New 2012 MacBook Air Has anyone tried running Diablo 3?

[(-(ellblazer420]

Hey guys this is my first post on MacRumors. I have been a long time lurker. I'm in the market for one of the new MacBooks. This is my first time ever buying a Mac. I am finally coming over from the dark side. I have been battling my inner self for the past 2 days whether to get a MBA 13" with 8gb of ram and 2.0 GHz i-7 processor or the new retina MBP base model with 16gb of ram.

I am not a hardcore gamer but would like a some what future proof device that can run some games especially Diablo 3. I will be sharing it with my wife and tend to travel a few times a year so portability is more important. The Intel HD 4000 graphics combined with the 2.0 Ghz i-7 processor in the 13" MBA seems like it should be able to handle Diablo 3 fairly well No?

Have any of you tried it out yet? Does the MBA get too hot if played too long?
If so let us know how she is running. Thank you.

 

[snapper64]

The game runs well at native resolution (1440x900) on low settings on the previous version MacBook Air (with the Intel HD 3000). As the HD 4000 is a significant improvement over the previous generation you may find it runs well even on medium settings.

 

[dona83]

Refer to this thread for answers:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1385394/

 

[alan7467]

According to this performance test of the HD 4000 GPU the new air shouldn't have a problem running D3 at medium settings (I'd suspect that the variant in the air is underclocked a bit):

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/05/28/intel-hd-4000-investigation/5

 

[fotuwe]

Just played an hour with my new MBA 13" low end (4GB / 128GB). Its my portable machine (working horse is a iMAc 27").

I turned all effect and shadows down - it looks great on the high resolution screen + FPS about 40-50.
It is absolutely playable! Without a doubt - for someone who wants to relax after work while playing D3 - thumbs up for the MBA 2012

 

[kooskoos1814]

I have the MBA 2011 and it's working great at 1400x900 (native), textures high, shadows off and everything else low. Looking really great and was always playable (now struggling through Act III Inferno in coop (between 3 and 4 people). But I can't say there isn't sometimes some noticeiable slowdowns (15 fps).

On the 2012 it should run great !

 

[Mongol]

I have the top spec 2012 11" air, 2.0 gz, 8 gigs of ram, 256 ssd, and Diablo 3 is playable, but it's choppy, and framerate floats between 20-35, and dips below 20 at times.

I do the default video settings + native resolution. I think if you turn everything down, it would run fairly smoothly.

Also, battery is done in an hour playing Diablo 3.

 

[Calot]

I have the top spec 2012 11" air, 2.0 gz, 8 gigs of ram, 256 ssd, and Diablo 3 is playable, but it's choppy, and framerate floats between 20-35, and dips below 20 at times.

I do the default video settings + native resolution. I think if you turn everything down, it would run fairly smoothly.

Also, battery is done in an hour playing Diablo 3.

I have the exact same specs, but 13".

On native resolution, textures high, vertical sync on, low fx on, AA off, everything else off/low, it runs very varied. From around 20 (the meter doesnt work, Im guessing) in Tristram, to around 30 everywhere else.

The part with the spiders in Act I was choppy as hell.

Im guessing this is Blizzard's fault since it seems to run exactly the same as the 2011 Air.

I put it on 1280x800 and EVERYTHING low, except textures, and it runs BARELY better.

Hope they update it.

Would it make a gigantic difference in Boot Camp? I don't feel like installing Windows 7 Ultimate for 5-10 fps on the same settings.

 

[asting]

If you have the budget for the retina get that. The high end MBA is a terrible value when compared to the low end ones and the comparably priced retina.

 

[KasperH]

I have the 2012 i7 13" with 8GB and i find it close to unplayable on "Inferno" at game defaults and pretty bad looking too.

Also the temps ramps up to 104c in a matter of seconds, and the fan runs at full speed. I wouldnt mind running some benchmarks if i just knew how to give you something usefull, the FPS are all over the place depending on the action on screen. I consider a framerate under 30FPS unplayable, some might be less sensitive to lag.

 

[Calot]

I have the 2012 i7 13" with 8GB and i find it close to unplayable on "Inferno" at game defaults and pretty bad looking too.

Also the temps ramps up to 104c in a matter of seconds, and the fan runs at full speed. I wouldnt mind running some benchmarks if i just knew how to give you something usefull, the FPS are all over the place depending on the action on screen. I consider a framerate under 30FPS unplayable, some might be less sensitive to lag.

Do you have any programs running on the background?

I run it on native resolution, textures high, vertical sync ON, low fx checked, NO AA, and everything else off/low. It looks pretty good, actually. It is a MBA after all..

Im at the middle of Act II on normal and I find the FPS drop very little when there are 20+ bad guys but I doubt it drops below 20 for a second or two. Normally I get 30+ constant.

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If you have the budget for the retina get that. The high end MBA is a terrible value when compared to the low end ones and the comparably priced retina.

The base retina was around 700 dollars more expensive than my i7/8gb/256 13".

Not a lot of value there.

More than 4 pounds is still too heavy for me.

AIR for me