Intel HD4000 for some games

[Windgrace]

Ok, I (like you) have been waiting for the spec bump in the Macbook pro lineup for quite some time. I have a 5 year old Macbook that's ready to crap out on me.

I'm a college student, and mostly use the computer for surfing the web, emails, word documents, etc.

I also like play Diablo 3 (and maybe Torchlight 2 when it comes out).

My question is: Do I need to get the 15" for the dedicated graphics card, or will the 13" with Intel HD4000 run the game fine on low settings? I'd prefer the 13" for size/price, but if it can't run the game then I'll consider taking the size/price jump for the 15".

I called the Apple store near me and they said the 13" would be fine. Just wanted to make sure before I place my order (or drive down there after work and pick one up this week).

 

[PAPO]

it SHOULD be fine on HD4000 but if you are playing any game you ALWAYS better off with a discrete GPU, trust me a 15" isn't that big, I lugged one around my last few years of High School no problem

 

[mikeo007]

The 13" will be fine for that. But don't expect to play games in the future. Diablo 3 is not a graphically intensive game, and the HD3000 in the previous gen MacBook really struggles with it.

 

[Windgrace]

The 13" will be fine for that. But don't expect to play games in the future. Diablo 3 is not a graphically intensive game, and the HD3000 in the previous gen MacBook really struggles with it.

Other than Diablo 2+3, I don't really game much on computers. I might play Torchlight 2, but really I mostly plan on using the computer for college. There's a several hundred dollar price difference between 13" and 15." I'm not sure it's worth the jump just for one game, especially if the 13" could handle it.

 

[mikeo007]

Other than Diablo 2+3, I don't really game much on computers. I might play Torchlight 2, but really I mostly plan on using the computer for college. There's a several hundred dollar price difference between 13" and 15." I'm not sure it's worth the jump just for one game, especially if the 13" could handle it.

It's your call, but you should think ahead. What if a Diablo 3 expansion comes out next year with higher requirements? You may not be able to play it. Just food for thought. I wouldn't buy a 13" MBP at all right now with the 13" Air at the same price.

 

[Windgrace]

It's your call, but you should think ahead. What if a Diablo 3 expansion comes out next year with higher requirements? You may not be able to play it. Just food for thought. I wouldn't buy a 13" MBP at all right now with the 13" Air at the same price.

Pro has more processing power and still has the disk drive (which I could still use, albeit infrequently).

I doubt Blizzard would up the system requirements for an expansion.

Still considering the outgoing 15" pro at a reduced price....

 

[mikeo007]

Pro has more processing power and still has the disk drive (which I could still use, albeit infrequently).

I doubt Blizzard would up the system requirements for an expansion.

Still considering the outgoing 15" pro at a reduced price....

Every WoW expansion they released upped e graphics requirements considerably. Same with WC3.

 

[Windgrace]

Every WoW expansion they released upped e graphics requirements considerably. Same with WC3.

Yeah but WoW is an MMORPG that Blizzard has constantly been upgrading and adding new things to to keep people subscribed.

I don't think D2 had any requirements change after an expansion and 10 years of patches with new in game content.

 

[mikeo007]

Yeah but WoW is an MMORPG that Blizzard has constantly been upgrading and adding new things to to keep people subscribed.

I don't think D2 had any requirements change after an expansion and 10 years of patches with new in game content.

WC3 was not. Anyways, choose whatever you want dude.

 

[PrayForDeath]

The intel HD 4000 can easily run games like Diablo 3 and Dota 2. Just don't expect to run stuff like Battlefield 3 or Witcher 2.

 

[Torrijos]

On a MBook Air 13, the HD 4000 runs World of Warcraft at around 17 fps with everything set to ultra in the native resolution...

It's great for such a tiny machine, but if you want to enjoy the game a discreet GPU is better (I'm posting this also for when the mini are upgraded).

The Haswell generation will, probably, finally get to a point where Intel iGPU will be fine, for the moment discreet is the way to go.

 

[0x000000]

On a MBook Air 13, the HD 4000 runs World of Warcraft at around 17 fps with everything set to ultra in the native resolution...

It's great for such a tiny machine, but if you want to enjoy the game a discreet GPU is better (I'm posting this also for when the mini are upgraded).

The Haswell generation will, probably, finally get to a point where Intel iGPU will be fine, for the moment discreet is the way to go.

Yeah, people seem to be able to tolerate much and call it "playable". Anything below 30fps isn't what you'd call fun, especially because it often means reducing graphics settings etc. etc.

If you have a weak GPU it may well happen that in a year or so you'll easiliy find yourself in a situation where you can not play the game you want. If you need a portable gaming machine, go for a discrete GPU. But even those are in comparism to desktop GPUs really bad already, so even if you can play games well for a year or so, you'll nonetheless hit a wall quite soon.

A long time ago I chose a 15" gaming MBP over a 13" for quite the lot of additional money. And in the end I didn't nearly use it as much as I thought I'd do, it was soon still outdated and I really hated the form factor.

You may even want to consider buying a cheap PC off somewhere - most people seem to install boot camp anyway. This way you can keep the nice 13" form factor which really adds portability you want during college. And a cheap pc should easily be within the price difference you'd pay for a proper 15" gaming mac and still be a lot more powerful and upgradable.