"All PC Games Run On Macs." What?

[TheLastSamurai14]

thought you needed 2 RAM modules of the same kind for there to be any kind of effect. if not, well fuck.

Nope. They don't have to be the same model, but it's recommended. If that's not possible, the manufacturer is recommended to be the same, at the very least. And I think the timings (DDR3 1333, 1600, etc.) HAVE to be the same no matter what or only the fastest module will function properly.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

A Mac isn't a personal computer you guise, it's a Mac, jeez. Catch up.

Seriously though, really?

 

[Bad Jim]

it would be difficult to spend $1,200 on a work computer and THEN spend at least $3,000 bucks on a new, up-to-date gaming rig.

If you are budget conscious then don't get a Mac. Macs are like designer clothes, they cost a lot more, aren't really any better and are mainly purchased to look cool.

Also, your numbers are way off. A decent gaming rig should not cost $3000, more like $1000. And if the work computer you need is just for email, spreadsheets etc then you can get a laptop for about $500. Or perhaps you could just use your old gaming PC for work.

Also, he mentioned when talking about the difference between the $700 and $1,200 iMac, he said the $1,200 iMac has, "... Five more gigs of RAM." Um, that's funny; I always thought RAM cam in 256MB, 512MB, 2Gigs, 4Gigs, 8Gigs and so on. Is it possible to have an odd number of RAM like 5 Gigs?

Google "3gb iMac" and you will find plenty of references to it. Apparently, 3GB was the maximum addressable RAM at one point, so that's what was installed on many iMacs. A modern 8GB iMac has 5GB more.

 

[Triforceformer]

Well, my gaming computer is so old that the latest game I've played is The Sims 3, and it was pretty laggy at that. <:'-( So, for the past few years I've missed out on games. (I don't even have an Xbox360, a PS3 or, God-forbid, a Wii.) So, we mentioned that it would be difficult to spend $1,200 on a work computer and THEN spend at least $3,000 bucks on a new, up-to-date gaming rig.

First of all, $3,000 is 3 times as much as you would really spend to make a good gaming computer for many games nowadays. If you're building it yourself that is (Which is not as hard as it might seem). Second, that guy is a dirty, dirty liar. Third, is there any reason you seem to need two separate computers? A gaming computer, what with having a big hard drive, fast processor, and strong video card by default can very much handle any form of "Work" programs you can think of along with the games you made it for.

 

[newwiseman]

Sure Macs can run PC (windows) games,

Just as soon as you install Windows 7 and then only on minimal settings due to underpowered video cards... and all that on a way over priced all in one desktop.

For the same price you can build a very decent gaming rig with the same or more RAM, twice the drive space on 7200RPM drives (macs are only 5400 and solid state), and 3x the Video Processing.

Macs are the only things I know that will reliably boot mismatched pairs of RAM so ya 5GB is doable but not recommended.

Nothing against Apple, I use an iPad for 8+ hours of VNC, and my job supplied me a MacBook that I triple boot ubuntu, win7, and 10.6. They are both very well built pieces of equipment but I wouldn't try gaming on either of them.

 

[flyhawk]

you need new friends the current ones are lying straight to you're face

oh and my Rig ....I7 920 6 Gig of DDR3 and 1 tb 7200rpm with a Nvidia 570 cost me about

1100 euro's well guess what I am set for like 8 years

ps when buying higher grade videocard's(200 to 500 series and ati around the 5600 area I think) check to see if you're power supply can supply enough watt it would be sad to have an awesome card but not the ability to use it

 

[sir.rutthed]

Your buddy's full of shit. Also, paying 500 bucks for a little more RAM is completely insane. Build yourself a gaming rig, and you can do it for under 1k.

 

[devotedsniper]

Lol macs can't just run a pc game, well i guess in theory they could read the code but the games aren't made to run on them, modern (even very old games) rely on things like directx which are esentially drivers without them the programmers would need to code for each individual model of processor/graphics card/etc. Also it's a sterotype that designers (arts, coding, etc) all use mac, it is not true at all programming taught at my university is in windows using visual studio (which is usually what the pro's use for things like c++, guess why because the application is usually for a windows machine) and netbeans (theres also the fact that all the big software such as photoshop come on both formats).

You are right though you can't get 5gb modules because ram uses the binary number system (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, etc.) but you can have something along the lines of a 4gb module and a 1gb module or something like 2 2gb and 1gb.

