Is gaming the one thing preventing you from jumping ship and moving from a Windows PC to a Mac? Well that excuse is now null and void. Now that Intel chips are inside all Macs and you can run Windows XP or Windows Vista on a Mac the door is open for PC gaming on a Mac. But what about all those bleeding edge games that make owning a PC a neccesity? Also a null and void argument. The newest Macbook Pro’s (and likely the impending new iMacs as well.) feature DirectX 10 capable Nvidia 8600 cards. Sweeeeeetness!
[Oct 31st 07 Update:] Since this post is getting a lot of traffic this week, I thought I’d link to this article for those still not quite ready to make the leap… Installing OS X Leopard on a high end PC (Tutorial)
[Feb 28th 08 Update:] This is now the hottest post on this site. Since being posted it has been read by 8,216 visitors (That’s a whole lot of gamers interested in gaming on a Mac.) Please check back soon for a follow up article where I will be running and benchmarking Crysis on a Mac.
Windows Vista Refunds!
I’ve been an avid mac user since the very beginning, born into a dual-platform environment and given adequate time to make my own choice on the matter. I don’t know when you switched, but welcome to the better half of the force. I’ve actually always been a big advocate for gaming on the Mac, starting way back when Bungie wasn’t evil and their game series “Marathon” was stunning gamers across all platforms.
With EA’s latest announcement, stating their plan to port every EA game to the Mac, as well as all future titles sharing equal release dates with their Windows counterparts, I think we’ll see a golden new age of gaming on the Mac, without all the system bugs and not to mention, the lack of that annoying windows key during full screen rounds. This, along with Microsoft’s plan (I kid you not) to release Windows Vienna at the earliest in 2012, we could see a lot of switchers, both users and developers alike. Perhaps a change is in the wind…
Anyway, wishing you the best of luck with your blog!
I can’t wait for Crysis to come out, next month im getting a new imac with 2.8 ghz processer, 4 gig of ram, and an ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory. It’s going to be crazy!
I don’t buy that for a second. Here’s why:
1) The nvidia 8600 is the pricepoint DX10 video card that the company released for the masses. Pricepoint cards are not performance cards.
2) The card has a max 320mb of onboard memory. Even if you SLI’d two of those cards it would only add up to less than 640mb of GPU memory. I have 768mb of memory, IN ONE CARD.
*Just to clarify why I focused on the GPU’s onboard memory. When I was running Crysis, the game was sucking up over a GIG of memory…so, I have to say there is no way in hell that someone ran those settings on the stated system….
So, just to clarify:
1. You can game on a Mac
2. After purchasing the game, you will also need to purchase a Microsoft OS
At this point, you could either:
1. Ditch your MacOS altogether and run Windows or
2. Dual-boot / BootCamp
With solution 1, I suppose you could eBay that MacOS, since you have no use for it anymore. However, with solution #2, if you’re working on, say, Photoshop and need a quick gaming break, you have to boot over to the gaming OS? Game a little bit then reboot again. Back and forth. Inconvenient to say the least.
Yeah, Mac needs some native ports of titles.
@Pipeline2112
http://vistasucks.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/play-valves-team-fortress-2-on-a-mac/
use Crossover of Mac by CodeWeavers
not sure about dx10 based games but if (more when) they get that working and supported …. it could mean the final blow to vista
Well, i tried to install crysis warhead on a cider games bottle but it didn’t even install the game. I guess it have been unplayable anyway. It works fine in my mac pro anyway when booted in vista. just waiting for 285 gtx to arrive so i can crank up graphics
Wow, you guys are serious noobs if you think a Mac can outperform a PC at gaming. You are also kidding yourself if you think that AAA developers are going waste resources building Mac titles before Windows ones. Have any of you guys ever been to a big gaming event? Hardcore gamers don’t waste money on Macs. They build their own PCs. For the cost of a Mac you can build a killer PC.
If you’re serious into games, the PC is the way to go.
You know games like Call Of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2 are running better on a mac than my PC. I get 64 FPS on the Mac and only 45 on my PC. So what?
Jesse, 256 MB of video RAM is going to leave you seriously disappointed. Get a video card with at least double that. I’m not kidding.
Great site, man. And welcome to the fold! Your switch is nigh parallel to mine with iPod + iTunes sucking me in =).
Yet again, gaming is a hot issue Macs. I say, I’d rather game on my 360, Wii, DS, or PS3 any day. My Mac is a productivity utility, I’d rather game on my couch with 5.1 surround and 32″ Vizio HDTV.
I am running an experiment to see how Crysis will run on my iMac (2.0Ghz C2D, x1600) under XP bootcamped with Leopard. I wondered if it will be playable…
Keep up the good work, and hop over to http://www.macnewbtube.wordpress.com sometime!
