So I'm almost to the point of buying a maxed out 15" rMBP, but also want to hook it up to dual 27" Thunderbolt displays. My concerns is whether the graphics card when using the displays will be enough to play games at a reasonable rate (I'm not talking Crysis 3, but something like League of Legends now that it's out or the upcoming Starcraft)? Is that too much desktop real estate to be functional or is the rMBP going to handle that just fine? Anybody have a similar setup that can speak to this affect?
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rMBP Dual ATB 27s and Gaming
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I'm curious... are you talking about those framerates on OS X or Windows?
I haven't installed the Mac client yet, but I run it in Windows at native res and maxed settings. With VSYNC on it stays at a consistent 60fps.
My framerates in OS X and Windows have been pretty much identical. With everything maxed, I can get nearly 80 when not a lot is going on, but flashy 5v5 teamfights occasionally got some weird slow down, catch up-style lag. After the second or third time, I said screw it and bumped down to 1920x1200.
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Not many people are willing to spend $2k on TB displays for gaming unless it is for professional use.
As for OP, if you plan on gaming on an overclocked GT 650m, make sure you play on Windows. The Mac ports for Starcraft 2 and LoL are absolutely garbage, and especially when the GPU settings are at default values in OSX. In LoL with max resolution and settings I'm receiving anywhere between 22-60 fps with vsync on. Average is 30, though.
I won't deny that Macs are less than desireable for gaming, I'm just looking for the occasional gaming instances. The dual monitors are for screen real estate while coding, surfing the net, and general multi-tasking work. I'm just thinking the larger PHYSICAL screen size (the 27" display) will be nice when I'm just looking to kick back and play. I'm not looking to have the game(s) stretch across both screens, I just want it on one, my concern is if I'm plugged in and both screens are attached if it will cause performance issues.
Disappointing to hear that the Mac client for LoL is so bad. I was psyched when they released it this week. What is the reasoning behind such poor performance? Driver issues?
How is the gaming experience on the rMBP straight up? Is the screen resolution too high to provide a smooth experience?
Disappointing to hear that the Mac client for LoL is so bad. I was psyched when they released it this week. What is the reasoning behind such poor performance? Driver issues?
How is the gaming experience on the rMBP straight up? Is the screen resolution too high to provide a smooth experience?
Just as a slight update: There are videos of a rMBP hooked up to two ATBs with each playing a 1080P video that seems to be fairly smooth. I would think this could be evidence that gaming wouldn't be too shabby on a setup like that.
You shouldn't notice much, if any, difference. In fact performance on a 27" ACD is likely going to be better than native Retina resolution as the resolution is lower. Running 3x displays even at such a high resolution is not that demanding on the card. It is how many pixels you are pushing when doing 3d intensive applications that matters.