One last thing my original gaming rig back in 07 cost £400 to make and it could run basically everything on high @ 1440*900 and that was with a gt 9500. my current one if you minus the watercooling and just used aircooling would be around £800 and that maxs outs everything on 1680*1050 (and the full 1080p when the parents are on holiday and there big tv becomes availble). Point is you don't need to spend mega money to run the lastest and greatest at decent speeds and graphics, the £800 is also my workhorse/powerhouse for compiling programs, and just general work for university.

Also for the money a mac costs you can have a pc which has considerably better specs (and this is using decent makes, if you were to go for cheap £10 = 1gb ram along with other cheaper brands you could build an even faster machine but it might not be that reliable), and has better software compatability (macs are slowly catching up in this i would guess but windows still has the advantage).

 

[Pinkamena]

That conversation reminds me of a conversation I overheard on the bus. Basically, this mac fan was trying to convinse his friend to buy one too. So he said something like "Well, you know how computers work with 0 and 1, right? Macs works with 0, 1, 2, 3, all the way up to 9. Which means they can get stuff done faster."

Mac users will pull facts right out of their ass to defend their platform.

 

[Gasaraki]

Your friend's hilarious. That is just so completely wrong.
Also, 3000$ for a gaming pc? Not even close. You can build a great one for 500$ or buy a good prebuilt one for about 1000$

 

[Treblaine]

Well, this friend then said this, pretty much word for word: "All PC games can run on Mac. They were designed on Macs. You put it in and, BOOM, it's loaded. No installing, no waiting, it's in there instantly. On a computer, you have to put it in, wait for it to install, no, not on a Mac. It's installed the moment you put it in."

I'm a happy Mac user. But, this part is just bullshit and hyperbole to the highest degree. He seems to think a Mac is a PS3 or something.

Oh the irony, as every PS3 game HAS had a huge delay, with for example Killzone 3:
-wants to install - 10-15 minutes
-Game patch - 10-20 minutes
-system update to connect online to get update - 20-30 minutes
-reset system
-launch game AGAIN
-5 minutes of unskippable cutscenes just to get to title screen
-adjust controls from pre-set bullshit
-Start new game
-More unskippable cutscenes while game loads in background
-the first level is a de-facto tutorial AND a flash-forward

Occasionally there will be a new patch, but to download the patch I need a system update, GRRRR

On Steam a 2GB game (Like Amnesia: Dard Descent) can download and install in just 35 min and it's ready to play right there.

 

[Kurokami]

First of all: Please read the whole post before posting. Thanks!

Last night, a friend of mine and my dad's dropped by. Well, we got on the subject of computers and he starting saying that, for the things I do, an iMac would be perfect.

Well, my gaming computer is so old that the latest game I've played is The Sims 3, and it was pretty laggy at that. <:'-( So, for the past few years I've missed out on games. (I don't even have an Xbox360, a PS3 or, God-forbid, a Wii.) So, we mentioned that it would be difficult to spend $1,200 on a work computer and THEN spend at least $3,000 bucks on a new, up-to-date gaming rig.

Well, this friend then said this, pretty much word for word: "All PC games can run on Mac. They were designed on Macs. You put it in and, BOOM, it's loaded. No installing, no waiting, it's in there instantly. On a computer, you have to put it in, wait for it to install, no, not on a Mac. It's installed the moment you put it in."

Well, to be honest, to me, that sounded, and still sounds, like bullshit. VALVe just recently made Steam available for Macs and Skyrim doesn't seem to have OSX support.

However, since my dad and I are not really computer savvy, I wanted to give our friend the benefit of the doubt by asking here: Can an iMac run all PC games? Even old ones that you would get at Good Old Games?

Also, he mentioned when talking about the difference between the $700 and $1,200 iMac, he said the $1,200 iMac has, "... Five more gigs of RAM." Um, that's funny; I always thought RAM cam in 256MB, 512MB, 2Gigs, 4Gigs, 8Gigs and so on. Is it possible to have an odd number of RAM like 5 Gigs?

My computer cost $1,000, and that's New Zealand dollars. It can play any recent game to date, though granted on the highest settings it can get a bit laggy. Just look to buy shit online, heaps of people building computers for cheap and selling them.

 

[Athinira]

It's perfectly possible for a rig to have 5 more gigs of RAM. Some laptops come with 3 gigs of RAM which is also an uneven number (generally it's a 2 gig + 1 gig module).

With that said, even with Windows installed, if your primary purpose is gaming, go for a standard PC.

1) It's cheaper
2) You don't have to dual-boot
3) Games that run natively on MAC usually runs at lower performance. FPS tests confirms this. Source-engine games for example clearly take a 30% performance hit when run on OS X compared to Windows 7 (with the same hardware).

