Mac Mini And Gaming?

[kdm0505]

I lightly game with games such as borderlands 2. I am looking for recommendation on a model for the Mac Mini that is best for this. How much does the performance differ between that i5 and i7 options? Is there performance boost to justify the $300 upgrade? I plan to go with 8gb ram and 256SSD.

 

[yjchua95]

I lightly game with games such as borderlands 2. I am looking for recommendation on a model for the Mac Mini that is best for this. How much does the performance differ between that i5 and i7 options? Is there performance boost to justify the $300 upgrade? I plan to go with 8gb ram and 256SSD.

The difference is very negligible.

The i7 isn't worth it.

Iris will handle Borderlands 2 just fine.

Can't go wrong with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD, even a 1TB FD would also do you fine since you're probably not going to do anything heavy on it.

 

[sonicrobby]

The difference is very negligible.

The i7 isn't worth it.

Iris will handle Borderlands 2 just fine.

Can't go wrong with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD, even a 1TB FD would also do you fine since you're probably not going to do anything heavy on it.

I second this. ^^^

If they would still offer the quad core version, I would say get that one; but sadly Apple decided not to update that model

 

[yjchua95]

I second this. ^^^

If they would still offer the quad core version, I would say get that one; but sadly Apple decided not to update that model

The Ivy Bridge quad core has a significantly worse GPU. The Iris 5100 was a massive improvement compared to the HD4000.

 

[sonicrobby]

The Ivy Bridge quad core has a significantly worse GPU. The Iris 5100 was a massive improvement compared to the HD4000.

I never said otherwise... I said if they were to offer a quad core with the iris graphics, I would recommend it, but they didn't...

 

[Altis]

Has anyone actually played Borderlands 2 on a Mini?

From the Steam store:

Recommended:
OS: 10.9.5 (Mavericks)

Processor: 2.2GHz Intel Quad Core

Memory: 4 GB RAM

Video Memory: 512 MB

Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5750 / NVidia Geforce 650M

We are talking about an ultrabook CPU with integrated graphics. What resolution do you plan on running it at?

 

[Cloudsurfer]

How much does the performance differ between that i5 and i7 options? Is there performance boost to justify the $300 upgrade?

For gaming the difference will be negligible. The Iris 5100 in the i7 is only 50MHz faster than the 5100 in the 2.6GHz i5.

 

[matttl]

i dont do much gaming on my mac mini, but i do run WoW at 720p medium details and its ok. not GREAT, but it's playable. and WoW is like a 10yr old game. integrated graphics are weak compared to a discreet GPU