What Is Holding The Mac Back!!!

[shulerg]

Well as I said that does not count as it is not due to under powered hardware its just a bug due to the hardware being very new and having bugs in the OS drivers. Also the MBA uses an integrated card without any Video RAM so is not designed to play games. However all 8 year old games that are supported on Mountain Lion should run really fast on that machine even if it is massively underpowered in the 3D department.

Indeed. And Warcraft III is the perfect example, runs fine on my current hardware and is still popular--hell, the AI in Frozen Throne is still awfully challenging on highest difficulty.

I get some people really like to be able to throw in the latest games without a hitch, but it's amazing how many have forgotten (and how many younger people have not even discovered) the great games of just a few years ago. And many of them are now free or cost pennies...

I think Macs get the bad rap for gaming not because of hardware issues, etc., but from lack of titles and terrible ports. Example: Aliens vs Predator 2, a game from 2001 whose Mac port even today still runs like a buggy POS.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Really? Can you name one 8 year old game that will not run properly on a new Retina MacBookPro? Graphics driver bugs due to the new hardware don't count.

I am not saying it's untrue I am just curious because 8 year old titles are games like UT2003 and that era, I struggle myself to think of one that would run slowly due to the "poor hardware" in the new MBP.

Edwin

I was referring to the original poster's assessment of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on his new machine and not being able to use maximum settings on an eight year old game. I actually just bought 3 GTA games for my 2008 MBP including San Andreas (summer sale on Steam; got all 3 for $15) and so I'll see how it behaves on a 4 year old machine (still 4 years newer than the game itself).

 

[Irishman]

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I think giant laptops would be awesome too!

I think I see full-size PCI slots in the back!!

You know, a long time ago, they made a 30 lb Apple portable!

 

[Dirtyharry50]

Nothing is holding the Mac back. The Mac is moving forward.

I'm very, very happy with my new 27" iMac for gaming. Speaking of which, time to return to the wasteland and burn off some rage in RAGE!

 

[InuNacho]

There isn't much holding the Mac back in terms of gaming now. Back in the 90's we used to get all the good games just like the Windows people, Quakes, Unreal Tournament, Carmageddon, Duke Nuke Em, a bunch of the Star Wars space ones, Daiblo, Myth, and a bunch of others. During the 2000's we had a kind of "gaming doldrum" where there weren't many quality Mac releases that weren't Windows games in wrappers.

Now we're in a resurgence in Mac gaming and I'm quite happy about it.
I play L4D2 on my 6750M 17" MBP at 1680 x 1050 without any MSAA or that fancy stuff (I don't mind jaggies) and usually get 50-70 FPS and it rarely dips into the 30s unless there are tons of zombies on screen.

I only see a brighter future of Mac gamers if Mac compatible Thunderbolt egpus start showing up. If a Thunderbolt ViDock doesn't show up by the end of the year I'll just grab an Expresscard one.

 

[Huntn]

Apple doesn't make gaming machines. They make excellent computers that do everything quite well, gaming included. But they're definitely not designed with gaming in mind, at least at the forefront, and anyone who thinks Apple should do that is just crazy.

Expecting Apple to make their premium laptops thicker and heavier just to be more powerful with games is one of the silliest things I've ever heard. Who games on a laptop anyway? That's silly in and of itself. If you want a gaming laptop, go buy some 20lb Alienware machine and have fun lugging it around everywhere.

Do what everyone sane does: game on a console or desktop machine. If you want mobile gaming, get a freakin' iPad or something for crying out loud.

Sheesh, sorry, I'm just so tired of threads like this and I kind of had to rant. But I'm also completely serious.

I travel a lot with my trusty MacBookPro and I've been playing many of the latest games, including MMOs just fine. (Skyrim, The Old Republic, GW2) I imagine I am not getting the fastest frames, but I have been thoroughly satisfied with it's performance for gaming using Bootcamp/Windows. My point is, it's not accurate to portray the Mac as not being a gaming machine. It might not be the fastest gaming machine, but I'm gaming with it all the time.

Now if Apple ever decides it no longer should support Windows, well then, I'd agree with you. Currently 90% of the games I play are Windows only.

 

[wolfaaron]

If you want a portable high power computer then buy an iMac or Mac pro and tape a car battery to it. I like how Apple balances performance and thickness.

 

[Killery96]

Well now your problem is solved. Their new laptops have the best of everything. And a graphics card that clocks and performs higher than a GTX560m or 470m. It's a thin-ass beautiful and functional computer that will LAST, and is quiet and performs admirably. Not to mention the huge amount of RAM, fast and state-of-the-art processor, ridiculous screen resolution, battery life, and the potential for a massive solid-state drive. It also runs windows. IMO, this laptop is THE pinnacle of computers...