iMac 2017 & Gaming - Whats your experience?

[Sir Ruben]

Hey all,

As part of my setup I install Windows 10 via bootcamp on my Mac's. Anyway I have just purchased a 2017 27" i5 base model with its stock 8gb of ram and I decided to install some games.

So far I have only installed CupHead and the Forza 7 demo. CupHead runs in 5k resolution with ease, and I am able to run the Forza 7 demo with Ultra settings in 2560x1440 in Windows 10 game mode, which to my eyes looks great. Coupled with an Xbox One controller the end result is great and quite enjoyable.

With this in mind I have a huge backlog of PC games I can run at high settings on the Mac and I'm intrigued to explore further even though Im predominantly a console gamer.

Has anyone else done similar and what are your experiences?

 

[koulmj]

I recommend watching youtube channels where people actually play games using a Mac and stream/record them. you'll get a pretty good idea what the machine can, and can't handle. Sadly, most games are not going to run well on a Mac, even if they run Windows 10, I don't know if this is optimization or what, maybe someone smart can comment further.

 

[Sir Ruben]

Sadly, most games are not going to run well on a Mac, even if they run Windows 10, I don't know if this is optimization or what, maybe someone smart can comment further.

Not sure that is strictly true, check out the screenshots of Forza 7 running on Ultra settings and hitting a constant 60FPS:

Notice the frame rate at the top of the screenshot:

Windows 10 looking mighty fine on that 5K screen:

 

[vkd]

Thank you, Sir Ruben, for this post. Inevitably there are always those who need to come on and denigrate Macs and say they are no good for games, etc. So posts like yours are most welcome, hopefully the nay-saying days will soon be a thing of the past.

 

[Precursor]

Been playing Steam games, not too demanding though (Civ VI, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Stellaris etc) and Diablo 3 which also isn't too demanding. Not even booting up in Windows, too lazy to switch lol
Even in High Sierra they play great!

 

[Glideslope]

Hey all,

As part of my setup I install Windows 10 via bootcamp on my Mac's. Anyway I have just purchased a 2017 27" i5 base model with its stock 8gb of ram and I decided to install some games.

So far I have only installed CupHead and the Forza 7 demo. CupHead runs in 5k resolution with ease, and I am able to run the Forza 7 demo with Ultra settings in 2560x1440 in Windows 10 game mode, which to my eyes looks great. Coupled with an Xbox One controller the end result is great and quite enjoyable.

With this in mind I have a huge backlog of PC games I can run at high settings on the Mac and I'm intrigued to explore further even though Im predominantly a console gamer.

Has anyone else done similar and what are your experiences?

The issues with Win in BootCamp will always be the Graphics Drivers. bootdcampdrivers.com can help, but lot's of inconsistencies on different configurations. As a previous poster suggested you need to check on how what you want to run does on a Mac in Boot Camp.

 

[MacNeto]

...Sadly, most games are not going to run well on a Mac, even if they run Windows 10....

The sadder part is how some are still stuck with this old mentality from back in OSX DINOSAUR AGE, when Macs couldn't play games. And basing it on youtube videos as facts that Macs can't run games well is laughable.

I have a 2016 5k iMac running Win 10 and play BF1, Far Cry 3/primal, The Forest, GTA 5, BF2, Crysis and some other and get around 40+ fps on 2560/Ultra settings. Newer games like BF1 and GTA 5 get 50+fps on 2560/ultra-high. 1080/ultra gives 60fps all day long. And this is an older Mac with i7, M395x, SSD. Top 2017 models would have no problem running these games at max settings.

The issue is getting the latest graphics driver, like some mentioned above, because Macs can officially only use drivers approved by Apple. But this can be easily bypassed.

 

[koulmj]

I’m glad some people above are playing games well in a 5K iMac, but maybe some persoect Be in what you paid for that hardware vs similiar PC only build it yourself. So this thread was started to ask about experiences. So let me make mine clear, Macs don’t perform as well as PC’s running high end gaming. I will admit two things. I am old as f*ck. I remember when cS 1.3 was a big deal. Two, I am poor. I don’t have money for a 5k Mac.

Cheers

 

[MacNeto]

I’m glad some people above are playing games well in a 5K iMac, but maybe some persoect Be in what you paid for that hardware vs similiar PC only build it yourself. So this thread was started to ask about experiences. So let me make mine clear, Macs don’t perform as well as PC’s running high end gaming. I will admit two things. I am old as f*ck. I remember when cS 1.3 was a big deal. Two, I am poor. I don’t have money for a 5k Mac.

Cheers

There's nothing wrong with being old or unable to afford a 5k iMac; those points are irrelevant and not what I was pointing out.

I was pointing out the old mentality (not age) that Macs can't perform well in gaming using Windows is not true with modern Macs. They are just as fast as any similarly-spec'd, modern PC's.

 

[Mac32]

I was pointing out the old mentality (not age) that Macs can't perform well in gaming using Windows is not true with modern Macs. They are just as fast as any similarly-spec'd, modern PC's.

