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Anybody regret getting high-res MBP due to gaming performance?

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Original poster
Nov 5, 2009
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Thinking about switching to high rest anti glare, but I am afraid of losing a substantial amount of gaming performance : /

@ 1440x900 these i7 Macbook Pros get pump out just about any game.

I don't want to have to turn my res down to 1440 on a high res machine because itll look like crap.

Thoughts?
 
Personally i feel not much of a difference, games might run abit slower on higher res, but offers you the chance to lower your res.

More important would be which screen you feel more comfortable with? anti-glare with silver lining or normal w black lining.
 
kook said:
Personally i feel not much of a difference, games might run abit slower on higher res, but offers you the chance to lower your res.

More important would be which screen you feel more comfortable with? anti-glare with silver lining or normal w black lining.
Click to expand...

More important is the size of the font for when you are not gaming. Many people find the font too tiny in the high res. Check it out in person to see your preference.

Any res other then the native res, looks pretty bad.
 
I definitely don't regret it. When I was waiting for the 2010 refresh of the 15" MBPs, what I most wanted was a resolution bump to 1920x1200, finally making the 15" MBP comparable (16:9 at 1920x1080) to the top of line offerings that competitors have offered for years. So I was hugely disappointed they only went half way, but 1680x1050's still significantly better than the resolution the 15" MBPs have been stuck at for so many years. I thought about the 17" for the resolution, but ultimately settled for a HiRes 15" Glossy.

Gaming was very much secondary to everything else I intended to do on the MBP. Lately, it seems gaming has taken precedence, however, the 330M does fine at this higher res. I'm running many of the most graphics intensive games available for Mac (Call of Duty 4, Team Fortress 2), and I can max out most of the settings (minus AA in COD4) while maintaining 30+ fps. And of course at this higher res, the games look even nicer. If you Boot Camp, you can probably max out all settings for those 2 games.
 
Libertine Lush said:
I definitely don't regret it. When I was waiting for the 2010 refresh of the 15" MBPs, what I most wanted was a resolution bump to 1920x1200, finally making the 15" MBP comparable (16:9 at 1920x1080) to the top of line offerings that competitors have offered for years. So I was hugely disappointed they only went half way, but 1680x1050's still significantly better than the resolution the 15" MBPs have been stuck at for so many years. I thought about the 17" for the resolution, but ultimately settled for a HiRes 15" Glossy.

Gaming was very much secondary to everything else I intended to do on the MBP. Lately, it seems gaming has taken precedence, however, the 330M does fine at this higher res. I'm running many of the most graphics intensive games available for Mac (Call of Duty 4, Team Fortress 2), and I can max out most of the settings (minus AA in COD4) while maintaining 30+ fps. And of course at this higher res, the games look even nicer. If you Boot Camp, you can probably max out all settings for those 2 games.
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Some good insight there, thanks : )

I'll be playing Final Fantasy XIV, which is my main concern...anybody have experience in the beta with a high res MBP?
 
You don't want to turn the res down? Oh well, sucks for you!

I run my games at a lower resolution with 4-8 AA to make a beautiful image.
 
ozreth said:
Some good insight there, thanks : )

I'll be playing Final Fantasy XIV, which is my main concern...anybody have experience in the beta with a high res MBP?
Click to expand...

Are you really considering spending well over 2k on a laptop just to game??? :confused:
17' MBP = $2299

...INSTEAD...

Buy the base 13; MBP for $1199
Then buy the base 21.5 imac for $1199

This way you have 2 macs instead of one. You still have portability with the MBP and have the resolution and graphics with your imac. Best part is that since I assume that your a student, you will get your student discount on both purchases. It gets better though, that means two free ipods!!! But wait, there's more. Two free printers!!!

WOW!!! What a spectacular deal!!! Let's do the math here.

1199 MPB - $100(student discount) - 200(sell ipod) - 50(sell ipod) = $850
$850 for the iMac too!
Both combined will total just UNDER $1900. Far less then your 17' MBP even with he discounts!


You are so very welcome! :eek:
 
ozreth said:
Whats 4-8 AA?
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Anti-aliasing.