I gotta say – I love my Mac and all, but it’s just a glorified typewriter. It has the stability and speed I need to do my work, but for gaming, the strain of running two operating systems at once will probably crash the machine if a demanding game like Crysis were to be run on top of all that. With bleeding edge hardware, that may not be a problem, but Macs tend to have a limited repertoire when it comes to that facet of computing.
Suffice to say – gaming on a Mac doesn’t seem to be totally out of the question – it’s just Crysis. The technology behind it and the marketing for it is heavily geared towards DirectX 10 – which happens to be a Vista exclusive. And unless you haven’t noticed, the box of the game proudly displays a “Games for Windows” banner. Until we see a “Games for Mac” label on things… Don’t hold your breath.
Jack, I think you’re dazed and confused. I got a Macbook Pro, and the 8600M graphics card in the Macbook Pro is Direct X 10, and I promise you that if you install Crysis under Bootcamp on a Macbook Pro, it will run just as well – if not better – than on a Windows PC platform. Dude, didn’t you know that the new MBP has a Direct X10 Geforce 8600M 256 meg video card in it with Santa Rosa technology? Dude, that should play any game!
crysis may well be able to run on a mac but i think that it could only be ran on their best graphics card on lowest settings. I am a windows person but i also own a imac. Even if mac has direct x 10 it will not run near as good as a pc as there are graphics cards and processors which have triple the performance of what you will find in a mac. I managed to build an amazing computer with all top of the line parts for cheaper than my imac so therefore my pc has a better edge when it comes to gaming.
when will crisis be coming out as an official mac product?
Powershaker, didn’t you know Crysis barely runs full dx 10 settings on an 8800gtx with 768 meg video card???? Why would you think a mobile 8600 256mb would run any game???
Ace, Crysis will NOT be coming out as an official Mac product. I’ll birng it up again – Crysis bears the “Games for Windows” label. It also runs on MICROSOFT technology, a company which I doubt will allow such a high profile game to be ported over to the Mac platform.
And Powershaker, you’re delusional. Enjoy your low framerates and crippled graphics – I’m running Crysis natively on Vista with an nForce 680i chipset and an 8800 GTS 320MB card, and it STILL brings my machine down to its knees. Your mobile Santa Rosa platform with an 8600M 256MB will never run the game as well as a high end Windows machine. Judging by the video buffer alone, 256MB of graphics memory isn’t enough to do anything outside of last year’s games. John has a point when he mentions the 8800GTX not being able to run Crysis at its best.
For the record… I played the Crysis demo on my old single core PC under XP with Direct X 9 and with the details settings cranked as high as they could go.
I could still play it but it was choppy.
For the details on my PC, Click here.
Well to clarify, you had 2 7900GT’s in SLI – which was the ultra high end a little over a a year and a half ago. Even with that in consideration, I doubt you had the AA settings up. Imagine applying edge AA to every individual piece of foliage. Not even an 8800 GTX can do that. All the settings cranked up in XP is respectable, but the image quality still pales in comparison to what a real DirectX 10 machine can do. Maxed out in DirectX 9 is a far cry from maxed out in DirectX 10. It’s all the subtle touches that make the graphics – little things that just can’t be done in DX9. Currently, there is no hardware on the consumer level that can possibly max out all of the settings in Crysis (yes, that includes AA) on any platform.
Furthermore, the ranting about DirectX 10 on a Mac is absurd. The 8600M 256MB isn’t remotely near the specs of the 2 7900GTs you had in your PC, and even then, gameplay was “choppy.” If it was choppy on the previous king of the hill, what makes you think this generation’s midrange could touch that performance? In addition, you would still need to purchase a Windows platform and dualboot to access DX10 – the graphics API isn’t available for the Mac. With all this in consideration, I would just use the Mac for work (yes, I’m writing out this reply on a Macbook). Some platforms just do things better than others – for Windows, that’s gaming.
ah. finally! someone who believes mac has an imminate uprising. I have Mac myself. alothough its a crappy G4. an old iMac. the one where the CPU is in a dome? I plan to get a new one. ever sience I saw mac was making better computers I’ve sen a HUGE boost in computer sales. I used to have a XP but that thing was sooooo freaking slow. im glad i have a Mac mac is way faster. The pro mac could beat vista by a mile. (message to razor) QUAD CORE!!! UHN! Id like to see vista put that in its pipe and smoke it!!! Happy Gaming ya’ll!!
@Jacky
Crysis runs fine on one 8800 GT. I get about 40 FPS on 1400 x 900 High (36 on very high on Vista) and I’ve seen a friend with two of those SLId at 60 FPS (same res). I use to use a 8800GTS (ver 1) with Crysis and I could only use medium (high would goto 17 FPS). The new GTS with G92 core will run this a little faster than the GT. It’s unfortunate that this game can only work well on cards that have only been available for 2-3 months or $500+ cards.