Not true really, since iMac uses mobile GPU cards - modern PCs use desktop cards. But the iMac is one sleek package, so therefore people will accept less (still decent) performance, to get that beautiful all-in-one machine. Not criticising, I'm one of those people myself.

 

[MacNeto]

Not true really, since iMac uses mobile GPU cards - modern PCs use desktop cards. But the iMac is one sleek package, so therefore people will accept less (still decent) performance, to get that beautiful all-in-one machine. Not criticising, I'm one of those people myself.

The new 5k iMac actually uses desktop-grade GPU (580)

 

[gian8989]

To update GPU driver go here https://www.bootcampdrivers.com/

 

[Briax]

Machine: i7, 580, 512 SSD

Playing mostly World of Warcraft, 2560 x 1440 at graphics setting 9 - steady 60 fps, heavy instances/raiding content CAN drop into low 50s - this performance is in OS X with a LG 5K Ultrafine monitor connected as well.

Very pleased with the performance.

 

[groove-agent]

I'm curious how the fan noise is on the iMac while gaming. Do the fans run full blast, and if so, do you find it distracting at times?

 

[Precursor]

I'm curious how the fan noise is on the iMac while gaming. Do the fans run full blast, and if so, do you find it distracting at times?

I don't even hear it. Then again, I have AC in the room which has a silent but constant hum, that drowns any fan noise my iMac could be making..

 

[Platifuss]

If you play Civ6 on the i5 3.5/575 and limit the frames you can set the fan to a constant 1350 which is barely audible.

 

[mrchrispy]

i5, 580 here with win10 on bootcamped
Runs pretty much anything I throw at it, high/ultra @ 2560x1440

 

[SkyLinx]

I also just bought (yesterday) a new iMac mid-2017 with the 580, and am very happy! I can play some steam games (e.g. F1 2017, Dirt Rally, Tomb Raider, CS:GO...) with max/ultra settings at 1440p but directly with macOS (I don't have Windows).

I am surprised too that many people still think that gaming on Macs is a poor experience. Even on macOS my games look and perform great!

 

[Precursor]

I also just bought (yesterday) a new iMac mid-2017 with the 580, and am very happy! I can play some steam games (e.g. F1 2017, Dirt Rally, Tomb Raider, CS:GO...) with max/ultra settings at 1440p but directly with macOS (I don't have Windows).

I am surprised too that many people still think that gaming on Macs is a poor experience. Even on macOS my games look and perform great!

I also noticed that graphics look somehow better in Civ 6 on MacOs compared to bootcamp, also don't get the sound bug that I get on bootcamp during the game.

 

[fathergll]

I just started using Bootcamp on my 2014 i5 R9 M290X 2 GB and I have been playing the new Age of Empires. I haven't looked at any FPS stats but it's running well.

 

[lhytw]

There is a youtube video of my old imac, run PC simulation flying game, for your reference.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIeKHu8tfD935_i_jHg56IA?

 

[spencecb]

I have the 2017 27” with the 580, and am pleased with it as well. Everything looks great and runs smoothly.

 

[65301361]

Hey all,

As part of my setup I install Windows 10 via bootcamp on my Mac's. Anyway I have just purchased a 2017 27" i5 base model with its stock 8gb of ram and I decided to install some games.

So far I have only installed CupHead and the Forza 7 demo. CupHead runs in 5k resolution with ease, and I am able to run the Forza 7 demo with Ultra settings in 2560x1440 in Windows 10 game mode, which to my eyes looks great. Coupled with an Xbox One controller the end result is great and quite enjoyable.

With this in mind I have a huge backlog of PC games I can run at high settings on the Mac and I'm intrigued to explore further even though Im predominantly a console gamer.

Has anyone else done similar and what are your experiences?

Hi can you share some daily experience to me with your base model iMac 2017? I am planning to update my 2013 iMac to a 5k version but I have noticed a lot of people users of 4k or 5k iMac complained that it's lag and slow especially in some ui animation. I guess it's the high resolution monitor's problem. since the 2017 iMac has a big update on gpu so I wanna know if it's still a problem for it which means did you notice any lag or slow or any kind of glitch in your daily use? Thank you very much!!

 

[Peter_M]

You should check out the latest drivers from Mat at bootcampdrivers.com.

The latest drivers (from 18.8.2) have a massive drop in GPU heat for my iMac Pro w/Vega 64, to the point where you can play the most demanding games with much less fan noise, and still have the GPU running considerably less hot. I don't know if it works the same with the regular iMac, but it's definitely worth checking out.

 

[vkd]

$5,000 iMac Pro generates massive heat when gaming.

4 years now of 5K iMacs and still no compatible film content available, from iTunes or Apple at least. You could buy a bluray disk yourself but how you gonna use that when they don't include a CD/DVD/Bluray disk drive any more?

- Just a couple of things I picked up today.