Would the Macbook Air work for running games off Steam when it arrives on osx?

[Camron011]

I'm debating on whether -- when they are upgraded -- to get the top of the line 15 inch macbook pro or the top of the line macbook air. I'm going to college in 2011 and I do hope to do a tad bit of gaming during part of my free time. I currently have a early 2008 Macbook Pro with a 2.4 ghz intel core 2 duo processor and 2 gb of ram along with a 256 nvidia 8600m GT graphics card and a 5400 rpm 200 gb hdd. I can run call of duty 4 at almost maximum settings with little to no tearing, blurring, or lag during both single player and online play. Would the macbook air be faster than my current system? Could I run games like left for dead 2 or the steam ww2 game (i forgot what it's called) at medium to good quality? How about with the current macbook air? Would the macbook pro be a better choice? I absolutely love the size of the macbook air and the appeal of steam is that I don't need to use a disk to run the games (which would be good on a macbook air). Thank you!

 

[lucifiel]

it is unlikely that, when the MBP and the MBA get updated that the MBA will be able to compete with the MBP in terms of raw power.

I say this because the MBP will simply have more options given its bigger size.

You are already accustomed to the size of an MBP, so whilst the MBA has a better form factor, if you're ok with the MBP form factor, I would suggest the MBP.

I would also say that, I have an MBA, I use it to play steam games on a Win 7 partition, and i can get medium settings at lower resolutions out of games like Batman and Dawn of War II.

That's with tweaking the underclocking that chokes the system though, so if gaming is important, give the MBP a glance when it comes out.

Oh are you going to live on campus? if so, then I hear people say that's a even greater reason to grab yourself an MBP.

 

[definitive]

mba is like a netbook, except with a better cpu, but still poor quality graphics. you'd get much more out of a mbp than you would from a mba.

 

[ddd269]

MBP +1

When the i7 MBP comes out in the next few weeks, the difference will be night and day with the MBA. Even the current version with the c2d processors and the video advantage that the MBP has more than qualifies as a gaming machine.

I wouldn't expect a decent gaming experience out of the MBA. I own one, and I won't even try it.

I doubt though that I'll be switching my gaming habits because of the Mac Steam. I use my i7 pc for all my gaming needs, including Steam. Will be looking forward to the Mac Steam, nonetheless.