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Possible to buy a MBP that is great for gaming?

Y

yalag

Suspended
Original poster
Nov 18, 2007
1,448
81
I'm getting prepared to play Diablo 3 next month and my current macbook pro isn't that great. I have the last generation one 13'' and it's not doing great so far with the beta.

I tried the current generation 13'' and the graphic card is actually worst so I went back. I hear the problem is with intel graphic chip and my nvidia chip is still superior.

I have to stick with a 13'' because I'm travelling a lot and a 15'' would kill me. Any solution? Is there a configuration that would be great for the new game? Or am I pretty much stuck? Any hopes with the upcoming new MBPs?

Thanks.
 
yalag said:
I'm getting prepared to play Diablo 3 next month and my current macbook pro isn't that great. I have the last generation one 13'' and it's not doing great so far with the beta.

I tried the current generation 13'' and the graphic card is actually worst so I went back. I hear the problem is with intel graphic chip and my nvidia chip is still superior.

I have to stick with a 13'' because I'm travelling a lot and a 15'' would kill me. Any solution? Is there a configuration that would be great for the new game? Or am I pretty much stuck? Any hopes with the upcoming new MBPs?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

can't speak on the news ones, you could be stuck with the 13" I've read the current 15 plays the Diablo 3 Demo just fine
 
D3 runs great on my $799 Mac mini, should run fine on a similarly spec'd MacBook pro (get the dedicated gpu)
 
tehBrad said:
D3 runs great on my $799 Mac mini, should run fine on a similarly spec'd MacBook pro (get the dedicated gpu)
Click to expand...

Mine does have the dedicated gpu but it's still lagging pretty bad. I don't think the graphic card is the same.
 
If you are a serious gamer then the answer in my opinion is no. For that matter, I wouldn't get any notebook if your primary use will be gaming. You need a nice video card, nothing integrated.

That said, notebooks, mac or otherwise with an ATI or NVIDIA stamp on it will give a huge boost to your gaming over the Intel ones.

The exception seems to be Blizzard games, they make them run will on macs even without the ATI or NVIDIA.
 
pgiguere1 said:
Based on this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrLYv9o5GrM&feature

You can run Diablo 3 at High settings, AA on, 1440x900 at 50-60 FPS on a late-2011 15" MBP with Radeon HD 6770M graphics. I would expect similar performances from the 2012 baseline 15" MBP.

As for the upcoming Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics, I'm guessing you could play on Medium settings at around 30 FPS.
Click to expand...

So in other words don't hold my breath for the new MBP either? The answer is a 15''?
 
I played the beta on high graphics without any problems on my MacBook, but it has a 2.2ghz Quad i7 with 8gb of ram and 1gb graphics card.
 
yalag said:
Mine does have the dedicated gpu but it's still lagging pretty bad. I don't think the graphic card is the same.
Click to expand...

If you have a 13" you do NOT have a dedicated GPU.

To answer your original question: possible to buy a MBP that is great for gaming?
My answer is NO.

But your opinion of "great for gaming" may differ from mine.
Can you buy a mpb that plays D3 well? Sure. But D3 isn't the most demanding game.
No MBP is great for gaming, and really, not many laptops are "great" for gaming either.
 
mikeo007 said:
If you have a 13" you do NOT have a dedicated GPU.
Click to expand...

Was just about to post this. No 13" MBP has ever come with a discrete graphics chip. I am assuming you have the NVIDIA 9400M or the 320M. Neither are discrete, as neither contain any VRAM.

To answer your original question: possible to buy a MBP that is great for gaming?
My answer is NO.

But your opinion of "great for gaming" may differ from mine.
Can you buy a mpb that plays D3 well? Sure. But D3 isn't the most demanding game.
No MBP is great for gaming, and really, not many laptops are "great" for gaming either.
Click to expand...

Personally, I would say the 6750M/6770M in the present gen are fine (even great) for gaming, as they can run any game so far at a reasonable resolution at at least moderate graphics settings at easily playable graphics settings.

Although I guess it depends on how much graphics quality affects your enjoyment of a particular game. Personally bad graphics only bother me when they're obvious, and kill immersion. My example would have to be the TERRIBLE textures in Mass Effect 3 ruining otherwise awesome moments. Versus turning off HDR and/or lowering particle effects, which you are far less likely to notice. And will have a larger effect on performance, ironically.
 
yalag said:
What size is your MacBook pro?
Click to expand...

