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Mac Pro and Gaming

V

vaderhater245

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 4, 2008
285
0
Flagstaff, AZ
As i slowly gather the funds for the next revision of the mac pro, I'm fully aware of what I'm getting myself into. Money isn't a issue which is why I want a mac pro so i can get the best of both worlds. I am a hardcore gamer but at the same time a graphic design student about to graduate. Being a "hardcore" pc gamer, can the Mac Pro really withstand long gaming sessions in Win7 bootcamp? Its designed to be pushed to the max correct? At the same time, this is will be my money maker in about 5-6 months. Gaming wont shorten the Mac Pro's life right? Win7 will be on a separate disk if that matters. thanks in advance.

EDIT: when i mean hardcore, im talking 70+ steam games including MW2, GTA4, and L4D2.
 
im gunna answer this the best i can,

i have a Mac pro 8 Core 2.26ghz 12GB ram 4870 512MB i also used to be a hardcore gamer,(FPS mainly) 5 months old now.

I havent installed any Windows OS on my machine, but i've run a few games on OSX such as WoW, Qauke (normally running for at least 12 hours)

not Hardcore games but both run well at 2560x1600 (60fps-120fps) on Ultra High which i think is very good for a very small sized graphics card, for my screen size i really need a 1GB+ Card..

Although Remember Windows Most games will run 30-50% faster as there not ported. even WoW runs 50% slower on OSX

i hope i answered your question in a weird way but helpful.
 
The Mac Pro isn't the best gaming machine really, mainly due to the lack of good graphics card options. If you're really a hardcore gamer, you should get a Mac Pro with ATI 4870 graphics, and that option is ridiculously overpriced at the Apple store. Look below in this forum section for the threads about flashing ATI cards though.
As I just said in another thread, I wouldn't buy a new Mac Pro for my private life anymore, since you'll always get much better gaming PCs for much less.
That said, if you're going to be a professional graphics designer, a Mac Pro is probably almost a requirement. They are excellent workstations for Photoshop etc., so as a (tax deductible) working machine it's first choice, but it's an overpriced second class gaming machine. It'll still run your games fine though if you're not going with the standard card.
 
thanks for the quick replies. Im trying to condense the amount of computers i have. getting rid of early 2006 MBP and gaming rig for a Mac Pro seems to be the safest bet for me. I have my fingers crossed for a 5870 BTO option. I just want to know if some long term gaming mixed with FCS/Logic/PS/AI/FL will shorten its life even more?
 
vaderhater245 said:
thanks for the quick replies. Im trying to condense the amount of computers i have. getting rid of early 2006 MBP and gaming rig for a Mac Pro seems to be the safest bet for me. I have my fingers crossed for a 5870 BTO option. I just want to know if some long term gaming mixed with FCS/Logic/PS/AI/FL will shorten its life even more?
Click to expand...

Shouldn't, unless a defect is found to exist (such as the 8600GT). In which case Apple will [maybe] extend support; also, this wouldn't be Apple-only, as the only thing that really is different on Mac is EFI instead of BIOS (aka same processors, chipsets, etc).

If you're worried about temps, get a fan controller program on the software side and crank it up.
 
The EVGA nVidia 285 GTX Mac Edition is at the moment the best graphicscard you can get for your Mac Pro if you are gaming in Windows.
 
vaderhater245 said:
As i slowly gather the funds for the next revision of the mac pro, I'm fully aware of what I'm getting myself into. Money isn't a issue which is why I want a mac pro so i can get the best of both worlds. I am a hardcore gamer but at the same time a graphic design student about to graduate. Being a "hardcore" pc gamer, can the Mac Pro really withstand long gaming sessions in Win7 bootcamp? Its designed to be pushed to the max correct? At the same time, this is will be my money maker in about 5-6 months. Gaming wont shorten the Mac Pro's life right? Win7 will be on a separate disk if that matters. thanks in advance.

EDIT: when i mean hardcore, im talking 70+ steam games including MW2, GTA4, and L4D2.
Click to expand...

