Macbook Gaming Myth!

[Wolfpup]

That's one advantage of the Unibody MBP's - you can take the bottom shell off really easily and clean the fans yourself to make sure the air flow is fine. Course, if you can feel the hot air being blasted down then the air flow is fine.

And 6000rpm is noisy, but compared to the previous generation that sounded like a wonky hoover, they are quiet

That's cool you can get at the insides easily. Where does the air actually come out on the new Macbook/Pro? I actually couldn't figure that out on a previous gen version of the MBP

 

[kolax]

That's cool you can get at the insides easily. Where does the air actually come out on the new Macbook/Pro? I actually couldn't figure that out on a previous gen version of the MBP

Same place it has always come out of on all the MBP's - the back. There's an air vent. It is a lot narrower on the new Unibody ones but the air can get thrusted out nevertheless.

If you look at where the fans are, that location is where the air flows out.

 

[miggitymac]

A game is a game...it shouldn't be a complicated thing to play a game.

Me and my friends are having our macs crash/freeze as we try to play a game that worked fine on PC's (before we got macs) and that works fine for my friends that still play on PC.

If you know a way to stop the random crashes and freezes, please inform us on what it is.

EDIT: Me and my friends are not the only ones with this issue. Again. And one more. If you do a google search you'll find that a lot of people are having the same problem as me and my friends. So, if you do have a solution, it'll be appreciated by many in the gaming community, and you might even get some sort of recognition from Blizzard.

 

[Sauron's Master]

A game is a game...it shouldn't be a complicated thing to play a game.

Me and my friends are having our macs crash/freeze as we try to play a game that worked fine on PC's (before we got macs) and that works fine for my friends that still play on PC.

If you know a way to stop the random crashes and freezes, please inform us on what it is.

EDIT: Me and my friends are not the only ones with this issue. Again. And one more. If you do a google search you'll find that a lot of people are having the same problem as me and my friends. So, if you do have a solution, it'll be appreciated by many in the gaming community, and you might even get some sort of recognition from Blizzard.

You do realize that you posted a link to a Macbook issues thread in support of your Macbook Pro argument, yes?

If your argument is that Macbook Pros can't play games because of software compatibility issues in specific games, then applying that logic to PCs, PCs aren't capable of running games because there are numerous games that won't run properly. Remember Mass Effect at launch? EA had the nerve to claim that all machines were unsupported if they had Realtek sound drivers.

The real question is whether the Macbook Pro (and the Macbook) have sufficient graphics hardware to adequately play modern games. And the answer is yes, they do (at least in the case of the MBP.)

So yes, you and your friends are making the illogical leap that MBPs can't play games because certain games have graphics issues.

 

[miggitymac]

You do realize that you posted a link to a Macbook issues thread in support of your Macbook Pro argument, yes?

LOL!!! I have a MBP, but experience the exact same problems as people with MBs and decide to use their posts as examples of those problems.

The real question is whether the Macbook Pro (and the Macbook) have sufficient graphics hardware to adequately play modern games.

I never questioned whether the MBP was capable of playing games all I said that it couldn't play one that was made 6 years ago without crashing and freezing, and they're horrible for gaming relative to PCs. And the OP's statement that Macs play games BETTER than PCs made me laugh. The hardware and potential are there, but the drivers and software are not.

And the answer is yes, they do (at least in the case of the MBP.)

They do. But that still doesn't explain why mine can't run a 6 year old game without crashing/freezing.

So yes, you and your friends are making the illogical leap that MBPs can't play games because certain games have graphics issues.

It's not the games that have the graphics issues...it's the MBs and MBPs. Because like I said, the same game works fine on PCs. So, if I can play a game on a PC with no problems, and then play the exact same game on my MBP and experience problems...hmmm....

Is it such an illogical leap to say that my MBP can't play a game when I'm finding that my MBP can't play a game? Seems perfectly logical to me...

Just because something is good for gaming on-paper doesn't mean it's good for gaming.

Your experience with gaming may be entirely different than mine (and the others out there who have the same issue that I do). But so far, my experience with my MBP has shown me that Macs and OS X are not ideal for gaming.

EDIT: If you haven't noticed, this thread is in the Macbook/iBook forum...the OP is talking about a 2.0 GHz MB. So, again, how are my links to examples of MB issues with gaming not related to this topic?

 

[MH01]

How large is your screen and how many inches are you away from it when you're using it?

Until that screen is gigantic and you're really far away you can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p and you're just thinking you're winning some kind of pissing contest.

I think you missing the difference between 720p and 1080p, there is a large difference in detail. A 24" monitor runs 1080P natively, and that is not a gigantic screen, becoming the norm these days.

