Windows flight sim on iMac

[hologram]

Hi, all! My early 2008 iMac is due to be replaced, and I’d like some advice. I’ve never run Windows on a Mac before, but there’s a game (OK, it’s a “flight simulator”) that I’d really like to run. I did a search for this, but results were pretty old, so I’ll get specific. This is IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad, and it’s supposed to be released in Sep. 2014. These are the minimums:

•Windows® XP (SP2) / Vista (SP1) / Windows® 7 (SP1) / Windows® 8
•CPU: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad 2.6 GHz+ or Intel® Core™ i5/i7 2.6 GHz+
•GPU: 1024 Mb+, GeForce GTX 260+/Radeon HD5850+
•RAM: 4 Gb+
•Sound: DirectX 9.0c/11 compatible

So I was wondering if I can load Windows and games on an external HDD or SSD so it’s self-contained, or does it have to be on the boot drive?

Does it make a difference whether I have an i5 or i7 processor?

Will Windows under Bootcamp give me roughly the same performance as I get under OSX, or will 3.4gh under OSX perform like 2.4gh under Windows? If I can wait until the next-gen iMac, I will, but if I have to get one before then, would this config run that game with fairly high settings? :

Refurbished 27-inch iMac 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
8GB memory (Plus I’d add another 16 to bring it to 24)
1TB Fusion Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX with 2GB

Is there anything else I should know about running PC games on a Mac? I know, the best thing I can do is have a PC for PC games, but that’s not an option so I’d like your opinion as to what to expect.

Edit: The above are the the minimum requirements... I want to run it at at a lot higher than minimum, if possible.

 

[chrisrand]

•GPU: 1024 Mb+, GeForce GTX 260+/Radeon HD5850+

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX with 2GB

Your old iMac is far to old to play any modern game as the GPU is from 6 generations ago, the ATI HD2600.

The other iMac you referenced would be a very good gaming machine for many more years and is on par with modern graphics cards.

 

[hologram]

The other iMac you referenced would be a very good gaming machine...

Thanks for the reply.

I was actually wondering if the new iMac I mentioned would run that particular Win flight sim at high settings under bootcamp or if I would lose too much performance to run it at high.

 

[c1phr]

Thanks for the reply.

I was actually wondering if the new iMac I mentioned would run that particular Win flight sim at high settings under bootcamp or if I would lose too much performance to run it at high.

Under Bootcamp, Windows performs just as it would on a similarly specced machine that came with Windows installed. Keep in mind, the iMac tends to use notebook parts, so your direct comparison will be in the notebook world.

That being said, the game SHOULD run fine at high settings with that machine, though screen resolution might be killer. Usually, recommended hardware these days is set for 1920x1080 displays, and the 27" iMac has a higher resolution than that.

 

[hologram]

...the game SHOULD run fine at high settings with that machine, though screen resolution might be killer...

Thanks, that's the info I was looking for. I've been a Mac user for many years, but I've never run Windows on it.

I bought a PC for gaming back around 2006 just so I could run the original IL-2 flight sim on it, but it died a couple of years back, so I gave up "flying". Now that they're releasing a new gen IL-2, and I need a new iMac, I was hoping they would be able to work together.

A couple more questions, if you don't mind...

How would you handle the screen res issue? Would you lower the res on the iMac to compensate?

Can I install Windows and the games all on an external SDD, or would Win have to be on my boot drive? If that's the case, I can still put the games on an external, right?

I like to think I know what I'm doing with Mac, but I'm a complete noob when it comes to running bootcamp/Win on it. I appreciate your help!

 

[c1phr]

You should be able to just lower the resolution down as necessary, that's what I do on my rMBP.

As far as using an external disk, that's not officially supported by Bootcamp, and they say that Windows does need to be on your boot drive. I've read that there are work-arounds, but none that I've ever cared to mess with. You should be able to install the game itself on an external drive, however, but that's up to the game's installer as to whether or not it will be allowed. Though, I've only seen 1 or 2 Windows applications that ever enforced installing on the boot drive.

 

[hologram]

Great! I'm going to keep using my old iMac until the next-gen is released, if I can, so the specs should be even higher (especially a cheaper hi-capacity SSD).

If I have to get one before then, at least I'm glads to know it can handle it, but I'll have to get a smaller internal SSD and move everything I can to an external.

Thanks for the help!