Honestly, for gaming rig... must as well go high-end PC windows system. For casual gaming it would be fine
Yeah, I guess 40 would be fine for games like Fallout New Vegas and such... for casual gaming, that is.
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Macbook Air 11'' gaming performance?
- Thread starter luffytubby
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Yeah, I guess 40 would be fine for games like Fallout New Vegas and such... for casual gaming, that is.
Crysis 2 demo
I thought I would share a Youtube video I uploaded today showing how the 11" Air does with an intensive game like Crysis 2. I know that gaming on the Air seems frowned on by a lot of "non-gaming" Air owners, but I really enjoy having a sleek, small and ultraportable notebook like the Air that can also handle some gaming and video playback. I found the playability for Crysis 2 is decent and I manage to get between 20-25 fps using stock Apple drivers and no overclocking the gpu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPZ6nG8Mge4
I thought I would share a Youtube video I uploaded today showing how the 11" Air does with an intensive game like Crysis 2. I know that gaming on the Air seems frowned on by a lot of "non-gaming" Air owners, but I really enjoy having a sleek, small and ultraportable notebook like the Air that can also handle some gaming and video playback. I found the playability for Crysis 2 is decent and I manage to get between 20-25 fps using stock Apple drivers and no overclocking the gpu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPZ6nG8Mge4
I would think the answer obvious: they have a MacBook Air and they want to use it to play games. They do not want to go and buy some other machine to play games on.
Obvious answer is obvious?
Except that no-one in their right mind would buy an Air as a gaming rig.
However to have an Air for other reasons and then want to play games on it as well (the position I am in) is completely reasonable and makes a nonsense of the dweebs whose only response is to tell you to buy something else.
I've owned a 17"MBP- far too big and heavy, I currently own a 2011 MBP 15" that never leaves the house and rarely even gets used- it's too heavy and big.
The 17" and 15" are what used to be called "luggables" you move them from one fixed site to another and use them there. Neither are comfortable to actually use on your lap- if for no other reason than that I value my gonads.
So what do I use? I use a Mac Pro at home and an Air on the move and an iPad on the couch and on the train.
My ideal setup would be: Mac Pro at home and some i-device that could morph between being an iPad (must have the touch screen) and an Air (must be able to run anything, including terminal/shell, attach a proper keyboard and mouse) and of course the UI for the OS and all of the apps would have to work perfectly with both touch and mouse+pointer.
I can dream
Gaming Frame rates on a stock MBA 11"
Okay, so a nice honest answer to your question. I took my sister's MBA 11" 2011 netbook and installed some games on it. Some of this was a pain due to the fact that they are not available for Mac computers.
Crysis - PC bootcamp - High Settings (5 fps) Low Settings (14 FPS)
Crysis 2 - Mac OS High Settings (Freezes) Low Settings (24 FPS)
Fallout New Vegas – Mac – High Settings (8 FPS) Low Settings (22 FPS)
Borderlands GOTY – Mac – High Settings (11 FPS) Low Settings (28 FPS)
World of Warcraft – Mac – High Settings (wont set) Low Settings (34 FPS)
Skyrim – PC Bootcamp (it’s what I had, not sure if there is a mac….?) High Settings (Freezes) Low Settings (7 FPS)
That is all that I tried. Looks like you could play Wow at low settings, ignoring screen space issues. Wouldn’t be terrible for a train commute with wifi… other than slow wifi speeds you’re likely to get on a train. Other than that, most newer games will be playable, albeit slower than 30fps, at low settings. Anything above low leaves you unplayable.
You can almost definitely play older mainstream games, like oblivion, or starcraft, without too much trouble. If you can get them installed and running. WOW does take up a third of the hard drive space in this thing though.
Not as a fanboy comment, but I would say if you are looking at using a machine for gaming, stick with a macbook pro or, if you aren’t against using a PC, a windows 7 gaming laptop. Both will run most games, and are less expensive due to their increase in bulk. If you are looking for simple arcade gaming, or are content with the classics, the air will do.
Okay, so a nice honest answer to your question. I took my sister's MBA 11" 2011 netbook and installed some games on it. Some of this was a pain due to the fact that they are not available for Mac computers.
Crysis - PC bootcamp - High Settings (5 fps) Low Settings (14 FPS)
Crysis 2 - Mac OS High Settings (Freezes) Low Settings (24 FPS)
Fallout New Vegas – Mac – High Settings (8 FPS) Low Settings (22 FPS)
Borderlands GOTY – Mac – High Settings (11 FPS) Low Settings (28 FPS)
World of Warcraft – Mac – High Settings (wont set) Low Settings (34 FPS)
Skyrim – PC Bootcamp (it’s what I had, not sure if there is a mac….?) High Settings (Freezes) Low Settings (7 FPS)
That is all that I tried. Looks like you could play Wow at low settings, ignoring screen space issues. Wouldn’t be terrible for a train commute with wifi… other than slow wifi speeds you’re likely to get on a train. Other than that, most newer games will be playable, albeit slower than 30fps, at low settings. Anything above low leaves you unplayable.
