Half Life 2 (CSS/DODS) - Game Play Review (iMac Intel Windows)

[truz]

@truz:
Do you know if the 256MB on the GPU are really used? I can't decide whether I want the high or low end iMac/MBP.

I would say the extra vram helps when your playing on high settings with everything set to high. I would go with the 256mb vram. You won't see difference in 128 or 256 unless your game play is stressing the video card at times, then the extra 128 comes in handy. It's only a $75 upgrade and you won't be able to upgrade later without voiding your warranty ;/

As for the iMac Intel 2.0Ghz 17" game play its going to be the same, you will have a smaller screen and only 128mb vram but its still going to give the same fps as its the same card (x1600) you can overclock them a little bit, but I would not do that until your warranty ends as the imacs themself run a little hot and you don't want to make them run any hotter. If you have a small fan you can put around your imac to suck some of the heat out then I would give the overclock a go (small overclock, dont go crazy).

I would also look on ebay as you can find a 20" imac intel with the 17" specs for the same price as the 17" maybe a few bucks more not much tho. ebay.com is great for buying brand new (with warranty) apple products. When I buy my second one (if I don't buy a newer upgraded version right when it comes out) I'll be using ebay for sure as they have great deals.

 

[truz]

How does everyone think BF2 would run with the 2.0/1gb/256mb Macbook? Im anxious to find out, as ill be getting one soon...

I think it will run great I would get an extra gig of memory tho for 2GB. More memory helps and will speed things up a bit.

 

[ntrsfrml]

How does everyone think BF2 would run with the 2.0/1gb/256mb Macbook? Im anxious to find out, as ill be getting one soon...

Check Gordy's review here http://www.gordyhand.co.uk/winxponmac.htm

 

[Mav451]

So, I need steam even though I bought the CD for $49.95? That is the epitome of stupidity.

Hehe you Mac guys are like 1.5 years late on the Steam discussion. I think many eventually accept it as a necessary evil. Especially if you consider how useless having JUST a cd-key was in CS1.6 (did absolutely nothing). Considering the alternatives (Starforce, rootkits, spyware & other ********), I think I'd take steam over those.

 

[Gordy]

How does everyone think BF2 would run with the 2.0/1gb/256mb Macbook? Im anxious to find out, as ill be getting one soon...

Check out the vids on my page linked kindly again by ntrsfrml

Check Gordy's review here http://www.gordyhand.co.uk/winxponmac.htm

BF2 is VERY ram hungry, anything less than 2gb and you will have problems, with 2gb it runs very well.

 

[Gordy]

Hehe you Mac guys are like 1.5 years late on the Steam discussion. I think many eventually accept it as a necessary evil. Especially if you consider how useless having JUST a cd-key was in CS1.6 (did absolutely nothing). Considering the alternatives (Starforce, rootkits, spyware & other ********), I think I'd take steam over those.

Couldnt agree more!

I wouldn't bother buying hl2 cd's just buy it through steam and download it. Far easier that way.

 

[MrCrowbar]

[...]
I would also look on ebay as you can find a 20" imac intel with the 17" specs for the same price as the 17" maybe a few bucks more not much tho. ebay.com is great for buying brand new (with warranty) apple products. When I buy my second one (if I don't buy a newer upgraded version right when it comes out) I'll be using ebay for sure as they have great deals.

Thanks a lot for your info. Too bad you can't uprgade VRAM on the 17" iMac. Oh well, who cares, I need a big HD anyway and some RAM... I might as well pick up the 20" for a few buks more. I prefer not buying it on eBay this time, besides I get some nice student deals if I buy on the online store.

So now I'm choosing wetween the 20" iMac (plus a low end Macbook because I need a portable) and the 2.0 GHz Macbook Pro. Since the MBP has pretty much the same specs as the 20" iMac (only smaller resolution), games should work fine, right? But I don't want a whining flickering one... could it happen that I get one of those when I buy it on Apple's online store? I mean, they should have the most recent stock.

 

[ntrsfrml]

Check out the vids on my page linked kindly again by ntrsfrml




BF2 is VERY ram hungry, anything less than 2gb and you will have problems, with 2gb it runs very well.

BF-2 is ram hungry, but if you have 1GB or up it should play fine.. I played it w/ 1GB on PC and now 1.5Gb on iMac. 2Gb is way too expensive for me

Couldnt agree more!

I wouldn't bother buying hl2 cd's just buy it through steam and download it. Far easier that way.

Gordy is right, Also the CD version costs more..Atleast here @ Bestbuy and Futureshop places(Canada).. Buy it online, grab the Silver or Gold Package..You also get lots of extra's like Day of Defeat: source and HL-1 source, etc..

Buy it online, leave the Steam to update overnight..Play it in the morning

 

[Gordy]

BF-2 is ram hungry, but if you have 1GB or up it should play fine.. I played it w/ 1GB on PC and now 1.5Gb on iMac. 2Gb is way too expensive for me




Gordy is right, Also the CD version costs more..Atleast here @ Bestbuy and Futureshop places(Canada).. Buy it online, grab the Silver or Gold Package..You also get lots of extra's like Day of Defeat: source and HL-1 source, etc..

