jav6454
macrumors Core
>Gaming
>Laptop
You must always pick one. Never both on one. Specially with mobile GPUs.
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Retina MacBook Pro Gaming Benchmarks
- Thread starter Chippyjohn
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>Gaming
>Laptop
You must always pick one. Never both on one. Specially with mobile GPUs.
Then look up the benchmarks (and also specs for both machines) please before you post nonsense. G46's GPU is clocked 950/1250, the rMBP's one is clocked 900/1250. Both use the same type GDDR5 memory. The GPU benchmark scores are virtually indistinguishable. At notebookcheck review, G46 gets 4 hours 11 min battery life with their web browsing test, while the rMBP gets 6 hours.
Elmzeh
macrumors regular
Hey Chippyjohn,
I've tested out quite a few games on my 2013 15" Retina MacBook Pro and I can tell you it is a very powerful and capable gaming machine - however, if you want max settings at max resolution as well as getting smooth performance/gameplay then it may not be for you...
I'm a recent Windows convert who on the side likes a bit of casual gaming, the truth is I could have gone with a Windows desktop/laptop that may have been cheaper and potentially stronger than my Retina MBP but... thats not a big deal, I wanted a MacBook Pro / OS X and I'm perfectly happy with it 🙂
You may not be able to play all games on Max Resolution at Max Settings with smooth FPS but its not such a big deal, you can scale the resolution down and from the games I've tested so far, there hasnt been a huge/noticeable quality loss IMO;
I recently tested League of Legends running in OS X at Full Resolution and Full Settings and I was getting 30-60 FPS with no noticeable stutters or FPS lag 🙂
Can't be 100% sure on Minecraft and TF2 but I'd assume Minecraft wont be too bad however I cant say for TF2;
Don't listen to anyone that says MacBook Pro's arent for gaming because this is not the case, they are very capable gaming systems but the truth is that for the money you could get a stronger Windows Desktop/Laptop but then the question is, what operating system do you prefer? 🙂 As I said, I'm a recent Windows convert and I've not looked back or even thought about Windows since my MacBook Pro arrived!
Hope this helps!
I play League of Legends at 2880x1800 in OSX. I get 60-80 fps during quiet periods of the game and about 45-65 in very action heavy parts. If I ran it in Windows, I could probably get 100 fps.
Yes it does have optimus. I know as I own one and use it. I can send you screen grabs of my estimated batter life remaining if you want.
Mac in games
He is right. I have a macbook retina 15 inch. 2.7 Ghz, 500gb ssd, 16gb of ram, I use this pc manly for 3D editting and movie editting and webdesign. I do play games on it. only games I can get on full res is WOW MoP but effects on good and max out League of legends and skyrim other games I have tried work well but it is a waste of money to buy a mac for 3.5 thousand dollars for gaming. Quality is great build is nice it overheats but rather buy a asus or razer I wouldnt recoment Alienware cause after 3 years people I know who have it have problems with the monitor. The mac handles games fine and the quality is great but I wouldnt buy it ofr games. But if you are rich and you dont know where to put youre money in Mac isnt bad option or the new razer balde pro . 🙂
He is right. I have a macbook retina 15 inch. 2.7 Ghz, 500gb ssd, 16gb of ram, I use this pc manly for 3D editting and movie editting and webdesign. I do play games on it. only games I can get on full res is WOW MoP but effects on good and max out League of legends and skyrim other games I have tried work well but it is a waste of money to buy a mac for 3.5 thousand dollars for gaming. Quality is great build is nice it overheats but rather buy a asus or razer I wouldnt recoment Alienware cause after 3 years people I know who have it have problems with the monitor. The mac handles games fine and the quality is great but I wouldnt buy it ofr games. But if you are rich and you dont know where to put youre money in Mac isnt bad option or the new razer balde pro . 🙂
I have the GTX 765M in my new laptop. Obviously not bleeding edge, but definitely much more powerful than the 650M I have in my iMac and the MBPs. That said, I was happy gaming on my iMac with no issues at Medium settings.
Most of budget pc and laptops can run games fine at medium settings. Post back when macbook pro can run very high/ultra settings within 50-60 fps on games like Battlefield 3 or The Witcher 2.
People, if you want to buy laptops purely for gaming, just go with Alienware or Razer. Those machines pack one hell of a gpu unit that creates heat like there is no tomorrow. Something that rmbp will melt or just go shut down.
the huge concern that comes from gaming on the mac for me is heat. The Windows based gaming specific laptops are built with efficient cooling in mind.
The Asus ROG series of gaming notebooks have unreal cooling and super quiet.
Macs are great for casual gaming, but if you are looking to game I will always recommend a Windows based PC. You can get a lot of laptop for a decent price. Right now the Asus G750 is at bestbuy in Canada for $1399
The Asus ROG series of gaming notebooks have unreal cooling and super quiet.
Macs are great for casual gaming, but if you are looking to game I will always recommend a Windows based PC. You can get a lot of laptop for a decent price. Right now the Asus G750 is at bestbuy in Canada for $1399
Pretty much. You can get window based gaming focused laptop that are much better built for heavy-gaming intended for cheaper price.
im a casual gamer who was looking at changing from my noisy pc to a laptop.
ive been waiting to hear what will be under the hood in the coming haswell MBP as the macbooks seem to be better built than PC laptops from what i had been reading. everywhere i read though everyone is gaming is garbage on a MBP or its good so its hard to tell
im not beginning to think they are much the same
im going to be tethering my photography, lightroom,photoshop and if either of them have a decent dgpu games and the above mentioned programs should run well
ive been waiting to hear what will be under the hood in the coming haswell MBP as the macbooks seem to be better built than PC laptops from what i had been reading. everywhere i read though everyone is gaming is garbage on a MBP or its good so its hard to tell
im not beginning to think they are much the same
im going to be tethering my photography, lightroom,photoshop and if either of them have a decent dgpu games and the above mentioned programs should run well
i've never ever gotten the "Better built" line that comes from a lot of apple users.
