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Spore on GMA950?

Z

zebraman

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
97
0
Miami!!!
Im not much of a gamer but ive been wanting to get spore since its announcement. I have a white MB with GMA950 graphics. Now i know itll suck on my rig cause i tried the sims 2 which has similar graphics on it and was almost unplayable in os x. Will spore be able to run on my mac or would using it in bootcamp help?
 
Boot Camp probably won't help much--it's a matter of the hardware you have (limited graphics) rather than the OS or Cider.

It's possible Spore will have detail settings that can be set low enough to run (maybe unsupported) on your machine, but we don't know yet. It's unlikely, I fear.
 
nagromme said:
Boot Camp probably won't help much--it's a matter of the hardware you have (limited graphics) rather than the OS or Cider.

It's possible Spore will have detail settings that can be set low enough to run (maybe unsupported) on your machine, but we don't know yet. It's unlikely, I fear.
Click to expand...

Awww this sucks :(
 
Interesting That gives some hope for 950 on Mac too (though not much--Cider does not lend itself to Mac-specific optimization I'm sure).

You can be sure the game won't LOOK as nice on integrated graphcis, but the game PLAY may be just as fun :)
 
well, we have hope for the GMA 950, but do you think it would be worth it? I'm thinking of buying a new macbook, with the GMAx3100, but how much better is that chip? It's still integrated graphics right?
 
I think X3100 is a lot better, in theory, but if you intend to play under OS X, then I wonder, how good are the drivers in 10.5.3? If they're still as poor as they used to be, will they improve by the time the game ships?

And no matter what OS, "a lot better" than GMA 950 still doesn't mean nearly as fast and detailed as an ATI or nVidia GPU could deliver.

If you already have a 950 MacBook, I wouldn't upgrade now, for a game that's still in the future. Wait for the NEXT MacBook instead (or a Pro).
 
The demo comes out in like 5 days, and i'm guessing that the people on this thread will download it. since i dont have windows currently installed, i won't be able to test my boot camp theory. if anyone has success with playing spore on a GMA950 through boot camp, just post it here.
 
From spore's site

MAC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

* Spore requires at least the following:
* * Mac OS X 10.5.3 Leopard or higher
* * Intel Core Duo Processor
* * 1024 MB RAM
* * ATI X1600 or NVidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of Video RAM, or Intel Integrated GMA X3100
* * At least 4.7GB of hard drive space for installation, plus additional space for creations.*

* This game will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems (PowerMac).

* For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, the game requires at least:
* * Intel Integrated Chipset GMA X3100
* * Dual 2.0GHz CPUs, or 1.7GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent

* Supported Video Cards
* ATI Radeon(TM) series
* X1600, X1900, HD 2400, HD 2600

* NVIDIA GeForce series
* 7300, 7600, 8600, 8800
* Intel(R) Extreme Graphics
* GMA X3100
* This game will not run on the GMA 950 class of integrated video cards.

* *Install space subject to change.
 
I know it says that, but it will somewhat run, right? Spore looks as intensive as HL2 or Portal, and that runs on the GMA 950.
 
Just tried it on my regular white MacBook (Leopard 10.5.3), not working. I get this image of a galaxy slowly revolving, and can make it revolve the other way by pressing right-arrow, but that's about it. Left-clicking makes it minimize for some reason, none of the other keys seem to have any effect.

If anyone has more luck, please let me know.
 
Meh, the X3100 isn't any better than the GMA 950 in a real world situation (despite what the barefeets benchmarks say).

It really is sad that the MacBook and Mac mini have GPUs that aren't even as good as whats in the almost 3 year old iBook revision.
 
Mushrooshi said:
I know it says that, but it will somewhat run, right? Spore looks as intensive as HL2 or Portal, and that runs on the GMA 950.
Click to expand...

* This game will not run on the GMA 950 class of integrated video cards.

If the developer is basically saying NO then what is the point in arguing the toss with them ? Seriously they have clearly stated their position on the matter and it's not even subjective, they have outlined exactly that it will not run.

Regardless of other games running on GMA950 or Spore's graphical design choice not looking very demanding, the developers have clearly laid out specifics here.

Is it a pain for those that find they can't play it... yes of course. But hey ho that's life... Just rest assured there will be many many many other laptop owners on the pc side of things that wont be playing it either ;)

Intel(R) Extreme Graphics
GMA 950, GMA X3000, GMA X3100

Laptop versions of these chipsets may work, but may run comparatively slowly.
Click to expand...
 
I'm running it on my Penryn Macbook (X3100), and it plays well enough. I have it at 1680x1050 with settings on low / medium. It is definitely playable and looks fairly nice, but I wonder what the difference would be with Bootcamp.
 
ok, here's the scoop:

The GMA950 is not going to work in 10.5.3 with Spore, but it WILL work with Boot Camp.

read into that whatever you want, but I just verified it. Pretty lame on someone's part...optimize your drivers much, apple? My macbook is not even a year old yet...
 
pixiemotion said:
Just tried it on my regular white MacBook (Leopard 10.5.3), not working. I get this image of a galaxy slowly revolving, and can make it revolve the other way by pressing right-arrow, but that's about it. Left-clicking makes it minimize for some reason, none of the other keys seem to have any effect.

If anyone has more luck, please let me know.
Click to expand...

Same... Gen A BlackBook... what's the deal?
 
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