A MacBook Pro for playing games: will it work?

[tk1989]

I don't understand what half these people are saying; most of it is bullshit. The Macbook pro has been constantly praised for being better than most laptops even when running windows!

Crysis, chances are no. Same with Bioshock. While in bootcamp you don't actually get full functionality out of the graphics card like you would in OSX.

This isnt true. The Macbook pro has two graphics cards in it, one which has a lower power consumption for when you run off the battery and one which has higher but displays better graphics performance for when you are using the plug. In Windows mode you get the functionality of only the more powerful graphics card, the Geforce 9600m GT, which is a conventional Windows graphics card! The graphics card works just as well in Windows as it does in Mac (unless, of course, for some reason they made the windows drivers shit...?). Its not too bad a card either (not the best in the world, but its still pretty good) and will have no problem running those games reasonably well enough.

Hmmm, not very much RAM, might struggle there because Windows is generally a little more RAM hungry than Leopard is. Might want to see if your Dad will buy you one with a bit more RAM, 2gb should do the job.

The Macbook Pro comes with 2GB ram as standard, and last time i noticed most laptops came with 1GB or 2GB... Whats suddenly wrong with 2GB?

The Macbook Pro is amazing, better than most laptops ive used made for windows, itll be a worthy investment!

 

[megapenguinx]

I don't understand what half these people are saying; most of it is bullshit. The Macbook pro has been constantly praised for being better than most laptops even when running windows!

Crysis, chances are no. Same with Bioshock. While in bootcamp you don't actually get full functionality out of the graphics card like you would in OSX.

This isnt true. The Macbook pro has two graphics cards in it, one which has a lower power consumption for when you run off the battery and one which has higher but displays better graphics performance for when you are using the plug. In Windows mode you get the functionality of only the more powerful graphics card, the Geforce 9600m GT, which is a conventional Windows graphics card! The graphics card works just as well in Windows as it does in Mac (unless, of course, for some reason they made the windows drivers shit...?). Its not too bad a card either (not the best in the world, but its still pretty good) and will have no problem running those games reasonably well enough.

Hmmm, not very much RAM, might struggle there because Windows is generally a little more RAM hungry than Leopard is. Might want to see if your Dad will buy you one with a bit more RAM, 2gb should do the job.

The Macbook Pro comes with 2GB ram as standard, and last time i noticed most laptops came with 1GB or 2GB... Whats suddenly wrong with 2GB?

The Macbook Pro is amazing, better than most laptops ive used made for windows, itll be a worthy investment!

They did make the window's drivers shit. Hence why I was saying it doesn't use the full potential. The OP actually said that he only had 512mb of RAM which I found odd as well. By the way, this is from a guy using a Mac.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

Copied and pasted from Apple website:

NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor; 256MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.4GHz configuration; 512MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz configurations

Great specs, the ram may be DDR3 but something tells me 512 won't be enough, so see if your dad can find one with 2GB of RAM (though since you are using XP as the other OS, one GB will be fine too, but shoot for two, I mean, this is a gift from your dad, we can't just keep asking for more stuff) - but since this is a macbook here's what you have to keep in mind so that you don't get too comfortable buying game after game only to find that one that won't work. Macbooks RAM is different, and most games aren't optimized for that. The BUS speed is not as good and this gives an overall performance drop but it's small * (but it's also why you won't be playing Crysis. That and the RAM.) - then the GPU - it's a 9600 but that "M" makes a huge difference. I have an 8600M on my laptop and while it's a damn good card for a laptop card, it's still not as good as the regular 8600. The drivers for these update frequently too, but you can only get them from the manufacturer's site and not nvidia's site (so for you I just assume it'll be Apple's site, or Apple auto updater).

The games -

-Crysis - out of the question

-Assassin's Creed Directors Cut Edition - Honestly, I highly doubt you will be able to run this, even with more RAM and your Dual Core CPU (I am assuming it's a dual core, I mean, you've got a 9600M and DDR3 RAM).

-The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion - This though, I think you can run it, and if you can't, there are performance and graphics tweaking mods out there for you.

-Bioshock - most likely on the lowest settings, this game is more GPU intensive than anything though. Lots of shiny and high-res things on screen.

-The Incredible Hulk (Movie Game) - maybe

-Splinter Cell Double Agent - Shittiest port I've ever dealt with, more bugs here than in a rain forest. I suggest to not even bother with this and maybe play a console version instead, you could rent it and rush through it anyway. (I saw a patch come out for this recently, but I couldn't be arsed enough to reinstall the game just to see if the patch actually fixed the game)

-Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 - yes

-Fable: The Lost Chapters - yes

-Rayman 2: The Great Escape - yes

-Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - On low, probably. Online play may be a no-no though.