I also was a hardcore pc gamer before my switch to Mac when I got my Mac Pro. The Mac Pro has enabled me to still continue being a hardcore "PC" gamer. I have Win7 installed on a dedicated Intel X-25m G2 80GB ssd and the OS runs great. The Mac Pro is really a great machine. The 4870 in my system has been able to run every game I've thrown at it on max settings with the exception of running slightly lower than native resolutions on my 30" ACD. However most steam games like L4D, L4D2, MW2, Half Life 2 Episode 2 and others run at max resolution and settings with over 60 FPS. My overall score in Win7 is a 7.4 which is great. The Mac Pro is a very wise investment and I strongly suggest it. Sure, you'll get people telling you that you can build a PC for less and get more out of it for gaming but a Mac Pro is elegant, a powerhouse workstation and a great gaming machine in Win7. The next revision should be interesting. I'm expecting Apple to offer the 5870 as BTO and if that's the case who says we can't run 2 in crossfire for gaming purposes under Windows. All it requires is a little cable tweaks. Depending how massive the update of the Mac Pro is, Apple might entice me to get the 2010 Mac Pro. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. The Mac Pro is truly a great investment and trust me you'll love it even more under Win7! :D
 
vaderhater245 said:
thanks for the quick replies. Im trying to condense the amount of computers i have. getting rid of early 2006 MBP and gaming rig for a Mac Pro seems to be the safest bet for me. I have my fingers crossed for a 5870 BTO option. I just want to know if some long term gaming mixed with FCS/Logic/PS/AI/FL will shorten its life even more?
Click to expand...

Heavy gaming and video editing will always put a strain on your graphics card. However, if it does shorten its life with the purchase of Applecare you'll get it exchanged free of charge if it ever died on you.
 
I was wondering for long how many Mac Pro owners also use it for gaming via bootcamp.

Seem that new games support quad-core CPUs, - but do they also take advantage of the 2nd quad-core CPU if it is a dual CPU Mac Pro?

I assume that gamers can use one of the many Soundlbaster X-fi USB headset or external sound-cards for gaming sound..
 
Mr.Bullitt said:
I was wondering for long how many Mac Pro owners also use it for gaming via bootcamp.

Seem that new games support quad-core CPUs, - but do they also take advantage of the 2nd quad-core CPU if it is a dual CPU Mac Pro?

I assume that gamers can use one of the many Soundlbaster X-fi USB headset or external sound-cards for gaming sound..
Click to expand...

I would say that a lot of Mac Pro owners game under windows. Only some games take advantage of 8-cores. FSX is one of them. However, most only go up to 4-cores. However, thanks to Hyperthreading games work really well. I love Win7 on my Mac Pro. Gaming for me is a must and my Mac Pro has never let me down! :D
 
mac pro is well qualified for hardcore gaming
i've played crysis, crysis warhead, fallout 3, and many hardcore games on fullhd resolution 1920x1080 @ high end quality with my gtx 285 Mac Eddition, they run awesomely lol
except crysis warhead.... well i've played it on 1280x720 for decent FPS :eek:
good luck
 
alam said:
mac pro is well qualified for hardcore gaming
i've played crysis, crysis warhead, fallout 3, and many hardcore games on fullhd resolution 1920x1080 @ high end quality with my gtx 285 Mac Eddition, they run awesomely lol
except crysis warhead.... well i've played it on 1280x720 for decent FPS :eek:
good luck
Click to expand...

+1. I agree. Games run especially well under Windows 7 which I must say is a truly amazing Operating System. :D
 
I regularly read about flashing ATI cards.

Does this mean to install different firmware to make them OS X compatible?
 
as it was an answer to this:

seisend said:
The EVGA nVidia 285 GTX Mac Edition is at the moment the best graphicscard you can get for your Mac Pro if you are gaming in Windows.
Click to expand...


It's not incorrect. 5970 is the best graphic card for MacPro when gaming in windows.
A MacPro booting windows is basically a PC.
 
Want MP for gaming under bootcamp.. Go Ahead!

I had similar situation a yours last year. I've bought MP quad core 2009 model with ati 4870. I am playing all games with highest resolution 1920X1200. I play fallout 3 and Empire total war with Darthmod ultimate commander. Both games run smoothly with the highest setting. Gaming on MP under bootcamp is highly recommended with no known issues. Surely MP 2010 model will get more advantage over 2009 in all aspect. :D:D:D
 
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