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Is it really pointless buying a mac pro, if you also want to game?

D

davelanger

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 25, 2009
832
4
It seems buying a mac pro for your main computer and to also make it good enough to game is going to get pricey. For the price of a good mac pro that can game for half of that you could get a top of the line pc gaming rig.

The main games i would want to play are WOW, Diable and when the old republic comes out. My 4 or 5 year old mac pro G5 running 10.4.11 can barely handle wow anymore (get about 10-15 FPS)

what are my best options
 
My answer: No. WOW is available for mac, as are many other games:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Macintosh_games

If your other games you want to play are not on that list then you have three options:

  1. Use Bootcampt to create a Windows partition and installation.
  2. Use VMWare Fusion, Parralles or VirtualBox to run Windows in a Virtual Environment.
  3. Buy Crossover Games or use WINE and Cider ports for emulation of you Windows games.
 
Installing Windows 7 on my MacBook Pro was incredibly easy. Is it that much harder on a Mac Pro?
 
Those aren't the most demanding games. The iMac 4850 could handle them. However if you want to stay with os x then you could go with a 27" iMac or a mac pro. mac pro would be overkill just to play games, but it does give you the best upgradability and graphic card choices. If you went with the iMac, you could build a gaming of and use the Imac as a display if you found the 4850 lacking.
 
I am not much of a gamer except for MS Flight Simulator which is one of the most demanding games ever made. With windows 7 installed on my mac Pro it runs like a dream. I do agree it is a expense solution. I was in the position to be able to afford one in early 2008 when I bought it. Times are different and if I had to do it today I would be building my own setup. And yes it would run windows and OS X.
 
You haven't mentioned what else it is you want to do with your PC / Mac as well as gaming. If you just want to use it for surfing the net and other everyday tasks, then there's no point in going for a Mac Pro.

Mac Pro's make excellent workstations for video, 3d etc, and given the right graphics card choice are also pretty good for gaming - especially in boot camp.

It would make no sense buying a Mac Pro just to play games on.
 
If you lack the knowledge to hackintosh, and need OSX, it makes very much sense tbh.


but the route you (dave) are asking for, is the hackintosh route.
im going to make the ultimate hackintosh thread in a few days, stay tuned ;)
 
I agree that buying a mac pro just for gaming is too much, but one you are limited to due to apple.

However as I said before your games aren't the most demanding. A 4850 would handle it in my opinion.
 
Gomff said:
You haven't mentioned what else it is you want to do with your PC / Mac as well as gaming. If you just want to use it for surfing the net and other everyday tasks, then there's no point in going for a Mac Pro.

Mac Pro's make excellent workstations for video, 3d etc, and given the right graphics card choice are also pretty good for gaming - especially in boot camp.

It would make no sense buying a Mac Pro just to play games on.
Click to expand...

Just for a few games and basic office stuff, surfing, and music ( i tunes).

I want a desktop, I dont want a laptop.

I want a new computer soon, and want to stay with mac, I have a nice display already so I dont really want an imac.
But if I want to game, am I just better off getting a PC for around $1000 rather than getting a 2-3k mac desk top?
 
I think if your main thing is to game, then a mac pro is overkill. If you have the money though, who cares?

Is gaming, under windows, on apple worth 1500 or so to you? If it is or 150" isn't that much to you or you value os x that highly, then a mac pro is fine.

Perhaps a used 2008 would be the best bet.
 
kellen said:
I think if your main thing is to game, then a mac pro is overkill. If you have the money though, who cares?

Is gaming, under windows, on apple worth 1500 or so to you? If it is or 150" isn't that much to you or you value os x that highly, then a mac pro is fine.

Perhaps a used 2008 would be the best bet.
Click to expand...

Is it better to game under bootcamp windows or under os x for games like wow
 
If you buy a Mac Pro, you will be able to play high end games as long as you get a good graphics card.

I've got the Mac Pro3,1 with a GTX 285 1GB and I play Crysis Warhead with max settings (no AA) on a 1920x1200 resolution, under the same settings the Crysis demo went nicely too.
I've also got an Intel X25-M G2 160GB SSD for OSX, 40GB dedicated to Windows 7.

There should be a new line of graphics cards for us to choose from when the new Mac Pro comes in the new year (sometime around march I'm guessing).
Is it better to game under bootcamp windows or under os x for games like wow
Click to expand...
I like to keep pretty much all of my games on one platform, but if you don't want to have to reboot every time you want to play WoW then put it on OSX.
I think I got a pretty steady 180+ FPS on WoW (max settings) with my GTX 285.

