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Seth Mac Fan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 18, 2012
109
0
What is the max resolution of the cheapest mac mini offered right now the $599 model ? I would like to have a very high resolution on a 27 inch display . Also how well do games run ? Lastly does parallels or vmware run good on the cheapest model ? Games I would be playing is diablo 3 , modern shooting games like call of duty and BF3 ? Would games like that be playable ?
 
What is the max resolution of the cheapest mac mini offered right now the $599 model ?

This is the only one I can answer.I can tell you for sure the cheapest model will run great at 2560 x 1440 with the Apple Thunderbolt display,and it will easily do fine with lower resolution. Now if you're playing games,I'm not so sure.

I know you will get some good feedback here,but you might be able to search youtube and get some footage of someone gaming with the Mini.
 
I know you will get some good feedback here,but you might be able to search youtube and get some footage of someone gaming with the Mini.

That is a good idea , I was just wondering if people had actual experiences gaming with it that they could share , I am pretty sure games probably don't run really good though with a integrated graphics card . Thanks though for your info on the resolution though very helpful and glad to hear it works good .
 
That is a good idea , I was just wondering if people had actual experiences gaming with it that they could share , I am pretty sure games probably don't run really good though with a integrated graphics card . Thanks though for your info on the resolution though very helpful and glad to hear it works good .

If you care at all about gaming then go with the mid mini or wait for the 2012. The 2011 can run a thunderbolt display, but not for gaming. Gaming you would be lucky to pull off decent frame rates @720p
 
If you care at all about gaming then go with the mid mini or wait for the 2012. The 2011 can run a thunderbolt display, but not for gaming. Gaming you would be lucky to pull off decent frame rates @720p

I am not looking to have a high resolution for gaming I would be fine with 1024x768 for gaming or 800x600 at least for gaming . I am a casual gamer so I do not have to have settings maxed out at all . I just want a big resolution for MAC OS X not gaming .
 
I got a 2010 base Mini and it does perfectly fine with a 27" ACD (previous model to thunderbolt). I don't notice any differences between the Mini and my 2012 Air.
 
If your parallels question meant gaming under parallels on the low-end mini... I think it would be kind of dubious
 
If your parallels question meant gaming under parallels on the low-end mini... I think it would be kind of dubious

Well, even with the HD3000, games like Spellforce or Since of a Solar Empire work good enough. Sure, you can forget about newer games, but hey, C&C Renegade, GTA San Andreas and SimCity 3 are all nice games. ;)
 
Well, even with the HD3000, games like Spellforce or Since of a Solar Empire work good enough. Sure, you can forget about newer games, but hey, C&C Renegade, GTA San Andreas and SimCity 3 are all nice games. ;)

I'm not a big gamer by any means, but I know my WEI scores on Parallels under an HD3000 weren't stellar, and video playback in Windows was difficult.
 
If your parallels question meant gaming under parallels on the low-end mini... I think it would be kind of dubious

Well I kinda knew performance would not be great in parallels or vmware . I would most likely be running native mac games anyways like I said im not a real big gamer . But do you think diablo 3 would run good on the mac mini natively in Mac os x ?
 
Well I kinda knew performance would not be great in parallels or vmware . I would most likely be running native mac games anyways like I said im not a real big gamer . But do you think diablo 3 would run good on the mac mini natively in Mac os x ?

I did a test a few weeks back on my 2009 mini (9400M), and it ran D3 at low resolution/graphics -- playable, but looks a lot better on my iMac. I'd expect the new mini's Intel HD3000 to be same or better than the 9400M, but I'd worry it wouldn't be good enough for FPS's.

You might want to consider the $799 model with a 'real' GPU :)
 
I am not looking to have a high resolution for gaming I would be fine with 1024x768 for gaming or 800x600 at least for gaming . I am a casual gamer so I do not have to have settings maxed out at all . I just want a big resolution for MAC OS X not gaming .



Well I kinda knew performance would not be great in parallels or vmware . I would most likely be running native mac games anyways like I said im not a real big gamer . But do you think diablo 3 would run good on the mac mini natively in Mac os x ?



Diablo III setting help etc :eek:
 
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