 

[Vrach]

snip

Wow. So many misconceptions, where to begin. Let's start from the top:
1) A 1200$ computer is a gaming monster atm. With that much disposable cash, you don't even have to look for deals. 3000$ either has a hooker that comes out of it when you press the power button or is a real effort made by someone to waste money to the best of their ability on a computer. Did you take computer building advice from someone who needed money laundered recently? Or are you considering buying a flatscreen TV to go with it?

2) PC games (talking in general, not the few ports made for Macs) can run on a Mac just fine. Not out of the box though, you'll need Boot Camp and a Windows installation disc. The whole no installation thing? Yeah, sure, I guess time flies that fast when you've got some good weed like your friend there.

3) Yeah it's possible to have an odd number of RAM. You take three 1GB RAM sticks and shove them in and you've got 3GBs of RAM. I had it (still do actually) on my old PC. Actually, I have something worse, 512/512/1024/1024. Horrible combination in general, but it runs. Incidentally, as far as gaming is concerned (assuming you're not doing anything else with your computer while you game), anything over 6GB of RAM is silly atm and everything over 8GB is just plain useless. Since Macs tend to come with a crapload of RAM to begin with, the selling point being more RAM would not generally be a huge plus for a gamer.

 

[I.N.producer]

Where are people getting the $3000 for a gaming computer idea anyway? I just made a computer for my brother-in-law. Quad-core at 3.0Ghz, dual 6750s, 8GB RAM, 1TB hard drive. This was for $900 not counting the monitor.

As for your friend, holy crap. I've had Mac fanboys argue with me, but at least they don't try to argue specs.
I had one guy try to tell me his $1200 Macbook was a better value than my $500 mid-range gaming computer because his came with a printer and digital camera. The printer was worth about $50 at most, and the camera couldn't have been worth more than $150.
I called him on it and he went on the usual "no viruses" spiel before I told him I have never had a virus on my computer. Then he said "Macs are better anyway."

 

[Leg End]

First of all: Please read the whole post before posting. Thanks!

Last night, a friend of mine and my dad's dropped by. Well, we got on the subject of computers and he starting saying that, for the things I do, an iMac would be perfect.

Well, my gaming computer is so old that the latest game I've played is The Sims 3, and it was pretty laggy at that. <:'-( So, for the past few years I've missed out on games. (I don't even have an Xbox360, a PS3 or, God-forbid, a Wii.) So, we mentioned that it would be difficult to spend $1,200 on a work computer and THEN spend at least $3,000 bucks on a new, up-to-date gaming rig.

Well, this friend then said this, pretty much word for word: "All PC games can run on Mac. They were designed on Macs. You put it in and, BOOM, it's loaded. No installing, no waiting, it's in there instantly. On a computer, you have to put it in, wait for it to install, no, not on a Mac. It's installed the moment you put it in."

Well, to be honest, to me, that sounded, and still sounds, like bullshit. VALVe just recently made Steam available for Macs and Skyrim doesn't seem to have OSX support.

However, since my dad and I are not really computer savvy, I wanted to give our friend the benefit of the doubt by asking here: Can an iMac run all PC games? Even old ones that you would get at Good Old Games?

Also, he mentioned when talking about the difference between the $700 and $1,200 iMac, he said the $1,200 iMac has, "... Five more gigs of RAM." Um, that's funny; I always thought RAM cam in 256MB, 512MB, 2Gigs, 4Gigs, 8Gigs and so on. Is it possible to have an odd number of RAM like 5 Gigs?

Read, will respond after sandwich. Ok I'm gud.

Why bash the Wii? :<
$1,200 on a work rig and $3,000 for a gaman rig? Dude, I could build you a rape-tier PC for $1,200, $3,000 is if you are futureproofing, which is not a very good or economically safe idea.

Your friend, with all due respect to you and him, is a shit talker.
I could design Mac software on Windows, doesn't mean it'll run. Hell, I could make a game with a calculator under the same principle. Then again, that's been done. XD
He is a quarter right on what he said, except he's not. Windows typically uses .exe executables, while OS X uses .dmg. With .dmg, it's "installed", like a Windows .exe that can run straight from the executable without a install. Issue is however, many OS X users do not put the .dmg in Applications, cluttering their shit with them. XD
I believe this explains it well.

You CAN however dual-boot Windows under Boot Camp, but even then, even though Mac hardware is fairly good, it's not good gaming hardware.

