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Uni macbook 2.0ghz for gaming?

Looking at that game, from my experience, even the MacBook Pro would struggle. All the motion blur, combined with the large number of objects on the screen would make even the 9600M crawl. Only on the lowest settings could the MacBook perhaps achieve a decent framerate, but even then, that's questionable.
 
Bill Gates said:
Looking at that game, from my experience, even the MacBook Pro would struggle. All the motion blur, combined with the large number of objects on the screen would make even the 9600M crawl. Only on the lowest settings could the MacBook perhaps achieve a decent framerate, but even then, that's questionable.
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It's truly difficult to gauge as some games that appear less demanding visually seem to drop fps as opposed to other games. However, the 9600M isn't a top of the line (integrated) gpu however, it is a capable one at that. I am going to stand firmly on my belief that it can play the game on low-medium settings with decent frame rate (minimizing draw distance, AA off, medium settings and etc).

For the average consumer looking to play most modern games will find the 9600M more than adequate.

I hate to say it - but, if anyone truly wanted a portable gaming machine - it wouldn't be a MacBook or even a MacBook Pro. Apple did great for its consumers with the Nvdia swap but, it still has a ways to go before it becomes a true gaming laptop.

Again, it is more than adequate just don't expect to be able to turn on every setting on high and on some games expect to lower settings in order to achieve desired FPS. Sacrifices - yes. But, the MacBook is still a great performer in an ocean of competition.
 
You definitely don't want to buy the MacBook with the thought of playing games.

GTA4 only runs on the absolute lowest settings with command lines taking the settings down even farther.

OP, if you want a 13.3" system that can play that game, take a look at the Dell Studio XPS 13. For the same price as the 2GHz unibody MacBook you get the 9400M + 9500M running in hybrid SLI.

Theres plenty of 15 and 16" PCs for around $1,000 to $1,300 that come with GeForce 9800M GS and other similar GPUs as well.

Upgrading the RAM to 4GB won't have any impact on performance. In Windows, the 9400M can eat up to 512MB of RAM from the 256 normally allocated. But the amount of RAM won't help the fact that the 9400M is low-end and weak.

Edit: I also wouldn't say the 9600M is adequate for modern games. The $1,999 MacBook Pro only ships with a 256MB 9600M. To play modern games at reasonable or even native resolutions you need at least 512MB of video memory. Plus the 9600M is at the bottom of the mid-range GPUs available today
 
mosx said:
You definitely don't want to buy the MacBook with the thought of playing games.

GTA4 only runs on the absolute lowest settings with command lines taking the settings down even farther.

OP, if you want a 13.3" system that can play that game, take a look at the Dell Studio XPS 13. For the same price as the 2GHz unibody MacBook you get the 9400M + 9500M running in hybrid SLI.

Theres plenty of 15 and 16" PCs for around $1,000 to $1,300 that come with GeForce 9800M GS and other similar GPUs as well.

Upgrading the RAM to 4GB won't have any impact on performance. In Windows, the 9400M can eat up to 512MB of RAM from the 256 normally allocated. But the amount of RAM won't help the fact that the 9400M is low-end and weak.
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Don't know about you but, my friends MacBook ran GTA great in BootCamp. I went over to my neighbors room to play a little bit and he also showed me how well COD4 ran...

I have a XPS system (with 8600GT) as well and found some games ran smoother on the MacBook...
 
He was avg'ing 20 FPS in GTA. Keep in mind the Xbox 360 frame rate dips quite a bit and usually flutters around at 30 FPS. Not bad if you ask me...

Keep in mind that gamers will always be at the mercy of the coders. Case in point - Crysis. Demanded insane system reqs and with Crysis Warhead was basically the "patch" in more ways than one. Crysis Warhead was what Crysis should have been from the get go. Excellent graphics and etc - not even close to punishing your system as Crysis originally did.

Games like GTA were made for console and ported to PC - which can also suffer in translation.
 
