16” MacBook Pro M3 Pro Light Gaming Question.

[Pezimak]

I am thinking of getting a refurb M3 Pro MacBook Pro, I’ll use it for general tasks, hopefully setup an eBay trading business on it, but I’d also like to play some games on it. Now I’m not talking latest gen stuff or many games, the ones I would want to play in it really are Diablo 4, Aliens Dark Descent, Starcraft 2 campaign, Iron Harvest 1920, MarZ Tactical Defense, all on Steam. Can it handle all those games? With 30FPS at least?
I have consoles for everything else.

 

[dmccloud]

Diablo IV has no Mac version, although I am running the Windows version on my M2 Max Mac via Crossover. For the rest of the apps on your list, you would need to verify that a) there are Mac versions available of Steam and b) those Mac versions are not 32-bit apps.

 

[HoxtonBridge]

Diablo IV has no Mac version, although I am running the Windows version on my M2 Max Mac via Crossover. For the rest of the apps on your list, you would need to verify that a) there are Mac versions available of Steam and b) those Mac versions are not 32-bit apps.

Assuming they are 64-bit iterations, would they likely run?

 

[Pezimak]

I have an other question which is will the 14” M3 Max thermo throttle if playing these games? if it’s the 14 core CPU 30 core GPU version?

 

[LinMac]

The subreddit r/macgaming/ has been very active since the Game Porting Tool Kit 2.0 beta was dropped at WWDC. That is a great place to go look for the latest tricks and workarounds to get games working with the betas. People have patched Crossover with the new libraries and all sorts of things.

As far as I understand the current status, AVX/AVX2 support are being built into Rosetta2, but aren't live yet in MacOS 15 Sequoia Beta 1. We'll need to wait for a later beta before we get those goodies. Whisky and Crossover will be updated to support them by the time they're live in the OS.

If you're worried about heat, go to Amazon Warehouse (just search DuckDuckGo for Amazon Warehouse USA or where you're from). They have laptop cooling pads that are in great like new condition for $15 - $25. I would avoid the RGB ones, but that's just me. They will blow air onto the bottom of the laptop while keeping it slightly elevated. That will help the heat a lot. Just feel the bottom of your laptop when it's running full out. The extra air blowing against the case will remove a considerable amount of heat.

If you're interested in a specific game, the easiest way to get started is to check how well the application is supported in Crossover. Check here or here and search for the game.

 

[Pezimak]

This video at the 3 minute mark with its benchmark test, ignore his typo it's an M2 vs an M3, suggests that the M2 Max 38 core GPU is several FPS faster then the. Binned M3 Max with 30 core GPU? Is this reflective of real life?

 

[cdames00]

I went an odd route; I tried gaming on an M1 Max and didn't like it. I traded it for an upgraded M3 Air and a 2019 16" Pro. Both are plenty snappy for my needs. I game on the 16" using boot camp; my games all play pretty well. When I need modern performance/portability I go with the Air.

 

[Pezimak]

I went an odd route; I tried gaming on an M1 Max and didn't like it. I traded it for an upgraded M3 Air and a 2019 16" Pro. Both are plenty snappy for my needs. I game on the 16" using boot camp; my games all play pretty well. When I need modern performance/portability I go with the Air.

The 15" Air is a really nice size. Just a shame it gets only the base spec M3 because it has no fan.

 

[steve123]

This video at the 3 minute mark with its benchmark test, ignore his typo it's an M2 vs an M3, suggests that the M2 Max 38 core GPU is several FPS faster then the. Binned M3 Max with 30 core GPU? Is this reflective of real life?

Games that use ray tracing will have a considerable performance improvement compared to M2. Not sure the review really addressed that clearly.

 

[Pezimak]

Games that use ray tracing will have a considerable performance improvement compared to M2. Not sure the review really addressed that clearly.

Thanks, I agree with you there, I’ll be getting an M3 anyway. Looking at Apples laptops in person at the weekend I concluded the 15” Air is the best size, just a shame it doesn’t have the power of the Max chip. 16” is too big, the 14” is ok, the 15” Air is just right lol. But I’ll also be using my 28” 4K monitor anyway so expect the 14” Pro will do me.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I am thinking of getting a refurb M3 Pro MacBook Pro, I’ll use it for general tasks, hopefully setup an eBay trading business on it, but I’d also like to play some games on it. Now I’m not talking latest gen stuff or many games, the ones I would want to play in it really are Diablo 4, Aliens Dark Descent, Starcraft 2 campaign, Iron Harvest 1920, MarZ Tactical Defense, all on Steam. Can it handle all those games? With 30FPS at least?
I have consoles for everything else.

