Recommended Mac pro for Gaming with HIGH graphics

[Shadow Knight W]

Hey, Im looking at a Mac Pro to replace my horribly slow dell running windows xp (yeah I know im behind). But im wondering which one of the Mac pros would be sufficient enough to run any game on high with no problem, also it has to be fast. i was looking at the 12 core, but its a little pricey and might be overkill. Useful suggestions would help a lot, thanks.

 

[apolloa]

Well, if you simply MUST have a Mac pro for games it is overkill, however I would get the 6 core model, single CPU but benefits from all the latest Intel tech, otherwise the 12 core. Don't buy hard drives or memory from Apple without checking prices else where like Crucial as they can be cheaper.

 

[ActionableMango]

I have a 2.8Ghz with AMD 5770 and it's great for Windows games in high settings at 1920x1200.

The fastest build-to-order Mac Pro you can do for gaming is the Hexacore Mac Pro 3.33Ghz with AMD 5870.

 

[alust2013]

No need for 12 core. I'd go 3.2 quad with 5870. That can handle just about anything you throw at it

 

[Cougarcat]

Save your money and build a hackintosh. More graphics options that way, too.

 

[PeterQVenkman]

If you insist on buying the mac pro, run your games in Windows. The ATI 5770 and 5870 perform much better under windows 7.

Don't buy a 12 core for gaming. No games out there will be using that machine to its fullest.

 

[Ace134blue]

Hey, Im looking at a Mac Pro to replace my horribly slow dell running windows xp (yeah I know im behind). But im wondering which one of the Mac pros would be sufficient enough to run any game on high with no problem, also it has to be fast. i was looking at the 12 core, but its a little pricey and might be overkill. Useful suggestions would help a lot, thanks.

Mac pro is overkill period.. Build your own PC, but if you must have one, the cheapest 4 core would be plenty. Also get a gtx 470/480 to max out your games in windows.

 

[dimme]

Mac pro is overkill period.. Build your own PC, but if you must have one, the cheapest 4 core would be plenty. Also get a gtx 470/480 to max out your games in windows.

I agree build a PC it will be better and cheaper.

 

[peskaa]

If you HAVE to get a Mac Pro, then don't waste cash.

Games are currently barely taking advantage of quad core CPUs, with most being written for dual core systems. Developers basically have to go with what most gamers have - which means a lot of dual core systems. Clock frequency is also very very important for gaming.

The best system would be for 6GB of RAM (more is unnecessary for gaming, and you have an upgrade path for the future), the ATi 5870 graphics card and then one of the Quad systems - the 3.2Ghz would be the best buy. The Hexacore system is a waste of cash as games simply won't support that many cores properly, and going for one of the eight/twelves core systems is just a total utter waste.

 

[spamboxnet]

Without adding any unnecessary items, I configured this Mac Pro for you.

Two 2.93GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere” (12 cores)
32GB (8x4GB)
2x 512GB solid-state drive
ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
Apple LED Cinema Display (27" flat panel)

It is only US$12,198.00, and the best part is; you wouldn't need to upgrade for awhile.

 

[initialsBB]

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Without adding any unnecessary items, I configured this Mac Pro for you.

Two 2.93GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere” (12 cores)
32GB (8x4GB)
2x 512GB solid-state drive
ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
Apple LED Cinema Display (27" flat panel)

It is only US$12,198.00, and the best part is; you wouldn't need to upgrade for awhile.

He definitely needs a 4xSSD RAID, 2 just won't cut it I'm afraid.

 

[borcanm]

Things to keep in mind for gaming:

-You'll have to run windows to play all the variety of games available

-Get windows 7, because DirectX11 gives much better performance to multicore systems (Check WoW forums to see how to make WoW

use DX11 instead of openGL, or DX10, it'll give u better performance)

-The 5870 is a must, because its 70-100% faster than the 5770. And don't get 2 5770 because their slower to = than the 5870.

-Cpu clock speed is important, the higher the better, so get the 3.2Ghz

-Don't buy ram from apple, get only the 3Gig and buy more ram from newegg (it'll cost half the price)

-Get the Quad core 3.2Ghz because the 6 core is over kill. Im not sure about this but maybe you can add another 3.2Ghz later if you

want to have 2 (8 cores).

-If you want an SSD, DONT BUY IT FROM APPLE. You can get one from Crucial or Kingston for less. Currently Crucial is selling 256GB SSDs

for 620$ & 600$, so two of those are cheaper than 1 512GB from Apple. Plus Apple doesn't sell 256GB SSDs (according to what i can find

on their site). And both companies give you a 3year warranty on their SSDs for FREE.


Check out this site to compare benchmarks for CPUs, GPUs and SSDs.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2

 

[JackAxe]

Seriously, buy a Mac Pro(Workstation) for "WORK" and some play, don't be a fool and buy it just for gaming. You'll just have spent way too much on a gaming machine that's not very good at that task and will be outdated come Apple's next Mac Pro update cycle.

 

[SidBala]

12 core for what? You are going to run 12 games at once?

Seriously, for $2000, I can make a gaming PC that will run games at higher framerates than any mac pro ( the $12k one included )

 

[peskaa]

-Get windows 7, because DirectX11 gives much better performance to multicore systems (Check WoW forums to see how to make WoW

Whilst I agree with getting Windows 7, DirectX actually gets faster, in terms of raw fps the earlier version you use. A game with DX9 and DX10 modes runs faster in DX9, and the same with DX11. What you do miss out on is new graphical techniques with the newest releases - DX11 is "prettier" than DX10, and DX10 over DX9.

I play games in the highest DirectX mode supported, simply because I want the shiniest graphics - but if I was looking for speed I'd use a lower mode.

-The 5870 is a must, because its 70-100% faster than the 5770. And don't get 2 5770 because their slower to = than the 5870.

Mac Pros don't support Crossfire or SLi, therefore 2 5770s wouldn't even do anything for gaming.

-Get the Quad core 3.2Ghz because the 6 core is over kill. Im not sure about this but maybe you can add another 3.2Ghz later if you

No you can't, you obviously don't own a Mac Pro. The 2009 and 2010 Mac Pros have different CPU trays for the single or dual CPU models. If you want dual CPUs, you have to buy dual CPUs from Apple. If you buy a single CPU model, you only have a single CPU tray (which also impacts on the number of RAM slots - 4 for single CPU, 8 for dual). Upgrading CPUs is possible, but if the OP buys a 3.2Ghz Quad, the only real upgrade path is a Hexacore.