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deciding on a Mac (gaming in mind)

chronodekar

chronodekar

Senior member
I'm almost decided on buying a Macbook-Pro for myself and am having trouble deciding between the 2 options,

$1999:
15-inch (2.53Ghz)
Intel Core i5
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB

or

$2199:
15-inch (2.66Ghz)
Intel Core i7
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB


My dilemma is that, along with a few friends, we're planning on getting the PC game "Borderlands" this Christmas (hoping for a STEAM deal) and in my case that would mean buying a copy of Parallels (and windows too).

I read on arstechnica.com that the latest version of Parallels desktop supports GPU memory upto 256MB only. If I use that on the 2.53Ghz Pro system, wouldn't that decrease OSX performance?

In the end, what I really need to know,

Would it be worth spending the extra $200 for the 2.66Ghz Macbook-Pro?

-chronodekar
PS: I've never used a Mac before.
 
Here are some benchmarks if you want to compare, although they are for OS X games:
http://www.barefeats.com/mbpp21.html

Based on those tests, the extra $200 doesn't seem justified.

It sounds like you are planning to try and run the game in a virtual machine. I think it would be a much better idea to boot directly into Windows using bootcamp instead. You will get much better performance.

-KeithP
 
I am aware of the benefits of playing games in bootcamp, but I'm not interested in switching OS's just to play a game. So I need a solution that works in OSX. From what I gather - Parallels is the best option for my needs.

Please correct me if I'm wrong,
-chronodekar

EDIT:

Thanks for those benchmarks. I'm leaning to the i5 system now. Anyone else have any thoughts?
 
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chronodekar said:
Anyone else have any thoughts?
Click to expand...

If you're limiting yourself to VMs, then Parallels is your best bet until VMWare comes out with v4 and the tables are turned again for a little while.

I still think gaming in a VM is frustrating. Lots of stuttering, ok performance, but not wonderful. It works best if you can dedicate lots of Virtual Memory to the VM (like 2GB or more).
 
So, I had this nice reply typed up, but the power went out before I could post. Blah.

Since you're going to be running Parallels and not natively booting, I suggest getting everything you can. Parallels isn't an API translation layer but a virtualization setup, so that means it has some overhead. In that case, tossing in some extra cycles will help. I'd also consider upgrading RAM, though try it first before upgrading. Aftermarket RAM is a lot cheaper than Apple's prices. Furthermore, I'd also suggest an upgrade in the hard drive, as the standard 5400 RPM drive will slow things down a lot when you combine two OS'es hitting the same drive.

If you want to save money and overhead, look into Crossover for Mac. It's an API translation layer like WINE, so it doesn't have to virtualize an entire system. You also don't need to buy a Windows license. The down side, however, is that it's not guaranteed to run every Windows app/game you throw at it, and you have to pay yearly on the Pro version with game support if you want to download their compatability updates for new games. With Crossover, you probably can stick with the i5, 4GB default memory, and the stock hard drive.

EDIT: In the end, I still suggest going with the i5 and a bootcamp install, especially for games. It may be a bit more of a hassle time wise to reboot, but the performance benefit will be fairly significant vice running in a VM.
 
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kamikazekyle said:
If you want to save money and overhead, look into Crossover for Mac. It's an API translation layer like WINE, so it doesn't have to virtualize an entire system. You also don't need to buy a Windows license. The down side, however, is that it's not guaranteed to run every Windows app/game you throw at it. With Crossover, you probably can stick with the i5, 4GB default memory, and the stock hard drive.
Click to expand...

Well, unless newer versions of Wine are any better.. I find it very lacking. Bad compatibility and when it does work, I get crashes and other things. This was on a stock MBP, so it didn't have anything to do with me using a Hack.

Overall, you'll get more consistent results with Parallels, even if it isn't native-like performance.

I will echo that HD and RAM upgrades will offer a nice performance boost.
 
Kmax82 said:
Well, unless newer versions of Wine are any better.. I find it very lacking. Bad compatibility and when it does work, I get crashes and other things. This was on a stock MBP, so it didn't have anything to do with me using a Hack.

Overall, you'll get more consistent results with Parallels, even if it isn't native-like performance.

I will echo that HD and RAM upgrades will offer a nice performance boost.
Click to expand...
Crossover is better than generic WINE on a Mac, as they'll specifically focus on the portability issues that the open source WINE maintainers will not. But with that said, none of this comes close to native (Bootcamp) performance.
 
Hmm.. this isn't getting any easier for me. I've never heard of Crossover before, but I am familiar with running wine in ubuntu. It's useful, I'll agree, but feels like a patchwork solution of sorts - even when things work fluidly.

One of the reasons I wanted to avoid bootcamp, was because of the hassle involved. Perhaps it's stupidity talking, but I was thinking along the lines of "I'm buying a Mac, let's look for all the native solutions to my problems". Granted, Parallels IS a virtualization technology, but at least it is a native Mac application.

But now, I'm having second thoughts about the Bootcamp thing.

Perhaps it's a myth (now that I think about it), but what will happen to the Macbook-Pro's battery life if I use bootcamp? I've read on AT about the difference in performace of the 2 OS's but my worry is - will running bootcamp/windows cause me any hardware problems for the battery? i.e. would it damage the battery if I keep jumping back and forth between the 2 OS's ?

If its not an issue, then I think I"ll go for the i5 system and bootcamp my gaming needs.

-chronodekar
 
To the best of my knowledge there are no hardware battery issues if you jump between OSes. You get worse battery life in Windows than OS X, but I don't believe that you will damage the battery by switching OSes.
 
TheStu said:
To the best of my knowledge there are no hardware battery issues if you jump between OSes. You get worse battery life in Windows than OS X, but I don't believe that you will damage the battery by switching OSes.
Click to expand...
Correct. Windows won't cause any damage, it just isn't as good about power usage when it's the active OS.
 
ViRGE said:
Correct. Windows won't cause any damage, it just isn't as good about power usage when it's the active OS.
Click to expand...

To be more accurate and fair... Apple has done crazy voodoo witchcrafty things to get their systems ultra-optimized for the batteries that they have, and they either will not, or cannot deliver that same level of system integration with Windows. It is less Windows and more Apple's drivers. There are Asus laptops that get 8 or so hours of battery life, so it isn't like it is impossible.
 
Well guys,

You've settled things for me. My battery concern addressed, I think I'll go for the $1999 Core i5 system and Bootcamp my gaming needs.

Thanks a lot folks !! 🙂

-chronodekar
 
chronodekar said:
Well guys,

You've settled things for me. My battery concern addressed, I think I'll go for the $1999 Core i5 system and Bootcamp my gaming needs.

Thanks a lot folks !! 🙂

-chronodekar
Click to expand...

Don't forget to check if you can get it refurbed or on education discount, save yourself some money.
 
chronodekar said:
Well guys,

You've settled things for me. My battery concern addressed, I think I'll go for the $1999 Core i5 system and Bootcamp my gaming needs.

Thanks a lot folks !! 🙂

-chronodekar
Click to expand...

A wise choice. Trying to run games in a VM when you have bootcamp available to you just doesn't make sense.
 
I wish I HAD access to the education discount. <dreams...> But, I think I'll make it on my own.

Thanks again guys!

-chronodekar
 
neckarb said:
Definately, if you've got a friend at Uni, or if you are then you can get even more off!
Click to expand...

I'd be willing to bet that using your friend's educational discount is a violation of the license agreement and the agreement his school has with Apple...
 
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