Guild Wars 2 on nMP with d700?

[abluehaze]

I've been considering ordering a nMP primarily as a general use computer and for gaming. I've always had iMacs in the past but have gotten tired of the mobile graphics cards that they use in them outdating so quickly. This was my original reason for considering getting a MP next time around BUT from what I'm understanding these Firepro cards are workstation GPU's and thus not really the best bang for your buck for gaming.

The games I play currently on OSX are Guild Wars 2 and Diablo 3. In the near future I might be playing Elder Scrolls Online. I occasionally will boot into Windows to play a game that isn't available on OSX but really don't like to leave the Apple ecosystem just to play a game so that won't be a main focus for me. Going all in with a Windows PC and switching is not an option for me.

The game that seems to run the worst on my current iMac is Guild Wars 2 and that's primarily because it's not a native client. It's a Cider wrapper but I'm curious to see if anyone has played GW2 Mac beta client on a nMP with 700's and what performance was like.

I'm currently leaning towards getting a new iMac because it seems like it might be the best bang for my buck. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[jaxhunter]

The D700s are workstation graphics cards; typically not good for gaming. That being said they probably have a lot of performance headroom to make up for any shortcomings on an older game such as Guild Wars 2.

Personally I would say that the iMac is probably a better option. The 780m is a great card and it would be better suited for gaming. Given that the graphics requirements for GW2 are:

NVIDIA GeForce 7800, ATI Radeon X1800, Intel HD 3000 or better (256 MB of video RAM and shader model 3.0 or better)

then the 780m should also have significant performance overhead to meet your needs.

 

[Anim]

Pic:
nMP D700's and 8 Core CPU 3D Mark Results.
It's a lot of money for just playing games but certainly no slouch as many think either.

I would still get the iMac as gaming is your only requirement and make sure that the graphics card is using dedicated (you can tell it to use dedicated all the time).

Guildwars 2 runs great on it as I was playing that early this year on a maxed out 2012 iMac.

IMO If you need a decent workstation AND to play games then the nMP with D700's is a better choice than the iMac / two separate computers.

 

[Dranix]

I hate so say it - there is only one way to play gw2 in any acceptable way: Windows. The mac-"port" ist a Wine-based joke. and you will need NO D700. My old Radeon 5870 is total overkill for it, gw2 is heavily cpu-bound.

 

[abluehaze]

I hate so say it - there is only one way to play gw2 in any acceptable way: Windows. The mac-"port" ist a Wine-based joke. and you will need NO D700. My old Radeon 5870 is total overkill for it, gw2 is heavily cpu-bound.

I know that there's quite a disparity in performance in gw2 on windows and OSX. Even though my late 2010 iMac runs the game fairly well on high settings under windows I choose to play in OSX because I don't buy Mac products to use them in Windows. I buy Apple products because I prefer the user experience and OS.

I will play a game under windows if I'm dying to play that game and no Mac port is available. This computer will be used 98 percent of the time in OSX. The issue I have had with iMacs is since the gpus are actually mobile cards they are only decent for a very short while much like a laptop.

With apple not having any kind of solution to squeeze good performance out of the dual gpus in the nMP I'm afraid it's not worth the 2-3 grand extra for playing games under windows maybe 2 percent of the time.

I don't want a windows box. If I wanted one then I'd just ditch Apple and go all Windows and go Android for my mobile OS. I'm either going all Apple or I'm leaving The Apple ecosystem behind and I'm sure that's the way most of us Apple users feel.

----------

Pic:
nMP D700's and 8 Core CPU 3D Mark Results.
It's a lot of money for just playing games but certainly no slouch as many think either.

I would still get the iMac as gaming is your only requirement and make sure that the graphics card is using dedicated (you can tell it to use dedicated all the time).

Guildwars 2 runs great on it as I was playing that early this year on a maxed out 2012 iMac.

IMO If you need a decent workstation AND to play games then the nMP with D700's is a better choice than the iMac / two separate computers.

How do you make sure the graphics card is using dedicated? Not sure what you mean by that.