They are mass-produced just like everyone else. Look at the service manual for the macbook pro, it's scary when it comes to applying the thermal paste.
My asus is built like a tank, great cooling, looks cool and feels 100% solid.
They are mass-produced just like everyone else. Look at the service manual for the macbook pro, it's scary when it comes to applying the thermal paste.
My asus is built like a tank, great cooling, looks cool and feels 100% solid.
14.1" G46VW, 1600x900 matte screen, around 5 lbs. Great machine and plays pretty much every game i throw at it.
It also *looks* like a tank... or an aborted Batman suit prototype.
I don't expect everyone who owns a Mac to have a degree in industrial design, but if you can't objectively see and feel how much more refined your MBA is as an object, then you're kinda missing half the fun of owning an Apple product.
TechZeke
macrumors 68020
A mac can game, it's just people are isheep and don't read into products before they buy or use common sense.
Even a GTX 765M or even a GTX 780M would struggle to run Battlefield 3 maxed out at 2880x1800.
Notice how the Razer Blade(or any gaming machine for that matter) doesn't use a super-hi-res panel like a retina display. Resolution kills framerates, and running a game at 2880x1800 is just making your GPU hot for no reason because it's 15" display.
My non-retina Macbook Pro can easily run Battlefield 3 on high/near max at native res. If you're running 2880x1800, you get no extra real estate and choking your GPU.
Not dissing the rMBP, its a great machine, but expecting a mobile GPU to run modern games high at 2880x1800 is ludicrous.
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thanks collin
techzeke. there wouldnt be any problem setting the game res to 1920x1080 on the retina for gaming would there?
techzeke. there wouldnt be any problem setting the game res to 1920x1080 on the retina for gaming would there?
Vanilla35
macrumors 68040
Right now the best thing MBP has going for it in direct comparison is the weight to power comparison when being compared directly to gaming laptops. The MBP has decent power (NVIDIA 650M) while also being ~5 pounds. Not a brick like most windows gaming laptops.
Although this is quickly changing as windows line up (toshiba, asus, samsung) are pushing thin, light, and powerful, high res 13"-14" ultrabooks. I've yet to see a good 15" one though that meets the MBP's specifications. It seems to be the sweet spot that everyone else is missing. I have a 15" computer right now, and wouldn't step down to a 13" or 14" for the world. But wouldn't go higher either
I'm sorry but anyone who owns a laptop for looks probably don't know how to use the laptop effectively. It's your opinion to diss Asus latop's look, but don't get all isheep defensive when someone else mocks your favorite mrbp's appearance in return, telling it looks like a fragile, scratch-prominent glass machine.
I didn't think I was being especially defensive, actually. I just find it perplexing that somebody would choose to pay a premium for an Apple laptop if the seamless integration of hardware design and UI were not a big part of the attraction. As everyone knows, they've never been class-leading performers 'under the hood'--battery life/portability of the MBA being an exception to the rule.
I think if you were to compare the amount of money and talent that go into R&D for an Apple laptop (which tend to have a shelf-life of 3-5 years) to the cost of developing a one-off/one-year Asus gaming notebook, you'd probably find a significant discrepancy. The fact that the Apple stuff winds up looking sexier and more refined/better designed is not an accident.
Anyway, yes, the Asus is ugly. It's a standard example of designing from the inside-out (i.e. establishing hardware specs/components and building a shell to house them) rather than the outside-in method Apple typically employs, which is more about establishing a physical relationship with the end user first and foremost, and then finding a way to integrate the internal components.
I'm not putting one design ethos above the other necessarily, but if you think that Asus notebook could wind up in a design museum 30 years from now, you're kidding yourself. It's about portability and gaming performance. End of story.
Moreover, note that having taste or an aesthetic sensibility and "knowing how to use a laptop effectively" aren't mutually exclusive. And the irony of finding the phrase "using a laptop effectively" in a thread about gaming performance is not lost on me. 😉
FYI, rmbp is just plain looking laptop. If you want those "looks" or "aesthetics", go for independent gaming laptop makers for their sleek looks. Especially considering the fact that rmbp definitely does not fit the look of "sexy". It just looks plain and simple, like HP ones.
If you think macbook pro is a nice looking laptop, then it's an established fact that you have never ever seen other laptops in the market.
😉
Okay, but you realize that the "plainness" is the point, right? It's all about eliminating seams, screws, anything that can visually or physically get between the user and the UI...
But hey, I'm not religious about this stuff--let's just agree to disagree! 😉
I use Macs to make music, because the OS is rock solid and my hardware is all OSX-based. If a rMBP can handle a few current-gen games, it's just icing on the cake! 🙂
If you have enough money to buy a mac And you want to game. Buy a razer with a gtx inside it for one thousand dollars under. As I said I bought a mac but not mainly for gaming. It takes games good but a razer is would be better for gaming. or a asus . The gaming one not shure of the name right now. Or lenovo makes a pc for only 1 500 dollars that has two gt650m inside