New MacBook Air gaming capability is amazing

[DisplacedMic]

Did anybody try the following games:

- Guild Wars 2 (beta or beta weekends)
- WoW Mists of Pandaria (beta)
- Skyrim
- Shogun 2
- Starcraft 2

@native res or bare minimum hd resolution (minimum 720p vertical)? I have an external 21'' 1366x768 to use with.

I only play/will play these games (or old ones like TF2 or CS:S), not really a gamer just about 1h/day on average.

I'm torn between rMBP and maxed out Air 13''. Budget is not a problem (luckily), but portability is. The lighter/smaller, the better. I will use the laptop mainly for other non graphical tasks, I'm not buying it for those games, I just wondered if I could play them. But at the same time, if I can't play those games fluently, rMBP will do in weight/dimensions.

What's your experience?

starcraft 2 works great on my 11"
i have even gotten perfectly proficient using the trackpad

the fans will run and the bottom will get too warm to have it on bare skin, but otherwise you'll do fine at default settings.

 

[coldjeanzzz]

I just installed Batman Arkham Asylum. The game looks amazing, and its running smoothly. Gaming performance is a non issue with the new airs.

I got Batman Arkham City today and just played it for about an hour, very smooth. I put the settings on medium, but it probably could have handled high. My fans were going full speed for the entire time though, I guess it's normal but man I can't help but feel like I'm hurting my poor little MBA when I do that to it lol.

 

[eezacque]

OMFG,*you make me angry - you're so wrong, you can stress test it (which is far more demanding than just playing a 3d game) and it would still be fine - you can have it do that 24/7 - only if it shutdown (which would indicate it hit 100 degrees celsius I believe) would it be too hot, otherwise it would be just fine.

A complete stress test includes high temperatures on a regular basis, over a period of several years. Only if your MBA doesn't die, or if Apple replaces your logic board free of charge and hassle, am I convinced that an MBA can take the heat...

I have seen too many complaints about Apple laptops that fail beyond repair because the current compact design doesn't allow these to be repaired without swapping the complete logic board. I cannot prove it, but I'm afraid heat plays a role here.