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Need an iMac that can handle diablo 3. Current top end 27 can't do it.
- Thread starter mzjin
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Yep, the only thing an iMac is good for is to play Diablo. Once we've beat it might as well just throw the iMac into the rubbish bin.
Well, you may need better graphics as might be found in desktops and workstations -- not an imac or mbp. I use my mac for work and play games on the side.
If you want to play competitive games why not get a windows gaming rig for the performance they provide -- for what seems to be not too much $$?
I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not but according to the OP 1st post this would actually seem the case as he wants to change his Mac as it supposedly is not good enough for gaming.
Here's the skinny:
On a maxed out 27 inch 2011 model: under both windows and OSX (only able to confirm frames under windows)
Native resolution, vsync on, low effects, no shadows, no clutter, high textures = 60 fps that consistently dips into 30 fps causing a very unsmooth gamely transition.
1920x1080, same settings as above - maintains 60 fps, except In areas of act 3 full party. Drops to 40s or 30s.
Conclusion, I can't believe I have to run this game at lower resolutions for it to be playable. Vsync is a must or you are running around with screen tearing the whole time.
Solution: new iMac needs to come out or I will likely have to build a gaming system with a thunderbolt capable motherboard.
built a pc for gaming here i run premiere cs6 with layers of AVC-Intra HD Video and you said it can't run the childish ****** game diablo..jesus
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Using Low-End 21.5 inch 2011 iMac.
FPS 30~50 depends on the enviroment.
Settings are:
running 1920x1080
All High but Shadow OFF
Vsync OFF
AA OFF
Low FX OFF
3 days ago I couldnt even get 40+ fps. 40 was the highest that i could get. not sure what they did with the patch the other day. but its a little better now after the patch. im sure your 27 inch model can handle it better than mine.
the fps really doesnt bother me tho (at least for now, still on nightmare act 2), i hardly feel the difference with a windows machine at my house running at 60+fps.
what I cant stand is that everytime I minimize Diablo 3, the OS just gets slower. I cant even browse properly. typing is even worse. hoping they will fix it very soon.
FPS 30~50 depends on the enviroment.
Settings are:
running 1920x1080
All High but Shadow OFF
Vsync OFF
AA OFF
Low FX OFF
3 days ago I couldnt even get 40+ fps. 40 was the highest that i could get. not sure what they did with the patch the other day. but its a little better now after the patch. im sure your 27 inch model can handle it better than mine.
the fps really doesnt bother me tho (at least for now, still on nightmare act 2), i hardly feel the difference with a windows machine at my house running at 60+fps.
what I cant stand is that everytime I minimize Diablo 3, the OS just gets slower. I cant even browse properly. typing is even worse. hoping they will fix it very soon.
High end 21.5" iMac with the upgrade to the i7 here. I haven't checked my frames but can tell you the game plays perfectly with no lag at all so, chances are, my FPS is fine. My settings are all on and all high except for shadows at medium.
With that said, if you're 27" model that is significantly more powerful than mine can't run it to your standards you have a damn problem and it's not your computer, it's your expectations.
With that said, if you're 27" model that is significantly more powerful than mine can't run it to your standards you have a damn problem and it's not your computer, it's your expectations.
I have a 2011 27" iMac. I was using the default settings for a while, but I didn't like not playing in native resolution. I've been using the following for about a week now and it runs and looks much better.
Make sure you've updated Lion to 10.7.4 then change your D3 settings to 2560x1440, no V-Sync, Textures High, Physics High, Clutter High, Shadows off, AA off. Reboot and try it out.
The last two are the most important. I get 60 FPS most of the time at 2560x1440 and it looks awesome, despite not having shadows on.
Make sure you've updated Lion to 10.7.4 then change your D3 settings to 2560x1440, no V-Sync, Textures High, Physics High, Clutter High, Shadows off, AA off. Reboot and try it out.
The last two are the most important. I get 60 FPS most of the time at 2560x1440 and it looks awesome, despite not having shadows on.
I have said before that turning shadows off is not a negative. When there are 60 monsters on the screen you can't even see your own character, shadows mean nothing. They add to the atmosphere in town and walking around between attacks. I love the art in this game, and they carried on the same feel from the older games very successfully.
The storyline is pure cheese though.
The storyline is pure cheese though.
A 7970 gives you >3700 GFLOPS. A 7870 gives you 2500 GFLOPS. The next gen iMac will give you 2000 GFLOPS, at best.
Apple no longer puts gimped mobile CPUs in iMacs, but you still get GPUs which are roughly half as fast as their desktop versions, and can't be easily upgraded.
It might be cheaper to build a gaming beast PC *and* get a lower end Mac than try to get a Mac which can do everything. Of course, it depends on what else you need it for.
At 1920x1080 my 2011 Imac with 7970M gets around 30 fps at max settings.
And My Gaming PC with 2x GTX 570 does 200-250 FPS at max settings.
I can't say that im dissapointed with the 7970M, since i dont use my Imac for gaming, since its obviously not made for that purpose.
a standard 7970 gets around 120 FPS with same settings, and the 7970m on a Imac gets 30 fps.