The only real key to playing this game well is owning a highest end card and having a 64-bit OS(it does play better on a 64 bit system). Whether it’s a Mac with OSX(or Windows) or a XP/Vista PC won’t make a difference.
I believe Jacky knows what he’s saying,playing Crysis on any Mac will be better than playing it on a Pc.
I have installed crysis on my old maching (4-5 years old w/2yr old gpu)
ath 64 3000+
ga k8ns socket 754 board
1.3gig ddr ram @ 266mhz
nvid 6800 gs/xt (bios reads it as 6800 gts its a 6800gs manufacturer OCed with 512mg ram)
It plays fairly clean all turned down maybe 25-30 fps.
If i was to OC anything to improve gameplay what would you recommend… gpu or cpu?
Hey guys.
First, if you are looking for better configs, or how to overclock, or any tech support on the game, go to http://www.incrysis.com
Second, to any Mac fanboys, you can spend $2000 on mac and install XP on it and play Crysis on it, but the alternative of buying a much cheaper PC to play it on much higher settings seems a bit more attractive to me.
DirectX 10 on a mac you say? That whole Windows only thing is kinda hard when it comes to having a mac, so I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Macs are overpriced, and I can build a Intel computer and then install cracked software from apple on it for a 1/4th the price. Oh, and Leopard has had more security updates than Vista has ever had so far per week.
So yeah, have fun with that.
hello, i read the posts because i was trying to find out if the most graphically demanding pc games could run on a mac running windows xp/vista using BootCamp (obviously)…and i came to the conclusion that yes, games will run as smoothly than on a pc.
example 1: pro evolution soccer 2008 is graphically demanding (if u want ur replays to run as smoothely as they would on a tv or the game play to never be chppy)…i ran it on a pc with 256mb graphic card, and it was ok “ok”, a bit choppy in the gameplay, and the replays lagged…i played it on a macbook pro, 125mb graphic card, and it was SMOOTHER, and the game was played in high res and 1024xwhatever it normallly is…
and by the way, i bet u anything, that if you run anything, game, 3d manipulation programs on windows, on a mac with windows, or just a mac, on the new mac pro 8 processors, will litterally rape the BEST PC (if that exists)…dude 3.0GHz x 8 + 1.5GB ram on LEOPARD….?? come on…PC´s, run home to Mr.Gates…if you don´t believe me, look at the benchmark testing
>3.0GHz x 8 + 1.5GB ram on LEOPARD
Why only 1.5GB RAM? Why not have 32GB of RAM? It can handle it.
http://www.apple.com/macpro/design.html
Geez. I cant believe how many ppl are trying so desperately to convince
everyone that Macs can run games better. All I can do is laugh.
I own a Mac, a PC and a Linux box, both the Mac and PC relatively high end. Vista runs Crysis reasonably, WinXP struggles a bit with it though (probably because XP dont support dual core properly).
The Mac just dont cut it when it comes to gaming. Most of the games that I have ever tried (available for Windows and Mac) simply work better on the PC
Suffice to say that both my Mac and PC platforms are relatively equal when it comes to specs.
So basically if u want to game on a mac, you need WAY better specs than the same game on a PC.
The simple fact of the matter is that Macs are not geared for gaming, but are better at multimedia processing (Audio/Video editing, Sequencing etc) and other work than PCs.
Anyone who thinks that Macs can run games better than PCs will quickly be left behind in the gaming world.
Simple fact is: If you want to play games, get a PC. If you want productivity, get a Mac.
If you want the best of both worlds,
THEN GET BOTH!
And if you like to tinker – get a linux machine too.
Quit trying to justify your inability to afford 2 high end platforms by trashing the one you do not have. Go spend some money, get both, and quit whining.
Both have their uses, as does linux.
Get over it.
Companies should start developing more games for higher end computers, particularly tru64 UNIX. I couldn’t think of a better machine for a person that had nothing better to do than spend all their time and their entire life savings playing video games than an HP Alphaserver GS1280 with a whole rack mount full of some insane graphics cards, 512 GIGS of memory, a cabinet full of raided 15,000 rpm SCSI drives, and 64 EV7 processors. Plus, they could rent out logical partitions of the machine to people who wanted to play and use their own computers as dummy terminals.
Well,Macs are made to make,Pcs are made to play…it always running the same routine..(But i haven’t try on the bootcamp yet though)…Pcs never beat Mac on makings gigantic stuff and Macs hardly defeat PCs in games (especially Alienware)…However,the games run on my mac were fine enough…unless you want to be a pro-gamer,owne a Alienware then.
