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Is 3.06GHz processor really important for gaming?

I

ianoreo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2007
9
0
Hello! I am about to buy a Macbook Pro this week and I'm considering the customizations available. I am a large Boot Camp user and I like to play games like Team Fortress 2, Crysis, and Bioshock. The only game I play on my mac partition is World of Warcraft. I was almost completely set on 3.06GHz processor but I'm now wondering if it's neccesary / worth it? I saw that the 2.8 processor was pretty common for buyers so I wasn't sure. Is it really worth it to get the increased speed? I also am wondering what the advantages of a faster RPM Hard drive are for gaming?

Thanks so much!

Ian
 
3.06GHZ processor is a total waste of money. You'll be paying nearly $300 for a measly 266Mhz. Back in the Northwood/Prescott days, having a faster CPU actually improved performance quite a bit. Now a days, games are much more optimized and use the GPU much more.
 
A faster RPM drive will let you load things quicker.
The CPU isn't as important because most games will be limited by the graphics card long before the CPU becomes an issue.
 
Awesome! Thanks for the great replies. Will the MBP's GPU handle those games well?

Thanks again,
Ian
 
Yes, the 17" unibdoy will handle it amazing, i run WOW, COD4 on mac on full settings with 0 lag/glitchiness (and yes i realize internet affects wow) i also play dawn of war 2 and COD5 on vista and run both again, at FULL settings with 0 glitch. i just bought my 17" with the 7200rpm 500gb drive and it runs beautifully. Youll love it man.
 
Yeah, when I was still playing WoW on my 2.33 17" MBP, it would take up about 70/200% normally. So when I was flying somewhere in game, I'd go into windowed mode and just watch an episode of House in HD with no problems at all.
 
sammich said:
Yeah, when I was still playing WoW on my 2.33 17" MBP, it would take up about 70/200% normally. So when I was flying somewhere in game, I'd go into windowed mode and just watch an episode of House in HD with no problems at all.
Click to expand...

Hahaha that's awesome. Glad to hear it works so well!

Boostin said:
Yes, the 17" unibdoy will handle it amazing, i run WOW, COD4 on mac on full settings with 0 lag/glitchiness (and yes i realize internet affects wow) i also play dawn of war 2 and COD5 on vista and run both again, at FULL settings with 0 glitch. i just bought my 17" with the 7200rpm 500gb drive and it runs beautifully. Youll love it man.
Click to expand...

PERFECT! I bet I will....thanks for the comments again everyone! On my way to the store in a few minutes!

-Ian
 
Like others have said, GPU is way more important. I'd also like to add:

Save $300 and buy an xbox or ps3slim instead.

OR

If the only reason you're buying the top end MBP versus a low end 9400m MBP is "games in bootcamp". Then, I'd recommend you buy the low end MBP AND a dedicated gaming desktop PC, because you would be paying a huge premium for a gaming laptop that's limited by the 9600m GT. The faster CPUs wont help much when the bottle neck is at the GPU.
 
Why would you buy a Macbook Pro for gaming... These are not meant for gaming, buy a 360 or PS3 with the money you save, you'll play them all way better... You won't be able to play Crysis very decently, since the biggest bottleneck is still the GPU.
 
The GPU is going to be your main bottleneck. Also if you go this route you may want to invest in a cooling stand or a fan because my Unibody has gotten so hot it shuts itself off.

A MBP is NOT a great gaming laptop unless you travel a lot. It's a great portable machine and will play today's games, but not far down the line it will be out of date.
 
TESEV said:
The GPU is going to be your main bottleneck. Also if you go this route you may want to invest in a cooling stand or a fan because my Unibody has gotten so hot it shuts itself off.

A MBP is NOT a great gaming laptop unless you travel a lot. It's a great portable machine and will play today's games, but not far down the line it will be out of date.
Click to expand...

Yours turns off?
 
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