FYI, some games are genuinely made for Mac like WoW, others are not and are ported over to Mac using things like Cider (IE Eve Online), and it's not as good on the Mac version.
 
The Mac Pro is built as a professional computer. If you need a Mac Pro for work, get one for work. If you just something like an iMac. I feel it would be better to get the iMac and a gaming computer. Paying for a Mac Pro just to play games is rather over kill, as the system was not designed as a gaming computer, getting one for gaming becomes too expensive.
 
Yes

A mac can do it all. All of those games you listed can be played on a Mac and most likely will run it better than the windows equivalent. I do not recommend putting windows on a mac yes it can do it but you do not need to.
Good luck and have fun.

Mac is definitely the best option for a computer but for large amounts of games it is slightly harder but most games manufactures are making their games dual format.
 
davelanger said:
Just for a few games and basic office stuff, surfing, and music ( i tunes).

I want a desktop, I dont want a laptop.

I want a new computer soon, and want to stay with mac, I have a nice display already so I dont really want an imac.
But if I want to game, am I just better off getting a PC for around $1000 rather than getting a 2-3k mac desk top?
Click to expand...
Given the requirements you've indicated and cost involved, the MP is overkill. Unfortunately, it's the only option in terms of Macs. Run Windows, and a gaming card (BIOS based models will boot under Windows, just not OS X unless you can flash it or use injectors).

But given the costs associated with using a MP for gaming and otherwise light duty, the hackintosh route Cindori suggested makes the most sense IMO as well.

It's not actually all that bad in terms of difficulty/effort involved, and there's guides out there. Since he's going to post a guide, take a look at it once up, as the existing guides may be a bit outdated or confusing (locating the most recent file versions for the different software components). Pretty much a good gaming PC (or any other PC) can be hacked to run OS X these days (stable, and will allow updates, particularly the EFI Boot loader + Vanilla Kernel method).
 
davelanger said:
Is it better to game under bootcamp windows or under os x for games like wow
Click to expand...

Windows usually is better. Games are specifically encoded for windows and aren't just quick ports of games. Blizzard is one of few developers that seem to be close between windows and os x.

That said I still say if the extra 1500 isn't that big of a deal for you, then buy a mac pro. However if you wanna do this cheaper and keep OS X, then buy a imac with the 4850. It should run all those games fine under windows/os x.
 
As a long time PowerMac/Mac Pro user, I'd recommend getting a cheaper consumer Mac these days for your "digital lifestyle" and spend the money you saved by not buying a Mac Pro on a good self-built PC for your gaming needs. You'll get the best of both worlds this way. I'm pretty sure this Mac Pro is the last one I bought, at least if no new job requires one, it's just too pricy for a private computer and still lacks behind the latest and greatest gaming hardware. I still hold the laptops in high regard though and would probably continue to buy Macbook(Pro)s.
 
Just boot it into bootcamp if you want to game. Thats what I do.

I can't use a windows machine even if I wanted to as the OS simply isn't capable of doing what I need to do on a computer but I still like to play computer games occasionally (even though I am more of a console gamer) so I just boot into bootcamp. Works flawlessly :)
 
Yes it is a pricey option just to play games. As others have said get a Mac Pro if you need it for what it's designed for, which is high demand software on the mac platform. If you wish to game as well then it will more than suit.

However if you want to be a mac user for daily general stuff, and some casual gaming get one of the new i7 iMacs. They'll comfortably run most of today's games, even if you do need to run boot camp. They're pretty much on par with capabilities of the cheapo pc you'll get from your local department store anyway.

I don't see the point of getting an iMac and building up a whopper PC just for gaming. It wouldn't surprise me if that would end up costing you the same as a mac pro with all the good kit for gaming.
 
Cindori said:
If you lack the knowledge to hackintosh, and need OSX, it makes very much sense tbh.


but the route you (dave) are asking for, is the hackintosh route.
im going to make the ultimate hackintosh thread in a few days, stay tuned ;)
Click to expand...

This is quite funny - I started out building a Hack - I was a died in the wool Windows guy. I liked OS X so much I bought a real Mac. There are good guides out there and definitely specific hardware that allows you to build a hack more easily - I have built about 5 of these machines so far...
 
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