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Macbook Pro and TF2

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WeeManFoo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 3, 2008
25
0
I am considering getting a Macbook Pro because of the ipod promotion for students. I am a light computer gamer and I was wondering what the performance of the Macbook Pro would be in games by Valve, specifically TF2 and CSS. I would like to have all the settings on high, at least 2xAA, motion blur, and Full HDR. I currently run all of this and 4xAA on my Vista desktop with a oc 8800gs, 2.6ghz oc e6400 C2D, and 2gb of ram at 1680x1050. I am worried that the 8600gt won't be able to keep up at native rez. If it can't play at a smooth framerate I will probably get a black macbook instead and keep my desktop.

Also, to play the games, I will use boot camp to run either XP Pro, XP Pro 64-bit, or Vista Ultimate 64-bit. Which will be the best?
 
I have the 2.4ghz MPB. I was running TF2 at 1280x1024, everything on high, motion blur on, trilinear filtering, AA off, and was getting really smooth gameplay. I didnt check out the actual FPS but I would guess it was around 60-80, possibly more.
 
I'm running them at 1920x1200 with 2xAA and 4xAS, everything else at max. I get around 60FPS and I'm running Vista x64
 
WeeManFoo said:
I am considering getting a Macbook Pro because of the ipod promotion for students. I am a light computer gamer and I was wondering what the performance of the Macbook Pro would be in games by Valve, specifically TF2 and CSS. I would like to have all the settings on high, at least 2xAA, motion blur, and Full HDR. I currently run all of this and 4xAA on my Vista desktop with a oc 8800gs, 2.6ghz oc e6400 C2D, and 2gb of ram at 1680x1050. I am worried that the 8600gt won't be able to keep up at native rez. If it can't play at a smooth framerate I will probably get a black macbook instead and keep my desktop.

Also, to play the games, I will use boot camp to run either XP Pro, XP Pro 64-bit, or Vista Ultimate 64-bit. Which will be the best?
Click to expand...

i get well over 30 fps at all times while playing tf2 on max in vista. no aa i think..can't remember
 
i play tf2 maxed out too and get great frame rates.

post up your steam IDs! ;)
 
Grrr...I am still torn with the Macbook though...If I got a Macbook Pro then I would need to sell my desktop because I don't have the money to have two very expensive systems. I just played with my friends Macbook and I LOVE the keyboard (except for the arrow keys). I probably don't have the money to have both a desktop and a Macbook so I guess I will have to go with the Pro.
 
I can say with confidence that what you all say is bs. I play tf2, XP via bootcamp, 1440x900 with everything on LOW so I can get between 60-80 fps. I have tried hooking it up to my 22" LCD to play 1680x1050 with terrible results. Even with everything on low I only get between 20-40 FPS. Sure, you can "play" TF2 on max everything if you wanted but don't be surprised to only get between 10-20 FPS.

I've also noticed when watching blu-ray rips my computer will drop frames (running VLC), which sucks, a lot.

I have a 2.4 Penryn.
 
notatrumpetpro said:
I can say with confidence that what you all say is bs. I play tf2, XP via bootcamp, 1440x900 with everything on LOW so I can get between 60-80 fps. I have tried hooking it up to my 22" LCD to play 1680x1050 with terrible results. Even with everything on low I only get between 20-40 FPS. Sure, you can "play" TF2 on max everything if you wanted but don't be surprised to only get between 10-20 FPS.

I've also noticed when watching blu-ray rips my computer will drop frames (running VLC), which sucks, a lot.

I have a 2.4 Penryn.
Click to expand...

This is surprisingly different than other people's results. With TF2, most of the lag would be caused by the video card. Perhaps this is a difference between the 256 and 512mb 8600GT?
 
notatrumpetpro said:
I can say with confidence that what you all say is bs. I play tf2, XP via bootcamp, 1440x900 with everything on LOW so I can get between 60-80 fps. I have tried hooking it up to my 22" LCD to play 1680x1050 with terrible results. Even with everything on low I only get between 20-40 FPS. Sure, you can "play" TF2 on max everything if you wanted but don't be surprised to only get between 10-20 FPS.

I've also noticed when watching blu-ray rips my computer will drop frames (running VLC), which sucks, a lot.

I have a 2.4 Penryn.
Click to expand...

Are you calling me a liar?

Look, I typed cl_showfps 1, and I clearly see, on ALL HIGH SETTINGS, 2x AA, 2 x AS, that I am getting 40-60 FPS on 1280x1024.
 
jonlong said:
This is surprisingly different than other people's results. With TF2, most of the lag would be caused by the video card. Perhaps this is a difference between the 256 and 512mb 8600GT?
Click to expand...

No. The extra 256mb video ram only helps if you are running multiple displays and or larger displays or running at a higher screen resolution and it wont increase clock speeds of the card...meaning FPS. Which was the thing when they first were released, you were really paying for the better processor since the video card is the same card and speed just the vram difference. If you search the boards you'll find links to performance tests about the two (2.4 vs 2.5).
 
shmutheprophet said:
Are you calling me a liar?