As he/she says it's a quad i7, it must be either 15" or 17". As it's a 1GB card, it must be the 6750M or 6770M, as the poor 6490M in the base early 2011 MBP is only 256MB.
 
Last edited:
I've had the beta for quite sometime.
Have played it on my 13" mbp early 11, tbh if you really want it to be playable the 13 won't cut it.

Although your gaming experience may differ from mine and others, I like to play games that give a smooth frame rate.

I'd have to go with a 15" since it does have a dedicated graphics. Although the upcoming Intel IB has the 4000 seems promising.

If you want to really game then I'd spend it on a gaming laptop or desktop.

edit, didn't read you travel a lot.
I'd have to go with the 15"
Although if you do wait it out, the TB external graphics may just be the thing you're looking for.
I am waiting on that which could definitely change the portable gaming laptops. Having a discreet external graphics is definitely a very good thing.
 
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asuming that are some companys working on external graphics card maby even the 13 handle Google it, thunderbolt is the away.
 
mikeo007 said:
Waste of money. Fork out the extra cash and just get a 15".
Click to expand...

A decent desktop card in a TB enclosure would still outperform a 15" MBP. But considering how much the TB enclosure would be likely to cost (plus the required external display), it might be worth just forking out the dough to buy a cheap gaming PC to complement your 13".
 
Erasmus said:
A decent desktop card in a TB enclosure would still outperform a 15" MBP. But considering how much the TB enclosure would be likely to cost (plus the required external display), it might be worth just forking out the dough to buy a cheap gaming PC to complement your 13".
Click to expand...

Problem is, current enclosures can't support a decent graphics card. They have very limited power supplies and can't power a high end or even most medium-end cards.
 
mikeo007 said:
Problem is, current enclosures can't support a decent graphics card. They have very limited power supplies and can't power a high end or even most medium-end cards.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what's available RIGHT NOW, but I remember seeing variants with ~200W power allocation. Should be enough to power a HD7950 or some such card.
 
mikeo007 said:
Problem is, current enclosures can't support a decent graphics card. They have very limited power supplies and can't power a high end or even most medium-end cards.
Click to expand...

You'll just need a bigger power brick that can handle higher watts.
Take a look at Alienware x51 desktop about the size of an xbox 360 you can upgrade the graphics to a AMD 7870 which I think can run pretty much any game this current generation and possibly next.
 
Erasmus said:
I'm not sure what's available RIGHT NOW, but I remember seeing variants with ~200W power allocation. Should be enough to power a HD7950 or some such card.
Click to expand...

Haven't seen anything with that much power yet, but it could be coming down the road. Current models offer 75 watts from the PCIe connector. Some newer models may come with 150 watts. Still stand by the fact that it's too expensive to be worth it though.

Your idea of a gaming PC and 13" macbook is probably a better idea than an external GPU.
 
yalag said:
I'm getting prepared to play Diablo 3 next month and my current macbook pro isn't that great. I have the last generation one 13'' and it's not doing great so far with the beta.

I tried the current generation 13'' and the graphic card is actually worst so I went back. I hear the problem is with intel graphic chip and my nvidia chip is still superior.

I have to stick with a 13'' because I'm travelling a lot and a 15'' would kill me. Any solution? Is there a configuration that would be great for the new game? Or am I pretty much stuck? Any hopes with the upcoming new MBPs?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Not if you won't move up to the 15", no.
 
nostylez said:
You'll just need a bigger power brick that can handle higher watts.
Take a look at Alienware x51 desktop about the size of an xbox 360 you can upgrade the graphics to a AMD 7870 which I think can run pretty much any game this current generation and possibly next.
Click to expand...

It's not the power brick, it's the circuitry in the enclosure. They don't have the necessary power adapters.
 
Gaming PC and Macbook Pro are mutually exclusive atm.

The best option for a gaming laptop is any PC laptop with an i5/i7 CPU and a new generation Nvidia discrete GFX card. Apple have AMD cards on board or Intel integrated HD3000 GMA so they come a poor second in power and energy consumption.
This is the GFX tech you want for portable gaming, anything else is second rate:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebooks.html
 
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