Ok i am a used-to-be hardcore gamer turned mac lover, and just want to state to all that no matter what you do, PC’s will always run games better until programmers specifically design games for each OS. it’s just a fact. I am however in love w/ mac and will never turn back. Crysis plays good w/ about 30 fps on medium-high settings on my MBP w/ 2.6 ghz duo, a 4 gigs of ram, 8600 gt, and a 7600 rpm hard drive upgrade (which is a MUST for gaming), but a pc system will probably still run that a lot better. we’re not talking hardcore gamers here, of course they use pc’s ppl are just trying to find out whether or not the game will play on a mac. macs do a ton of other things about 10 times better than pcs and w/ out the problems, but just not games. if you want to run games on mac you can definitely do it, it will run totally fine, but you just have to spend a lot more money. love it or hate it, apple is a better system all around, but nothings perfect.
i use a mac if you had a mac pro id say yea you would have a sick gaming computer imac hell no here is some sepcs of a new mac . keep in mind mac is the same as a pc assholes its just using a diffrent operating system mac might be a new option for gaming down the road.
The mac pro is made for video and audio editing. Well and among other things its all personal prefrence and for most windows users or pc people they put lower grade intel chips in most dell hp etc mac has the highest performance intel chip on the market look it up at intel.com .
these specs show alone there power.
Apple Mac Pro 2.8GHz 8-core Desktop Computer Features:
Two 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (8-core)
2GB (2 x 1GB) – 8 Slots total for max 32GB
320GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s – 3 Additional open bays
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB (Two dual-link DVI)
One 16x SuperDrive
Apple Mighty Mouse
Apple Ultrathin Aluminum Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X
oh and to add on in most custom built pcs also you cant get a high grade intel chip unless you spend some dough and most pcs dont hold as much ram as a mac its kinda retarted may be more expensive but you get what you pay for . Thats the best way to put a mac. sorry left a part out
I don’t know, but it sounds to me that the Mac Pro is more of a server than a pc, or sorry “Mac”, so of course you can support 32 gb of memory, and two processors. Also, I know the new macs can support 4 way sli/crossfire, which is a major waste of money. But if you have money to waste, buy a Mac. If not, buy a pc. You really only need at most 2-way sli. My pc can run Crysis at around 25-30 on high with no AA. Good luck running Crysis on your Macs. Also, if you try gaming on your mac don’t get the ATI 2600 because it is no where close to the 8800. Did I mention I got my 8800gt before it was offered on Macs.
Specs:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
512 mb Nvidia 8800gt
3GB of memory
400 gb 7200 rpm Hard drive
20 in lcd monitor
DVD-DL burner.
Only $1300.
I believe a semi-equivalent mac is $2600.
I retract my previous comment. An equivalent mac with ONE 2.8 Xeon, 2 gb of memory, and a 320 gb hard drive costs $3148.00
You can build a Honda Civic that can run mid-10s for less than a Ferrari too. Guess which I’d rather have?
null and void? I’m a flight simulation nut and I will never use a crapantosh. FSX now optimizes the use of DX10 and I will never switch back. The only advances mac ever had in gaming were copying over games for windows. Innovation my ass.
>flight simulation nut and I will never use a crapantosh
Can’t blame you there except for the imature crapantosh comment.
>FSX now optimizes the use of DX10
Wow. Microsoft’s game, just now is able to use Microsoft’s DirectX 10, with Microsoft’s Vista? It’s only over a year old. Microsoft’s game should’ve been able to use Microsoft’s API for Microsoft’s Operating system out of the box and you call Macs crap?!?!
>The only advances mac ever had in gaming were copying over games for windows. Innovation my ass.
LOL! Mac’s are not for gaming. Plain and simple. Everyone knows that. But you’re telling me that only games=innovation? LOL. Well since you’re such an innovation lover why don’t you go play with your Zune.
Vistasucks.
Your telling him his comment “crapintosh” is immature, yet your name that shows up on every post says ‘vistasucks’. No one. No person with any intelligents would ever take anything you post seriously with an open bias like that.
Just going to point out that you’re giving a lecture on intelligence, yet you spelled it “intelligents.” Oh, and my Mac running Firefox spell-checked this comment automatically, catching the misspelling. Thought you should know.
My PC running Firefox spell checks things also, thought you should know.
Thepoudone:
All I’m saying is it’s immature to say Crapintosh as opposed to saying Macs are Crap.
You don’t hear me calling it Windows Pissta do you?
