows because it will have better APIs and NVidia drivers, but SC2 will definitely run fine in OSX.

 

[Lifeguy]

Cool thanks for the feedback. Anyone here have a MBP with similar specs?

Also are any of you playing games on Boot camp while hooked up to an external monitor? I’m thinking about buying one so I could play on a larger display and also get more of a desktop feel. Is it easy to setup an external monitor while running Boot camp? Are there any issues I might come across?

Thanks

 

[MBHockey]

Cool thanks for the feedback. Anyone here have a MBP with similar specs?

Also are any of you playing games on Boot camp while hooked up to an external monitor? I’m thinking about buying one so I could play on a larger display and also get more of a desktop feel. Is it easy to setup an external monitor while running Boot camp? Are there any issues I might come across?

Thanks

I have the exact MBP you are configuring (with an intel ssd) except I don't use an external monitor. I'm pretty sure it's trivial to hook up an external monitor to your Mac running Windows.

SC2 runs much, much better in Win 7 than on OS X.

 

[Lifeguy]

I have the exact MBP you are configuring (with an intel ssd) except I don't use an external monitor. I'm pretty sure it's trivial to hook up an external monitor to your Mac running Windows.

SC2 runs much, much better in Win 7 than on OS X.

Nice good to know. Do you think you could you do me a huge favor and download a system benchmark for FFXI? I just want to see how well a MBP with those specs would run the game. The link is down below

http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/media/benchmark/na/

Don't be discouraged if the results aren't that good, I'm hearing the benchmark is a bit inaccurate. It will still be interesting to see what score you get though.

Thanks

 

[sotiredofsoup]

I wouldn't make the Windows partition that small. I have a 30GB XP partition for the occasional Windows-only programs, and I began to bump up against it when I started backing up Wii games to an external HD. Anything you can spare for swap space will benefit you.

 

[MBHockey]

Nice good to know. Do you think you could you do me a huge favor and download a system benchmark for FFXI? I just want to see how well a MBP with those specs would run the game. The link is down below

http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/media/benchmark/na/

Don't be discouraged if the results aren't that good, I'm hearing the benchmark is a bit inaccurate. It will still be interesting to see what score you get though.

Thanks

Yeah, the 1920x1080 was very choppy. Score: 595, Load Time: 14449 ms

The 1280x720 ran much smoother. Score 1162, Load Time: 12720 ms

This was on Windows 7 64-bit

But apparently, these scores are really, really bad.

 

[Macsavvytech]

Cool thanks for the feedback. Anyone here have a MBP with similar specs?

Also are any of you playing games on Boot camp while hooked up to an external monitor? I’m thinking about buying one so I could play on a larger display and also get more of a desktop feel. Is it easy to setup an external monitor while running Boot camp? Are there any issues I might come across?

Thanks

Games will run better in OSX however windows games will fine under bootcamp just as well a a PC laptop with the same specifications. Congrats on your purchase i bought my i7 SSD 4 days ago or rather arrived 4 days ago

 

[MBHockey]

Games will run better in OSX however windows games will fine under bootcamp just as well a a PC laptop with the same specifications. Congrats on your purchase i bought my i7 SSD 4 days ago or rather arrived 4 days ago

Please explain why you think games would run better in OS X?

Every game I've tried that is out for both platforms runs significantly better in Windows because the drivers are much better over there.

 

[Macsavvytech]

Please explain why you think games would run better in OS X?

Every game I've tried that is out for both platforms runs significantly better in Windows because the drivers are much better

Maybe when one mentions a Mac game you might actually guess I'm talking about an OSX optemised like cod modern warfare 2

 

[MBHockey]

Maybe when one mentions a Mac game you might actually guess I'm talking about an OSX optemised like cod modern warfare 2

Yes, i'm supposed to guess the game that you're talking about to support your completely baseless and incorrect theory. Are you kidding me?

Can you post any kind of evidence that would support your wildly inaccurate theory that games run better in OS X than Windows?

 

[pratherth]

Yeah, the 1920x1080 was very choppy. Score: 595, Load Time: 14449 ms

The 1280x720 ran much smoother. Score 1162, Load Time: 12720 ms

This was on Windows 7 64-bit

But apparently, these scores are really, really bad.

it's my understanding after reading several forums that the benchmark isn't tapping into the higher end on board cards. It's only utilizing the integrated hd. I read several instances where some pc users had sli enabled and i7s and still received a 1500 score. Hoping this is true bc I'm wanting to get an mbp with those specs as well for design.

 

[Pixelryan]

The difference between osx and windows isn't that significant to justify using windows for me in Starcraft 2 on my iMac. I'd much rather have my volume buttons on the keyboard to work.