You can almost definitely play older mainstream games, like oblivion, or starcraft, without too much trouble. If you can get them installed and running. WOW does take up a third of the hard drive space in this thing though.
Not as a fanboy comment, but I would say if you are looking at using a machine for gaming, stick with a macbook pro or, if you aren’t against using a PC, a windows 7 gaming laptop. Both will run most games, and are less expensive due to their increase in bulk. If you are looking for simple arcade gaming, or are content with the classics, the air will do.
To answer my own question, EVE runs fine on low settings. I have the 13" i7 with the largest hard drive, and largest memory they offered.
On lowish settings it also does a descent job for skyrim.
If the Ivy Bridge GPU is as good as some early access people are saying, the next gen Airs will be very competent.
I am hearing 7000-8000 in 3dmark06 (depending on the CPU). That is what a C2D with a 9800m was scoring a few years ago.
A 6750m is good for 10,000-11,000.
I am hearing 7000-8000 in 3dmark06 (depending on the CPU). That is what a C2D with a 9800m was scoring a few years ago.
A 6750m is good for 10,000-11,000.
AnandTech says about 30% increase in 3Dmark06, so it should be around 6000-6500. 8000 is way out of range. For comparison purpose, the 6630m found in the Mac Mini scores about 7000 in 3Dmark06. 6750m is about 9000, not 10k-11k unless you overclock.
This is not the case. The problem is people want to use the built-in hardware. You NEED a mouse to game, and not just a magic mouse.
You NEED a real display to game. Go buy a 20" moniter. you can find them for really cheap these days.
You NEED to mess with the graphics settings. Often people complain it is running slow while performance is as simple as turning off shadows or turning down texture resolution. My macbook 13" back from 2008 runs Starcraft 2 nice and smooth. I hook it up to the 22" and the logitech mouse and its like a full gaming rig. Only difference is unless you've got the 15" or 17" youre probably not getting to run the high graphic settings.
Cheers!
PS: Try bootcamp if you want more game selection. And sorry, but it is true that you probably wont get to play the brand new games. There are plenty of slightly older greats out there.
I am so amused reading some of the comments
The situation is simple:
-if you wanna only game on the mba, is a waste of money (a pc cost less)
-if you use osx to work and want the occasional session at cs or similar games, the mba is perfect
-if you are a casual gamer that play old games, it works like magic.
-if you expect to play modern games at 10 fps and ridiculous settings, you are better off buying a different laptop and save a lot of money....these games were made to be enjoyed with big monitors and at high details and resolution, so you are simply killing them if you wanna play them in a scaled down version (it works if you are away for work and cannot resist the urge to frag someone or gotta play skyrim; but honestly that's what home computers are made for).
You can do what you want with your mba, but consider pros and cons...I use it for old games or to play LOTRO and STO via bootcamp, and it is sufficient if I am away from home; but is not really what I would take with me, if I would have the chance to choose between a mpb and a mba.
I am against who says that you cannot use it for gaming, since it is a working computer (just for internet? you gotta be kiddin me....that's what the netbooks are for); but it is not even fair to set everything to minimum just to play a game and waste the experience; so check what games you wanna play and decide if it is worth to buy the mba or if is better to sacrifice a bit of portability and get a different computer.
The situation is simple:
-if you wanna only game on the mba, is a waste of money (a pc cost less)
-if you use osx to work and want the occasional session at cs or similar games, the mba is perfect
-if you are a casual gamer that play old games, it works like magic.
-if you expect to play modern games at 10 fps and ridiculous settings, you are better off buying a different laptop and save a lot of money....these games were made to be enjoyed with big monitors and at high details and resolution, so you are simply killing them if you wanna play them in a scaled down version (it works if you are away for work and cannot resist the urge to frag someone or gotta play skyrim; but honestly that's what home computers are made for).
You can do what you want with your mba, but consider pros and cons...I use it for old games or to play LOTRO and STO via bootcamp, and it is sufficient if I am away from home; but is not really what I would take with me, if I would have the chance to choose between a mpb and a mba.
I am against who says that you cannot use it for gaming, since it is a working computer (just for internet? you gotta be kiddin me....that's what the netbooks are for); but it is not even fair to set everything to minimum just to play a game and waste the experience; so check what games you wanna play and decide if it is worth to buy the mba or if is better to sacrifice a bit of portability and get a different computer.
Has anyone had any success running Diablo 3 on a Macbook Air?
I have the top-end 11in model and just wondered.
Also agree with the general macbook air gaming sentiment. It's not so much that I want to game, so I bought a macbook air. It's more that I have a macbook air and am interested in what it's capable of
I have the top-end 11in model and just wondered.
Also agree with the general macbook air gaming sentiment. It's not so much that I want to game, so I bought a macbook air. It's more that I have a macbook air and am interested in what it's capable of
Has anyone had any success running Diablo 3 on a Macbook Air?
I have the top-end 11in model and just wondered.
Also agree with the general macbook air gaming sentiment. It's not so much that I want to game, so I bought a macbook air. It's more that I have a macbook air and am interested in what it's capable of
I've run it on my 11", it runs pretty poorly. My MacBook Pro from 2007 runs it better.