@ Alan
I somehow doubt you are a flight simulation nut because you are using FSX. FSX is a toy compared to X-plane. X-plane is the only simulator to get FAA approval and uses blade element theory. If it ain’t using blade element theory (fsx) then the feedback and responsiveness ain’t all that realistic. So yeah go and boot up FSX on your crappy Vista machine, it will probably ask you 10 times if you wanna play the game when trying to open it, but yeah feel secure in the fact that you are awesome.
i am very interested in this post because i hav been looking around for a powerful computer and the best i found was the mac pro.
however i really wanted a computer for gaming but this means i can play these games its fine.
No matter whether you use windows, OS X, or any distribution of Linux, the hard ware is all the same. especially since Macs now run on Intel processors. The difference is how each operating systems puts that hardware to use. With that being said. Each operating system has its own individual strengths and weaknesses. some OS’s are better at some things and bad at others. Use what works for you and PLEASE STOP BAD MOUTHING SOME ONE FOR USING A OPERATING SYSTEM OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU USE!!!!!!!
What computer do I prefer to use? The one that fits my needs.
but i don’t have xp on my imac. so i can’t play i. And crossover does not support crysis!
Now that the Mac Pro can be upgraded to have a whopping 32G of RAM, and up to four hard drives each at 300G running at 15,000 RPM, or, if you need more space, can have 4TB, each running at 7200 RPM. It can support up to eight Mac displays at the same time, if you have enough space for them that is. It has a NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 with 1.5GB RAM, two 16x double-layer optical drives, a wireless keyboard and mouse, and wireless technology to connect to Wi-Fi. Sure, it’s expensive as HELL, like, $24,000 dollars, but it proves that running Crysis on Ultra High settings can be possible and incredibly smooth. Yes, you have to use BootCamp, but the eight monitors make the inconvenience of switching back and forth between Crysis and another program null and void.
Oh, forgot to add this, but the only problem is that, while it can run up to two 3.2 G Hz Quad-Core Intel processes, the Crysis recommended system requirements explicitly state that it runs on an Intel Core 2 Duo, and a Mac Pro can only be configured to run on Intel Xeon processors. Or are the Xeon processors a step above the Core 2 Duos? Either way, it’s still Quad-Core.
Or, better yet, you could just get a really good PC and install Mac OS X on it.
This seems to be the optimal solution, as Apple hardware is worthless.
People, I’d like to see gaming come to the Mac as much as anyone. I started on Mac, and was an avid user and defender of them until the early to mid 90′s when they started pissing off their customers and developers. The only person who can fix this is Steve Jobs. He needs to go and do some damage control with the gaming community. He needs to let go of his proprietary thoughts on Hardware at least in the Video Card area. He needs to start courting these video card manufactures so there are readily available drivers. He needs to understand that for all the people that use OS X for exactly what it is intended for, there are probably millions more out there that would love to kiss Microsoft goodbye forever if only they could switch and take there games with them.
The dual booting, and emulation is just bull and I think everyone here knows it. If you are an Apple fan don’t be offended because I am an Apple fan stuck using an inferior OS for gaming. We need a reality check here, and it needs to be demanded by the people that spend their money on Apple’s hardware. As intelligent people we know that emulation is not the answer, and we know that having to shut down and boot into another OS to play a game and then shut that down and boot back to Mac is time consuming, inefficient, and expensive because you have to buy another OS.
The Apple team needs to use the same ingenuity that brought us the Mac and find a way to round up the top three or four game producers and get them to commit, and the rest would follow suite.
I have no doubt in my mind that Mac OS X is the superior operating system, but I’m stuck running Vista NATIVELY until I can run my games NaATIVELY on a Mac with comparable performance.
Mac’s are cool but not a single one of the video cards they release are suitable for gaming.
Did any of you know that an 8600 or a 2600 will not play Crysis to an acceptable level?
I use a mac notebook for standard tasks (such as web browing and email)
But my PC CONSTANTLY outperforms macs running windows and native games to the mac.
For less money than the mac I have an E8400 processor which wipes the floor with a quard core (and 8 core for that matter) Crysis and the like don’t even support more than 2 cores (even though they are meant to!) I use 2x 8800GTX’s SLI’s (which you can’t do in the mac!)
I also do not need TWO operating systems to complete my tasks- Windows Vista does just fine on ALL tasks.
Anyone who can constantly come back and say that the mac can do it better that’s just crap, a PC mac and Linux can all write a document/email/browse the web NONE is better than the other.
Obviously you are all aware that the only things making the mac unique is it’s OS?
Core2′s and standard desktop hardware…
Everytime they make a new system it gets closer and closer to a PC and for good reason…
I’m not here to bash mac’s but it is simply unreasonable and stupid to bash Windows because you like macs.
Why would you kiss Microsoft goodbye?
OSX is one of the LEAST secure operating systems out there but most of the world use Windows so stating Viruses etc is not a good enough excuse, I have my own PC repair shop where I sell/repair BOTH PC’s and macs and the customers that get infected is down to there own stupidity.