Its also takes alot more hardware to run 1080p at high FPS. Though if you think gaming at 720p is adequate, your not a gamer. Anyone who is into gaming will want to run games at the highest resolution. Heck the same goes for watching movies at 720p or 1080p....its not rocket science to work out which looks better.

 

[Wolfpup]

Its also takes alot more hardware to run 1080p at high FPS. Though if you think gaming at 720p is adequate, your not a gamer. Anyone who is into gaming will want to run games at the highest resolution. Heck the same goes for watching movies at 720p or 1080p....its not rocket science to work out which looks better.

720p is high resolution. We've only been able to run games at resolutions like that recently, and still you've got to have super high end hardware to run many new games at anything higher (the Macbook Pro can't, nor can most laptops). I mean I'd sure LIKE higher resolutions, but you can love games and play them at 1280x1024 or 720p or whatever. Besides, there's a diminishing returns thing anyway, so even at "only" those medium resolutions stuff still looks really nice. True of Blu Ray too (not that I wouldn't rather have a 1080p TV than my 720p, but...)

 

[Qinetic]

Though if you think gaming at 720p is adequate, your not a gamer.

Yeah, it has nothing to do with skill or enjoyment...totally.

 

[gamer2502]

If anyone is subscribed or watch alfreds a.k.a adiblasi videos no youtube you would know he runs WOW on his old powermac G4

 

[aznguyen316]

Yeah, it has nothing to do with skill or enjoyment...totally.

I agree, I mean I have a 720P tv and I consider myself a gamer. I couldn't afford the extra $$ at the time for a 1080P set. So what? If I can't do 120hz I'm not a gamer? There IS a difference, but a difference in resolution does not affect a good game or not. Most games if any don't run natively in 1080P at all anyway, they're just scaled, so what's the big deal?

 

[Wolfpup]

Oh yeah, for console games basically everything's 720p (or even below) aside from a handfull of launch PS3 games. Next gen maybe!

But for PC stuff too, I'm happy with 1280x1024. Really 1024x768 or above I'm happy with. The higher the better, but it took sooooo long getting to that kind of resolution, and it still looks so good (and the whole diminishing returns thing. There was a HUUUUUUGE difference going from 320x240 to 640x480, a big jump going to 800x600, 1024x768, etc., but each time it didn't LOOK as drastic.

(Of course my next HDTV will be 1080p, and I run PC games as high as I can, but I'm not going to worry if I top out at 1280 or whatever.)

 

[ritzuk]

What, no one owns that rig? Of course they do! I suggest you look on the overclockers forum.
30fps isn't that great. I also said latest games, not 18 month old games.
What's stopping mac pro owners from running that config? Erm, a few thousand quid.

For the price of a macbook pro (let's not talk about the price of a mac pro) I could build an awesome gaming setup that would trounce an apple system hands down. I know it wouldn't be portable blah blah.

The major problem with a gaming rig is that you have to run Windows as your primary OS. About four months ago, I built a new Windows gaming rig to replace my ageing iMac G5. I thought that having the extra power and expansion opportunities was well worth it.

Impressions: Gaming rigs are so bloody loud it's unreal. Everything I bought was 'silent'. The thing was still completely obnoxious.

Windows is freaking garbage compared to OS X - I'll never, ever go back. I couldn't 'downgrade' to XP, so I bought a modern OS - Vista. It couldn't be that bad, right? I found it very unintuitive and rather flakey.

I ended up dismantling the thing about two weeks later and sending it back. I realised Apple consider the whole user experience - listening to music, watching videos, form etc.

Still waiting on a new iMac update!

 

[Wolfpup]

It depends on what you buy as to whether it's going to be loud or not. And I like Vista (and XP) better than OS X, though some features on OS X like Expose, and Apache built in are neat.

 

[ceezy3000]

i've run quake 4 and gta san andreas on my old black macbook and it worked great, granted these aren't graphics intense games but who really plays crysis?

 

[marioman38]

I just wouldn't want anyone to go out and buy a new MB thinking that it's a ninja gaming system when it's not.

/fail

 

[poozer115]

i've run quake 4 and gta san andreas on my old black macbook and it worked great, granted these aren't graphics intense games but who really plays crysis?

I know what you mean . Crysis is the game played by those who never played Lode Runner, and thus do not understand the concept of gameplay > graphics . (Before I'm flamed, im mostly just joking..mostly..)