And what about using a controller with the macbook? I heard there was a way you could use an Xbox360 USB controller with the macbook
 
marchellobb said:
And what about using a controller with the macbook? I heard there was a way you could use an Xbox360 USB controller with the macbook
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This tutorial is how to turn an XBOX 360 controller into a USB controller. I want to tell you upfront though, this tutorial is for Mac users only. I will apologize beforehand (sorry Windows users!), however with this tutorial you will be able to not only use your XBOX 360 controller and Guitar Hero Guitar on your mac, but you will also be able to configure it to operate all sorts of functions (playing sounds, typing letters, running scripts). All sorts of fun stuff. Let's begin!

Things You'll Need:
XBOX 360 controller with USB cord
The driver for the XBOX 360 controller to work with your Mac found at: http://tattiebogle.net/index.php/ProjectRoot/Xbox360Controller/OsxDriver
A program to configure the controller to function the way you would like: http://www.orderedbytes.com/controllermate/
Step 1Go ahead an visit the following link to download the driver for your Mac: http://tattiebogle.net/index.php/ProjectRoot/Xbox360Controller/OsxDriver

Once you got 'er downloaded, go ahead and install it by clicking on it. It should do all the work from that point (other than a few simple clicks).

Step 2Plug your controller into the USB port.

Step 3Now, install a demo version of "Controller Mate," which can be found here: http://www.orderedbytes.com/controllermate/ I would go into using the program, but honestly, it is something that you need to try out for yourself. Think of it as an "idea tree" where you coordinate different functions on the controller to the different actions you want to perform. In other words, you can have a button type a letter, you can have a button move the mouse, or you can have a button run a script. There are just sooo many different things you can do with this. Once you get this up and going, you can configure it for use with your favorite game, or emulator.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2158915_convert-xbox-controller-usb-controller.html
 
Don't know about you but, my friends MacBook ran GTA great in BootCamp. I went over to my neighbors room to play a little bit and he also showed me how well COD4 ran...
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CoD4 is also a very old game that was very well written. It runs great on anything.

GTA4 running "great" is subjective. The only way to get it playable is to turn everything down in game and using command line settings, and not playing in certain lighting conditions.

He was avg'ing 20 FPS in GTA. Keep in mind the Xbox 360 frame rate dips quite a bit and usually flutters around at 30 FPS. Not bad if you ask me...
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The Xbox360 version also runs at 1280x720 (compared to 640x480 on the MacBook) with the settings equal to about 20 compared to the 1 or 0 on the MacBook. So the Xbox360 version is running twice the pixels on screen plus several times more onscreen detail.

Keep in mind that gamers will always be at the mercy of the coders. Case in point - Crysis. Demanded insane system reqs and with Crysis Warhead was basically the "patch" in more ways than one. Crysis Warhead was what Crysis should have been from the get go. Excellent graphics and etc - not even close to punishing your system as Crysis originally did.
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Thats called optimizing the code.

Crysis Warhead came out a long time after Crysis did so they had plenty of time to learn how to optimize the code and make it run better on less.

I have a XPS system (with 8600GT) as well and found some games ran smoother on the MacBook...
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Probably because the MacBook was running the games at lower settings and overall detail. It's absolutely impossible for the 9400M to run games better than the 8600M GT at the same settings. The 9400M is only about 2/3 as powerful as the 8600M GT, and about half as powerful as the 9600M GT.

And what about using a controller with the macbook? I heard there was a way you could use an Xbox360 USB controller with the macbook
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If you're using Windows, just plug it in and it will work.

You really should consider a PC if you want to play any game at all.
 
You just basically repeated what I was emphasizing on - the coding of the game.

GTA 4, Devil May Cry and etc perform worse than that of their console counterparts on comparable hardware.

The fact remains the same though my friend - the MacBook is more than adequate for gaming when a PC/Console is not available which in my opinion is fine.

