Will the new MacBook Air run SCII with decent framerate with everything on lowest?
Also, will it overheat?
Also, will it overheat?
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Starcraft II and the new MacBook Air
- Thread starter ImperialX
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I wouldn't want to make a guess on heating, it is a very thin bit of kit but then I don't know how much difference flash memory will make instead of a HDD.
Is flash as fast / faster than SSD? if so at least the load times will be quick
MBA Storage = SSD without the casing.
The second I get one in my store I'll throw SC2 on it to test it out! Now that we're talking about it... I'm going to stick it on the previous Air just for the heck of it.
Update: The old Air played a 1v1 AI game with an average of 15fps on all settings LOW with native resolution while I void rushed the computer.
Definitely sat around 30fps in my base building stuff, but as soon as my voids went on the offensive I got crippled fps-wise.
come on. before posting, check system requirement. of course, it has NVIDIA 320M dedicated card (maybe 256MB?). but loot at the processor. it's not even official processor intel made. it's customized to fit into new macbook air. you have also memory issue, you might need 4GB for sure. I guess you could play it, but will have lagging, low quality, and so on. in conclusion, macbook air is not gaming. why don't people realize that easy knowledge? you want to play game, and a good experience, at least you have to go with macbook pro 15 inch (512MB video memory, core i5, 4GB memory). so macbook air is just for light work like you already know. I think that you can do something more with macbook air than ipad. that's what macbook air is. don't expect too much. by the way, macbook air is the most terrible laptop I ever seen recently. you'd just better have ipad.
It is custom fit, but it is still a Core 2 Duo, so it meets the SC2 recommended specs in that regard, and the 320 has enough power to run the game on medium. And of course, the loading times will blow any other Mac out of the water due to Flash.
Is the MBA designed for gaming? Of course not. But , SC2 should run fine on the MBA. I wouldn't want to try it on the 1.4 Ghz though, due to the worse FSB, and 4 GB ram is a very good idea.
So I just threw Starcraft II on one of entry level 1.4GHz Airs with 2GB to see how it performs.
At Native Resolution (1366x768) at the suggested settings it fed me (mostly medium) I received:
~30fps with a command center and a few SCVs
~24fps with a few buildings up, plenty of SCVs, Marines/Marauders out
~20fps with Marines/Marauders/Medivacs shooting a rock
~10fps with them blowing up the enemy base
At Native Resolution with all settings on Low:
~70fps with a Nexus and a few drones
~60fps with a few pylons up, stargates warping voidrays, chronoboost
~50fps voids shooting a rock
~30fps blowing up the enemy base
So all in all it is quite playable at all settings low, and could probably be tweaked to look pretty decent for an on-the-go machine.
I was pretty impressed really.
At Native Resolution (1366x768) at the suggested settings it fed me (mostly medium) I received:
~30fps with a command center and a few SCVs
~24fps with a few buildings up, plenty of SCVs, Marines/Marauders out
~20fps with Marines/Marauders/Medivacs shooting a rock
~10fps with them blowing up the enemy base
At Native Resolution with all settings on Low:
~70fps with a Nexus and a few drones
~60fps with a few pylons up, stargates warping voidrays, chronoboost
~50fps voids shooting a rock
~30fps blowing up the enemy base
So all in all it is quite playable at all settings low, and could probably be tweaked to look pretty decent for an on-the-go machine.
I was pretty impressed really.
Were you running it in OS X or Win7. I was thinking maybe getting the 1.6 with 4 GB of memory or even the 13.3. I don't mind all low settings but very good news its running it okay. I have to have my starcraft fix!
it should run even better under bootcamp then. Wow very happy with the performance of this machine. A lot of people were trying to say that the 11" would barely be able to run it. This should prove otherwise
Many people just read numbers and pay no attention to the advancements in technology.
SC2 requires I believe a 2GHz Pentium 4.
Yes, that is a faster clock speed. But much has changed young padowan.
go with the mbp
If your looking to play starcraft II i wouldn't go with the MBA. Definitely go with the MBP. You don't want overheating issues etc.
If your looking to play starcraft II i wouldn't go with the MBA. Definitely go with the MBP. You don't want overheating issues etc.
Misunderstanding...
I think some of you bashing the choice of the MBA for Starcraft 2 are misunderstanding the OP...I'm guessing he isn't buying a MBA to play SC2, he's buying it because he needs it, and it just wondering if as a bonus, it can play SC2 while on the road.
Thank-you ProstheticHead for the test.
I just ordered the 1.6 MBA 4GB (not just to play SC2 and am happy to see it will do just fine on lower settings.
I think some of you bashing the choice of the MBA for Starcraft 2 are misunderstanding the OP...I'm guessing he isn't buying a MBA to play SC2, he's buying it because he needs it, and it just wondering if as a bonus, it can play SC2 while on the road.
Thank-you ProstheticHead for the test.
I just ordered the 1.6 MBA 4GB (not just to play SC2
and am happy to see it will do just fine on lower settings.
This performance will mainly come from the graphics card. Obviously you should get at least 4GB of RAM and the highest processor. Even maxed on the computer, you're going to be running on the absolute lowest settings.
So wrong, just so very very wrong.
It is another hit folks. Macbook is dead and Macbook Pro probably won't sell until they make it more like the Air. Instant on, high definition screen, great battery life, low weight and SSD helping the speed on applications! And at a price that is barely over a fully tricked out iPad. This is what laptops were meant to be.
One caution re SC2 on something like an Air - SC2 is known to drive the hardware fairly hard and can generate above-normal temperatures, at least on some machines. I think it would not be unwise to monitor temps if you were to play SC2 "seriously" on a small machine like an Air.
Of course, playing SC2 is the most important thing.
Of course, playing SC2 is the most important thing.
Just an FYI.
I tested the stock 11in, 1.4ghz 2GB on custom maps like SOTIS and Nexus Wars on its max res with all other specs set to low. My verdict is unusable for the custom maps. It started out ok, but as the game progressed it quickly became 5-10FPS. So for customs its not usable on the native resolution. I did not bother with the lower res's. Also I found at the native Res my eyes hurt a lot afterward from focusing on the game.
just an fyi.
I tested the stock 11in, 1.4ghz 2GB on custom maps like SOTIS and Nexus Wars on its max res with all other specs set to low. My verdict is unusable for the custom maps. It started out ok, but as the game progressed it quickly became 5-10FPS. So for customs its not usable on the native resolution. I did not bother with the lower res's. Also I found at the native Res my eyes hurt a lot afterward from focusing on the game.
just an fyi.
Yes all settings were on low. The only thing that was not on low was the resolution.
I guess customs are more demanding?