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Need Help/Advice from a Gamer!

V

VegetableMan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 13, 2012
2
0
I've got an order in with Apple right now for the new Retina Macbook (I opted for an upgraded model: 2.6GHZ processor, 16 GB Ram), and I'm excited to get the computer but am starting to doubt if it's where my money is best spent.

I have slowly been purchasing apple products over the past year. I have an iPhone4/Ipad3/2AppleTVs, but I don't own a Mac computer. I imagine that getting a mac is the next logical step so that I can manage all of my devices from a computer (especially with all the integration across devices seems to be increasing). I'm also the owner of a slightly dated desktop HP (2.6 Ghz, Intel Core 2 Duo, 8 Gb Ram, Nvidia 9500 GT 1 GB) that I use to primarily to play blizzard games (Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo). It performs fine with these games but I have to lower the graphics in order to make it run smoothly. I'm hoping that the Macbook Pro will blow away my old computers performance.

I'm wondering if it would be more logical buying a $999 mac-air for compatibility and portability. Then spending the two grand on a dedicated desktop gaming PC? I have a nice 24-inch monitor on the desktop so I could afford to spend all of the 2grand on hardware for a dedicated gaming PC. Obviously the PC would blow away the performance of a MacBook when it comes to game performance. That in mind I like the portability, compatibility, sex appeal and all-in-one solution of the Retina Macbook. I can solve the first two issues by getting an air, but it won't have the Retina Display, it won't have as much processing power, and it isn't the "flagship" of apple products. It's usefulness would also be marganalized because it wouldn't be my go to for gaming.

I'm hoping that I could get some advice about my dilemma. If anyone could suggest and link a dedicated gaming PC that runs 2 grand that would be helpful. I would also appreciate some input concerning gaming on an air - can it run diablo 3? I'm not familiar with apple laptops or desktops and also curious about how much more I would get out of one already owning an iPad and iPhone?
 
It depends on your priorities. If you are serious about wanting to be able to play the latest games that come out for the next couple of years at maximum settings and high resolutions then a dedicated PC is probably the way to go.

However, it looks like the Retina Macbook Pro can run games pretty well.

Someone in another thread who just got one said that he was running Diablo 3 at 1440x900 at 65-70 frames per second.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1385632/
 
If you want to play the latest/greatest game in the next 4-5 years youre better off building your own gaming PC (cheaper than buying a premade one and you get to pick which components you want to use and easily upgradable in the future)

If youre a casual gamer the RMBP should be able to hold its own but dont forget how fast these machines heat up and how many "blockbuster games" are made for apple products.


IMO just buy a macbook air and save up some cash $2500-$3000 is enough to build your own gaming PC that should suffice for the next 2-3 years.

Good luck!
 
I think you have solid advice here. For me personally, I only use laptops so it is a simple decision for me to go with the MBP. If I was ok with playing on desktops, I'd definitely look into building my own gaming PC and then using a MB Air for everything else.

Oh and for a gaming PC, I haven't used them but I have heard some positive reviews for Cyber Power
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/
 
For games, spend the dough on a PC.

I (big Mac fan) finally bit the bullet and blew 3k on a monster beast to game, including a 1440x (same res as the 27" iMac) Samsung monitor and I have to say it's a pleasure to game on. My iMac did the job well enough (2009 quad core i7). Oh and I said I would never buy a PC again, but I have to admit, it's behaving itself well enough so far haha! SSD ftw.

So I have a 27" iMac which I still love and do everything BUT gaming on, and a Beast PC just for gaming.

I am sure in the States if that is where you are from, you can put together a really decent machine for the spare cash you said you would have.
 
The MBP will never come close to a desktop PC in terms of gaming performance. You're idea is the best and it is what most people do when they want a MacBook but also want to be able to play the newest games at good settings.
 
Right now, if I were getting a New Gaming Thing, I would probably get one of the ASUS gaming laptops. They're powerful enough to run games Pretty Well, and they are more portable than a full-sized PC. I've been using one hooked up to monitors and keyboards pretty successfully for quite a while. I do have a full-sized tower, but really, it's not that much nicer, and a couple hundred bucks extra for the nice display is decent.

My current gaming laptop is a G53, I believe that's been replaced by the G55. 1920x1080 matte display. I believe the G55 still has two drive bays; the G53, at least, has two drive bays PLUS an optical drive. Get an SSD, download drivers from their site, clean install plus drivers, and life is pretty good for gaming.

Basically, I tried the thing of trying to get a high-end mac to run games on, and eventually had to admit that it just plain wasn't possible to get comparable performance for any price whatsoever. I mistakenly listened to people on this forum who told me that the video hardware in the MBP of the time was fine for gaming. They were wrong. It wasn't fine then, and I don't think it's fine now. Tolerable, maybe, but... I am not inclined to spend $2-3k on "tolerable".

Disclaimer: If they made a non-glossy (not just "reduced glare", but "how about you DON'T ADD GLARE IN THE FIRST PLACE, idiots") Retina MBP, I'd almost certainly get one anyway. I just wouldn't expect it to be able to run games.
 
BUT.... you are playing those games already on a dated PC. So, the retina MBP will already be much better than that.

Can you build a cheap windows gaming tower that will be better than it? Yes. But, the fact that you are relatively happy playing as you are now makes me thing that the rMBP will be fine for you.

Won't it be nice to only have one computer to maintain? To have the gorgeous retina display and enhanced processing power? To be able to move your computer easily and play your games anywhere?

Personally, I would liberate myself of the windows and multiple computer shackle and stick with the retina MBP.
 
I think if you are moderate-to-heavy gamer, you'd be happier with a dedicated gaming PC. I would guess you can probably use your current 24" monitor with the MBP-R and run the games you're playing well enough on mostly high settings. It may be a different story if you're playing FPS games that require a higher frame rate to be playable.

For me, the MBP is perfect since I probably play PC games only 2-3 times per week, and none of them are FPS (I have an early 2011 MBP).
 
mikepro said:
BUT.... you are playing those games already on a dated PC. So, the retina MBP will already be much better than that.

Can you build a cheap windows gaming tower that will be better than it? Yes. But, the fact that you are relatively happy playing as you are now makes me thing that the rMBP will be fine for you.

Won't it be nice to only have one computer to maintain? To have the gorgeous retina display and enhanced processing power? To be able to move your computer easily and play your games anywhere?

Personally, I would liberate myself of the windows and multiple computer shackle and stick with the retina MBP.
Click to expand...

I would too if the retina MBP were remotely comparable to a gaming laptop that cost half as much.
 
Thanks for all the input guys. I'm leaning towards keeping the MBPR at the moment. I'll test it out when it arrives and see if it's tolerable for gaming and it's an upgrade from my dated PC so it no doubt will be. It's hard to argue against the sex appeal. It's a beautiful machine and there is no computer like it at the moment.

I'll build a dedicated gaming PC when winter comes around...coordinate with the release of the next Total War.
 
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