Rev B: Gaming Performance?

[arimathea]

I have a rev 1 MBA, with which i've had much the same experience as a majority of the people that own them - e.g. core shutdowns, horrible video performance, etc.

I am considering a new rev 2 MBA or latest MBP. I have no particular need for the "extras" on the MBP if the MBA can play EVE, Warhammer, and TF2 reasonably well (e.g. "playable"). I've seen some anecdotal reports and evidence with these games on MB and MBP, and the results are good on the MB, great on the MBP. I know the Air fundamentally has the same chipset, but has anyone done this on their rev-B MBA? How do you like it? What settings are you running at? Windowed or full screen?

Thanks,
/a

 

[halogan]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/439682/

Just a few threads below.

 

[arimathea]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/439682/

Just a few threads below.

Yes. But there's basically only one user in that thread with a rev B, and while he's running some of the games i'm interested in, there aren't enough details.

Does anyone else have more clue on the topic?

 

[CoreyMac]

so you're considering a MBA or a MBP to play games on....but have no interest in the MBP extras? Why isnt the regular macbook an option then considering it will run games better than the Air?? From what I'm hearing.....due to the slower CPU and lower clocked 9400M (Compared to the MB & MBP), look at the FPS of games on the regular Aluminum MacBook and shed about 10fps off them. Whats barely playable on a MB wont be so much playable on an Air

 

[robeddie]

so you're considering a MBA or a MBP to play games on....but have no interest in the MBP extras? Why isnt the regular macbook an option then considering it will run games better than the Air??

One reason may be that the Al MacBook screen is still lame and dingy compared to the MBA or MBP.

At least when I'm doing something that's essentially visual with my computer, like playing games, I want to have a top notch screen.

 

[zer0tails]

to be honest, I wouldn't consider buying a MBA as a gaming machine. The MBP would be much more fun for gaming because of its larger screen, and dedicated gpu.

 

[arimathea]

so you're considering a MBA or a MBP to play games on....but have no interest in the MBP extras? Why isnt the regular macbook an option then considering it will run games better than the Air?? From what I'm hearing.....due to the slower CPU and lower clocked 9400M (Compared to the MB & MBP), look at the FPS of games on the regular Aluminum MacBook and shed about 10fps off them. Whats barely playable on a MB wont be so much playable on an Air

I do a lot of traveling so i'd prefer the form factor of the MBA. If I can get what I want with the MBA, i'll go with the MBA. If I have to deal with the extra weight of a larger machine, I might as well go all out for the max'd MBP. Thanks for the hint on the lower clocking of the 9400M; I wasn't aware of that and it would make a difference. I'll keep an eye on the other threads and see if maybe someone plays EVE on the MBA; that seems to be the last game i'm interested in (other than TF2)...

 

[iPhonePhan]

Just played WoW3 for the first time in my life (reminded me alot of the South Park episode making fun of it)

I gotta say, the graphics were really decent. Everything looked smooth, no jitter at all on default settings. If the rest of the game is like the beginning then there should be no problem playing it on a MBA.

I don't play computer games so I have nothing else to test. If anyone needs more concrete stat numbers, etc. just tell me how to get them to you and I'll be more than glad to do it

 

[ercanbas]

I have a rev 1 MBA, with which i've had much the same experience as a majority of the people that own them - e.g. core shutdowns, horrible video performance, etc.

I am considering a new rev 2 MBA or latest MBP. I have no particular need for the "extras" on the MBP if the MBA can play EVE, Warhammer, and TF2 reasonably well (e.g. "playable"). I've seen some anecdotal reports and evidence with these games on MB and MBP, and the results are good on the MB, great on the MBP. I know the Air fundamentally has the same chipset, but has anyone done this on their rev-B MBA? How do you like it? What settings are you running at? Windowed or full screen?

Thanks,
/a

Crysis runs great on maxed settings! It ran flawless while itunes was looping my Queen discography and handbrake was encoding The Godfather to mp4. Don't worry about the ventilation either, I suffocated the vents with my pillow and Crysis had no hiccups. In fact, I heard a slight chuckle from my MBA when I opened the game.

 

[deltaiscain]

Crysis runs great on maxed settings! It ran flawless while itunes was looping my Queen discography and handbrake was encoding The Godfather to mp4. Don't worry about the ventilation either, I suffocated the vents with my pillow and Crysis had no hiccups. In fact, I heard a slight chuckle from my MBA when I opened the game.

Crysis works with max settings?!?!?! WOW, thats awesome. What fps did you have, and what resolution did you have your computer on?
Thanks

 

[pgharavi]

sarcasm.