Windows gaming on a MacMini (Left4Dead)?

[belltree]

I am purchasing a second Mac Mini in a few weeks, once SL is released (first one was my wife's). It will have the following: CPU 2.26Ghz, 4GB Ram (DIY), 500GB HDD (DIY). I'll be running this on a 24" monitor @ 1980x1200.

I am thinking to install Windows (either XP SP3 or 7) via Bootcamp so I can still enjoy some PC gaming on the side. I haven't played any PC video games for ~3 years so I am craving some fun.

I want to play Left4Dead and am concerned as to how it will run. My confidence level hardware wise:

CPU (2.26 Ghz Core2Duo): Medium
Memory (4GB): High
GPU (Geforce M9400): Low

Are there any Mac Mini users here who have used it to play Left4Dead on Windows that can share their experience? I imagine I should be able to run it at a lower resolution with mid-level details but am curious as to what the performance+visuals will be like. Appreciate any feedback.

 

[ayeying]

I am purchasing a second Mac Mini in a few weeks, once SL is released (first one was my wife's). It will have the following: CPU 2.26Ghz, 4GB Ram (DIY), 500GB HDD (DIY). I'll be running this on a 24" monitor @ 1980x1200.

I am thinking to install Windows (either XP SP3 or 7) via Bootcamp so I can still enjoy some PC gaming on the side. I haven't played any PC video games for ~3 years so I am craving some fun.

I want to play Left4Dead and am concerned as to how it will run. My confidence level hardware wise:

CPU (2.26 Ghz Core2Duo): Medium
Memory (4GB): High
GPU (Geforce M9400): Low

Are there any Mac Mini users here who have used it to play Left4Dead on Windows that can share their experience? I imagine I should be able to run it at a lower resolution with mid-level details but am curious as to what the performance+visuals will be like. Appreciate any feedback.

I play it on a MacBook Air. You'll do fine. It'll run great.

 

[dKran]

looking at the minimum specs (http://left4dead411.com/left-4-dead-system-requirements) it looks like you should probably be fine. The 9400m is obviously going to be your only bottleneck, and I really don't know how good game performance is going to be with that card.

My Girlfriend has one of the new 13 inch MBP with the 9400m, and won't let me put Windows on there to try anything with Steam, so the only game i've really seen running on it is the Sims 3, which seems to have quite a hard time.

Left4Dead does have a lot of graphics customisation options though, so I'm sure you can get something working. If not, there's always the Xbox 360 Version?

 

[Rodus]

L4D Runs great on my 2 Ghz Core 2/Radeon x1600. You have a faster CPU and GPU and more RAM then me, it'll be fine. Performance on a 9400 shouldn't be an issue in any way for medium/high settings, the Source engine's getting old now and doesn't need bleeding edge hardware to run.

 

[jbrenn]

I am purchasing a second Mac Mini in a few weeks, once SL is released (first one was my wife's). It will have the following: CPU 2.26Ghz, 4GB Ram (DIY), 500GB HDD (DIY). I'll be running this on a 24" monitor @ 1980x1200.

I am thinking to install Windows (either XP SP3 or 7) via Bootcamp so I can still enjoy some PC gaming on the side. I haven't played any PC video games for ~3 years so I am craving some fun.

I want to play Left4Dead and am concerned as to how it will run. My confidence level hardware wise:

CPU (2.26 Ghz Core2Duo): Medium
Memory (4GB): High
GPU (Geforce M9400): Low

Are there any Mac Mini users here who have used it to play Left4Dead on Windows that can share their experience? I imagine I should be able to run it at a lower resolution with mid-level details but am curious as to what the performance+visuals will be like. Appreciate any feedback.

I would go with 7 64 bit. xp wont recognize all of your ram.

 

[dKran]

L4D Runs great on my 2 Ghz Core 2/Radeon x1600. You have a faster CPU and GPU and more RAM then me, it'll be fine. Performance on a 9400 shouldn't be an issue in any way for medium/high settings, the Source engine's getting old now and doesn't need bleeding edge hardware to run.

The source engine has changed a lot since it's inception though. I run it on my 2.8ghz, 4gb Ram, 256mb 2600 HD, at 1920x1200, and can't even run it on all high (granted, 1920x1200 is pretty large)

And the X1600 is still a dedicated card, so even though it's quite old now, it's still going to have some advantages over the 9400m.

I'm confident it will run, but you may want to try the Demo first if you're going to be installing windows anyways.

 

[belltree]

Thanks to you all for your feedback. I'm going to be buying L4D today in preparation .

 

[belltree]

Just to update: I set up XP SP3, via bootcamp, on my wife's Mini (2.66Ghz, 4GB) and tried out Left4Dead. It ran great on her '1680x1050' monitor at mid-high visual settings. I was pleasantly surprised and cannot wait to get my own next month. I'm hoping it will run just as well at '1920x1080'.

The game was good fun and I may also pick up TF2 for the heck of it.

 

[dKran]

That's excellent to hear Hope you have loads of fun with it.

And be careful with steam lol, it's addicting, especially with their weekend sales and stuff

I would definitely recommend TF2, but instead of just picking that up (around $20) I would just pick up The Orange Box instead, includes Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode One, Half Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2

Seriously, 5 of the best games of the generation for ten dollars more.

 

[Rodus]

If you like co-op survival horror then Killing Floors is good too.

 

[belltree]

That's excellent to hear Hope you have loads of fun with it.

And be careful with steam lol, it's addicting, especially with their weekend sales and stuff

I would definitely recommend TF2, but instead of just picking that up (around $20) I would just pick up The Orange Box instead, includes Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode One, Half Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2

Seriously, 5 of the best games of the generation for ten dollars more.

I already have Half Life Source and 2 from long ago but got out of PC gaming just before Orange Box was released. Looking forward to TF2 when I am able to free up some time....the reason I like L4D so much is I can just hop in and out and not have to worry about stats, progress, etc. Also, I've found some fun looking add-on campaigns I'm going to give a try.