Playing at a higher res without AA will still result in a significantly better overall image though. Most people will recommend playing at native res, then adjusting other settings accordingly to achieve 30+ fps. If after doing so, you still can't achieve a playable frame rate, lower the resolution, then adjust the other settings.

I'm open to the possibility that there may be games where a lower res. coupled with higher settings could produce superior graphics to a higher res with lower settings, but in my experience and in reading what others far more knowledgeable and experienced (hardcore gamers) have said, I'm not aware of there being any such instances. Ultimately, you should just test it out yourself on a game by game basis. See what works best for you.
 
Orange™ said:
Are you really considering spending well over 2k on a laptop just to game??? :confused:
17' MBP = $2299

...INSTEAD...

Buy the base 13; MBP for $1199
Then buy the base 21.5 imac for $1199

This way you have 2 macs instead of one. You still have portability with the MBP and have the resolution and graphics with your imac. Best part is that since I assume that your a student, you will get your student discount on both purchases. It gets better though, that means two free ipods!!! But wait, there's more. Two free printers!!!

WOW!!! What a spectacular deal!!! Let's do the math here.

1199 MPB - $100(student discount) - 200(sell ipod) - 50(sell ipod) = $850
$850 for the iMac too!
Both combined will total just UNDER $1900. Far less then your 17' MBP even with he discounts!


You are so very welcome! :eek:
Click to expand...

No.

I already own a 2010 MBP. I regret not getting Anti Glare. I am going to sell my current one and spend a couple hundred to upgrade to a new one with Anti Glare.

I know all about purchasing macs, the best deals, portability vs power, the back to school deal etc. And I would never buy a 13" MBP and an iMac to suit my gaming needs. I would buy a 13" MBP and build a gaming rig.

Thanks though : )
 
ozreth said:
I'll be playing Final Fantasy XIV, which is my main concern...anybody have experience in the beta with a high res MBP?
Click to expand...

Playing it at fullscreen 1280x800 with everything on low, getting around 25-40 fps depending on the area. On 1680x1050 native it's around 15-20 fps.
 
Well, my first-generation unibody 15" MacBook Pro can max out many modern games (Mass Effect 2; DirectX 10 Age of Conan without shadows) at its 1440x900 resolution, but the frame-rate is noticeably less smooth at 1680x1050, making many games that run fine at 1440x900 feel a lot less playable at 1860x1050. Resolution does have a noticeable impact, and I would expect the same from the Core i7 MacBook Pro's, especially with future games.
 
Dagless said:
You don't want to turn the res down? Oh well, sucks for you!

I run my games at a lower resolution with 4-8 AA to make a beautiful image.
Click to expand...

Lowering the resolution makes the game begin to appear blurry, and all text loses its crispness. You're much better off playing at 1680x1050. Jaggies disappear on a display with a high pixel-density (though 1680x1050 isn't close to Retina Display quality), but jaggies are much less noticeable than a blurry game. 2x AA should be enough on a 15" display at that resolution.
 
Dragonforce said:
Playing it at fullscreen 1280x800 with everything on low, getting around 25-40 fps depending on the area. On 1680x1050 native it's around 15-20 fps.
Click to expand...

Do you think that having the 512mb 330m would boost the fps to at least around 30? I could live with that.
 
MICHAELSD said:
Lowering the resolution makes the game begin to appear blurry, and all text loses its crispness. You're much better off playing at 1680x1050. Jaggies disappear on a display with a high pixel-density (though 1680x1050 isn't close to Retina Display quality), but jaggies are much less noticeable than a blurry game. 2x AA should be enough on a 15" display at that resolution.
Click to expand...

I know what happens at lower resolutions.
At the moment I've got 2 computers connected to my 1920*1080 display. One oldish iMac and one new gaming rig. The iMac runs my games at low-med settings at 1280*800 and the gaming rig at full whack. Whilst yes the gaming rig looks superb - once I'm actually in a game of L4D or TF2 all that goes out the window. I perform the same, can use the precise classes all the same. It is harder to see the textchat window on the rig though.
 
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