*and please correct me if I'm wrong about the BUS speed thing and any other "mac" stuff. I have little experience with these things when it comes to games. It also goes without saying but mac versions of games are much better optimized for them and you should go for those, but unlike the PC versions you can't install them on different machines, only macs.

 

[Sevre]

You can probably play them all except Crysis, it's pretty overrated IMO.

 

[Woe Is You]

Copied and pasted from Apple website:

NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor; 256MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.4GHz configuration; 512MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz configurations

Great specs, the ram may be DDR3 but something tells me 512 won't be enough, so see if your dad can find one with 2GB of RAM (though since you are using XP as the other OS, one GB will be fine too, but shoot for two, I mean, this is a gift from your dad, we can't just keep asking for more stuff) - but since this is a macbook here's what you have to keep in mind so that you don't get too comfortable buying game after game only to find that one that won't work. Macbooks RAM is different, and most games aren't optimized for that.

If you're getting a new Macbook Pro, they aren't even selling it with 512MB ram. That's just for the graphics chip as you can see. I've seen the PC port of Assassin's Creed work on lesser machines so I'm pretty sure it'll work with Macbook Pro, same goes for Crysis really (though running either of those on high is out of the question, medium-low settings should work, though).

 

[Dommyboy]

Bootcamp and other emulation programs are your only hope unless you have a fondness for games that have been created by Blizzard.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

Copied and pasted from Apple website:

NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor; 256MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.4GHz configuration; 512MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz configurations

Great specs, the ram may be DDR3 but something tells me 512 won't be enough, so see if your dad can find one with 2GB of RAM (though since you are using XP as the other OS, one GB will be fine too, but shoot for two, I mean, this is a gift from your dad, we can't just keep asking for more stuff) - but since this is a macbook here's what you have to keep in mind so that you don't get too comfortable buying game after game only to find that one that won't work. Macbooks RAM is different, and most games aren't optimized for that.

If you're getting a new Macbook Pro, they aren't even selling it with 512MB ram. That's just for the graphics chip as you can see. I've seen the PC port of Assassin's Creed work on lesser machines so I'm pretty sure it'll work with Macbook Pro, same goes for Crysis really (though running either of those on high is out of the question, medium-low settings should work, though).

Actually I just noticed that, it was pointing out the difference in configurations of the card.

I have ran Crysis on a lesser machine before until it was time to buy that new proccessor, but the game seems very unfriendly to laptops, but hey if he can run it then that's great! Crysis is far more scaleable than people make it out to be but it just seems like laptops struggle. It could be the "Mobile" versions of these GPUs not being as good as a standard one.

EDIT: Looks like 2GB DDR2 is the standard for macbooks.

 

[tk1989]

I don't understand what half these people are saying; most of it is bullshit. The Macbook pro has been constantly praised for being better than most laptops even when running windows!

Crysis, chances are no. Same with Bioshock. While in bootcamp you don't actually get full functionality out of the graphics card like you would in OSX.

This isnt true. The Macbook pro has two graphics cards in it, one which has a lower power consumption for when you run off the battery and one which has higher but displays better graphics performance for when you are using the plug. In Windows mode you get the functionality of only the more powerful graphics card, the Geforce 9600m GT, which is a conventional Windows graphics card! The graphics card works just as well in Windows as it does in Mac (unless, of course, for some reason they made the windows drivers shit...?). Its not too bad a card either (not the best in the world, but its still pretty good) and will have no problem running those games reasonably well enough.

Hmmm, not very much RAM, might struggle there because Windows is generally a little more RAM hungry than Leopard is. Might want to see if your Dad will buy you one with a bit more RAM, 2gb should do the job.

The Macbook Pro comes with 2GB ram as standard, and last time i noticed most laptops came with 1GB or 2GB... Whats suddenly wrong with 2GB?

The Macbook Pro is amazing, better than most laptops ive used made for windows, itll be a worthy investment!

They did make the window's drivers shit. Hence why I was saying it doesn't use the full potential. The OP actually said that he only had 512mb of RAM which I found odd as well. By the way, this is from a guy using a Mac.