I would hope to see a non Mobile GPU in future imacs, this would please a lot of of the casual players, who uses their Imac for gaming, beside their primary needs.
And My Gaming PC with 2x GTX 570 does 200-250 FPS at max settings.
I can't say that im dissapointed with the 7970M, since i dont use my Imac for gaming, since its obviously not made for that purpose.
a standard 7970 gets around 120 FPS with same settings, and the 7970m on a Imac gets 30 fps.
I would hope to see a non Mobile GPU in future imacs, this would please a lot of of the casual players, who uses their Imac for gaming, beside their primary needs.
The iMac is absolutely fine with D3 on native resolution once you turn off shadows. I don't see how someone can expect any better performance from an all-in-one. Some people are spoiled - iMac is a fastest all-in-one machine out there and it can't get much faster due to form factor restrictions. If you want to play all games in uber-resolutions with max settings and insane resolutions, than get a PC with a SLI/CF setup.
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I have completed many demanding modern games on the iMac playing on the native resolution, and I never had any complains.
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I have completed many demanding modern games on the iMac playing on the native resolution, and I never had any complains.
The only problem with your statement is that you can't get an iMac (not yet, anyway) with a 7970M. I think you meant 6970M.
Yes your PC is running the Windows version of Diablo III.
Are you running the Windows version of Diablo III on the iMac?
Obviously the desktop GPU is better but you guys are doing it wrong when my 4850M is already doing 30+ stable FPS at native 2560 with Low Shadows and Vsync ON.
EDIT: I did some more testing. At first I was getting 25 FPS after the last days patch, but then I disabled Max FPS limit of 31 and it was back to 33-40 FPS in the Cemetery (act 1), and it was also a stable 30+ FPS in multiplayer, down to 27 at one time when exploding the fat things and lots of effects going on. All of this is on a 4850M... So anyway the last patch seems to have messed up the Max FPS because if I set it at 31 the FPS is 25, if I set it at 40 then it sits at 33... So I had to remove it, which is a pity, because it made the scrolling much smoother without a jumpy FPS.
To be clear: HIGH Texture, Low SHadows, Low Physics, HIGH Clutter, VSYNC ON, 2560x1440, NO Low Fx
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Yes that would be nice for casual gamers who can't be bothered learning how to make the most of their GPUs.
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Yes same issue on my i7. I think it's because it's technically not "paused", but rather just running in the tray, and is quite resource-intensive.
i changed the "Hardwareclass" from '4' to '2' in D3prefs.txt
sometimes it still freezes when I try to browse, but at least im able to.
havent try this one.. will give it a try soon...
cheers
Sadly, no matter what, if you run Diablo 3 on a Mac, you're getting about 1/4th the performance of the Windows users on similar hardware.
Blizzard really bombed on the Mac support for Diablo 3.
I'm playing on a Mac Pro w/ 5870 - and to get it playable above 30 FPS requires Shadows off and AA off. Now, load up Bootcamp, same hardware, we're talking 120+ FPS with everything on.
iMac, in theory would be just fine, but sadly, the game's performance is trash on a even the most powerful Mac.
Blizzard really bombed on the Mac support for Diablo 3.
I'm playing on a Mac Pro w/ 5870 - and to get it playable above 30 FPS requires Shadows off and AA off. Now, load up Bootcamp, same hardware, we're talking 120+ FPS with everything on.
iMac, in theory would be just fine, but sadly, the game's performance is trash on a even the most powerful Mac.
man if you are an addict 3d games lover why not just getting a consolle and play it on your hdtv ? way cheaper than the maxed out imac or a new system
let the imac do what it is meant to do.
I would give my left arm to play at 30 fps, currently Im running on a 08 unibody macbook, at 6-12fps (2x2ghz, 8gb ram and 9400m 512mb) with everything on low or off- yes I am that stubborn!
Rarely - I get zones with 20 fps (like the last bit before azmodan) and that is just a real treat!
Like many others Im battling the urge to buy an iMac now, but im trying to keep myself together until the end of wwdc.. If we havent heard anything then, ill find something else to spend my money on!
Rarely - I get zones with 20 fps (like the last bit before azmodan) and that is just a real treat!
Like many others Im battling the urge to buy an iMac now, but im trying to keep myself together until the end of wwdc.. If we havent heard anything then, ill find something else to spend my money on!
I've found that on my 27" iMac, there is a not a significant difference between OS X client performance and Bootcamp performance for Blizzard games. Obviously your Mac Pro is a different animal, so I don't dispute your claims, but I've only seen a couple FPS improvement under Bootcamp myself. Not enough to make it worth rebooting.
Conclusion, I can't believe I have to run this game at lower resolutions for it to be playable. Vsync is a must or you are running around with screen tearing the whole time.
Solution: new iMac needs to come out or I will likely have to build a gaming system with a thunderbolt capable motherboard.
lolwut.
Just drop the quality to something a little bit lower. I play on medium quality and it's a constant 70 frames on my 3.04 dualcore processor, 4gigs.
Saw this a while back, seems pretty relevant.
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/6027/asdfasdfd.png