Buy it online, leave the Steam to update overnight..Play it in the morning

Trust me the difference between 1gb and 2gb is night and day. It takes only 20-30seconds to get into a map with 2gb

 

[ntrsfrml]

Trust me the difference between 1gb and 2gb is night and day. It takes only 20-30seconds to get into a map with 2gb

You are absolutely right.. there is a significant amount of diff. there.. Maps load 10-20 secconds faster w/ 2Gb ram..But its not like you really need 2GB to play BF-2 . Game play is fine w/ 1Gb and up.

 

[Nar1117]

I think ill get the 2.0/1gb/256 version, play with it, and then decide to upgrade to 2 gb of Ram or not. My budget wont allow me to upgrade to 2 gb on the spot.

And Gordy... That review was done with a maxed out macbook right? My friend has a 2.4 ghz, 1gb ram, and a 128 mb. vcard (dont remember the model) and Bf2 runs great on medium settings... which dont look *that* much worse than on high settings. From what ive heard, Bf2 will run with 40+ Fps average on medium settings on the 1.83/1gb/128mb Macbook... what do you think about this? is this about right?

 

[Gordy]

I think ill get the 2.0/1gb/256 version, play with it, and then decide to upgrade to 2 gb of Ram or not. My budget wont allow me to upgrade to 2 gb on the spot.

And Gordy... That review was done with a maxed out macbook right? My friend has a 2.4 ghz, 1gb ram, and a 128 mb. vcard (dont remember the model) and Bf2 runs great on medium settings... which dont look *that* much worse than on high settings. From what ive heard, Bf2 will run with 40+ Fps average on medium settings on the 1.83/1gb/128mb Macbook... what do you think about this? is this about right?

I ran it with everything on medium. The difference between medium and max is sweet fa tbh

BF2 and windows consumes just over 1.3gb of ram when running so 2gb really allows it to run properly you will hear lots of hard disc action when running with a gb. On my 3ghz p4 and x800xt setup 1gb of ram was pretty frustrating I upgraded to 2gb within a day hehe.

 

[Nar1117]

I ran it with everything on medium. The difference between medium and max is sweet fa tbh

BF2 and windows consumes just over 1.3gb of ram when running so 2gb really allows it to run properly you will hear lots of hard disc action when running with a gb. On my 3ghz p4 and x800xt setup 1gb of ram was pretty frustrating I upgraded to 2gb within a day hehe.

How many FPS did you get with the macbook? Your PC? And how did the 1gb on the PC (that you upgraded) effect the performance? was it just the loading of maps or did it affect the FPS a lot?

And so you're saying that if i get 1gb, its playable, but i really need at least 2gb to run it well?

 

[Spartacus]

Is this even possible?

I would say the extra vram helps when your playing on high settings with everything set to high. I would go with the 256mb vram. You won't see difference in 128 or 256 unless your game play is stressing the video card at times, then the extra 128 comes in handy. It's only a $75 upgrade and you won't be able to upgrade later without voiding your warranty ;/

Is this even possible? I understand that it will void the warranty and is strongly advised against, but is it feasible to one day go out and buy an x1900 or something (once the mobility version is released, I'm sure) and put it in my 20" Intel iMac? If so that would be really great, considering the potential upgradeablity of the processor.

I hope this is possible, because that would mean we might finally be at a point where when the iMac gets a little outdated and needing to be replaced it won't be taking a beautiful 20" LCD down with it!

 

[Mav451]

How many FPS did you get with the macbook? Your PC? And how did the 1gb on the PC (that you upgraded) effect the performance? was it just the loading of maps or did it affect the FPS a lot?

And so you're saying that if i get 1gb, its playable, but i really need at least 2gb to run it well?

Only BF2 and Oblivion really need 2GB of RAM. And I mean, in-game -- loading maps, without question, is faster with 2GB of RAM. But those I think are the only games that could also use the extra RAM during gameplay. I think Corsair had some propaganda about that (when only BF2 was out)...but now with Oblivion I think it's safe to say that it will be useful for more than one game.

Haha, I found it: http://www.corsairmemory.com/corsair/products/tech/AN506_1GB_vs_2GB.pdf

 

[Nar1117]

Only BF2 and Oblivion really need 2GB of RAM. And I mean, in-game -- loading maps, without question, is faster with 2GB of RAM. But those I think are the only games that could also use the extra RAM during gameplay. I think Corsair had some propaganda about that (when only BF2 was out)...but now with Oblivion I think it's safe to say that it will be useful for more than one game.

Haha, I found it: http://www.corsairmemory.com/corsair/products/tech/AN506_1GB_vs_2GB.pdf

Thats a good report... It shows that on an intel system, the difference between 1 gb and 2 gb RAM in BF2 is 20% increase.

