Best Mac currently available to play these games?

[alexreich]

Here's the list of games I want to play on the high-end settings at 1080p on my TV... All of the games are for OS X, except one. With is Alice: Madness Returns for PC. These games play well on my 2010 Mac mini, but not at maximum resolutions, and occasionally I'll experience choppiness in gameplay due to low frame rate, I'm guessing. Specifically Portal, if I up the resolution a bit things get choppy. I also experience this in Doom 3 at 1080p.

Games I currently own
-Doom 3 (bought via Mac App Store)
-Portal (bought via Steam)
-Portal 2 (bought via Steam)
-Sonic Fan Remix (free via Developer site)
-Trine (bought via Mac App Store)
-N.O.V.A. 2 (bought via Mac App Store)
-Modern Combat Domination (bought via Mac App Store)
-Open Arena (free via Developer site)
-Pac the Man X (free via Developer site)

Games that I plan on buying after getting a better Mac

Mac App Store
Cut the Rope
Real Racing 2
Duke Nukem Forever
Bioshock
Bioshock 2
Borderlands
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Rage: Campaign Edition

Steam
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
Killing Floor

Amazon
Amnesia: The Dark Decent
Diablo III
Alice: Madness Returns (PC)

Based on all of the games recommended setups, these are the requirements.

2.6GHz dual-core processor
4GB RAM
256MB VRAM
500GB HDD

I meet all of them except the 2.6GHz dual-core processor, which I fall just short of at 2.4 Core 2 Duo.

I would like to get something like the following, but I don't know if I can get all that power in a Mac for $1500 or less.

3GHz or more Quad-core i5 processor
8-16GB RAM
512MB-1GB VRAM
1TB HDD+256GB SSD

 

[luke.mac1]

I haven't found a game my iMac won't play at full resolution and highest graphical settings yet... including Skyrim (under Win7) although it does stutter slightly if AA and AF are set to max though.

 

[alexreich]

The iMac has been at the top of my list in gaming performance based on what I see spec wise, and what I've read. Thanks for the input!

 

[marzer]

If your budget tops out at $1500 consider a used (or refurb?) i7. I bought mine in 2010 and it's still going strong: Portal 1/2, Bioshock, COD4, Duke Nukem, Assassins Creed 2/Brotherhood, Spinter Cell Convistion.

Of course, if you're wanting to stay with the mini line, the AMD Radeon HD 6630M mini upgraded to an i7 processor is well within your budget. Do the memory upgrade afterwards on the cheap, Amazon or OWC.