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MacBook Air 2013 Gaming Performance (Intel HD 5000)
- Thread starter Yixian
- Start date
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After playing WoW for a bit on my i5 8GB 13" I found the fans got a bit loud. By setting the vertical sync on (so it sticks to 30 or 60 fps) and then setting max foreground fps to 32, (so that is stays at 30) the fans don't get loud at all and my performance is great. I've had them jump up to maybe 3000rpm for a short time in an instance but mostly they stay under 2000 (practically inaudible).
These look great! Is there any chance that someone could summarize the results a little, so those of us on poor mobile connections can know how well the games run?
One more game I am very curious about is civ 5, specifically whether it is playable on single player through to the end... Standard map size for example.
You guys are doing a great job. I am having a really hard time on deciding to buy a i7/8/256 MBA or to wait until the new retina pros come out. Based on other threads, however, I am getting skeptical as to how much better it will be for gaming vs its much higher price.
Thanks!
Howdy,
Got 13" i7/8GB/256 model, installed bootcamp Win 7 and tried some games.
Skyrim runs on native resolution, low preset settings(no aa) when walking and running around 25-32 fps. During fights with few bandits, about 19-28 fps.
In caves etc. it goes up to 45 fps.
On 720p, medium preset settings it runs around 30-45 fps when running around.
In fights it goes down to 22-35. It really depends on the situation.
In caves it spikes up even to 60-ish fps.
In my opinion very playable. Just plug in the headphones, because the fans kick in about 10-15 minutes of play.
If you'd like, I can upload some gameplay footage later.
Next stop --> Torchlight 2
Wish the mac version of torchlight II would come out all ready.
Just picked up a maxed out (i7/8GB/512GB) MBA - will be testing it later. Mainly SC2 and SWTOR.
I'll report back with findings!
I'll report back with findings!
jrswizzle, could you please test sc2 as in this link? Just for consistency, to compare to other graphic cards. Thank you.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/StarCraft-II-Heart-of-the-Swarm-Benchmarked.89920.0.html
P.S. ctrl - alt - f to show FPS
http://www.notebookcheck.net/StarCraft-II-Heart-of-the-Swarm-Benchmarked.89920.0.html
P.S. ctrl - alt - f to show FPS
Wow, I didnt even know they made an expansion. I havent played SC2 in a few years. I hope my Air can run Heart of the Swarm.
All tests done in bootcamp Windows 8 Pro with a Macbook Air 13" / i7 / 8b / 128ssd
Passmark Performance Test 8 (3D graphics test penalized due to lack of 1080p display)
CPU 4569
2D GPU 643
3D GPU 730
RAM 2264
Disk 5227
3D Mark 06 Professional v1.1.0 Standard settings
Total Score 6706
SM2.0 Score 2230
HDR/SM3.0 Score 2925
CPU Score 3492
(Scores range from 5900-6100 after upgrading intel drivers)
3D Mark 11 Professional v1.0.2. Standard performance setting
Total Score P1164
Graphics Score 1061
Physics Score 3435
Combined Score 922
(Major Artifacting on last test, hard to even see what was going on. After running test multiple times under different Windows 8 and Intel performance settings, and even upgraded drivers, I was never able to get this score again, other scores ranged from P1011-P1045)
Passmark Performance Test 8 (3D graphics test penalized due to lack of 1080p display)
CPU 4569
2D GPU 643
3D GPU 730
RAM 2264
Disk 5227
3D Mark 06 Professional v1.1.0 Standard settings
Total Score 6706
SM2.0 Score 2230
HDR/SM3.0 Score 2925
CPU Score 3492
(Scores range from 5900-6100 after upgrading intel drivers)
3D Mark 11 Professional v1.0.2. Standard performance setting
Total Score P1164
Graphics Score 1061
Physics Score 3435
Combined Score 922
(Major Artifacting on last test, hard to even see what was going on. After running test multiple times under different Windows 8 and Intel performance settings, and even upgraded drivers, I was never able to get this score again, other scores ranged from P1011-P1045)
I don't have Heart of the Swarm - didn't realize it had even come out. TBH I really only play SWTOR at this point but figured I'd install SC2 as I like to go back to it from time to time.
When I install it, I'll let you know how it runs.
Where are you all getting the new intel windows drivers?