 

[Wolfpup]

Good thing you said, that, 'cause it's supposed to be a fun game (though I still haven't bought it yet :-( )

 

[MH01]

720p is high resolution. We've only been able to run games at resolutions like that recently, and still you've got to have super high end hardware to run many new games at anything higher (the Macbook Pro can't, nor can most laptops). I mean I'd sure LIKE higher resolutions, but you can love games and play them at 1280x1024 or 720p or whatever. Besides, there's a diminishing returns thing anyway, so even at "only" those medium resolutions stuff still looks really nice. True of Blu Ray too (not that I wouldn't rather have a 1080p TV than my 720p, but...)

Mate you confusing consoles with PCs. We may have been able to run consoles at 720 + only recently but PCs have been doing it for a very long time. There is over 30 PS3 titles that run at 1080p. Alot of PC games support 2560x1600. 720P and 1080P(1) are just HD terms, PC monitors have been pushing the same resolutions way before HD came out.

Now do you realize why a Macbook pro cannot run at 1080p? Nothing to do with high end hardware....its only got a 15" Screen. I do not think u understand how resolutions work.

Here is an indication of native resolutions that monitors run at. Google native resolution and your will see why u should run a monitor at those resolutions.

30" 2560x1600
24" 1920x1200
22" 1680x1050
17" 1440x900

Do not compare PC games to console games, PC gamers do not game at 720 or 1080, they have alot more choice. The higher the resolution the more eye candy.

 

[MH01]

Yeah, it has nothing to do with skill or enjoyment...totally.

So are you going to go for the VHS version of your favorite movie or the blueray? Maybe you should skip the HD era....

 

[Wolfpup]

Mate you confusing consoles with PCs. We may have been able to run consoles at 720 + only recently but PCs have been doing it for a very long time. There is over 30 PS3 titles that run at 1080p. Alot of PC games support 2560x1600. 720P and 1080P(1) are just HD terms, PC monitors have been pushing the same resolutions way before HD came out.

"Very long time" is relative. To me, it's been a very short time since we were able to run PC games at even 1024x768, let alone 1280x1024. And regardless, I still think games look fantastic at those now 'medium' resolutions.

Do not compare PC games to console games, PC gamers do not game at 720 or 1080, they have alot more choice. The higher the resolution the more eye candy.

I was just using '720p' as sort of shorthand for resolutions around that. And it's not more eye candy, it's just a higher resolution. Which, sure, looks great, but so does 720p (and I'd rather have 720p with otherwise better graphics than 1080p).

And at any rate, you certainly don't need 1080p or the like to be a real gamer. Heck, I switch between my PC running 1280x1024 or below, to a PSP running 478x320 (or whatever, thereabouts), to even a 320x240 (or threabouts) DS, and I have fun with all of them.

I mean I think you're absolutely fine if you can run today's games with medium and high settings at 720pish. Sure more is better, but on a laptop that can be hard, and you can still be a huge fan of games and do it that way, even if you've got the money for better.

 

[Wolfpup]

So are you going to go for the VHS version of your favorite movie or the blueray? Maybe you should skip the HD era....

That's not really the same thing. For one thing, there's much less of a difference between 720p and 1080p than between 1920x1080 and like 350x200ish lines or whatever. For another, Blu Ray (and DVD before it) aren't moving targets. You buy something that can run them, they can keep running them. You don't have to start lowering resolutions in a year or whatever. To always be able to run every game at 1080p or above, you'd have to keep upgrading hardware constantly, which really isn't necessary. You can go quite a long time between upgrades if you're relatively sensible about what you buy.

I mean again, higher resolutions are great. They're better. But just because you have to play games at 'only' 720p ish doesn't mean you aren't a real gamer, or appreciate games any less than someone who only plays at 1080pish.

 

[sporadicMotion]

If anyone wants a fun game that'll run damn well on the Nvidia MacBooks, try "Left 4 Dead". I'm running it on my Win 7 side and it's great!!

 

[aznguyen316]

If anyone wants a fun game that'll run damn well on the Nvidia MacBooks, try "Left 4 Dead". I'm running it on my Win 7 side and it's great!!

I'm waiting for my copy to come in the mail won it off ebay for a good price. Can't wait! Playing the Orange Box right now under Vista 64 and HL2 has 64bit code =D

 

[suprdave1]

reading this thread makes me want to cry since i have to play xbox 360 games on a 10 year old analog tv. well, unless i go over to my friends house and use his 50 inch 1080p samsung. life is so unfair

 

[Wolfpup]

reading this thread makes me want to cry since i have to play xbox 360 games on a 10 year old analog tv. well, unless i go over to my friends house and use his 50 inch 1080p samsung. life is so unfair

Do you have a computer monitor? It'll work pretty great with a monitor. IMO the current gen systems aren't really useable on old TVs (although maybe they are if you have a high end one with s-video and component or whatever, but not with composite).