macbook pro ultrawide screen for gaming at 144hz without bootcamp?

[mith3654]

Hi,

I play a blizzard game called Heroes Of The Storm after work on my Macbook pro 13 inch 2017 and want to upgrade to an ultrawide monitor for productivity but mainly to enhance my gaming experience. I do not want to switch OS to Windows when getting ready to play at the end of the work day and it would be great to play at something like 144hz on at least medium-high graphic settings for this game (there is a macOS version of the game).

With money not being much of an issue, (but obviously would prefer to pay less if its not a totally mind blowing difference) what monitor should I consider and will I need to get a eGPU? (macbook has 4 ports so I guess I could get one and plug it in). Is it even possible for me to get that frame rate without having to switch to Windows OS? I dont want to deal with bootcamp and restarting my computer after work.

Basically Im looking to maximize my gaming performance with the least hassle involved and the cleanest set up. Really looking forward to your suggestions!
Thank you you in advance.

 

[pallymore]

I assume you want 3440*1440@144Hz. I don't think you can get over 100frames on a MBP (with high settings) since this is a very CPU intensive game - you will need an eGPU to play it at this resolution but it is very likely to be bottled-necked by the cpu especially when thermal throttling kicks in.

 

[mith3654]

I assume you want 3440*1440@144Hz. I don't think you can get over 100frames on a MBP (with high settings) since this is a very CPU intensive game - you will need an eGPU to play it at this resolution but it is very likely to be bottled-necked by the cpu especially when thermal throttling kicks in.

Ok so I would need to upgrade my whole macbook to a 15" which has a dedicated cpu. Would it work then?

What setup would you recommend I use if I don't upgrade my macbook, 100 frames would be enough Im just looking for the best performance I can get. I Should I still upgrade my monitor to ultrawide and maybe get a eGPU for my 13" macbook pro?

What monitor and eGPU would you recommend?

 

[more fps]

If money isn’t a issue why not just build a gaming desktop ?

 

[nerowolfe19]

I definitely second building a gaming desktop. If you have no other use for an eGPU than gaming, especially that you shun using Windows and your budget allows for one, then it makes for a compelling case to build or buy a gaming desktop.

I could think of a number of reasons why some don't want a desktop mainly for gaming, but most aren't prohibitive. A desktop takes more space, and costs more than an eGPU solution. But, you get much better compatibility and performance running Windows and the gfx card natively, and best of all, you save your mac the trouble of running hot, loud and hard while running cpu-intensive games, which means your mac components such as cpu, hd and battery will last longer and serve you better.

Matter of fact, I strictly play light games on my macbook for that very reason. I don't like fans spinning up like crazy, I run my MBP on battery power and on my lap a lot of the time, and the heat and battery drain during intensive gaming sessions are just a no-go for me.

Much rather build a gaming PC and use an app like Moonlight through it and enjoy playing 6hrs+ on one charge while keeping my mac silent and cool in the process. And as a bonus, I don't have to deal with reserving space for bootcamp and strictly running a less secure OS just to enjoy playing some games I happen to like.

I you happen to prefer an eGPU solution however, a Razer Core X + a fast NVIDIA card or an Aorus Gaming Box are good options. But better wait a month or so cuz prices are about to plunge once the 2xxx cards hit the market. You'll get better deals then.

 

[maflynn]

The MBP is not a gaming rig, no where close. If you want a laptop that can game, look at Razer, MSI Alienware, Asus. All of them have much better configurations for gaming. The Razer, is what I had it was using Nividia 1070 and was driving the monitor at 144Mhz.

 

[mith3654]

I think Ill go with building a rig just for playing this game. Any suggestions on a clean look (with tempered glass).Maybe a mini case like dan case a4 or NCase m1?

I would really appreciate a list of the parts I need. I want to play the game on highest settings on a ultrawide monitor.

Thank you!

 

[pallymore]

Ok so I would need to upgrade my whole macbook to a 15" which has a dedicated cpu. Would it work then?

What setup would you recommend I use if I don't upgrade my macbook, 100 frames would be enough Im just looking for the best performance I can get. I Should I still upgrade my monitor to ultrawide and maybe get a eGPU for my 13" macbook pro?

What monitor and eGPU would you recommend?

I doubt you can get 100fps with high settings @ 3440x1440 without adding a Vega 56 and upgrading to the 15inch laptop - you really could build a gaming pc with better performance just for the price difference between the 15 and 13inch macbooks unless you really want to be able to game on the go.

BTW even though heroes runs on macs - it's not really near optimized as its windows version. So don't get your hopes high.

Someone did some testing:

So it runs but not too great (not even 1080p) - and again, heroes is a CPU-intensive game, adding a good external GPU helps, but the CPU inside your macbook will be the bottleneck - and I highly doubt the game is optimized for hexa-core CPUs. (I'd be surprised even it could utilize more than 2 cores.
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I think Ill go with building a rig just for playing this game. Any suggestions on a clean look (with tempered glass).Maybe a mini case like dan case a4 or NCase m1?

I would really appreciate a list of the parts I need. I want to play the game on highest settings on a ultrawide monitor.

Thank you!

I'm afraid this is not a pc-building forum. I'd recommend checking out /r/ultrawidemasterrace , /r/pcmasterrace, and /r/buildapc sub-reddits

Good luck!

 

[darkloki]

I bought a RAzer Blade 15 just for gaming and still use my Macbook Pro for everything else. I think for me the next step will be to remove bootcamp as I don't think I'll be using it again anytime soon and the extra space might be nice.