I NEVER get infected on my own PC.
I compared Call of Duty 2 on the PC and mac and the PC outperformed easily.
@ Laura – I can build a PC to do the same – Cheaper to so your point is Null and Void.
PC’s and mac’s are like me and the millionare down the road, I drive a Mitsubishi EVO VIII and he drive’s a Jaguar V6 but I still cream him down the road!
However you look at it, at the end of the day they are both the same thing, the mac is just the prettier equivelant.
Would I pay more for that? NEVER.
Amen to that.
OS X is not the least secure OS available – absolutely: if you say that, you don’t know much about computers… :->
I will agree on the fact that Vista sucks but I still prefer XP. I’ve got nothing against MAC but here in South Africa MAC is not really recognized at all. Crysis however is a really good game although I still prefer Far Cry
After reading a few responses I find that most mac uses here are delusional. To think a pissy 256mb card could even handle the textures of crysis is absurd. My computer (4gig kingston hyper X ram @ 800mhz, 2.66ghz quad core Q9450 CPU, and a beautiful 9800gx2.) Is really what you need for high end gaming. For the morons (jesse I’m looking at you) who think that a 256 (btw times that by 4 and you have my card) is aptly suited to running any new release game are not only misinformed but making a fool of themselves.
Mac gamers DON’T exist, you are a minority and a disgrace to my hobby. Have you ever been to a comp or tourney, seriously guys macs do mac things but on a strictly power basis they fail in comparison.
Laura, $24,000… I could run Crysis on ultra high for a max amount of 2g. that’s 12 times less.
8 gig of ram would cost around 200 bucks
Two 280GTX’s for 400 each
A decent SLi mobo would set you back 250 – 300ish
and 3ghz quad core for around 500.
srsly u guis, get a fucking clue.
Also as for having 8 cores, that’s all nice and everything, but if it hasn’t been pointed out already, 90% of games only support two, with the other 10% only supporting 4. So uhhh have fun with that. Not to mention crysis isn’t even CPU intensive it’s mainly GPU.
I agree, its like having the GIANT muscles in ur arms, but not having any strength in ur hands to lift anything…
the only problem i have with MAC’s is the lack of customisation. if you hardware goes out of date, u gotta get a whole new computer, where as witha pc, u can just stick in another stick of ram, or change the graphics card, or even upgrade ur cpu
OR
if u dont like ur current case, u can get a new one, and pimp it out with neon’s, they lack the personality of a PC.
MAC’s are great for what they do, which is art stuff (video/image editing and more) BUT they are horrible for gaming
^ agreed, I have had my computer since 2004 and since then Ive upgraded it multiple times including a new motherboard cpu’s and even a new power supply. I feel that my computer has more personality than just some over priced stylistic mac. And for all of those who say macs look better than a PC,w ell obviously they have never seen a Lian Li case with neon’s, water cooling and the works.
Just read those comments … quite funny. I have owned PC’s for years and recently upgraded to the new MacPro 2.8 x 2xeon quad core, 2 GIG ram, 8800GT. I can run Crysis in bootcamp on XP full settings (including AA) 1680×1050 at 30+ FPS.
With DX10 configs on Ultra High with the same settings it drops to 10-15fps
I play COD4 on full settings at 90fps
Fear runs in VMware on my OSx desktop
There’s nothing wrong with this Mac as far as gaming is concerned … anyone saying different is clearly full of shit.
dear kerr,
may I ask how much did you beloved system set you back?
My computer has double the power of every component mentioned bar the CPU which is pretty much the same, and it cost me $1400, however to buy it today it would be a few hundred less (such is the nature of the beast). COST:POWER ratio is skewed in PC’s favor. Not to mention that the 8800GT wont be able to run DX 10.1 (the new version), so yeah good luck with that.
I use Vista 64 SP1 and it is great! It is easily the best OS I have ever used, (including OS X) The author of this site must be pretty dumb if he mangaged to get his Vista install locked! He SHOULD defect to Mac, that is his destiny. God riddens!
Anonymous:
Dumb enough that I bought Vista Ultimate 64 pre-SP1 on launch day? Guilty.
Dumb enough to attempt an install on older hardware without all the drivers ready and stable? Guilty.
Or did you mean:
Dumb enough that I fix other people’s Windows problems for a living, make a good living at it, and have a 98% total service satisfaction level? I’m guilty again.
Maybe you meant dumb enough that I know how to spell “riddance”?
If you think that getting Vista to lock requires low intelligence you probably should’ve been the first to experience it.
I’m on the front lines proverbially speaking and I can tell you with certainty that VERY smart people have LOTS of problems with Vista.