Diablo IV is Windows only. The Mac version of StarCraft II is a 64-bit Intel binary, but it runs just fine in Rosetta 2. I can't speak to the other games. For your use cases, I'd think a Windows laptop would make a lot more sense, especially if there isn't any Mac-specific use case here.

 

[Pezimak]

Diablo IV is Windows only. The Mac version of StarCraft II is a 64-bit Intel binary, but it runs just fine in Rosetta 2. I can't speak to the other games. For your use cases, I'd think a Windows laptop would make a lot more sense, especially if there isn't any Mac-specific use case here.

It’s fairly simple to get Diablo 4 and any other Windows games running perfectly fine on Mac and Apple Silicon. Lots of videos on how to do it. The new games tool Apple has released has allowed people to get a fair few games running.
Also I do not want a Windows laptop, can’t stand it and it’s now full of ads, no thanks.

 

[Yebubbleman]

It’s fairly simple to get Diablo 4 and any other Windows games running perfectly fine on Mac and Apple Silicon. Lots of videos on how to do it. The new games tool Apple has released has allowed people to get a fair few games running.
Also I do not want a Windows laptop, can’t stand it and it’s now full of ads, no thanks.

To each their own. I use both platforms all the time and have no trouble with Windows 11. I also don't have the time nor patience to try to jerry-rig one platform to do something another platform does effortlessly.

 

[Pezimak]

Ordered a refurb 14" M3 Max MacBook Pro. Will have my Diablo 3 running on it in no time.

 

[Floof]

I have the M3 Pro and honestly it has been amazing for gaming personally. I have a gaming pc too but it's hardly portable.. so I play The Sims 4 on ultra settings, nearly native resolution with 85 FPS on average! The game is known for being badly optimised so I am extremely happy with those stats. I cannot comment on the games you listed but I hope you enjoy your M3 Pro!

 

[Pezimak]

I have the M3 Pro and honestly it has been amazing for gaming personally. I have a gaming pc too but it's hardly portable.. so I play The Sims 4 on ultra settings, nearly native resolution with 85 FPS on average! The game is known for being badly optimised so I am extremely happy with those stats. I cannot comment on the games you listed but I hope you enjoy your M3 Pro!

Thanks, it arrived today, all I've done so far is set it up and watch You Tube lol. But it was the right choice and size for me in the end so happy with it. I'll have to load my apps and photos etc onto it over the weekend. Then see if I can get some games on it. Also need to get a stand for it, Apple keyboard which aren't cheap! But the price you pay for the Touch ID, and a trackpad, I think I'll get on with the trackpad better for daily use whilst I use my mouse for my works laptop, then I can switch my mouse to work with my Mac for gaming as it can connect to 3 computers.

I hope the new laptop will last me several years. Next toy for me will be an OLED iPad Pro, will take a while to save up for though.

 

[LinMac]

Steam summer sale is on right now, Crossover is also having a sale (don't forget to use the Whisky affiliate link if you're buying it), and you'll be playing loads of games really quickly.

 

[Pezimak]

I seem to have come to a bit of a dilemma. I need to put MS Office on my Mac. Well I usually prefer outlook on my computers. I have a 2016 version which is no longer supported but works alright. Now MS sell a 2021 Mac version but they will soon support for this in October 2026.
So is it worth buying a new Office suite if it'll only be supported for 2 more years? I really don't want to start paying a monthly or yearly fee just to use Office, or is that really the only way to do it now? I don't think in the Mail apps is as good as Outlook?

A lot of my old documents etc are in Word format.

On a side note I installed StarCraft 2 natively and it runs great.

 

[Pezimak]

Ah never mind, I see a new version of Office standalone will be released towards the end of this year. I'll use my old 2016 version till the 2024 one is released.

 

[LinMac]

Check sites like Slickdeals for specials on Office 2021 or Office365. Just make sure it includes the Mac version too. You don't want to be stuck trying to use it via VMWare Fusion or something. July 4th is around the corner so keep an eye out for sales.

The Steam sale is on right now too

 

[Zest28]

Diablo IV has no Mac version, although I am running the Windows version on my M2 Max Mac via Crossover. For the rest of the apps on your list, you would need to verify that a) there are Mac versions available of Steam and b) those Mac versions are not 32-bit apps.

Diablo 4 runs very good on Linux, so I wouldn't be surprised if you can make Diablo 4 run on Mac too.