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Will I be able to play Bioshock 2 on the new Macbook 15 inch?
- Thread starter jonesjb
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You ask 2 questions actually:
Is Bioshock 2 compatible with OSX or something like parallels? No, install boot camp, TRUST ME. Even if parallels DOES work with bioshock, it's not running natively. You'll be SIGNIFICANTLY crippling performance. Boot camp 100%
If your question, instead, is can the hardware run bioshock 2? Yes (as long as it's the 15" and in consequence, has a dedicated GPU)
Is Bioshock 2 compatible with OSX or something like parallels? No, install boot camp, TRUST ME. Even if parallels DOES work with bioshock, it's not running natively. You'll be SIGNIFICANTLY crippling performance. Boot camp 100%
If your question, instead, is can the hardware run bioshock 2? Yes (as long as it's the 15" and in consequence, has a dedicated GPU)
That's pretty much my question, I'm trying to ascertain if the Macbook pro would be able to handle most modern games. It'd be frustrating for me to drop a couple thousand on a laptop for it to not be able to play most games out.
it might work, but not that great. your best bet is to run it through bootcamp since windows would be able to utilize the graphics card to its full potential.
Then let me clarify my statement. It can run bioshock 2 no problems, especially the 512 ram GPU.
What it may not be able to do is run it at all max settings (I'm not sure). For "maxing out" games, you generally go for a desktop for power and although there are laptops out there with better graphics card, at some point you have to decide whether you need a "gaming computer" and that changes a lot.
I play games occasionally on my mac and the gfx card will do fine. My imacs old as hell 3200 ATI runs games like Team Fortress 2 flawlessly.
What it may not be able to do is run it at all max settings (I'm not sure). For "maxing out" games, you generally go for a desktop for power and although there are laptops out there with better graphics card, at some point you have to decide whether you need a "gaming computer" and that changes a lot.
I play games occasionally on my mac and the gfx card will do fine. My imacs old as hell 3200 ATI runs games like Team Fortress 2 flawlessly.
don't buy a laptop with the intention of gaming, especially a mac laptop. you will just be disappointed.
You will have to run it in Windows 7 via boot camp (attempting to run a game in a VM is a futile effort...don't even bother), but with 48 shader cores it should run fine on the GT330M at 720p with details on high.
Will it run something like Cyrsis (or the upcoming Crysis 2)? Probably not. This engine needs a GeForce 8800 or better and electrical monsters like this are usually found in desktops or those massive gaming notebooks (which aren't really meant to run on battery power).
Will it run something like Cyrsis (or the upcoming Crysis 2)? Probably not. This engine needs a GeForce 8800 or better and electrical monsters like this are usually found in desktops or those massive gaming notebooks (which aren't really meant to run on battery power).
Running Bioshock 2 on a G8600/9600M with 256MB will be far less impressive than with a GT330M. The extra RAM does help when setting the texture detail to High; and since Bioshock is a low-polygon but very shader-dependent game, the more vector cores in the GPU, the better.
The G8600/9600M is more powerful than the PS3 GPU and about as powerful as the integrated ATI GPU on the Xbox360. The GT330M should have a little oomph than that--meaning that it will be adequate, but don't expect to run modern games at 1080p with antialiasing and all the details cranked to 11. If you output to a TV and stick to 720p resolution, then you can usually achieve better-than-console results. Again, with something like Crysis, anything but a desktop-level card is going to suck.
The G8600/9600M is more powerful than the PS3 GPU and about as powerful as the integrated ATI GPU on the Xbox360. The GT330M should have a little oomph than that--meaning that it will be adequate, but don't expect to run modern games at 1080p with antialiasing and all the details cranked to 11. If you output to a TV and stick to 720p resolution, then you can usually achieve better-than-console results. Again, with something like Crysis, anything but a desktop-level card is going to suck.
You should be able to at least pull off a Medium Settings in Bioshock 2.
Gpu benchmarking of the 330M shows its not awful but its not great either. Crysis at medium settings at 720p will average about 39fps.
Crysis is pretty much THE game for benchmarking gpu performance.
Gpu benchmarking of the 330M shows its not awful but its not great either. Crysis at medium settings at 720p will average about 39fps.
Crysis is pretty much THE game for benchmarking gpu performance.
Hey everybody, im somewhat new to the apple world. I just purchased Bioshock 2 for windows and come to find out my home computer is not strong enough for it (figures) and i read all of your posts and i just wanted to get your opinions on whether it would work on my macbook (NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, 256 MB). Ive tried asking people at the apple store and some guy hadn't even heard the game, and im aware that i may have to tone down the settings which is no big deal as long as i can enjoy it but i want to make sure before i go spending more money on a video card when i may not even have to. So any advice is welcome.
Thanks!
Thanks!
It will work. Uses same engine as BioShock 1, which I ran on my 13" MBP. However, don't expect amazing framerates. Definitely playable though.
In so many game related Mac threads somebody always has to come in and assume that the op is buying their Mac for the sole purpose of gaming.
I love using macs for so many reasons, work and school related. I also like to game, so when buying a Mac for the first two reasons, why not make sure that it can also play the games i enjoy as well? It's nice to boot games up when away from home. This way I get the most out of my machine.
Most Mac users should understand this.