MacBook Pro & Gaming

[Twilight Elk]

Hey everyone, I have another question about MacBook Pro's. The topic this time is gaming.

I don't expect to do MUCH gaming, but I know the option will be there in the future. Some games I'm interested in are racing games like Need for Speed and MMORPG's (Possibly joining World of Warcraft). There are other games, but are for Windows.

1. Is the MacBook Pro any good with any games (Basic 2D or Complex 3D)?
2. If I install Windows XP with Boot Camp, how would the games for Windows respond?

Thanks,
-Elk

 

[skyrider007]

1. Yes
2. Like a native PC

 

[MIDI_EVIL]

Hey everyone, I have another question about MacBook Pro's. The topic this time is gaming.

I don't expect to do MUCH gaming, but I know the option will be there in the future. Some games I'm interested in are racing games like Need for Speed and MMORPG's (Possibly joining World of Warcraft). There are other games, but are for Windows.

1. Is the MacBook Pro any good with any games (Basic 2D or Complex 3D)?
2. If I install Windows XP with Boot Camp, how would the games for Windows respond?

Thanks,
-Elk

You only have to search YouTube to find that the MacBook Pro is just fine for almost all recent games, with varying resolutions giving varying results.

 

[bov]

i am able to play CS:S and all Orange Box games very well on my MBP and Boot Camp. quite happy with this since it runs a lot better than on my old PC

you will be able to run NFS and WoW well on a MBP

 

[Twilight Elk]

Ok then, The MacBook Pro never ceases to amaze me

I asked because I kept reading around the forums and some articles about how it's not as good for gaming, but I may have been reading out-of-date documents.

Thanks a lot everyone Can't wait for the updates.

 

[squeeks]

You only have to search YouTube to find that the MacBook Pro is just fine for almost all recent games, with varying resolutions giving varying results.

well sure you can run any game if you set the quality settings low enough

dosent mean you can go play crysis on it at any useable resolution

 

[Erasmus]

Don't ask "Is it good for games?"
It's an airy fairy question that will give you many conflicting answers.
Is it as good as a dedicated gaming desktop? Hell no.
Is it as good as a dedicated gaming "portable"? Hell no.
Is it damn good for playing games considering its excellent battery life, light weight, thin design and reasonable cost? Definitely.

It won't play Crysis on High, or Medium, or even Low at native resolution, but it will play it, and will play it well, if you're willing to sacrifice (almost) all of the eye candy (personal experience). Then again, Crysis is pretty much the only game that it won't play at high graphics settings. So, if you want to game, go buy one. If you want to brag about how many frames you get at some setting in some game, go spend the money on a build-it-yourself PC.

So I think the MBP is perfect for you. Go for the entry level one. Hopefully the new ones will be released this Wednesday! (Stupid time delay between here in Aus and the US... A spheroidical planet is so inconvenient.)

 

[squeeks]

.
Is it damn good for playing games considering its excellent battery life, light weight, thin design and reasonable cost? Definitely.

sure, but dont try and play games with it on battery

Then again, Crysis is pretty much the only game that it won't play at high graphics settings. .

i guess you havent played many games, try UT2004 it sucks at that

 

[heatmiser]

Don't expect Alienware-like performance. The MBP isn't designed primarily for gaming. That said, you should be able to play most games on the market if you set the resolution low enough. If you truly want to game, invest in a console.

 

[Erasmus]

sure, but dont try and play games with it on battery

What? I get about an hour and a half of battery gaming on the train. With all the powermizer settings turned off.

i guess you havent played many games, try UT2004 it sucks at that

Really? No, I haven't tried it, but considering this: http://www.barefeats.com/santarosa.html
I would think it runs it very well...
It runs CNC3, HL2, Oblivion, all wonderfully on highest, or almost highest settings. eg. I run CNC3 on Ultra High, minus the FSAA.

 

[squeeks]

CNC3 is not exactly a power hungry game, an hour and a half isnt all that great though considering its half what the battery life would be just surfing the net, but if you consider that good, then yes it has good battery life

 

[bubble27]

well sure you can run any game if you set the quality settings low enough

dosent mean you can go play crysis on it at any useable resolution

Lets say an hour of gaming will the MBP get very very hot?

Probably at gaming fans run on full speed....you reckon that noisey?
By noisey i mean does it sound like a cooling pad on max? Thats 25 DBA.

Also one last thing...my acer now tends to shut down from overheating...anyone had that problem in gaming on a MBP?

 

[squeeks]

yes it will get VERY hot

and loud

id say 30-40 db

 

[bubble27]

yes it will get VERY hot

and loud

id say 30-40 db

Can you recommend a good cooling pad for a 17" model?

You know those silver plates that they stick in laptops, you familiar if you can order it like that? cause if you open up a mac the apple care if void.

 

[Twilight Elk]

I'm not into stuff like Crysis, and from what I'm hearing it seems the games I would purchase for it (which isn't a lot) then I should be fine

 

[noodle654]

I plan on installing XP through Bootcamp in the next few days. I plan on playing Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30 and Earned in Blood. How will these run? They are 3 years old, and I think I can run them flawlessly?

 

[squeeks]

three years old should be fine

 

[zeppelin68]

I have a stock 2.4 15 inch.

-all source games
every setting to high with 4x AA and 8X AF 1440x900 50-60fps?

-Crysis(demo)
-medium 1440x900 no AA around 25fps but playable

-BF2 everything high 1440x900 smooth

COD4 demo everything high around 40fps

 

[marclapierre13]

If im running AoE iii or Halo, or other games, I get about 1.5 hours battery life.
Running bootcamp i get awesome performance for the games i run

 

[Erasmus]

Lets say an hour of gaming will the MBP get very very hot?

Probably at gaming fans run on full speed....you reckon that noisey?
By noisey i mean does it sound like a cooling pad on max? Thats 25 DBA.

Also one last thing...my acer now tends to shut down from overheating...anyone had that problem in gaming on a MBP?

Hot, yes. Enough to barely tip over to uncomfortable on a hot day. No problems on a cold day.

And not all that noisy. The fans will ramp up to 6000 rpm, or something, but, it is still not that noisy. I don't notice the noise until I stop playing the game. Any sound coming from the speakers or especially out of ear plugs will drown it out easily. It is a very "loud-but-you-don't-notice-it" drone.

Never had my computer overheat. It ramps up to maybe ~82˚C under extreme stress, but when the fans start spinning at ~6000 rpm, they are capable of bringing it down a bit, even still under full load. I believe the fans cut in earlier if the notebook is plugged in than when running off battery, but I may be wrong.