Just for the record that last anonymous wasn’t me. I use XP becuase I’m poor.
i think that macs are an intressting alternative for making music or simmilar tasks…
but as far as gaming is concerned i always would use a windows pc
vista sucks
xp rules
Unless it’ll run with the same quality as on a GTX280 I’m not really interested in a mac right now.
Im tired of all you fan boys here both towards microsoft and apple you kiss so much ass some of you its un fukin real, They are both brilliant os mac can run many demanding programs but it just cannot run games as demanding as crysis as well as it can on windows thats the blunt truth of it, im a mac user and i cant wait for game developers to start releasing for both systems but atm its just not happening and as a mac user im used to not having something compatible for mac but for windows, its always been like it and probley always will. STOP BADMOUTHING MAC AND STOP BADMOUTHING FUKING WINDOWS, if you had tons of mony on iether system you can upgrade everything and it be a amazing computer but dont badmouth them for having or spending more money than you!
I already installed Crysis using Leopard. When I insert the disk, while on Windows Vista, and press “PLAY”, it loads and then says, “insufficient card” or something like that. I have a Macbook Pro and I think that is more than enough to run Crysis. An help would be great.
John: Couldn’t say. It runs fine for me under XP on my MacBook Pro
Yes, after 15 years I’ve decided to turn away from the dark side. I bought a MacBook Pro and it is great! A beautiful rock solid UI running on UNIX… it runs all my tools PHP, Apache, Oracle, Web Logic, XP in VM and Call of Duty 4… can’t wait for Crysis….
nice action game
ok well all of you PC lovers sit here and say waste your money on a mac i will spend half the price of a mac for a PC that matches up ok well it may match up but in the long run your PC is going to be royally F in the A after all of the viruses get a hold of it and you will be spending money to repair it and its just going to keep dieing on you.. then eventually you are going to say to yourself wow i just spend over 3000 dollars total on this computer i need to buy a new one because there is no bringing it back…. where as the mac user spends 2600 for the mac book pro and never has to buy a computer again idk you get what you pay for… maybe your PC runs a little smoother but all in all unless you are a pro gamer it doesnt matter…. and i run crysis on my bootcamp (parallels) and it runs just fine…. i dont have anything to complain about. so i guess the odds add up once again and MAC is towering over PC! in ever direction you look!
“in the long run your PC is going to be royally F in the A after all of the viruses get a hold of it and you will be spending money to repair it”
All the viruses?…the only people who get Viruses are the idiots who don’t protect their computer.
“wow i just spend over 3000 dollars total on this computer”
No no no…we have PC’s, not Macs.
Dual boot means you can boot natively in EITHER Windows or OS x. In Windows, my Mac runs Crysis on high settings like butter. And I can crunch HD video for BluRay discs at the same time… Mac hardware is excellent, all first rate bus architecture and top of the line intel processors. The stock video cards are just ok, but the rest of the machine is a beast. Upgrade to a better card and you’re golden.
To the Anonymous comment above:
I think I would rather just buy a Windows laptop with better specs and good antivirus (also its half the price).
And wow, this thread is way too long for me to be here at the end..
You cannot use a comparison of a Honda to a Ferrari in regards to a PC vs a Mac.. No that just doesn’t work. A comparison that would work would be a PC is a blue Ferrari Maserati Coup for 80k, or you can get the Exact Same Coup THE ALL WHITE ONE WITH SUPER COOL LIGHTS AND STUFF AND IT LOOKS SLEEKER for 200k.
Which would you choose? You get the same processing power out of each pc at equivalent levels with only fluctuations in price leaning towards the Mac being way over priced. 32 gigs of ram? Seriously? By the time you need 32 gigs of ram, you will need a completely new computer as well goes for Bleeding edge processors such as the Dual Quad Core set up of the new Macs.
It really is quite simple to understand. No one ever said “You can’t play games on a mac”. No, all anyone ever said was that gaming on a PC will always be infinitely better. This is true due to the cost differential.
If you were to buy a new Mac with an i7 processor with 6gb of ddr3 ram with a 850w power supply and a gtx 295, then you could play any game on high settings available. But if you even dared to find a Mac with those specs, you are looking upwards of $4,000, whereas you can build a pc with those specs for easily under $1500.
No one said you can’t put the right hardware in a Mac, all anyone said was that it is retardedly expensive for absolutely no reason. That of which anyone with a brain, has to agree.
“No, all anyone ever said was that gaming on a PC will always be infinitely better. This is true due to the cost differential.”
/Applaud.
hi I was a windows user for a long time but since the black macbook came out i prefer osx. the macbook itself has a nice design but it is not very high quality. the plastic got a crack, the harddrive broke after 2 years and the trackpad buttons are not working properly anymore but its still working and great for writing some basic photoshop, online stuff etc. + still looks very elegant
my windows laptop wasn’t better at all, the paint came off, the screen bulb broke 4 times and when the warranty ended and the screen broke again I threw the useless thing away. it was too loud anyway.
