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MW3 Laggy On Macbook Pro 13" i5, But not on Core 2 duo HELP!!!!

T

twcracing

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 10, 2012
14
0
Hey guys.

I recently split water on my Macbook Pro 13" " 2010 Core 2 Duo" And best buy exchanged it for the new 2011 "i5 macbook pro"

And MW3 in suddenly massively laggy on the new i5.

What do you think the reason might be?


They both have 4 Gb ram.

500 GB Hard Drives.



MW3 settings are the same on both computers!

If you have any ideas let me know.

Thanks:confused::confused:
 
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The reason is probably the Intel HD3000 GPU. It's roughly equal to the 320M you had in your previous MBP, but some games really hate it. The general consensus is that the 320M is generally better for gaming, even if the Core2 Duo CPU isn't as good as the i5.
 
I did lower the settings but it looks like sh+t

can I change out the graphics card or something,

I am a YouTube commentator so i kinda need good looking videos!
 
Sorry, the GPU is soldered to the board, there's no way to change it. You can either lower the settings, try adding RAM if that's your issue, or get a different computer.

If you're a YouTube commentator and your games looking good are so important, why did you get a Mac? And why didn't you get one with a dedicated GPU?
 
iThinkergoiMac said:
Sorry, the GPU is soldered to the board, there's no way to change it. You can either lower the settings, try adding RAM if that's your issue, or get a different computer.
Click to expand...
Indeed, the graphics card is not upgradable in just about every laptop out there, not only macs. They are all soldered onto the mainboard.
iThinkergoiMac said:
If you're a YouTube commentator and your games looking good are so important, why did you get a Mac? And why didn't you get one with a dedicated GPU?
Click to expand...
What he said. A Mac really isn't made with gaming in mind, especially the 13" variant.
 
Well that sucks, I guess i am going to have to learn to play with lag.

BTW what would be the price range for a good gaming laptop?
 
Aren't the new Intel GPU's inside of the processor?

I think 15" is a better option if you are trying to play games.

Also you might be able to return it, ask bestbuy to upgrade you to a 15" MBP. You will have to cough up some cash, though.
 
Ya, it is FPS lag, but sometimes I can get a game with no lag at all,

Anyway what would the price be for a Gaming Laptop NOT a desktop.

Thanks
 
Look at Asus, you should be able to get one for about $1500 to $2k.

I hope my "more expensive than a desktop" comment wasn't taken as rudeness. I was trying to imply that you already have a laptop, so getting a desktop for gaming would be much more economical and you could still maintain your portability with your MBP. Unless you go to Starbucks to do your gaming commentary ;)
 
Really $1500-$2000?

Is there anything cheaper Maybe a 13"-15" laptop?


And 1 more thing.

I turned down my graphics in mw3 and it now runs flawlessly,
But there are two black bars 1" thick running down each side of the screen
?
 
twcracing said:
Really $1500-$2000?

Is there anything cheaper Maybe a 13"-15" laptop?


And 1 more thing.

I turned down my graphics in mw3 and it now runs flawlessly,
But there are two black bars 1" thick running down each side of the screen
?
Click to expand...

The black bars means you have a resolution not suited for your screen. You need to turn the "Graphics" down in order to reduce lag.

You need an ENTIRE new laptop to play this game without "lag".
 
twcracing said:
Really $1500-$2000?
Click to expand...

Yes, and that's for a middling level gaming laptop. The high-end ones are even more. And they're all huge and clunky.

Is there anything cheaper Maybe a 13"-15" laptop?
Click to expand...

"13" Gaming Laptop" is almost an oxymoron. You need so much space to get all the necessary components that a 13" laptop would be about 2-2.5" thick, maybe more.

Is there a reason you're so opposed to getting a desktop? It would be cheaper and more powerful than the laptops you want to get.

I turned down my graphics in mw3 and it now runs flawlessly,
But there are two black bars 1" thick running down each side of the screen
?
Click to expand...

Yes, you chose a non-widescreen resolution. Up the resolution back to native (1280x800) and turn down all your other settings until you find something that works.

But, as I and others have said, if you really want to do decent gaming, you need a better system. A desktop is your best bet in terms of power for money, but if you're hell-bent on getting a laptop, you'll need to get a new one.

Also, a question that hasn't been asked: are you playing in Windows or OS X?
 
It does not have lag anymore. I just tested it Turning the graphices down from 1280-800 to 800-600.

But now it has the black bars on the side.

It did not have it on my other Macbook 13"
 
twcracing said:
It does not have lag anymore. I just tested it Turning the graphices down from 1280-800 to 800-600.

But now it has the black bars on the side.

It did not have it on my other Macbook 13"
Click to expand...

Did you read our posts?! And, yes, we know you didn't have this issue on your other MBP. You didn't change the resolution on your other MBP.
 
iThinkergoiMac said:
Yes, and that's for a middling level gaming laptop. The high-end ones are even more. And they're all huge and clunky.



"13" Gaming Laptop" is almost an oxymoron. You need so much space to get all the necessary components that a 13" laptop would be about 2-2.5" thick, maybe more.

Is there a reason you're so opposed to getting a desktop? It would be cheaper and more powerful than the laptops you want to get.



Yes, you chose a non-widescreen resolution. Up the resolution back to native (1280x800) and turn down all your other settings until you find something that works.

But, as I and others have said, if you really want to do decent gaming, you need a better system. A desktop is your best bet in terms of power for money, but if you're hell-bent on getting a laptop, you'll need to get a new one.

Also, a question that hasn't been asked: are you playing in Windows or OS X?
Click to expand...

I play on Windows 7 64 bit. I have turned down all the other settings and the only thing that stopped the lag was turning down the resolution.

And I don't want to get a desk top because they are so big. And I don't have the room

----------
iThinkergoiMac said:
Did you read our posts?! And, yes, we know you didn't have this issue on your other MBP. You didn't change the resolution on your other MBP.
Click to expand...

I did not say it but yes I did change the resolution but I ended up staying at 1280-800.

and when I was at the other resolution it did not have black bars.
 
twcracing said:
and when I was at the other resolution it did not have black bars.
Click to expand...

Then it was stretching the image to fill the screen which meant that everything was distorted and stretched horizontally.

Honestly, you just have the wrong computer for what you want to do. Macs are not really made for gaming. The more powerful Macs handle it just fine, but 13" MBPs are not among those. If you want to game, and you want your game to look nice, you need, at MINIMUM, a computer with a dedicated graphics card a 512 MB VRAM. You really should have one with 1+ GB.
 
Alienware is way overpriced. Like I said, check out Asus' gaming laptops, and MSI is also quite excellent, and probably a better bargain than Asus.

This MSI Laptop looks like it would suit your needs nicely. It's up to you to do any more research than that ;)
 
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twcracing said:
One more thing. What one of these Laptop's would be the best for the higher end game like Halo. Skyrim, BF3, MW3 ect...


http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-m11x-r3/fs
Click to expand...

For those games, you need at least an intel i5, 8GB RAM, and a dedicated graphics card with at least 1GB dedicated memory. My 6750M 1GB on my 15" runs BF3 at medium-high settings with 50FPS. BF3 needs at least a 560Ti to do anything at high or above. I would assume MW3 needs something similar.

Go on notebookreview because they have benchmarks for almost every laptop card out there with expected fps for the games you ask for.

I would also suggest making an account on tomshardware or anandtech since you're asking about gaming on windows and they are the best people to ask on that forum.
 
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