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Mac Mini 2010 and Starcraft 2

A

agbyaj

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 4, 2009
6
0
Hey guys,

I'm really excited about the new Mac Mini coming out. I've been waiting a while to get a new Mac. I currently own a 12 inch Powerbook G4 and am looking to upgrade. I feel like I don't need another laptop, because the one I have just sits at the desk anyways and my iPhone takes care of my mobile browsing needs (honestly I've been obsessed since I got the original). In my new computer, I'm looking for mainly an internet, media and office machine. This the mini fits easily. What I'm worried about is the possibility of gaming on the machine. I've scoured the forum and it seems that the 320m graphics are getting mixed reviews. I want to make sure that if I buy a new mini, that I'll be able to play Starcraft 2 when it comes out. I'm a big fan of the original and can't wait to dive back in. Do you guys think I'll have any issues playing Starcraft? I'm willing to lower the graphics on the game, so that won't be too much of an issue. No need to max everything out. What RAM and processor recommendations do you have?

Here's a link to the Starcraft 2 system requirements.

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=26242
 
The 320M is actually a pretty decent card at medium resolutions. You won't have any problems running Starcraft 2 as long as you aren't obsessed with detail.
 
all i know is that 330m, 512mb isn't enough to run starcraft 2 at full graphics, but almost full. just need to turn one of the shaders down one notch. I don't have much experience with the 320m, but it surely isnt as good as the 330m. Personally i wouldn't get the mac mini, you can get a LOT better for the same price going with windows. i say get a macbook pro.
 
it should be perfectly fine at low, and you should be able to push med and possibly *some* high settings. I've run SC II on the 9400m in my MBP (forgetting to switch to to 9600), and it runs on low no problem. And anyone you ask will tell you that the 320m is way better than the 9400m.
 
Starcraft 2 isn't a real demanding game-- with the exception of its shaders. Its shaders make a dramatical difference in performance compared to other games.

The 320m will be able to run Starcraft2 at all high settings, and medium on shaders, if your resolution isn't anything ultra high.
 
Mac Mini 2010

I just bought the new Mac Mini (mid 2010) and it has exceeded my expectations. I'm a first time mac user and I'm glad I bought the Mac Mini. From what I've read about the beta tests and system requirements from around the net we will be able to play it with the mac mini with a few graphics adjustments. The graphics don't look very demanding but all the flash and glitz is. Like the other guy said I think we might have to set down the shaders a bit. I've tested this mac mini on Spore and Second Life and was happy with the performance with both. It out performs my Dell "gaming" system in every respect. No really it does! Its faster online, faster with video, auto-adjusts when I hook it to my TV (on pc I have to go in and fool with resolution settings), and on games it runs smoother and with higher settings. I've been through the same search for a decent gaming machine for years. I decided that the middle road is the best to take. I want to play games at low to mid settings with decent performance. If you always strive for the absolute "best" you'll never be happy and end up spending thousands of dollars on hardware every 2-3 years. Thats just ridiculous. Your other OEMs like HP, Dell, and Gateway just plain suck. They use inferior parts (sometimes refurbished) half the time and they often ship with defective hardware and software. Take it from me. I had an HP blow out just after the 1-year warranty, and the Dell shiped to me with known bios problems and fan issues (bad power supply and burnt out video card). Everyone says to build a custom, but I'm not very good at that stuff and I don't really want to waste my life building PCs. Some ppl say to go to IBUYPOWER or some of the other custom builds but they have such a horrible track record I wouldn't want to take the chance. Many of their systems come wired poorly and dead on arrival. I guess what I'm saying is I got sick of dealing with over-priced computers that didn't last very long. I'm happily a mac user and the mini is working just fine for me. When I get the money for mid to high performance I'll just get a good ol' Imac or Mac Pro. The internet community likes to slander mac and say that they can't do this or can't do that but most of it is all lies.
 
Bought a 2.4Ghz 4GB Mac Mini yesterday. I run SC2 at 1680x1050 with the graphics detail set to medium but the texture detail set to high. It runs better than expected. This is in bootcamp not OS X btw.
 
run it in bootcamp

The performance is so much better running it on windows. I've tried running it in both and i will never run it in os x at least until I hear that the mac version receives some kind of major update.
 
No improvements at all from what I can see. Using my 320m equipped MBP, I tested both SC2 and WoW before and after applying the update. SC2 ran exactly the same, no improvements that I could detect. In WoW, I actually took screenshots of the exact same view with the FPS displayed both before and after the update. No change at all.
 
StarCraft 2 should run fine at medium and not-too-high resolution. I'd say, StarCraft 2 is more CPU demanding because of the ongoing battles that occur everywhere.
 
Bootcamp W7 64BIT and OC that 320M mofo!!! :cool::cool::cool:

In OSX though you should be perfectly fine on Medium! Play around with Shaders because that's what really causes the slowdowns.
 
Yeah, you could research the best board, CPU and graphics card, put in a big power supply, fastest HDD and get prepared to have a very loud and hot machine. Or get the Mac mini and run it in Boot Camp for silent, cool and moderate performance.

* * Thanks for sharing your experience, polarisx7. * *
 
why does sc2 work better on windows than on osx? Blizzard created the game with both of those operating systems in mind. Is windows just more powerful?
 
echels said:
A number of people say to run starcraft in bootcamp. Why?
Click to expand...

Graphics drivers under OS X are fairly poor compared to drivers under Windows, so you sometimes get quite a bit better performance under Windows depending on the game you play - Starcraft 2 being one of those games.
 
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