Oops, I read that article very thoroughly when it was first published and totally forgot about that.tobyg said:
I'd say that's Windows' fault more than the Mac Pro's, I actually haven't seen that on mine yet.Sesshi said:
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Could someone explain the limitations of the Mac Pro as a Windows gaming PC?
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If you have your hardware set up properly there shouldn't be mouse stuttering problems under Windows.
So is that it? For real?
So is that it? For real?
*Nudges you towards the Buy button*Sesshi said:
Btw, have you spoken to Apple about a discount? You mentioned your Dell account manager, so I assume you were going to put this through as a business purchase. Apple's business sales aren't so generous, but they're not unmovable...
In the case of Dell I now have slightly more leverage than your average guy, although the advantages I get are just cost, they don't offer me additional service levels or anything that you wouldn't normally get as options. I don't get the feeling I get the discount I've been promised all the time, but I certainly still get excellent deals. Recently, I got two Core 2 Duo laptops with docking stations, Office and 3 year onsite support for not much more than the cost of one 15" MBP with Office & Applecare. They are definitely better 'Pro' machines than the MBP, just a shame about the OS
I have spoken to Apple about a discount before, but even for a £15K all-in purchase they offered me so comparatively little that it was actually easier for me to get a discount by going through other parties I knew.
A few hundred off is not an issue at all for this single machine purchase. As for the Apple crappy hardware + support thing, I'm reasonably OK with that as if this machine goes out of commission for a week I'm just going to be mildly annoyed, not apoplectic. For home use I'll certainly trade a bit of reliability for OS X.
I just want to know I'm not going to be unnecessarily handicapped.
I have spoken to Apple about a discount before, but even for a £15K all-in purchase they offered me so comparatively little that it was actually easier for me to get a discount by going through other parties I knew.
A few hundred off is not an issue at all for this single machine purchase. As for the Apple crappy hardware + support thing, I'm reasonably OK with that as if this machine goes out of commission for a week I'm just going to be mildly annoyed, not apoplectic. For home use I'll certainly trade a bit of reliability for OS X.
I just want to know I'm not going to be unnecessarily handicapped.
Well I was just gonna post the Anandtech link, though I was also going to say the results are kind of deceiving because at much higher resolutions (the kind of resolutions you would play with say a X1900XT) the impact of FB-DIMMs will be less noticeable, not to mention what other user already mentioned, the Mac Pro has a Quad Channel memory subsystem.
So yeah in a way the only limitation of the Mac Pro as a Gaming PC would be price (if you build a 2500$-3000$ Gaming PC you can get way more for the money, got gaming at least) but you also get OSX and a monster workstation computer so that evens out, SLI/Crossfire is not such a big deal, single card solutions are still excellent for even 30" monitors not to mention there ARE single-card multi-gpu solutions (7950GX2).
So in a nutshell, if you have the money to pay, the Mac Pro can be as much a Gaming PC as you want it to be.
So yeah in a way the only limitation of the Mac Pro as a Gaming PC would be price (if you build a 2500$-3000$ Gaming PC you can get way more for the money, got gaming at least) but you also get OSX and a monster workstation computer so that evens out, SLI/Crossfire is not such a big deal, single card solutions are still excellent for even 30" monitors not to mention there ARE single-card multi-gpu solutions (7950GX2).
So in a nutshell, if you have the money to pay, the Mac Pro can be as much a Gaming PC as you want it to be.
Naaa
Well. It's all about money.
I wouldn't buy a Mac Pro if I didn't have 1.) The money or 2.) A really-really need for a Pro mac.
Yes, I have a Mac Pro as I just don't like the Imac's built-in screen. But I'm paying way to much to be able to choice my screen myself
I'm running a company that lease out game servers. Meaning we need to keep up with all games and I'm running CoD2, HL:CS, BF2, BF2142 on my mac pro with Windows XP 64 bit w/o ANY problems at all, max settings and all.
Comments:
Sound work fine, just use the RealTek driver. There could be some problems selecting output. I'm using Optical output and that works fine.
ATI's drivers for 64 Bit Windows are a bit old, but if you'r running 32 bit windows you'll be fine.
Keyboard - Mouse - Never had a problem there. Using Apple USB keyboard and a Logitech "5 years old trackball". Works like a charm
But a standard PC would to the trick with all current Windows games also. But you wouldn't be able to run OSX
Well. It's all about money.
I wouldn't buy a Mac Pro if I didn't have 1.) The money or 2.) A really-really need for a Pro mac.
Yes, I have a Mac Pro as I just don't like the Imac's built-in screen. But I'm paying way to much to be able to choice my screen myself
I'm running a company that lease out game servers. Meaning we need to keep up with all games and I'm running CoD2, HL:CS, BF2, BF2142 on my mac pro with Windows XP 64 bit w/o ANY problems at all, max settings and all.
Comments:
Sound work fine, just use the RealTek driver. There could be some problems selecting output. I'm using Optical output and that works fine.
ATI's drivers for 64 Bit Windows are a bit old, but if you'r running 32 bit windows you'll be fine.