Look, I typed cl_showfps 1, and I clearly see, on ALL HIGH SETTINGS, 2x AA, 2 x AS, that I am getting 40-60 FPS on 1280x1024.
Click to expand...

net_graph 1 ftw... and yes. I guess I am calling you a liar. If you were running around and using your weapon/shooting, aka playing, then you would see that you weren't getting between 40 and 60 fps at those settings. Sitting at spawn is one thing, playing is something entirely different.
 
notatrumpetpro said:
No. The extra 256mb video ram only helps if you are running multiple displays and or larger displays or running at a higher screen resolution and it wont increase clock speeds of the card...meaning FPS. Which was the thing when they first were released, you were really paying for the better processor since the video card is the same card and speed just the vram difference. If you search the boards you'll find links to performance tests about the two (2.4 vs 2.5).
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, even though there is not a lot texture detail in TF2, there is still a relatively high demand for video memory. I am not sure about all the specs between the 256 and 512mb 8600GT's, so I am not not sure if they share the same number of stream processors and have identical clock speeds. Usually for a given chipset, they would be the same, but I have heard that the cards may be underclocked from the factory for heat issues.
 
notatrumpetpro said:
net_graph 1 ftw... and yes. I guess I am calling you a liar. If you were running around and using your weapon/shooting, aka playing, then you would see that you weren't getting between 40 and 60 fps at those settings. Sitting at spawn is one thing, playing is something entirely different.
Click to expand...

Clearly your either using a first gen MBP with a Radeon X1600, or your MPB is just ****ed up, because its just kinda funny that EVERYONE can play fine except for you.
 
WeeManFoo said:
Grrr...I am still torn with the Macbook though...If I got a Macbook Pro then I would need to sell my desktop because I don't have the money to have two very expensive systems. I just played with my friends Macbook and I LOVE the keyboard (except for the arrow keys). I probably don't have the money to have both a desktop and a Macbook so I guess I will have to go with the Pro.
Click to expand...

Do you need to game on the go? That's the only advantage of having a Macbook Pro over a Macbook if you're not going to need a video card or larger laptop.

A desktop would provide you with the ability to upgrade, where as you're stuck with an 8600M GT in the Macbook Pro. Do you need portable gaming?
 
The Flashing Fi said:
Do you need to game on the go? That's the only advantage of having a Macbook Pro over a Macbook if you're not going to need a video card or larger laptop.

A desktop would provide you with the ability to upgrade, where as you're stuck with an 8600M GT in the Macbook Pro. Do you need portable gaming?
Click to expand...

Theres other stuff he might need as well. Though agreed, that is the biggest advantage. Theres still always the bigger screen, backlit keyboard, etc.
 
shmutheprophet said:
Clearly your either using a first gen MBP with a Radeon X1600, or your MPB is just ****ed up, because its just kinda funny that EVERYONE can play fine except for you.
Click to expand...

This might be a driver-related issue. You should use the same graphics card driver before comparing fps. The driver that is pre-installed is not too great. :p
 
ibd said:
This might be a driver-related issue. You should use the same graphics card driver before comparing fps. The driver that is pre-installed is not too great. :p
Click to expand...

I've been wondering about this. I wasn't sure which driver would be compatible to upgrade to - can you please let me know which one you have been using and found to be stable?
 
Sandeep said:
I've been wondering about this. I wasn't sure which driver would be compatible to upgrade to - can you please let me know which one you have been using and found to be stable?
Click to expand...

Oh yeah I forgot to mention I updated to 175.14 or w/e. He's prolly using the 100.54 that was bundled with the mac CDs :eek:. Big difference.


Hmm I can't find the link to the one I installed. I got it off some guys blog, who had downloaded the latest and tweaked it for the MBP.

However this one should work too:
http://www.omegadrivers.net/
 
download bootcamp 2.1 which updates video drivers.

i personally downloaded laptoptogo video drivers i think it was 174.xx or something and enabled nvtune.

I have my resolution maxed out (and settings except AA, etc., but max textures, reflect all, etc.)on my external 1680x1200 in a dual monitor set up. I can play easily (at or over 30 fps)

http://steamcommunity.com/id/ez12a

^ yea my Steam ID is my intended Macrumors name. I just made a typo.
 
Thanks for the information shmutheprophet and e(z)12a. I have had a look around and gone with the 174.93 drivers.

Game seems to run better. I also started taking a look at the GPU temperature and that now reaches 81-82 degrees centigrade while I play. I'll keep an eye on that - may become an issue if playing on really hot days.
 
I play TF2 using Crossover Games, which I believe downs the performance a bit.

But not only that, I have an X1600, and play at 1680 x 1050.

Runs smooth as butter.

So you should be fine, especially since you have an 8600 and you'll be running Boot Camp.

Have fun :D.
 
As far as drivers go, if you use the ones that come with Windows, you're likely to see poor performance. You should install the most recent drivers directly from ATI, or better yet, use the Omega Driver kit. I would also be wary of gaming in Vista; the OS itself eats up a lot more resources than XP, leaving less for the game.

Having said all this, I haven't gotten ahold of XPSP2 to install on my new MBP; has anyone had experience installing BootCamp with the standard release of XP Pro? I know the instructions say not to, but I haven't figured out why. I will probably game on my desktop (Athlon64 3200+, 1.25GB DDR, X800 Pro 256MB, XPSP2 Pro) for the most part to reduce wear on the notebook, since I plan on keeping for a while. But, it will be nice to bring it to the occasional LAN party/friend's house to game for a bit.
 
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