Meh, that RAM was the Graphics Card Memory; I just read the OP as well and i can see how many people could be mistaken by it

I dont get your point on the graphics drivers being shit. Does Nvidia purposefully make their windows drivers shit or something? From a business perspective it doesn't make sense that Nvidia would make their graphics chips less good on the clearly larger platform (Windows)... Unless of course you are making your point about laptop graphics chips in general, in which case they are all pretty shit as it is, so your argument wouldn't be directed at the Macbook Pro per se but laptops in general?

I have heard quite different claims however, that the graphics on the system in Windows are actually quite good and up to par. In fact, I have heard that due to the systems pretty good architecture Macbooks can run windows exceptionally well. I wouldn't know though, i dont have a Pro, i just have the regular old Macbook

 

[JohnSmith]

assuming no driver or direct x issues it will all work
also the ram in the new macbook pro is DDR3

 

[megapenguinx]

I don't understand what half these people are saying; most of it is bullshit. The Macbook pro has been constantly praised for being better than most laptops even when running windows!

Crysis, chances are no. Same with Bioshock. While in bootcamp you don't actually get full functionality out of the graphics card like you would in OSX.

This isnt true. The Macbook pro has two graphics cards in it, one which has a lower power consumption for when you run off the battery and one which has higher but displays better graphics performance for when you are using the plug. In Windows mode you get the functionality of only the more powerful graphics card, the Geforce 9600m GT, which is a conventional Windows graphics card! The graphics card works just as well in Windows as it does in Mac (unless, of course, for some reason they made the windows drivers shit...?). Its not too bad a card either (not the best in the world, but its still pretty good) and will have no problem running those games reasonably well enough.

Hmmm, not very much RAM, might struggle there because Windows is generally a little more RAM hungry than Leopard is. Might want to see if your Dad will buy you one with a bit more RAM, 2gb should do the job.

The Macbook Pro comes with 2GB ram as standard, and last time i noticed most laptops came with 1GB or 2GB... Whats suddenly wrong with 2GB?

The Macbook Pro is amazing, better than most laptops ive used made for windows, itll be a worthy investment!

They did make the window's drivers shit. Hence why I was saying it doesn't use the full potential. The OP actually said that he only had 512mb of RAM which I found odd as well. By the way, this is from a guy using a Mac.

Meh, that RAM was the Graphics Card Memory; I just read the OP as well and i can see how many people could be mistaken by it

I dont get your point on the graphics drivers being shit. Does Nvidia purposefully make their windows drivers shit or something? From a business perspective it doesn't make sense that Nvidia would make their graphics chips less good on the clearly larger platform (Windows)... Unless of course you are making your point about laptop graphics chips in general, in which case they are all pretty shit as it is, so your argument wouldn't be directed at the Macbook Pro per se but laptops in general?

I have heard quite different claims however, that the graphics on the system in Windows are actually quite good and up to par. In fact, I have heard that due to the systems pretty good architecture Macbooks can run windows exceptionally well. I wouldn't know though, i dont have a Pro, i just have the regular old Macbook

They can run Windows perfectly. I have some gripes with Nvidia, it's actually that the drivers have to make the Mac architecture work for with the graphics card. For some reason they limit it on games, but everything else runs just as well, if not better than on a PC.

 

[Eagle Est1986]

Hmmm, not very much RAM, might struggle there because Windows is generally a little more RAM hungry than Leopard is. Might want to see if your Dad will buy you one with a bit more RAM, 2gb should do the job.

The Macbook Pro comes with 2GB ram as standard, and last time i noticed most laptops came with 1GB or 2GB... Whats suddenly wrong with 2GB?

The Macbook Pro is amazing, better than most laptops ive used made for windows, itll be a worthy investment!

Well I was just going off what the OP said, I was told that he wouldn't be likely to get higher than half a gig, it was early when I replied, I should have known that wasn't right.
And I happen to agree with you, I love my macbook, woulnd't change it for anything with a different OS.

 

[The_Xaoc]

Actually the standards for macs are pretty good. I use a MacBook and use a program called VM Ware Fusion, which creates a virtual machine without me having to restart to get to the windows side. Its much like parallels if you've heard of it, except it doesn't use as much ram to run. I've used VM Ware Fusion on my uncles Macbook Pro which has 2GB of Ram and it runs just fine and never lags. (A problem he had with parallels) My Macbook has 4GB of ram, and I am able to run games on the windows side just fine. So in response to the original question of this forum, yes you should be able to run those games just fine as long as you have 2GB of ram or more. Personally I'd recommend a customized Macbook Pro from the apple website and increase the ram and harddrive.

