iMac will focus on gaming? (2012)

[joe-h2o]

Granted - you can easily boot into Windows for gaming. I just don't see the point in paying the "OSX Premium" if you're just going to use Windows anyway. Just save yourself some money and start out with a PC in the first place...

Because I use OS X for everything except gaming - and with more and more things coming to Steam and OS X natively, I need bootcamp less and less. I would not be happy with using a Windows machine day-to-day. Windows exists for me solely as a platform for games that don't have native Mac versions.

So, the "OS X premium" isn't really all that much given that I need an OS X machine anyway. As someone else mentioned, with the switch to Intel the Mac is now two machines in one - I can do some Windows gaming without having to buy a dedicated Windows machine, so it's a bonus.

 

[cgk.emu]

Personally I'm more than willing to take the OpenGL performance hit to not use Windows. And just hope the performance gap closes at some point.

We've been waiting for that for a VERY long time....I don't know...I found the wait to not be worth it, so I just boot into 7 if I need to play games.

 

[mdelvecchio]

Don't get a Mac if you plan on doing any gaming.

i love games on my mac. i used to be a hardcore gamer, built my systems, etc..but today i value a clean desktop and a sensible OS more than a gaming rig. but guess what? my 2011 27" imac w/ SSD runs first-run games like Diablo 3 just fine (D3 is actually cranked to max settings). yesteryear's like Left 4 Dead 2 look absolutely amazing cranked to max. 3.4ghz quad i7, 20gb 1333mzh, SSD, 2gb VRAM 6970m.

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Hasn't Tim Cook been spotted at steam headquarters a few times this year and the fact Diablo 3 was recoded specifically for the Retina MacBook pro could mean they could be targeting gamers in the future? No?

no. the tim cook rumor was debunked on this very site.

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Have you tried newer games?

yep. Diablo 3 is great. plan on Skyrim next.

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At this time, any Mac makes a poor gaming machine, even with bootcamp.

not.

 

[Doggman]

Diablo 3 is not very intensive... At all... My 13" mbp with 2.3 i5, hd 3000, 4gb ram, ssd can run it on high everything except shadows off and no AA... Before the FPS meter broke i got 30-35 fps on average with dips during big 4 person fights. Skyrim will be a much more telling test for your Mac. However, I do agree with you, gaming on macs is far from a lost cause

 

[Ddyracer]

If Apple supported Direct X the mac would actually be quite capable because most games are coded with the API. That and a desktop class GPU. I'll be waiting...

 

[Blaine]

^ is that even possible? Microsoft makes directx.

 

[Ddyracer]

^ is that even possible? Microsoft makes directx.

I know. Microsoft and Apple should be team up and make it work.

 

[iSayuSay]

Granted - you can easily boot into Windows for gaming. I just don't see the point in paying the "OSX Premium" if you're just going to use Windows anyway. Just save yourself some money and start out with a PC in the first place...

The way I see it is that I'm paying premium for a computer that has the flexibility to run OSX and Windows without the needs to do any hacking, flashing DSDT and all that creepy stuff.

Sure my dream is that OSX can be a popular PC gaming platform someday just as Windows does, to the point I don't need BootCamp anymore and going full fledge with OSX. But I can see that dream fades away. The evolution is closing to iOS and mobile hardware, not games and 3d support.

Ironic since iOS is the most popular mobile gaming platform out there. In contrast OSX is crippled slowly and being goofed around to play either cartoonish or ancient old big games from AppStore.

 

[Razorhog]

No. It's primarily a driver problem. Hopefully Apple+Nvidia have solved that for this year's cards. It's been an issue for many years, though, so I'm not hopeful.

Man that would be nice, but I'm not hopeful either. I'm still going back and forth on whether or not to install bootcamp on my new iMac whenever it arrives...

 

[nlr]

Don't you think the iMac would be more sucessful with a 680m?

 

[forty2j]

Don't you think the iMac would be more sucessful with a 680m?

Absolutely. A 680M could run essentially all of today's games smoothly with at least High if not Ultra settings no matter how bad the driver is (within reason of course ). What we would like to see is the same hardware offer the same performance in OS X vs. Windows, and that's where the drivers come in. Without better drivers, by the 2nd year or so you're lowering your settings, or accepting lower / less smooth frame rates, or booting into Windows to get the performance you expect.

