My Mac Pro with that new 8800 card just shipped. I really want to see this thing in action; what game do y'all think best shows off this card? I don't really play games (except Civilization) on my mac, so I'm new to this whole thing. Will I need to use Windows to get the best games? My friends are all on Steam. Can I play any of those games without rebooting? They play Team Fortress 2. Will Paralells or VMWare play games? That would be totally cool.
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My MP8800 Shipped! What game should I buy?
- Thread starter gsfgf
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If you want a game to play under OS X then you absolutely have to get World of Warcraft. It doesn't exactly need the high end graphics, but it'll look beautiful with all the settings turned up on full and it'll be butter-smooth 
I play Oblivion. Looks nice and is much more interesting than every First-person shooter. You can run it reasnably well with the 2600xt but if you own the 8800GT you can play this beautiful game whitout compromises.
I tried the Crysis demo as well. It looks veeeery good, I could even run it at a decent frame rate on the 2600, but nevertheless this game disappointed me.
It looks good and works well but... it's boring. You are always doing more or less the same things and once you have killed 300 enemies it gets repetitive. It's funnier to shoot the trees and the barrels. That's my point of view
I tried the Crysis demo as well. It looks veeeery good, I could even run it at a decent frame rate on the 2600, but nevertheless this game disappointed me.
It looks good and works well but... it's boring. You are always doing more or less the same things and once you have killed 300 enemies it gets repetitive. It's funnier to shoot the trees and the barrels. That's my point of view
I´m afraid, if you want a wide range of choices, you will have to get Windows. The Mac just isn´t a gaming platform at all.
If you install Windows and your friends are playing Team Fortress 2, get the "Orange Box" on Steam! Can´t beat the price for the amazing content you get. You have to like first-person shooters though.
For eyecandy, check out Crysis.
Mac Games:
I still haven´t decided if I really want to buy a copy of Windows just to play a few games.
I intend to try out "Eve Online". Apparently there is a (Intel only) Mac-version of that game.
World of Warcraft is good, but it´s a dangerous time-sink if you get addicted! I´m not joking. It can get out of hand with some people.
I´ve been looking around a little. If you just want to see some pretty graphics, you could also download this Prey-Demo:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/games/demos_updates/prey.html
I´ve also seen that there is a mac-version of "X3", which has amazing graphics. But unfortunately there doesn´t seem to be a demo available and the game is not very accessible.
That´s all I found for the moment. I would like to hear more from others but I´m afraid, I will have to install Windows after all.
If you install Windows and your friends are playing Team Fortress 2, get the "Orange Box" on Steam! Can´t beat the price for the amazing content you get. You have to like first-person shooters though.
For eyecandy, check out Crysis.
Mac Games:
I still haven´t decided if I really want to buy a copy of Windows just to play a few games.
I intend to try out "Eve Online". Apparently there is a (Intel only) Mac-version of that game.
World of Warcraft is good, but it´s a dangerous time-sink if you get addicted! I´m not joking. It can get out of hand with some people.
I´ve been looking around a little. If you just want to see some pretty graphics, you could also download this Prey-Demo:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/games/demos_updates/prey.html
I´ve also seen that there is a mac-version of "X3", which has amazing graphics. But unfortunately there doesn´t seem to be a demo available and the game is not very accessible.
That´s all I found for the moment. I would like to hear more from others but I´m afraid, I will have to install Windows after all.
If Windows MMOs are acceptable, I'd recommend Tabula Rasa (screenshots). On my new Mac Pro with the ATI card, it gets about 10-12 fps with Deferred Lighting and 25 fps without. It's what I'm going to be "testing" (^_-) when I get my 8800GT card.
Make sure you set your graphics to full resolution (their "recommended" settings always seem to pick 1024x768) and max out the settings.
I can get you a 3-day free trial key if you want.
Make sure you set your graphics to full resolution (their "recommended" settings always seem to pick 1024x768) and max out the settings.
I can get you a 3-day free trial key if you want.
Crysis is the eye-candy game of the year, but you can not play it at full resolution with AA turned on without SLI. That's how graphics intensive it is.
You might be able to get close in XP without SLI, but it will look best using Vistas DX10.
One thing I do know about crysis is that it was programmed with multiple processors in mind, and because the Mac Pro uses FB-DIMM's the game will be able to reach in and use all 8 processor cores where as it wont on any regular gaming PC, but an SLI machine will still play it better.
You might be able to get close in XP without SLI, but it will look best using Vistas DX10.
One thing I do know about crysis is that it was programmed with multiple processors in mind, and because the Mac Pro uses FB-DIMM's the game will be able to reach in and use all 8 processor cores where as it wont on any regular gaming PC, but an SLI machine will still play it better.
CrossOver for Mac runs Team Fortress 2 in OS X without needing a Windows install, they have a compatibility forum for it. It also runs some other Steam games, but not all of them.
I play Half-Life 2 using CrossOver, it works very well, although it definitely works better under Boot Camp running native Windows. I could not get it working playably in VMWare Fusion, and did not try Parallels.
It came yesterday. I haven't had a chance to get windows installed, but that should be later today.
I have two questions and then pictures. First, I got a free copy of Vista 32bit from my school. Is it worth it to try and track down a 64bit copy? I asked the lady at OIT and she didn't think I could get it from the school(wtf?). Second, someone asked for bechmarks; how do I do that?
As for the pictures, how do i get pics out of iPhoto? I can't drag and drop, and export is grayed out.
I have two questions and then pictures. First, I got a free copy of Vista 32bit from my school. Is it worth it to try and track down a 64bit copy? I asked the lady at OIT and she didn't think I could get it from the school(wtf?). Second, someone asked for bechmarks; how do I do that?
As for the pictures, how do i get pics out of iPhoto? I can't drag and drop, and export is grayed out.
What setting are you running with the 2600Xt on Oblivion? I can't wait to check this one out on the pro.
I'd take the Orange Box on Steam over anything else, considering it's actually fun to play. Portal, HL2 and its two subsequent episodes... just good times throughout.
If you want a game to play under OS X then you absolutely have to get World of Warcraft. It doesn't exactly need the high end graphics, but it'll look beautiful with all the settings turned up on full and it'll be butter-smooth
Don't get people hooked on MMO's, it'll cause the decline of society
Very fun game, but I'm glad I tore myself away from it when I did, right before 1.12 released. Thank God.
If you want a game to play under OS X then you absolutely have to get World of Warcraft. It doesn't exactly need the high end graphics, but it'll look beautiful with all the settings turned up on full and it'll be butter-smooth
jeez, why not just send him a gift basket full of crack?
Just messing with you . . . . but I personally refuse to play any MMO with a monthly fee.
The first games i installed on vista were crysis, and then my steam collection- half life 2, hl2 episode 1, psychonauts, call of duty 4, Race 07, Tomb Raider Anniversary.
Next up for tonight is Company of Heroes, then Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption, and then System Shock 2.
The only games that have failed to work for me had DRM issues, specifically starforce protected games like GTR2 and GTR legends. But that's between starforce and Vista, and has nothing to do with the mac pro itself . . . .