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Is a Mac better than PC for Heavy High End Gaming?

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On the topic of gaming, which is better, Xbox or PS3?

While we're at it, let's also take a look at KDE vs. Gnome.

Oooh... oooh! And let's have a discussion about microkernels vs. monolithic kernels, too!!!

This should be fun!
 
troll_2.jpg
 
I'll bite.

I prefer using my 2006 iMac (under Bootcamp) for gaming over my powerful desktop PC. I invested a lot in getting it quiet, I build these for fun so I know what I'm doing. But since I play games at night after work I use the iMac instead. It breaks into a sweat but in 4 years it's never been too loud that I can't hear it over my games.
Also on my iMac I can run OS9, OSX and Windows games.
The iMac boots faster, smaller profile, uses less power, more reliable. Just the other week I tried booting up my desktop PC and it would crash on the Windows loading screen, it was missing a file and took about 30 minutes to fix which could have been spent having fun with my friends online.

My next machine will be a maxed out iMac for the above reasons. They're quiet, efficient and reliable (6 years in and I've never had a hardware problem with any of my macs or iPods).

I'm also more interested in how games work than how they look, I'm happy to play on the lowest settings to ensure a smooth and constant framerate (even on my best computer).
 
combatcolin said:
Self Build a gaming PC.

Much, mcuh better value for money than any Mac.

If Steve played games then maybe it would be different, Bill's not a a gamer either - but at least he realised there was big moneywere suckers who would pay $700 for 1 more FPS, every six months in gaming.
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FTFY.
 
I don't know why anyone would want to play games on the computer. Just get a 360 or a PS3 and be done with it. Gaming PCs and Macs that are maxed out are just a waste of money when you can get an Xbox for $300 IMO.

To the OP, stop trolling. Get a mac if you want to do real work and not deal with the hassles that come with windows during day to day tasks as they are not designed with hardcore gaming in mind
 
DaREdBaRoN said:
I don't know why anyone would want to play games on the computer. Just get a 360 or a PS3 and be done with it. Gaming PCs and Macs that are maxed out are just a waste of money when you can get an Xbox for $300 IMO.
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You've clearly never played a PC game at full settings. The graphics can be mind blowing; the best console graphics look like child's play once you've seen a game on a fast PC. Plus using a mouse gives you unparalleled control when compared to a console controller. Not to mention the ability to install mods, run trainers and other fun stuff.
 
DaREdBaRoN said:
I don't know why anyone would want to play games on the computer. Just get a 360 or a PS3 and be done with it. Gaming PCs and Macs that are maxed out are just a waste of money when you can get an Xbox for $300 IMO.
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Because consoles are a more casual experience than playing on a PC. You get less bang for your buck, DLC is rarely free, you're limited with control options, games look worse, (on the xbox) you have to pay extra to play online, locked into a closed system, games cost more, can't install mods, games are dumbed down compared to their PC alternatives. In a nutshell you just get way more control on a PC than console.
Nono, you really do get what you pay for with PC gaming. They are better. And it needn't cost the earth. I built a PC last summer than runs Crysis on max settings (at 1680x1050 resolution) for just £500.
 
I guess i'm just not a hardcore enough gamer to care about the extra stuff that you can do on the PC. I do like playing RTS games like AOE and Command and Conquer and of course civilization cause the console version sucked on my macbook occasionally, but I'm fine using my xbox for gears. I mostly use my computer for work only, otherwise I would get distracted and end up playing games all night :D
 
The OP does sound like a big fat troll. :)

Nevertheless, I wouldn't touch a Mac for gaming with a 10 foot pole. My current AMD-based rig that's probably worth a few hundred at this point will run circles around even a Mac Pro in most games. It's a quad-core Phenom II 940 with 8GB RAM, VelociRaptor 300GB main drive, dual GTX260/216 in SLI, SB X-Fi and 850W power supply. I believe that I can build a much better and cheaper gaming PC than Apple anyway. Aside from one specific game, I'm yet to see any games that were sluggish at 1900x1200 proving that there is no need to overpay for an Intel CPU yet again. My main rigs have been exclusively AMD-based since since early 2002.

While it's running XP x64, I haven't tried Mac OS on it but my Macbook with 8GB of RAM feels like a turtle compared to the PC. I love the design of portable Macs but Mac Mini aside they're pretty bad values when it comes to desktops. A properly tuned and configured PC will absolutely own practically any Mac on games at any given time and for far less money.
 
Ok, have the "mighty Mac Pro or the IMac beat this:
Specifications:
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 4.0 GHz with Hyper threading and Turbo boost
System Memory: 12GB DDR3 1600MHz
Video Card: 2x SLI Quad NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 2GB each
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Hard drive 1: 1x 500GB Western Digital 16MB Cache 7200 RPM
Hard Drive 2: 1x 1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA Extreme Speed
All of this with a 5 Year warranty with life-time US based support. all for only 4000. I can play Crysis and GTA 4 on max settings with no lag.

Synchromesh said:
A properly tuned and configured PC will absolutely own practically any Mac on games at any given time and for far less money.
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Especially my PC and your PC...
 
Firebolt059 said:
Ok, have the "mighty Mac Pro or the IMac beat this:
Specifications:
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 4.0 GHz with Hyper threading and Turbo boost
System Memory: 12GB DDR3 1600MHz
Video Card: 2x SLI Quad NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 2GB each
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Hard drive 1: 1x 500GB Western Digital 16MB Cache 7200 RPM
Hard Drive 2: 1x 1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA Extreme Speed
All of this with a 5 Year warranty with life-time US based support. all for only 4000. I can play Crysis and GTA 4 on max settings with no lag.
Click to expand...


No one on here is under any illusion that a PC is more suited to gaming and that options are limited on Apple's platform. Did you just want to brag about buying a $4,000 PC because that is how this whole thread comes across after this post.

If people want to use their Macs to play games they can, they have mac games, web games and games via an alternative OS install or virtualisation. There isn't a game out there written for an x86 architecture that is unplayable on any current Apple system with a dedicated graphics card.
 
Umbongo said:
If people want to use their Macs to play games they can, they have mac games, web games and games via an alternative OS install or virtualisation. There isn't a game out there written for an x86 architecture that is unplayable on any current Apple system with a dedicated graphics card.
Click to expand...

I've seen some flash based games bring my late 2006 MBP to its knees. They definitely slow the computer noticeably, to the point where it's less taxing on the CPU to virtualize Vista than run the game natively.
 
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