2011 Mac Mini - Battlefield 3 Video

[MercilessGunner]

I know some people have asked to see BF3 run on the new Mac Mini. Well here ya go with FRAPS and all running on my Mini.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1AkRT80SXc

 

[deafgoose]

Since when did the mac mini server include the AMD Radeon HD 6630M 256MB graphics?

Mine had the Intel 3000

 

[MercilessGunner]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

This is not the server mini. I bought the desktop version and upgraded the CPU, memory and hard drive.

 

[andychelt]

Nice

That's pretty impressive considering. Seems to be running as smooth if not smoother than the desktop pc I currently got it on.

Now to just hope that my i5 processor and standard 500gb HD don't cause performance to suffer too much!

 

[Ruahrc]

The key here is the 1280x800 resolution. The GPU in the Alienware M11x is about the same as this 6630M and it performs quite well, but that's because it is limited to a 1366x768 screen. Same here with the mac mini- if you turn down the resolution then it probably runs okay, but run that monitor at native res and you'll get poor performance.

 

[lali]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

This is not the server mini. I bought the desktop version and upgraded the CPU, memory and hard drive.

Hi
How did you upgrade the processor?
Thanks

 

[MercilessGunner]

Hi
How did you upgrade the processor?
Thanks

I upgraded the processor and hard drive when I bought the computer from the online Apple store. I bought the memory separate since it was cheaper and supported by Apple.

----------

The key here is the 1280x800 resolution. The GPU in the Alienware M11x is about the same as this 6630M and it performs quite well, but that's because it is limited to a 1366x768 screen. Same here with the mac mini- if you turn down the resolution then it probably runs okay, but run that monitor at native res and you'll get poor performance.

You are absolutely correct. If I change the resolution to the monitors native 1900x1200 it runs like crap and is completely unplayable. Luckily the resolution 1280x800 is just good enough to make the game playable.

----------

Nice
Now to just hope that my i5 processor and standard 500gb HD don't cause performance to suffer too much!

The game is processor intensive. I will try to post pics of how much the game uses the i7 Processor. I wouldn't worry about the hard drive. It will just make the game taker longer to load, but it shouldn't really impact the games performance once you're on the battlefield.

 

[ri0ku]

What resolution you running at ?
and
Graphics settings ?

 

[trip1ex]

Wow looks like it runs pretty sweet. Had the $800 Mini but returned because I didn't think it would play BF3 due to 512mb VRAM requirement.

How many players were on server?

 

[FrozenShivers]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

http://m.tomshardware.co.uk/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,review-32308.html

Check that, the game doesn't scale that well per core IIRC.

 

[andychelt]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

http://m.tomshardware.co.uk/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,review-32308.html

From the looks of that it isn't going to matter if you've got the i5 or i7, the main thing is having the 6630 discrete graphics

 

[MercilessGunner]

CPU Screenshot

Here is a CPU usage screenshot while playing:

 

[belltree]

How hot does your mini get after prolonged playing? Does the fan go into overdrive?
Also, are you running Win XP?

 

[MercilessGunner]

How hot does your mini get after prolonged playing? Does the fan go into overdrive?
Also, are you running Win XP?

The fan does kick into overdrive and the system gets pretty hot. I've played the game for 3 hours straight and never had any problems though. I am running the game via boot camp using Windows 7.

 

[crumpler]

Thanks for posting! I've the exact same configuration of Mac Mini but am pairing it with the TB display. I take it you've tried it at 1920x1200 and it was completely choppy?

 

[glitch44]

Wondering if Battlefield on the mini is still working out for you? Or if you regret not being able to play on a higher resolution?

I'm currently deciding between a mini and an iMac and I'd love to be able to play BF3.

 

[TjeuV]

Hm I wouldn't get there with my 4gig of ram. I think I just won't overdo it and stick to my ps3 for gaming Must... resist...!

 

[MercilessGunner]

Wondering if Battlefield on the mini is still working out for you? Or if you regret not being able to play on a higher resolution?

I'm currently deciding between a mini and an iMac and I'd love to be able to play BF3.

It has worked well for me but there are times I wished I was playing at a higher resolution when picking people off in the distance. This shouldn't be a problem soon because I have a fully loaded rMBP on order.

 

[dbehterev]

nonRetina MBP 512Mb GPU and BF3

Hi guys. I watched the video and it is amazing... Is it right that I can run BF3 on cMBP with 512Mb VRAM GPU without glitches? I am choosing between cMBP 512Mb/1Gb VRAM and because price is not adequate for 1Gb VRAM I tend to buy 512VRAM model...