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Need help understanding video cards for gaming

TitanJeff

TitanJeff

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 20, 2004
117
1
I have a MacBook Pro mid-2014 with an Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB.

I play an online game called Elder Scrolls Online. I started experiencing some graphic issues and was told the minimum requirements to play the game included a "DirectX 11 compliant video card".

I'm attempting to understand if there is anything I can do to make my laptop work or if I am out-of-luck.

Thanks for any help shared.
 
I thought it only compatible with Windows so don't know why it would be a requirement for a mac.
 
Does anyone know what video cards are "DirectX 11 compliant" and if I can add it to my MBP? I've never done such a thing but will if it's possible at a reasonable price.
 
DirectX, simply put, a toolset of little programs and libraries that help display multimedia and graphics on Windows. As DirectX is a Windows-only thing, OS X (Linux too) uses an alternative called OpenGL.

If you're talking about the Windows version of ESO, yes, the Iris Pro supports DirectX 11 and is supposed to run ESO just fine.
If it's the OS X version - it's also supposed to run well on the Iris Pro, but there have been some glitches, such as dark spots and low resolution textures and the OS X client has been kinda buggy.

TL;DR
The Iris Pro is not a gaming GPU, but it's pretty modern and widely supported. Any issues you might be experiencing are likely caused by the game. Try asking around on the game's support forums.
 
TitanJeff said:
Does anyone know what video cards are "DirectX 11 compliant" and if I can add it to my MBP? I've never done such a thing but will if it's possible at a reasonable price.
Click to expand...
You cannot add a graphics card to a laptop (any laptop, not just yours). Everything is soldered onto one board and not replaceable (with the exception of RAM and hard drive, in some models).

The Iris Pro IS DirectX 11 compliant, so you don't need to add anything regardless.

You'll need DirectX 11 (Windows by extension, as DirectX is windows only) to run your game. I do think there is a Mac version of the game out there though.
 
TitanJeff said:
Does anyone know what video cards are "DirectX 11 compliant" and if I can add it to my MBP? I've never done such a thing but will if it's possible at a reasonable price.
Click to expand...

You can't change integrated GPU's they are part of the CPU, direct X 11 is not your issue your video card supports it.

However elder scrolls online reccomends at least 2gb of video ram and you only have 1.5gb on your card.

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/the-elder-scrolls-online/11969

To be honest a 13 inch thin light laptop is just the wrong tool for playing a game as intensive as elder scrolls online without turning down resolution and lowering some of the effects.

Try it at 720p with most of the effects turned off.
 
snaky69 said:
You cannot add a graphics card to a laptop (any laptop, not just yours). Everything is soldered onto one board and not replaceable (with the exception of RAM and hard drive, in some models).

The Iris Pro IS DirectX 11 compliant, so you don't need to add anything regardless.

You'll need DirectX 11 (Windows by extension, as DirectX is windows only) to run your game. I do think there is a Mac version of the game out there though.
Click to expand...
You can get an external graphics card though...
 
Toutou said:
If it's the OS X version - it's also supposed to run well on the Iris Pro, but there have been some glitches, such as dark spots and low resolution textures and the OS X client has been kinda buggy.

TL;DR
The Iris Pro is not a gaming GPU, but it's pretty modern and widely supported. Any issues you might be experiencing are likely caused by the game. Try asking around on the game's support forums.
Click to expand...
Thanks.

I've been on the ESO forum and have gone back and forth with support who continues to say "you need a DX11 compliant card". I wish they'd just admit their mac version is glitchy.
[doublepost=1463138023][/doublepost]
Samuelsan2001 said:
However elder scrolls online reccomends at least 2gb of video ram and you only have 1.5gb on your card.
Click to expand...
This I can wrap my brain around. I must have been reading older recommendations. Thanks.
 
Samuelsan2001 said:
To be honest a 13 inch thin light laptop is just the wrong tool for playing a game as intensive as elder scrolls online without turning down resolution and lowering some of the effects.
Click to expand...

True, but let's not forget there are people playing ESO on MacBook Airs with the HD3000 GPU, so there's no need to scare TitanJeff :D
That game, and many others, should be perfectly playable on the Iris Pro.
 
Toutou said:
True, but let's not forget there are people playing ESO on MacBook Airs with the HD3000 GPU, so there's no need to scare TitanJeff :D
That game, and many others, should be perfectly playable on the Iris Pro.
Click to expand...

They are but with the settings turned down as I said, TitanJeff has given us no info on the settings he is using so it's impossible for us to tell wether that is the issue or not.
 
richwoodrocket said:
You can get an external graphics card though...
Click to expand...
You said it youself, it's external. You still haven't upgraded the videocard in the laptop by getting one of those, and you're tethered to a desk since you need to run an external screen, you can't feed the video back into the laptop.
 
Samuelsan2001 said:
They are but with the settings turned down as I said, TitanJeff has given us no info on the settings he is using so it's impossible for us to tell wether that is the issue or not.
Click to expand...
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB

It runs decently on it—better than most I read about in their forum. The blue-green static graphics is what I get occasionally during the game.

1e82b1d6ca35b01abc6351fcba0221.jpg


As for settings, I have most on medium. I've gone through and adjusted most things down or off but this issue remains. It's as if certain textures are not being received so it substitutes this.
 
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