iMac 5K with r9 m390 for gaming

[charlieasmith96]

Hi there,

I am interested in an iMac 5K for software development, graphics design and photo editing, but I also intend to use it as a gaming machine as an aside. I am not a hard core gamer by any means, and only like to play them occasionally when I have the time. I am not a frame-rate-whore either so average 30FPS is fine for me.

I was wondering how games such as GTA V, Far Cry 4, BioShock Infinite, Alien Isolation etc fare on the r9 m390 card (with a 3.2GHz i5 processor). I intend to play them on almost high settings with a resolution of 1440p, certainly NOT 5K or anywhere near.

I have heard that these games are playable on the m395x card, I just haven't heard anything from the m390 which is 2 versions below (m395 lies in-between). If anyone has some anecdotal evidence, that would be great!

Thanks,
Charlie

PS. Sorry if a similar thread to this existed, I searched hard.

 

[ScorpionT16]

I have a Late 2015 5K with an i7 and M390 card.

Just like you, I got this setup for graphic design and photo editing. Upped to the i7 instead of the i5 for architectural work (CAD renderings are CPU Intensive). It may help with gaming, slightly.

Games are most certanly playable, and look awesome. I Just got a few games, newest of which is Dirt Rally. I play on Ultra High settings (ambient occlusion low, blending off and shadows low), I get 60 FPS+ at 1080 P. those setting at 1440, not even 30-35 FPS, maybe on medium-low. The only place I notice 1080 vs 1440 is in the menus for Dirt.

only other game I got yet is Ori and the blind forest, that plays with everything high on 1440P easily, and looks gorgeous. And Limbo, thats obviously fluid and great too...

From my experience so far, playing on "almost high" setting at 1440p for the games you mentioned is possible, if you want 50-60 FPS steady, won't happen.... Maybe on Low-medium settings. Esp Far Cry 4. I'm looking at getting Rise of the Tomb raider when it launches, and will be happy to get 50-60 FPS at high-ultra on 1080p. It will be about balance, FPS vs Quality. In which case, any card will do as they're all in the same category +/- 10-15% differences. If your ok with a low FPS and want high resolution, get the M390, see the difference between 1080p and 1440p if the results are good enough

On the side... for photoshop, illustrator, editing etc, I've found the M390 to be very smooth and a fine GPU. I haven't used a 395 or 395x, so can't compare.

 

[desmond2046]

Hi there,

I am interested in an iMac 5K for software development, graphics design and photo editing, but I also intend to use it as a gaming machine as an aside. I am not a hard core gamer by any means, and only like to play them occasionally when I have the time. I am not a frame-rate-whore either so average 30FPS is fine for me.

I was wondering how games such as GTA V, Far Cry 4, BioShock Infinite, Alien Isolation etc fare on the r9 m390 card (with a 3.2GHz i5 processor). I intend to play them on almost high settings with a resolution of 1440p, certainly NOT 5K or anywhere near.

I have heard that these games are playable on the m395x card, I just haven't heard anything from the m390 which is 2 versions below (m395 lies in-between). If anyone has some anecdotal evidence, that would be great!

Thanks,
Charlie

PS. Sorry if a similar thread to this existed, I searched hard.

The R9 M390 is similar to a desktop R9 270 / 370 but with lower frequency. You can find the approximate performance here

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7503/the-amd-radeon-r9-270x-270-review-feat-asus-his

You will not likely be able to play these games at 1440p high settings at 30fps. I suggest you set the resolution to 1080p.

 

[maflynn]

I'm toying with some games, I'm not a gamer, but I downloaded Fallout Vegas from steam and its running well with medium detail. I may try another, that's somewhat inexpensive.

 

[MrNomNoms]

From what I understand, there are only 1-2 benchmarks where the M395X marginally beats the M390. I maxed out my GPU to the M395X because i had some extra cash burning a hole in my pocket but generally you're getting off just sticking with the M390.

 

[jerwin]

Much as mac gamers may hate to admit it, a significant number of games can be categorized by what level of DirectX the developers have targeted-- DirectX 12 games tend to be significantly more complicated than DirectX 9 games. The trick with benchmarks is to understand when the benchmark is measuring DirectX 9 performance--
"5K on an R9 m380?" Yes!!!
and when it's measuring something closer to DX12
"This thing is only playable at 1366x768p on my R9 m390"

remember, few laptops have 5k screens, and a sub 1080p laptop screen is not unheard of.

and where the games you enjoy, and will enjoy in years to come, fit in.

 

[charlieasmith96]

I'm toying with some games, I'm not a gamer, but I downloaded Fallout Vegas from steam and its running well with medium detail. I may try another, that's somewhat inexpensive.

What resolution are you playing this at?
Have you had any more experience with gaming on your machine?

 

[maflynn]

What resolution are you playing this at?
Have you had any more experience with gaming on your machine?

I set the game fallout vegas to medium, I don't know the resolution off hand. It was my first and only computer game. Its been eons since I played computer games so I wanted something that looked decent but wasn't expensive just in case I didn't like the game.

 

[iemcj]

http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/inde...are=radeon-r9-m390-4gb-vs-radeon-r9-m395x-4gb
The m390 isn't a bad card, but it's not great. You're flat out not going to get the results of the m395x though, just wont happen. For playing an older game like fallout new vegas sure you'll run it fine but based on the numbers I've seen from other reviewers compiled with my own, if you're playing fallout 4 expect to run at 1080p on medium settings getting 30-40fps. It's still better than a ps4 my friend. m395x is roughly going to get you 20-25% better framerates but for the extra 500 bucks or whatever apple is charging, it's not worth it for most users unless you can justify the extra gpu horsepower for other tasks (video/photoediting ect)

 

[maflynn]

You're flat out not going to get the results of the m395x though,

Nor was I expecting to get that level of performance I chose the M395 and not upgrading to the M395x because I felt I didn't need the higher end GPU. So far, I'm very happy with the M395. Gaming is one of those "let me toy with this to see if I like it" type of things and so far it hasn't gripped me. Fallout Vegas is ok, but I've started growing tired of playing it already.