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MPB 15" and the Hardcore WoW addict: Am I going to run this laptop into the ground?

W

Wry Guy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 22, 2010
10
0
United States
Hi, there. I'm fairly new to macs, and completely new to laptops- this past week has been my first experience with gaming on a lappy- and I grow concerned.

I play WoW for absurd amounts of time. I'm talking bordering on eight hours a day... give or take three. And that entire time, my poor MBP is sweating at 80-90C. Now, I have no qualms with running a desktop like a packhorse- but I'm not sure about a laptop. Will the constant high temperatures (albeit within safe parameters) fry my system, and should I maybe ease up on the reigns?

Specs:


PROCESSOR 2.66GHz Intel Core i7

MEMORY 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRM - 2x2GB

HARD DRIVE 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400

OPTICAL DRIVE SuperDrive 8X DL

DISPLAY MBP 15" HR Glossy WS Display

GRAPHICS GeForce GT 330M

Thanks in advance- and thanks for helping a mac-newb out. :p
 
Heat is never good for components so it may shortener its life. If you get AppleCare, you're covered for three years in case something fries.

I would build a desktop PC for gaming, much better performance and no heat issues
 
I was a 6 hour a day wow addict playing on an MBP as well. Just run it on a cooling pad and you'll be fine.


PS....More than 2 hours a day of Wow is really, really bad for you. ;)
 
Hellhammer said:
Heat is never good for components so it may shortener its life. If you get AppleCare, you're covered for three years in case something fries.

I would build a desktop PC for gaming, much better performance and no heat issues
Click to expand...

Aye, I know a laptop (particularly a mac) isn't the best for gaming, but the mobility helps, and when I'm not squandering my life away I actually use it for schoolwork.

Still. I don't want to nuke it.
 
Don't worry about it. They are designed to be used like that for 24/7 for years. Yes, heat is bad, and it can shorten its life, we're talking about going from 10 years to 9 1/2 years. It doesn't shorten it drastically, the thing that kills CPUs and other parts is not the heat but huge voltage spikes nowadays. All modern CPU/mobo is suppose to have built-in temperature shutdown measure, so if it ever overheat, it'll shut down automatically.

Just buy the AppleCare Plan for it and you won't have to worry for the next three years.

Update: You can try to download some app to turn on the fan to the max when you're gaming if you're still worried.
 
If you plan on gaming a lot on it, you shouldn't buy it with the high-res screen, the graphic card is *****ty and needs to work hard to drive games at 1680x1050. Just settle with the normal screen at 1440x900, that will net you a few more frames and causes less strain on the GPU.
 
Dragonforce said:
If you plan on gaming a lot on it, you shouldn't buy it with the high-res screen, the graphic card is *****ty and needs to work hard to drive games at 1680x1050. Just settle with the normal screen at 1440x900, that will net you a few more frames and causes less strain on the GPU.
Click to expand...

That makes absolutely no sense to do so. He already said he also uses it for schoolwork, and the high resolution helps with that.

Just drop the resolution in-game to 1440x900 or even lower if it's not working at the native resolution. Simple as that.
 
Im running my 15 i7 attached to the 24" cinema display playing wow at full res on the cinema...and its running completely fine...I dont think you have anything to worry about

(and before that I was playing Wow on the mid 07 santa rosa and my 8600GT never failed)
 
Be sure you're using the newer GLL API. I know there were some issues with it in 3.2 which caused people to stick with the old GL API, but in 3.3.3 the newer GLL API makes the game fly.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=23094279471&sid=101

I play on a 15" i7 driving a 1920x1200 display at medium-high settings. I cap the framerate at 30, but the game is capable of staying at a near constant 60 except in Dalaran or 25 man raids. Temps hover around 77C, with the fans running between 3500-4500 rpm.

There should be no reason the game runs "choppy" with a GTX 285 other than playing the game with the old GL API. Otherwise, there's something else at fault.
 
Having it at the "ultra" settings will make the game get choppy at some points, like flying around the Wyrmrest Temple - and yeah, I'm using the new API. I stopped playing that game anyway in favor of the FF14 beta.
 
MikhailT said:
That makes absolutely no sense to do so. He already said he also uses it for schoolwork, and the high resolution helps with that.

Just drop the resolution in-game to 1440x900 or even lower if it's not working at the native resolution. Simple as that.
Click to expand...

It makes total sense. Running at anything other than native resolution on an LCD screen looks like ****.
 
mikeo007 said:
It makes total sense. Running at anything other than native resolution on an LCD screen looks like ****.
Click to expand...

I have been playing games at lower resolutions, it's not that bad.

If the OP wanted the laptop only for gaming, then he made a bad decision and shoud've gone with a PC laptop that has a much better graphic card instead. But if he bought it for schoolwork and needed the high resolution, then losing the extra resolutions doesn't make sense just for gaming.
 
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