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Is Windows 7 worth installing through Boot Camp for future games?

D

doxavita

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 6, 2010
614
3
How's the prospect of the PC games at the moment, will there be cool PC games coming out? Is it still worth it to install Windows 7 through Boot Camp to have the flexibility of gaming shall the need arise? Are there any must have games that will be released in the future? Not sure whether to install through Boot Camp for gaming :confused:
 
Definitely. I'm running Windows 7 on my iMac now so I can play my library of Steam games, there are loads of PC games coming out it'd be silly to name them all!
 
that's just about the only way you can play games that are coming out unless it's stated that it will support os x at release. new games can usually never be ran on os x. however, there are some great titles for os x currently.

bootcamp is the best alternative if you want to use your mac for gaming.
 
If you love to play games then it is worth it. I put windows on every one of my Mac's. I only boot into windows though if I have the intention of gaming. I use OSX for everything else.
 
Boot Camp drive size

I'm going to do the same. Star Wars TOR sounds like is only going to be on pc at release. I'm curious, can you change the size of the boot drive easily after the fact? Is 100 GB enough for for the boot camp drive if I only plan on gaming with it?
 
Personally I have no desire to ever install Windows. It's an extra $100 and another OS to maintain. I have more than enough to keep me busy on the Mac OS side (including Crossover and Wine solutions) not to want to deal with that.

Maybe that means I'm not really a hardcore gamer. I don't know. It's just not worth it to me. However, if you think it's worth it to you it's admittedly the best way to go because you'll be able to play anything that comes out for either platform with no worries.

Good luck with whatever you decide. :)

-PN
 
Paulyboy said:
Personally I have no desire to ever install Windows. It's an extra $100 and another OS to maintain. I have more than enough to keep me busy on the Mac OS side (including Crossover and Wine solutions) not to want to deal with that.
Click to expand...

Maintaining Windows is no more troublesome than installing AVG and auto updates.
 
Dagless said:
Maintaining Windows is no more troublesome than installing AVG and auto updates.
Click to expand...

Perhaps to you. I know several people with Windows Laptops that have issues on occasion that they usually come to me (heh) about. Granted they're not very technically-orientated. I am to a certain degree, and I'm able to help them on occasion, but not every time. In any case my experiences with them (and Windows) has been enough to convince me that I don't want to have anything to do with Windows if I can help it. Not necessarily because it's inferior (it's really not) but rather it's different, thus something I would undoubtedly have to waste at least some time on at some point.

I have a busy life and I'm still learning things about Snow Leapord (and soon Lion). So rather than waste time installing an entirely different OS, and dealing with ANY issues that may arise with it, I'd rather focus what time I do have on what I already use.

I know this may be difficult to comprehend for many Bootcampers but believe it or not there's lots of people who just don't want to bother - just simply want to get games, launch them, and play them within the environment they're already familiar with. No extra hassle.

That said I'm actually not anti-Bootcamp or anything. It's really the ideal solution for people that want the capability of playing any game available for both platforms. But when I look at the backlog of Mac games I have to play, my time, the extra effort (however minimal or not) involved with committing to Windows, and to a lesser degree the cost ($100) it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

I should add I didn't intend to argue in this thread. I merely wanted to point out that there are different viewpoints regarding the OP's question.

It's not worth it for everybody.

-PN
 
Paulyboy said:
It's not worth it for everybody.

-PN
Click to expand...

I guess, it's probably easier for me since I work in OSX and Windows so I already have both.
But to me OSX and Windows 7 (at least) require virtually no maintenance beyond installing a virus scanner and keeping both systems up to date, especially if you don't do anything particularly risky.
 
haha... that's funny. people still talk about maintenance. you think that you don't need mac os x one? you are wrong. every damn OS requires maintenance. if you ignore, no matter what it is (including mac), it will go wrong. by the way, windows 7 is very easy to maintain. simply you don't know about it. so learning windows 7 requires to read some manual? NO more. just like mac os x, spending a week will be enough.

if you want to play game, you can't just ignore windows on boot camp. otherwise, you can't play great games whatsoever. do you think that some virtual desktop can do that? NO.
 
Yes, it's absolutely worthwhile to have Windows 7 bootcamped. I've been running W7 Ult 64 on my Late 2009 17" MBP for over a year now and absolutely adore having it as an option for gaming.

For awhile I was having some crash issues on the W7 side, but a patch fixed that. I believe the BSoD I was getting was related to a bad driver for the graphics card, but as I said, that issue has been resolved now. I haven't bluescreened for a very long time now.

As for space I went with 50GB on my bootcamp partition, but now I realize I would have preferred 100GB. I run Adobe Creative Suite on there ('cause all my other machines are W7, and I'm too cheap to send Adobe double the money just to use it on OSX). CS uses a lot of scratch disk room for what I do, and I prefer to keep that confined to my internal hard drive. I'm constantly having space issues with just 50GB.

For gaming I keep an external HD with all my games on it to conserve space on the internal and that works perfectly. I've run SWG, EQ2, AoC, STO, DCUO, Non-OSX Steam games, and others on the W7 side from my external, and they all run great. I do wish there were OSX clients for them though.... I play my games on OSX whenever I'm able--EVE Online, CoH/V, WAR, SC I & II, Portal 1 & 2, Minecraft, Fallen Earth.
 
archurban said:
haha... that's funny. people still talk about maintenance. you think that you don't need mac os x one? you are wrong. every damn OS requires maintenance. if you ignore, no matter what it is (including mac), it will go wrong. by the way, windows 7 is very easy to maintain. simply you don't know about it. so learning windows 7 requires to read some manual? NO more. just like mac os x, spending a week will be enough.

if you want to play game, you can't just ignore windows on boot camp. otherwise, you can't play great games whatsoever. do you think that some virtual desktop can do that? NO.
Click to expand...