 

[GOATOFRAGE]

Are they making a Macpro for gaming/ have they already
if so if you have 25,000 lieing around the house get that instead

 

[gregatron08]

I have to boot windows on my mac (through virtual pc, like bootcamp i guess) for work and i have noticed one thing that could prove an ass for ya

It's not ideal for playing games as your motions etc arnt as instant as if it was on a normal PC, its not noticeable lag but you may find in an fps you just cant shoot em

 

[Theo Samaritan]

Hi there escapists, I have a small question regarding my graduation present coming up. My dad, being the generous fellow that he is, has decided to get my a 15 inch Macbook pro for my graduation present. Granted, I'll use it for college stuff and schoolwork, but the main thing I want to know is gaming. Yes, I know all about Bootcamp and running Windows Xp on it, (I have a Windows Xp installation disc, Service pack 2). In preparation of this laptop, I bought a Seagate 500g hard drive to store these games on. Now my question is, will my laptop be able to run the following games I own?

-Crysis
-Assassin's Creed Directors Cut Edition
-The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion
-Bioshock
-The Incredible Hulk (Movie Game)
-Splinter Cell Double Agent
-Command and Conquer Red Alert 3
-Fable: The Lost Chapters
-Rayman 2: The Great Escape
-Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Granted, some of these like rayman and fable I know will run, but I was wanting to ask about the higher end games like Crysis or Vegas 2?

Any tips for gaming on my new laptop will be greatly appricated.

Oblivion and Crysis may struggle, unsure on Bioshock, but to be fair, its a laptop. I have yet to see a laptop manage Crysis easily, even those that are running top end mobile cards and windows.

Also, ignore the fuckers telling you to get a real laptop, pretty much all of them have never used a Mac and are under the mistaken impression that they are sub-par for gaming. If you are going to have issues, its because its a laptop over it being a Mac.

 

[Seekster]

Trust me, I have a macbook pro and every day I wish I had a machine that comes with windows. It will run most games on bootcamp but when something goes wrong, Apple will blame Microsoft and Microsoft will blame Apple and nobody will help you. Just get a windows machine if you want to play games It will make your life much better.

 

[Theo Samaritan]

Trust me, I have a macbook pro and every day I wish I had a machine that comes with windows. It will run most games on bootcamp but when something goes wrong, Apple will blame Microsoft and Microsoft will blame Apple and nobody will help you. Just get a windows machine if you want to play games It will make your life much better.

To be fair, if something goes wrong on your PC, Microsoft will blame the game, the developers wuold blame windows. They assume you have enough knowledge to sort out your own problems =[

 

[Ryha2000]

I have a MacBook Pro 17" and an using bootcamp to run Vista and have been able to play every game that I have bought with no problems. I love the machine both fur running Mac OSX and for gaming in Windows. It works fine, no sweat. I do use VMware to access my windows partition and run mac and windows os at the same time... but not for games. I just boot into windows with bootcamp for gaming. It does run very hot, like you will burn your legs if you have on shorts and try to put it on your lap... but I haven't had the heat cause any problems, crashes or anything.

 

[linuxthefish]

it should run all the games you said... on boot camp though

 

[Timbydude]

Hi there escapists, I have a small question regarding my graduation present coming up. My dad, being the generous fellow that he is, has decided to get my a 15 inch Macbook pro for my graduation present. Granted, I'll use it for college stuff and schoolwork, but the main thing I want to know is gaming. Yes, I know all about Bootcamp and running Windows Xp on it, (I have a Windows Xp installation disc, Service pack 2). In preparation of this laptop, I bought a Seagate 500g hard drive to store these games on. Now my question is, will my laptop be able to run the following games I own?

-Crysis
-Assassin's Creed Directors Cut Edition
-The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion
-Bioshock
-The Incredible Hulk (Movie Game)
-Splinter Cell Double Agent
-Command and Conquer Red Alert 3
-Fable: The Lost Chapters
-Rayman 2: The Great Escape
-Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Granted, some of these like rayman and fable I know will run, but I was wanting to ask about the higher end games like Crysis or Vegas 2?

Any tips for gaming on my new laptop will be greatly appricated.

I don't know about some of those specific titles, but my friend has a 15" MacBook Pro and he can run new games like Dragon Age and Modern Warfare 2 on Medium settings.

He has specifically played Assassin's Creed and Bioshock at very nice settings, so you can check those off your list. Oblivion should also run very well, too.

To be honest, I think everything on that list should run except Crysis. You might be able to play it on Low, if you're lucky, but the fact remains that the game is the most graphically demanding yet released. My friend got it technically working, but IIRC he said that the performance and graphics hits he took just weren't worth it.

Hope that helped!