Skyrim on Mac

[Smokybanjo]

I downloaded Skyrim for the mac and am playing it through Winetricks but I'm having problems getting the game to work properly.
I have a 15" MacBookPro 2.4GHz with 4GB Ram, 1024MB VRAM and an AMD Radeon HD6770 graphics card.
I can run the game on ultra high settings but not for long. It'll freeze in about two or three minutes. About ten to the fifteen when run on low settings. Before this the sound completely cuts out.
I've searched online for advice but so far nothing I have done has worked.
If anyone knows how I can get the game to work I'd greatly appreciate it.
I know it might just not work very well with mac but I keep hearing about people playing it with no problem.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

What about using Windows on your Mac via Boot Camp?
Booting Windows on the Mac

 

[Smokybanjo]

I'd considered that but I don't have Windows on disc. I don't think you can do it otherwise can you?

 

[thundersteele]

I'm using the cider port from portingteam.com - works without problems. I just had a few problems when trying to update the game, and of course the issue that one needs a modified .exe which probably makes the whole thing illegal

Try running some temperature monitor while playing, to check how hot the machine gets. You might experience thermal throttling. Note that CPU temperatures around 90 C are normal on macbooks.

 

[Pentad]

I really enjoy Skyrim and have tried both the Wine and Cider versions but in the end they just can't compete with the Bootcamp and AMD's 12.1 drivers.

I know it requires a Windows disc but the speed and eye candy under Windows is just amazing.

If you haven't tried Skyrim outside of Wine or Cider, you should give Bootcamp a try.

While Apple's graphic driver suck, AMD's 12.1 driver is very good. It is a shame Apple doesn't put more effort into the Bootcamp drivers as the MBP could be an awesome Windows notebook!

-P

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

Bootcamp is really the only viable option for serious gaming for games that aren't Mac-native. Cider and wine ports just don't cut it. If they did, companies wouldn't pay out thousands of dollars to pay to have the game ported to Mac when they could just use some free open-source software to do it.

 

[thundersteele]

Bootcamp is really the only viable option for serious gaming for games that aren't Mac-native. Cider and wine ports just don't cut it. If they did, companies wouldn't pay out thousands of dollars to pay to have the game ported to Mac when they could just use some free open-source software to do it.

Cider is not free, but it's probably a cheap workaround for companies that don't want to write a native game client for OSX. The Sims and a few other games were ported using Cider or Crossover, which in the end are all based on Wine. Performance is usually worse than on windows... by how much depends on the game.

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

Cider is not free, but it's probably a cheap workaround for companies that don't want to write a native game client for OSX. The Sims and a few other games were ported using Cider or Crossover, which in the end are all based on Wine. Performance is usually worse than on windows... by how much depends on the game.

I forgot that Cider isn't free. Some games seem to work decently with Cider, but the end result is always slower than a true port, and even the best port ever can't hope to stand up to the same game on Windows. Apple's implementation of OpenGL in OS X is not the best and DirectX is much better for gaming than OpenGL is anyway.

 

[dmccloud]

I'd considered that but I don't have Windows on disc. I don't think you can do it otherwise can you?

You should be able to download the "Developer Preview" of Windows 8 and install that using bootcamp. Microsoft opened it up to everyone late last year, and there's not even a product key. The beta will be coming out soon as well. That would allow you to install a legitimate (although temporary) copy of Windows without having to pay anything at this time.

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

You should be able to download the "Developer Preview" of Windows 8 and install that using bootcamp. Microsoft opened it up to everyone late last year, and there's not even a product key. The beta will be coming out soon as well. That would allow you to install a legitimate (although temporary) copy of Windows without having to pay anything at this time.

This assumes that drivers and current games will run properly on Windows 8. They might, they might not. It's a good idea, I just wanted to point out the caveats for clarity.