 

[ntrsfrml]

Ok, i just downloaded the BF-2 demo..ran it @ 1024x768(I couldn't find 1440x900 reso in BF-2 settings), everything on medium settings, no AA..System specs >> 1.83Ghz Intel core duo iMac, 512mb ram (1Gb stick willbe here on Monday), x1600 128Mb. The game runs fine without a glitch.. sure the map loading takes 10-20 seconds more.. But once you are in then its smooth.. I do recommend getting 2GB for BF-2, but if you just wanna test the game play..it runs fine w/ 512mb too.. I was flying chopper, planes.. no glitches or lags..so no crashes

 

[ntrsfrml]

How do you take screenshot in windows/using Mac keyboard? There is no Print screen button

 

[Gordy]

Ok, i just downloaded the BF-2 demo..ran it @ 1024x768(I couldn't find 1440x900 reso in BF-2 settings), everything on medium settings, no AA..System specs >> 1.83Ghz Intel core duo iMac, 512mb ram (1Gb stick willbe here on Monday), x1600 128Mb. The game runs fine without a glitch.. sure the map loading takes 10-20 seconds more.. But once you are in then its smooth.. I do recommend getting 2GB for BF-2, but if you just wanna test the game play..it runs fine w/ 512mb too.. I was flying chopper, planes.. no glitches or lags..so no crashes

you need to stick the following in shortcut path at the end of the fullscreen 1 bit

+szx 1440 +szy 900

That gives the correct res

http://www.thegamebooks.com/battlefield-2-widescreen-hack-t49.html

It takes a lot longer to load the maps with 1gb it was like watching paint dry, I used to miss the first 5mins of any map. Now I get in one of the first

 

[Nar1117]

you need to stick the following in shortcut path at the end of the fullscreen 1 bit

+szx 1440 +szy 900

That gives the correct res

http://www.thegamebooks.com/battlefield-2-widescreen-hack-t49.html

It takes a lot longer to load the maps with 1gb it was like watching paint dry, I used to miss the first 5mins of any map. Now I get in one of the first

Did the 2 gigs RAM only help with the map loading?

 

[truz]

Thanks a lot for your info. Too bad you can't uprgade VRAM on the 17" iMac. Oh well, who cares, I need a big HD anyway and some RAM... I might as well pick up the 20" for a few buks more. I prefer not buying it on eBay this time, besides I get some nice student deals if I buy on the online store.

So now I'm choosing wetween the 20" iMac (plus a low end Macbook because I need a portable) and the 2.0 GHz Macbook Pro. Since the MBP has pretty much the same specs as the 20" iMac (only smaller resolution), games should work fine, right? But I don't want a whining flickering one... could it happen that I get one of those when I buy it on Apple's online store? I mean, they should have the most recent stock.

Apple's student discount is worthless lol, the only thing your going to save is state taxes apple is going to charge you which is free if you go with amazon.com and you also get a rebate making is cheaper then apple.com even with your student discounts as I used mine and got my imac from apple. It cost me more with apple and I will never do it again. My next imac will come from ebay.com or amazon.com. I purchase on a daily basis from ebay and it's very trust worthly if you know what your doing and who to purchase from. Look for members who have a large amount of feedback (500+) and 20+ recent feedback within the last 2 months. You also can buy buyers protection from paypal and they will refund your money on the spot if everything is not as stated in the auction. buyers protections is worthless tho as if they deal with ebay they deal with paypal and have funds in there account, so if all fails and you don't like it, paypal will refund your money it just takes a bit longer for a refund without buyer protection. I don't mind the wait when things happen as this happens to me alot with dvd's on ebay. People keep sending me region 9 dvd's when the auction states region 1, I have gotten about 7 free region 9 dvd's within the last month as they don't ask for the disks to be resent back and they refund my money 100% and leave A+ feedback. I would highly recommended buying from ebay for savings but if you want to spend more money I would go with amazon.com as it's still cheaper then apple.com. Apple screws everyone with sales tax they charge.

 

[MrCrowbar]

I know, but Amazon isn't cheaper here. It's the same price as Apple. I did lots of stuff on eBay already, but this will be my first Mac I actually own so I'd like to have direct support. I'll either buy a Macbook Pro (if the bugs are out soon) or an iMac-Macbook combination. Everything is Rev A so good service is more important than saving 50 bucks for me.

I found one store here that's cheaper than the official Apple store (with Student prices), but it's a very dubious store... I don't want a counterfeit iMac that's actually an aquarium. That's just nit worth saving 10 bucks.

But thanks for the advise. The Apple Online Store is best for Europe if you want the service.

 

[truz]

As long as the unit is brand new on ebay, amazon or anywhere else they all include 12 months of support and warranty from apple directly, regardless where you buy it from. I could sell you my imac now and transfer my 3 year warranty with no problems and it be directly with apple.com.

 

[Gordy]

Did the 2 gigs RAM only help with the map loading?

It gives a boost throughout as the computer doesnt have to keep going back to the hard disc for the rest of the info

 

[Nar1117]

It gives a boost throughout as the computer doesnt have to keep going back to the hard disc for the rest of the info

A friend of mine upgraded from 512 to 1 gb, and saw a big difference, and his plays very well. I think ill upgrade to 2gb in the future, seeing all the praise you give it.