I'm personally replacing my Dell XPS simply because I am exhausted from using Windows for many years. I own a PS3, 360, and a gaming PC...so if the MacBook can't play my games at high settings - I am not going to gripe. It will play StarCraft 2 and COD4 just fine so that = :)

Gaming hasn't exactly been Apples strongest attribute but, I do appreciate the changes they are trying to make. ...or it could just be the fact that Snow Leopard is going to utilize the GPU more so than the processor itself. :rolleyes: But, I still like to give Apple some benefit of the doubt.

I understand what you are trying to say and yes, if he really wants to play the game as it was intended then purchase a dedicated gaming platform or a rig that can handle the graphics properly. But, the guy wants a MacBook and the good news for him is that the game (although not on excellent settings) would still be playable for him.
 
GTA 4, Devil May Cry and etc perform worse than that of their console counterparts on comparable hardware
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Not really. GTA4 definitely runs better on the PC compared to the console versions, and can be set to much higher detail levels. Its just that the MacBook is using such low end hardware that it has to be run at lower settings and details. The GPU in the MacBook is nowhere near comparable to the GPU in the Xbox360.

The fact remains the same though my friend - the MacBook is more than adequate for gaming when a PC/Console is not available which in my opinion is fine.
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No, its not. Not at its current price. Gaming on a MacBook is entirely a last resort and the result of a mistake in buying the Mac over a more powerful and cheaper PC.

The UniBody MacBook struggles with modern games at low settings and will not be able to play newer games from the very near future due to weak power and low available memory.

I'm personally replacing my Dell XPS simply because I am exhausted from using Windows for many years.
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OS X is no walk in the park. I said the same thing before I bought my MacBook. I would say "I'm tired of Windows" etc. But now, I truly wish Apple would give us proper trackpad support in Windows so I could just wipe OS X off this system and get back to a real OS that actually lets me do what I want and need.

It will play StarCraft 2 and COD4 just fine so that
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You have no way of knowing it will play StarCraft 2 ;)

Gaming hasn't exactly been Apples strongest attribute but, I do appreciate the changes they are trying to make. ...or it could just be the fact that Snow Leopard is going to utilize the GPU more so than the processor itself.
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Not really. OpenCL is based on CUDA. So basically, only apps that are coded to take advantage of the GPU for tasks will do so. Which means some image editors and video encoders, but not much else.

But, the guy wants a MacBook and the good news for him is that the game (although not on excellent settings) would still be playable for him.
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Actually, the system requirements for the game have not yet been released. If you google information about the game, people seem to believe that the game is going to have very high system requirements. If its anything like GTA4 and it runs anything like GTA4, then judging by that video, it will not be playable considering the type of game it is.

The OP will need at least a 9800M GS to get the game to play like in that video.
 
Actually, I do. It pays off being part from a sponsored Korean WarCraft 3 team and two of your teammates eventually work for Blizzard. One for WoW and one for StarCraft 2 team (level designer / previously worked at Relic). Without saying too much, he did approve that MacBook would be sufficient to running StarCraft 2. Believe me or not - your choice. I have nothing really to prove to you on that one.

I've used Apple for anything graphic related when I was a graphic designer. I enjoyed the OS environment. I enjoy Windows 7. I dislike most pc laptop finish and build. I just feel it would be great to get back into another Apple product for a breath of fresh air - and the MacBook revision made decision that much easier.

Again, COD4 runs great...Steam games run great....and StarCraft 2 will run on MacBook.
 
Actually, I do. It pays off being part from a sponsored Korean WarCraft 3 team and two of your teammates eventually work for Blizzard. One for WoW and one for StarCraft 2 team (level designer / previously worked at Relic). Without saying too much, he did approve that MacBook would be sufficient to running StarCraft 2. Believe me or not - your choice. I have nothing really to prove to you on that one.
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And I know Bill Gates ;)

"Sufficient to run" is different than being enjoyable or even playable. You might be okay with 640x480 low settings 15 frames per second, but not everyone is. And for a $1299 machine, that kind of performance is completely unacceptable.

