Mac vs PC..... Gaming vs. Music Production.... Help?

[sdmfrocker14]

So my problem is that I'm a musician that needs to run Mac OSX for music production with Garage Band and Logic and such, but I need to run Windows (preferable windows 7) for gaming and internet and school work. I want to do a dual boot, but its not possible to do one on a PC without hacking Mac OS. So I was thinking about getting a new iMac 21.5", but there was one problem. I want to be able to run games and movies and whatever else that needs good graphics at fairly decent if not maxed out settings. This would be easy to do on a PC I could build myself off of Newegg.com. But since I need a Mac to run Mac OS, its not an option. So basically what I'm wondering is, how well will the new iMac 21.5" run newer games such as WOW, Counterstrike, Fallout 3, and such games, because the specs on the graphics card choices aren't too impressive, although I am not an expert when it comes to graphics cards.?

By the way... Yes I realize that I could use Logic or Pro Tools on a PC for recording, however the peripherals I would be using are firewire, only supported by Mac OS, or both. (audio interfaces and such.)

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[mastershakess]

You will be able to play WOW, Counterstrike, and Fallout 3 on the base iMac 21.5 but I would recommend the next tier up with the ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256MB. The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics will play those game but on mid-low setting and they won't look all that impressive. The ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics with 512MB would be your better bet.

Just to play devils advocate:
Why not a Mac Mini and a gaming PC? You could build a nice gaming PC (better than the ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics with 512MB 27" iMac) for $500-700 and pick up a Mac Mini for $599.99. All you would need is a monitor of your choice and it will cost much less than the 27" iMac with the decent graphic card.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

That depends on which one you're looking at. The 21.5" with the Radeon 4670 will be ok at playing WoW, but you will probably need to run at lower than max settings. The 256MB on that card will be holding you back on pretty much all of the latest games from trying to run at max settings. It is a very decent machine though.

Firewire works on Windows, though. It is available on many motherboards now. I'm not sure about Firewire compatibility with the software you use, but the interface is available on more than just Macs.

 

[MacKiddyWiddy]

get the highest 21.5 " mac with the radeon graphics and then install windows on bootcamp then you get the best of both worlds

 

[mastershakess]

get the highest 21.5 " mac with the radeon graphics and then install windows on bootcamp then you get the best of both worlds

Even that won't play those games that well, decent but nothing great. Not sure how important the game play is to the OP.