 

[nlr]

Absolutely. A 680M could run essentially all of today's games smoothly with at least High if not Ultra settings no matter how bad the driver is (within reason of course ). What we would like to see is the same hardware offer the same performance in OS X vs. Windows, and that's where the drivers come in. Without better drivers, by the 2nd year or so you're lowering your settings, or accepting lower / less smooth frame rates, or booting into Windows to get the performance you expect.

I hope they go that way. Are apple aware about the osx drivers? Has it ever been mentioned to get fixed/optimised as surely it would improve performance in osx and not just games? Which would ultimately improve the experience

 

[forty2j]

I hope they go that way. Are apple aware about the osx drivers? Has it ever been mentioned to get fixed/optimised as surely it would improve performance in osx and not just games? Which would ultimately improve the experience

Certainly they're aware. It hasn't yet become a priority for them.

 

[DeF46]

Since Dosbox has an OS X version why bother with wine?

Not to mention, you know, the awesome Boxer app for OS X

 

[0098386]

But surely the high end 27" iMac is perfectly capable even today, especially when paired with Boot Camp? That 6970M, even though it's aged, is still pretty capable - the next gen iMac is going to be the best computer suited for gaming Apple have in their line-up.

It is, yes. I'm running all multiplatform games (Batman, Rage, Just Cause 2 etc) at native res and yes, it looks and performs great. In Valve I can even play them at their hedonistic max with pointless amounts of AA.

Even the top end iMac is not really an ideal gaming machine. I have the top spec 27" with the GPU 2GB. It plays the old stuff I like but I didn't get it for gaming.

I think something is wrong with your iMac. If it's under Applecare you should probably take it to an Apple Store.


Personally I hope we don't see a "Retina" display but a standard mid-high end graphics card capable of running all current games at 2560x1440. As an owner of a 27" iMac used equally for work and play, it's already a highly capable machine. Can't wait to see what's in the next one.

 

[cybert]

Don't get a Mac if you plan on doing any gaming.

1) For the same price you can get a much more powerful Windows PC (componentwise)

2) Games for OSX won't run as well as their Windows counterparts, as less time is put into development.

Bottom line - if sheer power is what you need, don't get a Mac. I got mine because I love the fluidity of OSX, and the overall aluminium design - combined with the portability of my MBA. Not for the power though - for that a Windows anyday

Well why do you use a mac then?
For development? --> use a pc, you have visual studio and there are far more pc users then mac users

For video and photo editing? --> use a pc as you can upgrade your hardware and almost all the important apps also exist on windows

For music making? --> use a pc, you will have fruity loops.


Bottom line is, such an answer is a bad one, for all kind of usage I can think of a reason why a pc with linux or windows would be better, so stop telling people "don't get a mac blablablabla" Everyone has is own reason to get a mac.

I am also a gamer, and bought the 27" iMac for gaming purposes, I hear you say now why? Cuz I love the design and I prefer osx above windows. And if we would be honest, how many mac users also use bootcamp? more then 90% I am sure of it!

And if a mac wasn't made for gaming to, why would they lobby to make the games also for osx? Why do they sell games in the app store? Why would steam make a devision for mac games? Why did apple make full support for bootcamp?

So stop telling people what they should get, and let them have their own reasons for having a mac!

BTW I also agree that apple should make it possible to change the graphic card for the gamers.

 

[ivoruest]

Personally, I wish they made a mid tower gaming desktop and dropped the whole all-in-one crap. That's just me tho and unfortunately I don't think that'll ever happen. I'm a gamer but love OS X, wtf am I supposed to do? If apple sold OS X by itself I'd buy it and throw it on a custom gaming rig and be happy with it but Apple's too cool for that

Its just a way to protect their market. If you're a gamer then I suggest you get a PC and maybe make it a Hackintosh.

As for the mid tower for gaming, never going to happen.

 

[Nandifix]

Personally I've been moving more towards small downloadable games from the app store such as Limbo. I would be happy with the 650 or 660 m on the mid range iMac.

 

[cgk.emu]

Not to mention, you know, the awesome Boxer app for OS X

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Thanks for this