Again, COD4 runs great...Steam games run great....and StarCraft 2 will run on MacBook.
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Great in your opinion. Again, the games performance is unacceptable for a $1299 machine.

"Steam" is a delivery service as well. It's not a game platform or engine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anbFqjuwGXs
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20fps at the lowest settings is nothing to brag about when the system costs $1299 before taxes. 20fps isn't even playable by most peoples standards. Its something you live with and deal with only if you made the mistake of buying a MacBook. Maybe if the MacBook was priced where it should be, around $700, then it would be something to talk about and say "wow this is great". But at $1299 that performance is bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPT5x...eature=related
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Again, a $1299 machine playing old games. Oblivion is several years old now and TF2 is based off the almost 5 year old Source engine. Not to mention the fact we're discussing a $1299 machine. At $1299 you can get a GeForce 9800M GS or 9400M + 9500M running in hybrid SLI.
 
To those responding about buying a Windows PC for gaming; did you happen to read the OP's posts?

marhellobb said:
1. How is it, in general? I will have to install bootcamp AND windows, right? I am really not a big gamer, but there is ONE game that is being released soon that I abosolutely want to be able to play on my macbook. Do you think the macbook would be able to play something like this: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/ce...rototype/44140
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marchellobb said:
Because I'm not a gamer. This is the only game I'm looking forward too. Do you think it would still run smoothly if I turned all the graphics to low?

I'm not extremely demanding in graphics as long as the game runs nicely and smoothly
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Emphasis mine.

This guy wants to play one game, but otherwise wants a Mac. Then he gets Windows gaming laptop recommendations? Reading comprehension can be fun. What happens for the other 90% of the time when he does other stuff and wishes he had bought the Mac he wanted in the first place?

I play L4D at work now on my MBP which of course has the 9600m, but another co-worker plays it as well on the MB with 9400m. For lunch break entertainment, it does quite well, and runs more than good enough not to necessitate a Windows machine just for the one game.
 
I played World of Warcraft on my Blackbook with 1GB of RAM, Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics and a 2.0Ghz processor (all of which had slower/smaller bus/cache speeds and sizes). I usually got between 15 and 40 fps with lower graphical settings. I think with the newer system you should indeed be able to handle gaming.
 
mosx seems to have been sipp'n too much on that hatorade juice lately and missing the complete point of this thread...

and btw mosx - blizzard is well known for making games run well on old hardware. the macbook is more than capable. i'm not going to argue with you on the starcraft 2 matter any further. when its released and the macbook is playing it without breaking a sweat - don't say i didn't told you so. the beta is going to be released shortly. you'll see. :apple:
 
RiCEADDiCTBOY said:
mosx seems to have been sipp'n too much on that hatorade juice lately and missing the complete point of this thread...

and btw mosx - blizzard is well known for making games run well on old hardware. the macbook is more than capable. i'm not going to argue with you on the starcraft 2 matter any further. when its released and the macbook is playing it without breaking a sweat - don't say i didn't told you so. the beta is going to be released shortly. you'll see. :apple:
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Some people are more concerned with furthering their own twisted agenda than actually helping the posters here, and doing everyone looking at these threads a disservice by providing inaccurate information due to extreme bias.

I look forward to Prototype; looks like a cool game. I'll definitely give it a go. I'm tiring of L4D at this point and need something new.
 
I think it would be interesting and a good line of resource for users here for members to record themselves playing particular games either on MBP or MB. Kind of like a buyers guide for the MacRumors community. I am certain that many would find it to be a worthwhile effort.
 
RiCEADDiCTBOY said:
I think it would be interesting and a good line of resource for users here for members to record themselves playing particular games either on MBP or MB. Kind of like a buyers guide for the MacRumors community. I am certain that many would find it to be a worthwhile effort.
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I actually think this is a great idea
 
The limiting factor is the video card/GPU. You could upgrade the CPU and RAM significantly, but would notice near no improvements in visual output. That said, if you want high quality video gaming capabilities on the go, the minimal model you should even consider is the 15" Macbook Pro.
 
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