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msh441

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 25, 2012
8
0
Greetings, I’m a new owner of a late 2012 13-inch (non-retina) MBP. I wanted the retina model, but couldn’t do without an optical drive, or fathom owning a laptop in which I couldn’t upgrade RAM or swap out a HD (I anticipate going to a faster SDD, someday).
Specific specs of my 13:

-2.9GHz i7
-Intel HD Graphics 4000
-16GB 1600MHz RAM
-1TB (big!) 5400rpm (yet slow) HD
-Generally running Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit) via Bootcamp (But 250GB set aside for OS Mountain Lion when desired)

So I wasn’t foolish enough to be buying this particular laptop as a gaming machine. It’s primarily a portable internet, word processor, music management machine and occasional BMW tuning machine for me. I would however, like to OCASSIONALLY like to play a game here-and-there.

What I’ve found is that the specs of the device, don’t necessarily directly relate to how the 13-inch MBP will play particular games. I had some hopes and expectations that it would at least handle a few of my old favorites (Fallout 3 being #1 on my wish list), but it’s really hit-or-miss as to what works (or can be tweaked to work) properly. One of the main issues seems to be the integrated Intel HD 4000 graphic chip. Wish there was a way to allocate more system memory manually. So what I was hoping to do with this thread was compile a list of games known to work with the 13-inch MBP/MBA or other MacBook with the integrated Intel graphics chip. If anyone is interested in contributing to the list, it would be much appreciated. I was thinking it would be good to include the following:

-Name of game/version
-MacBook specs
-OS/version
-Necessary tweaks to get it running right
-Game graphics settings and results

So far, I’ve tried Fallout 3 and after some tweaking, got it running, but found it to be too unstable. GTA IV has given me some strange draw issues that I have not tried to troubleshoot as of yet. My first fully-operational success has been:

-Mafia II
-Specs/OS stated above
-No tweaks necessary and a very playable 30-34 FPS on High settings! A wired USB two-button mouse however, is a necessity (no Magic Mouse and my other wireless USB two-button mouse was jumpy)

Again, I would sincerely appreciate any contributions to this list of “confirmed stable/working” games.
 
I bet Diablo III and Starcraft II would work just fine on your computer. They're both sorta-playable on my mid 2009 model.
 
I bet Diablo III and Starcraft II would work just fine on your computer. They're both sorta-playable on my mid 2009 model.

Crazy thing: Fallout 3 is a PITA to get up and running... an even then, unstable as heck. Just discovered Fallout New Vegas: Stock install, no tweaks, runs smooth and stable as can be! Drives me crazy (as I want to revisit 3).
 
Crazy thing: Fallout 3 is a PITA to get up and running... an even then, unstable as heck. Just discovered Fallout New Vegas: Stock install, no tweaks, runs smooth and stable as can be! Drives me crazy (as I want to revisit 3).

I just mentioned those two because Blizzard is pretty awesome and they release all of their games in Mac/PC format. You could run them in OSX if you thought the graphical performance was good enough.
 
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