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Morrius

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 23, 2007
95
0
I've been playing around with the graphics on my MacBook to try and get some more performance out of it, and I'd like to know how people set the graphics on their machines. I have a mid 2008 aluminum unibody MacBook 13" with 2.4 Gz Core 2 Duo processor, 2 Gz RAM, and 9400m graphics processor. I also throttle my FPS to a maximum of 30. What graphics settings in WoW will give me the most bang for my buck?
 
Isn't the 9400M around the same power as the old iMac's 2400HD? If so, these are my settings (1280x800). I get a pretty good frame rate with them. In the original areas I get 50-70 FPS, and in WOTLK I get around 30-45 or so, depending where I am.

Screenshot2010-09-21at10336AM.png
 
I used to play WoW and have the exact same Macbook.

I capped the fps at 30 to keep the temps down and tended to have the textures high and the view distance set to mid level with all the silly glow effects off.

Raids were the only issue as I hated having spell intensity down (and you couldn't on some fights when you needed to not be standing in fire) but when you have 25 people and mobs all casting...
 
Well I can't compare fairly, I am using an i5 with 8gb and 4850 video.

I run it at 2560x1440 with most items on high but I still reduce the shadows. I get peaks that are high but average over 30.

FWIW, on PTR I get 16 regardless, as in settings on high or low it reports back 16. If I spin, well forget it... I think I actually had numbers to the right of decimal place only while doing that.
 
[showoff]

I run 1920x1080, ultra settings.

:cool:

[/showoff]

This was from switching from my 8800GT to a Radeon 5770. It's still the same game, but it's amazing the fine shine that all those settings can give to WoW.
 
Do you raid? Server population?

When raiding, I turn everything on the lowest setting (same mac as you, but I have 4 Gigs of RAM), unless there is something I need to move out of and can't see it unless I turn the detail up. High pop servers in Dalaran are going to be slow no matter what you do, vs. being in the middle of nowhere in winterspring.

The biggest performance increases for me were throttling FPS (like you did) and installing SMCFan control and turning it all the way up when I play WoW. The heat caused the game to run slower and graphics to be not as smooth.
 
I have the new iMac i7 (2.93 ghz, ATI 5750) with 2 Terabyte internal hard drive. I currently raid on a full server Aerie Peak and play the game on Ultra settings.

Graphic settings are maxed out with shadows in all. The game runs fast and amazing even in Heroic ICC 25.

The Sindragosa fight is a great way to break the new machine in. No slow down at all not even a little when we have to run back to the stairs after Sindra sucks us all in before turning 4 of our raid members into ice cubes.

I love it. Great for my gaming needs even with Boot Camp and COD4 or Modern Warfare 2. Maxed settings for these games as well.

Hope this helps.
 
I play on "Ultra" graphic settings with my new Mac Pro. :D

On my 2008 Macbook Pro, I had settings on low and had to keep the air conditioner in the room on or it would overheat while playing.
 
I have a 13" MBP with 9400M, when raiding I turn down pretty much all settings on minimum and it's still hard on some fights. I just hope Cataclysm won't make the game run slower... It probably will...
 
Mac Mini @ 1680x1050, all highest and all options except Anti Aliasing

Get a stable 50+ FPS in older areas

WOTLK I get 30+

I don't do raids, but I've never had any slow downs on the machine. So I'm happy.
 
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