I tried searching and could not find 5000 drivers. Does anyone have a link handy?
I tried searching and could not find 5000 drivers. Does anyone have a link handy?
Settings: Everything on high
Resolution: 1366x768
FPS: 30-45fps
Settings: Everything on high
Resolution: 1920x1200
FPS: 30-40fps (dips to mid/high 20s during 5v5 fights)
I'm going to try a 1920x1080 monitor next. Why the 16:10 monitor? I have 2 1080P monitors but they only accept HDMI or VGA inputs. I have a Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter but no spare HDMI cable. I don't have a Thunderbolt to VGA adapter but I have plenty of VGA cables lying around.
A tip to increase FPS (for LoL) is to keep shadows low or medium but everything else on high. I haven't tried it but that is what I have been seeing/hearing from others. Still, my 2012 MBA struggled to get 30+fps. It peaked at mid 30s with shadows on low/medium while everything else on high. I think character quality was medium too but I forget. Anyway, my new 11" MBA has everything on high and it gets 30fps without any struggle. Only dips to mid/high 20s during 5v5 fights which is acceptable to me, especially on a 1920x1200 (NOT 1080P) monitor.
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http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect
I did that on my macbook air 13" with the HD5000 and it found an update.
The update however, did not effect gaming performance and actually hurt all my benchmark performance.
So I'm really disappointed right now - SWTOR is unplayable on my MBA at the moment.....my i7, 8GB RAM 2013 MBA.....
All very low graphics settings, I moved smoothly enough, but for whatever reason the server lag (latency meter) was off the charts....my internet connection was and is fine. Not sure what the deal is here.
Welcome any suggestions. From what everyone else has posted, I have to believe my issues aren't graphically related - something to do with the maintenance today - perhaps a bad driver. SWTOR isn't a terribly demanding game and I'm well over the minimum requirements to run this game.
EDIT: I realize I forgot to run the Windows updater after my fresh install of Win 7 Ultimate.....while everything seems to run fine normally, I figure there's probably an update in there somewhere that will help with the network connections. I did the Windows experience test and got a 6.7 out of 7.9 (obviously the low scores were in graphics - but 6.7 is nothing to sneeze at).
My take is the MBA should be plenty for some light-medium gaming as long as you aren't too attached to your high-quality graphics. I'll keep working and after the updates will check back here.
All very low graphics settings, I moved smoothly enough, but for whatever reason the server lag (latency meter) was off the charts....my internet connection was and is fine. Not sure what the deal is here.
Welcome any suggestions. From what everyone else has posted, I have to believe my issues aren't graphically related - something to do with the maintenance today - perhaps a bad driver. SWTOR isn't a terribly demanding game and I'm well over the minimum requirements to run this game.
EDIT: I realize I forgot to run the Windows updater after my fresh install of Win 7 Ultimate.....while everything seems to run fine normally, I figure there's probably an update in there somewhere that will help with the network connections. I did the Windows experience test and got a 6.7 out of 7.9 (obviously the low scores were in graphics - but 6.7 is nothing to sneeze at).
My take is the MBA should be plenty for some light-medium gaming as long as you aren't too attached to your high-quality graphics. I'll keep working and after the updates will check back here.
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So much for your "awesome, dGPU-like" performance...
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7072/intel-hd-5000-vs-hd-4000-vs-hd-4400
This is still abysmal. My MBP has HD4000 and I'm hoping that in a few years when I'll buy a new MB (possibly MBA), it will have a dedicated GPU that's able to switch to iGPU for better battery time. The battery on the new MBA though, that's awesome.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7072/intel-hd-5000-vs-hd-4000-vs-hd-4400
This is still abysmal. My MBP has HD4000 and I'm hoping that in a few years when I'll buy a new MB (possibly MBA), it will have a dedicated GPU that's able to switch to iGPU for better battery time. The battery on the new MBA though, that's awesome.
Abysmal?? It's an integrated GPU! It's only abysmal if you have no sense of perspective! It's about as fast as a GT625M, which is very impressive for a 15W TDP. Considering where Integrated GPUs were 4 years ago before the HD3000, Intel has really stepped up their game.
You're living on another planet if you think that the priority of an ultrabook is to run quiet when hardcore gaming.
Not once have I ever been distracted by the fans either with or without headphones, if they sound loud in the video then it must be something to do with the mic.