>Implying games typically use more than 4-8GB of RAM
RAM usually comes in even numbers because it's not a really good idea to mix sizes like that, which Apple does not do, at least not often from what I've seen. Looking at the Apple website for the iMac shows your friend is a bullshitter supreme or is legitimately ignorant to this.
Basically, it is possible, but a bad idea. :L

I hope this helps. I will also help with any other questions you may have, either here or PM.
Also, sorry if any of this sounds rude as I have just woken up and am still sleepy.

EDIT: Also sorry for any possible factual errors on my part during my sleep-drunken stupor.

EDIT 2: I also failed to mention Wine and PlayOnMac, which is a frontend for Wine. You can, under Wine, run Windows games on OS X but it will not be... entirely perfect, depending on the program.

 

[Sparcrypt]

Well.. what is it that you do for work? These days Mac vs PC is mostly a preference, not a requirement. Some in the video and graphics design industries still use Macs, but the one professional I know in that area prefers a custom built PC instead (though it is a SERIOUS beast).

The fact that you're talking about an off the shelf mac tells me the work you are doing can just as easily be done on a PC.

So - buy a gaming PC. You CAN spend 3k on one yes, but you can also build one that will run everything for a few years for less than 1500 - you might not be playing them all on full settings in 2 years but they'll still play.

My gaming PC is now 4 years old and I'm just about ready to replace it.

 

[Skiisk]

A Mac person talking out of their ignorant ass? HAS THE WORLD GONE MAD? And an answer to your question: No.

A general rule of thumb is: Do NOT take advice on computers from people who own Macs. The very reason they own Macs is because they can't operate PC's properly.

Also, just as a general note, my computer cost about 1300? (with a 24" full HD screen, a gaming mouse, keyboard & mousepad), and a similar but a tad slower Mac Pro costs about three times as much, and runs slower. No joke, I'm an university student, studying to become a producer, and as part of our studies we make various kinds of videos and whatnot. And, through my experiences in various fields in media both as a professional, an enthusiast and a hobbyist, I can say FOR CERTAIN that Macs ARE NOT in ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM better with programs such as Photoshop, Pro-Tools, Avid, After Effects etc. And a well put-together PC is just as stable as any Mac, if not more so due to more user control.

Macs are trash. All Apple products are trash, iPods nonwithstanding. The people who buy them are either people with more money than braincells, teenage girls or just generally people who can't operate computers. The only thing they're good at is making you look like a complete ponce.

Feel free to quote that as a whole to the Mac tard who you had the displeasure of talking with.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Like everyone else here, I'll say that your friend is off his rocker. You shouldn't pay more than a thousand bucks for a decent gaming rig, and that's an absolute maximum. You can get more-than-decent rigs for a few hundred bucks. That's considering that the only expensive part of a gaming rig is its graphics card. Everything else can be absolute stock. Never listen to the overclocking enthusiasts who harp on about you needing esoteric hardware like cooling stations.

Dream rigs at two or three thousand smackers are overpriced gamer fodder Alienware keeps shitting out because there's always going to be a crowd that's too lazy to look up hardware enthusiast magazines or just their local PC hardware store. Alienware also does fairly priced systems, but you're honestly better off tailoring the experience to your liking by buying it piece by piece. It'll cost you a little less, too.

Macs can indeed run a few games. Valve's core library was recently made Mac-friendly (with Half-Life as a exception) and some publishers, like Aspyr, cater to the business of porting games to Macs. You really aren't helping yourself by choosing that platform, however, as games are primarily developed for PCs and consoles.

As someone else has said, Macs are basically designer clothes, or an easy alternative to someone who's scared by the prospect of buying a clone PC. A lot of people in my promotion couldn't be convinced to try a PC out even if their lives depended on it because they're diehard Lit geeks. They only need something to write, check emails and surf the Web. Macs can do that just fine. As soon as one of them starts salivating over Skyrim and realizes that won't ever run on their MacBook Air, though, they tend to get a little crestfallen...

 

[Lokithrsourcerer]

first off a good-enough gaming pc does NOT cost $3000 there are tons of youtubers that made a great rig under the 500$...

yeah i built my new gaming machine for £700($1095 ish) and it runs all the latest games on full settings no problem

pc's-are-better-than-macs-but-windows-is-a-big-pile-of-shite
there's-not-a-lot-of-difference-on-paper-but-for-gaming-pc's-win-everytime

and-in-a-strange-twist-of-irony-my-keyboard-broke-while-i-was-typeing-this-so-please-forgive-the-dashes