 

[Anim]

How do you make sure the graphics card is using dedicated? Not sure what you mean by that.

Disable automatic GPU switching in System Preferences > Energy Saver

Actually, come to think about it, I think I was on a Macbook Pro when I found that little gem rather than the iMac. I was in Australia at my Sisters, she has about 5 Mac's and we all played Guild Wars. My memory is a little sketchy on it all lol, they drink a lot over there

 

[motegi]

My memory is a little sketchy on it all lol, they drink a lot over there

He's not wrong guys, I'm drunk right now!

 

[abluehaze]

Disable automatic GPU switching in System Preferences > Energy Saver

Actually, come to think about it, I think I was on a Macbook Pro when I found that little gem rather than the iMac. I was in Australia at my Sisters, she has about 5 Mac's and we all played Guild Wars. My memory is a little sketchy on it all lol, they drink a lot over there

That must only be an option on laptops with both discrete on board graphics and a dedicated graphics card.

 

[mrsavage1]

That must only be an option on laptops with both discrete on board graphics and a dedicated graphics card.

The D700 is really your best option when it comes to gaming on a mac. The D300 behaves worse than the 680mx or 780m. The D500 behaves worse than a D300 in games.

Unless your willing to forkout for a 5,1 mp or a hackinitosh and put in consumer graphics cards there really are no real options.

But consider this in about 3 years that D700 won't be able to play games at its fullest settings and its a huge question mark if you can get replacements for it from apple or third parties. Lots of big questions about the mac pro.

Furthermore when single panel 4k monitors hit the D700 will likely not be able to run them.

 

[abluehaze]

The D700 is really your best option when it comes to gaming on a mac. The D300 behaves worse than the 680mx or 780m. The D500 behaves worse than a D300 in games.

Unless your willing to forkout for a 5,1 mp or a hackinitosh and put in consumer graphics cards there really are no real options.

But consider this in about 3 years that D700 won't be able to play games at its fullest settings and its a huge question mark if you can get replacements for it from apple or third parties. Lots of big questions about the mac pro.

Furthermore when single panel 4k monitors hit the D700 will likely not be able to run them.

What's a MP 5.1? It sure would have been nice if apple would have given us the option of configuring with more gaming consumer oriented cards as well. Getting kind of tired of Apple deciding what I want to do with a computer.

The way I'm seeing it is I either spend 5 grand on a nMP with dual 7's and replace it in 3 years or I spend 3 grand on a iMac w 780m and replace it in 2-3.

 

[theBigD23]

What's a MP 5.1? It sure would have been nice if apple would have given us the option of configuring with more gaming consumer oriented cards as well. Getting kind of tired of Apple deciding what I want to do with a computer.

The way I'm seeing it is I either spend 5 grand on a nMP with dual 7's and replace it in 3 years or I spend 3 grand on a iMac w 780m and replace it in 2-3.

I may be placing my bet on the wrong horse, however, I'm going to get a steam box. I can use it on my tv and play he latest games with a high end gaming card. I also rembering reading that we can stream games from the steam box to my computer. A great option.

Also reading in multiple places that the D300 is faster in gaming than the D500 is really interesting.

 

[2128506]

I may be placing my bet on the wrong horse, however, I'm going to get a steam box. I can use it on my tv and play he latest games with a high end gaming card.

Keep in mind, Steam Machine is Linux-powered. So definitely not all of the latest games will be available.

Most AAA games usually are released on consoles/windows and then maybe on OS X. Linux gaming at the moment has even smaller market share, than OS X. Not sure if Steam Machine will change that much - casual gamers would rather buy PS or Xbox, because "Linux is for nerds".

See http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey

 

[theBigD23]

Keep in mind, Steam Machine is Linux-powered. So definitely not all of the latest games will be available.

Most AAA games usually are released on consoles/windows and then maybe on OS X. Linux gaming at the moment has even smaller market share, than OS X. Not sure if Steam Machine will change that much - casual gamers would rather buy PS or Xbox, because "Linux is for nerds".

See http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey

Yes, true. But you can easily dual boot windows on it. I hope steam box is successful.