Never said Mac OSX doesn't need maintenance. I merely said I'm use to Mac OSX. I also never implied I'm a Windows expert. In fact I admitted I'm not. As for spending a week getting to know Windows that's entirely my point. I don't want to play any Windows-only games bad enough to commit extra time out of my busy life like that to do so, especially since I already have a large backlog of Mac games I still need to play. I'm not alone in this thinking as well.

However, like I said before I agree Bootcamp is the way to go for some people. Please read and think about what was said before opening your pie hole. :p

-PN
 
Whilst I agree that Windows can be a chore, if you only use it to game you shouldn't have to do much other than install and update video drivers (for better performance.)

I initially thought having to reboot into Windows would be annoying but in fact it means you keep work and play separate. It's too easy to start a "quick" game that destroys any chance of productivity so having to make a conscious decision to reboot means you can focus on work/play.
 
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Games are the only things that keep Windows 7 installed on my MBP. If you're at all serious about gaming, you owe it to yourself to play the PC games that don't come to Mac. It's so worth it.
 
Mac-Rumours said:
Whilst I agree that Windows can be a chore, if you only use it to game you shouldn't have to do much other than install and update video drivers (for better performance.)

I initially thought having to reboot into Windows would be annoying but in fact it means you keep work and play separate. It's too easy to start a "quick" game that destroys any chance of productivity so having to make a conscious decision to reboot means you can focus on work/play.
Click to expand...

Rebooting actually wouldn't bother me and that's a good point about productivity.

But when I have Civ 4 Complete, Civ 5, Rome: TW, The Sims 3 + Expansions, Portal 2, Half Life 2, Avadon, and Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy, just to name a few why should I bother with Bootcamp? All these games are either unfinished or vastly underplayed despite the fact that they are all excellent games. Plus I only have so much time to play games (not enough for even OSX games).

That said why would I want to spend $100 on Windows and take the extra time to setup and maintain a Bootcamp partition (even if it's as trivial as some people insist it is)? So I can spend more money on more excellent games (like The Witcher 2) only to see them added to the already long queue of underplayed excellent games?

I have no problem whatsoever with Bootcamp and people who choose to use it. I've said it before and I'll say it again - it's the best way to play EVERY game available for personal computers (PC & Mac). The problem lies with people who are seemingly astonished with people who don't use Bootcamp for gaming and instead stick with OS X for that. They just can't seem to grasp the concept - why anybody would do such a thing (gasp!). :eek:

-PN
 
Paulyboy said:
I have no problem whatsoever with Bootcamp and people who choose to use it. I've said it before and I'll say it again - it's the best way to play EVERY game available for personal computers (PC & Mac). The problem lies with people who are seemingly astonished with people who don't use Bootcamp for gaming and instead stick with OS X for that. They just can't seem to grasp the concept - why anybody would do such a thing (gasp!). :eek:
Click to expand...

one of the reasons I make Wineskin :) Port the games yourself if no one else has :)
 
All performance reviews and comparisons between gaming performance on OS X and Windows 7 (with the same hardware, of course), point to a solid win for Windows. That in itself is enough for many serious gamers to run Windows via bootcamp, even for games that are available on the Macintosh platform.*

If this matters to you, Windows should be on your list. Of course, the performance in OS X might be more than good enough for you.


* (Frankly it doesn't matter whether the performance gains are due to the superiority of Windows with regards to graphics solutions, bad Mac drivers, or less optimized Mac games. Probably a combination).
 
Dagless said:
Maintaining Windows is no more troublesome than installing AVG and auto updates.
Click to expand...

Not to be argumentative, but I've found Windows to be very troublesome as compared to the MacOsX and I've been using Windows since W98. There is more **** that goes on in Windows, than the Mac can even imagine. ;)
 
Huntn said:
Not to be argumentative, but I've found Windows to be very troublesome as compared to the MacOsX and I've been using Windows since W98. There is more **** that goes on in Windows, than the Mac can even imagine. ;)
Click to expand...

Oh in the old days it was like that. Back when OS9 was the most painful OS in existence though :D
Even Windows XP is a cake walk. All I ever had to do for my 5 years with XP was defragment once a week, install AVG, auto windows update. That system lasted me for 5 years. Windows 7 is much the same.

I guess it depends on how well you take care of your system too. I've been called out to help reinstall Windows for my friends PCs several times in a year!
 
jp70 said:
I'm going to do the same. Star Wars TOR sounds like is only going to be on pc at release. I'm curious, can you change the size of the boot drive easily after the fact? Is 100 GB enough for for the boot camp drive if I only plan on gaming with it?
Click to expand...

I used iPartition to change the size of my drives when/if needed. Works without too many problems. But these days I just install my games (Steam and non-Steam) on an external drive. Load times are a little longer (only seems like a few seconds more), but with games these days at 15-20 GB per, I don't need to worry with a big external HDD.
 
Huntn said:
Not to be argumentative, but I've found Windows to be very troublesome as compared to the MacOsX and I've been using Windows since W98. There is more **** that goes on in Windows, than the Mac can even imagine. ;)
Click to expand...

I agree, but gaming on Win7 and doing everything else in OSX has been easy breezey for me. Maybe it's because I'm not installing a bunch of other crap on Windows to do different things, I'm just switching out games that I want to play?
 
I bought my first mac two days ago and would love to load a windows partition but I don't have any windows install disks anymore. :(
 
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