Keyboard - Mouse - Never had a problem there. Using Apple USB keyboard and a Logitech "5 years old trackball". Works like a charm
But a standard PC would to the trick with all current Windows games also. But you wouldn't be able to run OSX
Jeez.
The sound is a Realtek codec? I thought it would be at least a STAC.
Edit: Ahhh... I see, it's an ALC880.
Better than a kick in the teeth, I guess...
(and in which case, orangezorki if you're reading this definitely get an external pro audio soundcard)
The sound is a Realtek codec? I thought it would be at least a STAC.
Edit: Ahhh... I see, it's an ALC880.
Better than a kick in the teeth, I guess...
(and in which case, orangezorki if you're reading this definitely get an external pro audio soundcard)
Think think think think, flip between web pages to and fro.
The XPS is out. Don't think I'm looking for something as gaming orientated as that. It's now between the 490 or the Pro.
The XPS is out. Don't think I'm looking for something as gaming orientated as that. It's now between the 490 or the Pro.
Latisha said:
2.0, yes - which is the absolute minimum for current EAX compatible titles and quite a bit off the current state of the art. I had the ALC880 on a board I bought a while back and while it's decent for on-board sound which usually tends to suck, it's not 'kick ass' by any stretch of the imagination - especially on a four-grand PC.
I don't think there is one. There's also the common sense question of why they've underclocked the card in the first place of course. The cooling may not be up to it - at least, not without raising a racket.I'mAMac said:
Thanks for that thread. I was wondering, if the Pro would do well when it comes to gaming.
I haven't played games for quite some time now and I was thinking if should get a Pro next year or not in order to play a few games and still have OS X under the hood.
I haven't played games for quite some time now and I was thinking if should get a Pro next year or not in order to play a few games and still have OS X under the hood.
Ah **** it. I'm going to buy both. If I really hate one I can sell it. I shouldn't need to vacillate so. Mac Pro for 3D and music, Precision 490 for alternative 3D and gaming. Done.
3D noodling + Game: Dell Precision 490
3 years next-day on-site callout 24x7 tel support
2 x 5160 (3ghz)
4Gb
Dual DVD drives
2 x 300gb 10K SAS drives in RAID0 + PCIE SAS controller
512MB X1950XTX
2407WFP
Creative X-Fi Elite Pro
+
3D + Music noodling + new main OSX machine: Mac Pro
Applecare
2 x 5160
4Gb
Dual DVD drives
250Gb SATA drive + 1 more ebayed which I'll RAID0
512MB X1900XT
30" ACD
RME Fireface 800
Ordered today before I changed my mind especially on the Mac Pro. Getting an inferior machine for more irks me a little, but I'm a sucker for a pretty face
3 years next-day on-site callout 24x7 tel support
2 x 5160 (3ghz)
4Gb
Dual DVD drives
2 x 300gb 10K SAS drives in RAID0 + PCIE SAS controller
512MB X1950XTX
2407WFP
Creative X-Fi Elite Pro
+
3D + Music noodling + new main OSX machine: Mac Pro
Applecare
2 x 5160
4Gb
Dual DVD drives
250Gb SATA drive + 1 more ebayed which I'll RAID0
512MB X1900XT
30" ACD
RME Fireface 800
Ordered today before I changed my mind especially on the Mac Pro. Getting an inferior machine for more irks me a little, but I'm a sucker for a pretty face
Sesshi said:3D noodling + Game: Dell Precision 490
3 years next-day on-site callout 24x7 tel support
2 x 5160 (3ghz)
4Gb
Dual DVD drives
2 x 300gb 10K SAS drives in RAID0 + PCIE SAS controller
512MB X1950XTX
2407WFP
Creative X-Fi Elite Pro
+
3D + Music noodling + new main OSX machine: Mac Pro
Applecare
2 x 5160
4Gb
Dual DVD drives
250Gb SATA drive + 1 more ebayed which I'll RAID0
512MB X1900XT
30" ACD
RME Fireface 800
Ordered today before I changed my mind especially on the Mac Pro. Getting an inferior machine for more irks me a little, but I'm a sucker for a pretty face
Man, you have too much money, but unlike most, you know what to do with it!
David
Sesshi said:Ordered today before I changed my mind especially on the Mac Pro. Getting an inferior machine for more irks me a little, but I'm a sucker for a pretty face
Damn thats some order... Can i be your dirty hoe ?
MacRumorUser said:Damn thats some order... Can i be your dirty hoe ?
I'd prefer clean hoes - especially those proficient at hoovering.
It just occurred to me to be a more usable decision. I've had Boot Camp installed on all my Macs and almost never used it. In fact just recently removed the partition from my lone Mac right now. I could just imagine the Mac Pro causing more and more irritation by the need to boot-switch... best to have OSX and Windows separated. It's horrendously expensive for two home PC's (I'm still questioning the wisdom of this myself) but they are correctly specced for the task at hand - and if I buy something half as expensive and it proves to be less than half as usable I'll regret the purchase even more.
And it does mean when the Mac Pro dies an inevitable death 12~18 months from now due to the poor cooling I still have a desktop to use