Gaming: I am going to get a imac 24 dual core 3.06 ghz 4 gig ram ati 4850 512 ram and 1 terrabyte hdd soon. I know that I could get a much better pc for that money but their design is ugly, too much cables, ugly screens…+ i dont wanna use windowsfor photoshop, after effects, audiowork, etc.. and i have a good mac store around the corner in case i need to get sth repaired within the extended warranty… windows is just too sensitive for viruses etc. thats why I prefer to get a mac and do all my email, online things and productive stuff on the reliable easy to use osx and some occasional gaming on windows I guess the 4850 hd ati will run most games with higher settings. and otherwise I can play microsoft games on a $300 xbox 360 in HD.
if I would focus on gaming only then i would probably get a pc but i dont think that playing some eyecandy games only are worth paying that much money
I have a mac and can run crysis on boot camp with high settings. No AA, but mostly high, low volumetric, very high particles, textures, objects and physics. I do, however, have a 8800 gt and … 8 3.2′s. Unfortunately i have vista and not xp, and a pretty small partition set aside. Anyways, game looks great in max res, I’ve played it like 3 times in the last few days. all for around 3000. Of course i didnt buy a computer to play video games, but a nice little treat which, for me atleast, makes PC’s totally obsolete. And also sort of embarasses microsoft, vista is pure crap.
Ok, I realize this is the WRONG place to say this but… I really don’t get the mac fanboy hype. Anyone who owns a mac swears by it, cause of the software for video and photo editing… And if you want games/anything else you can dual boot windows. How is the ability to run the other your system like the other one a selling point? If I want windows I’ll get a PC… Not to mention as I type this I am in safari on pc/hackentosh. Dual booting OS’s goes both ways.
While I will admit OSX is flashy and I do prefer the visuals of it over windows, even if I had to stick to the native OS I’d still go PC all the way!!! Right now I have a top of the line processor and GPU, better than what can be used on mac as they aren’t supported till snow leapord comes out. If want a system in pc I build it (For less), if I want a system in Mac? “Too bad, you’ll take what we give you!”
And as far as virus’s? I use a stellar antivirus, and don’t remember the last time I got one.. But yes they are out there. But with Macs advertising campaign pushing this plus Mac will soon enough need one too. (Atleast the hope so.)
Side note, Mac is phenomenal at advertising! Made me wanna partition my PC HDD and create a hackentosh… Still all I do is the SAME thing I did on windows, but in more time cause I now have a learning curve. (not osx’s fault, I do like leapord and look forward to snow leapord.)
My current setup:
core i7 @ 3.7ghz
Asus P6T Deluxe Motherboard
6gb Patriot Viper 1600mhz ddr3
2 x xfx nvidia gtx 280 Black editions (SLIed)
Antec 1000w PSU
2 x 80gb velociraptors hdd’s (Raid 0)
2 x 1tb Barracudas hdd’s
Auzentech Xplosion Audio Card
Freezer Extreme Cooler
Toshiba Blu-ray Rom
Samsung DVD Writer
NZXT Case
Wait for it, Wait for it……
And vista 64 bit.
All for under 2300. Now please tell me what mac out there, including that rediculous 24,000 dollar over priced mac will even come close to the performance of my current set up. Well you dont have to answer that because there is nothing that mac has that could even half the performance of my machine. Oh and please macs with 8600gt and ati 2600′s,,, please those are garbage video cards. Play crysis on 1900×1200 max everyhing, including AA and see what happens. 8600 and 2600, that makes me laugh. Do you guys seriously think you have a gaming rig with those video cards. I am crying its so funny to think that you guys think that those are even plausable gaming cards. Yes mac has a nice operating system that may be eons ahead of windows, but it mainly comes down to hardware, and mac just doesnt cut it. You can hope and dream but the pc is just a absolute power house when it comes to hardware. And for all the mac users, if your going to upgrade just custom build your computer like i did and then install your dreamy os x on it. Mac hardware is garbage and on top of it, its overpriced. Mac is all hype. hype hype hype.
Well…I have to agree with ~rec~ PC’s will always stay ahead of MAC’s at least in performance, cuz MAC’s just don’t have cutting edge in new technology, for example DX11 and two or even three(1Gig:GTX295), but when it comes to the operating system, well i belive that MAC’s OS is the one that will prevail.
And I know what i’m saying because I work in service/repair-IT departament.
The bottom line is that I like PC’s for their flexibilty and brute power and MAC’s for their stability, quality and style.(both hardware and software)
Hope to get some good arguments why I am wrong, and why?
lol i have a macbook pro but i also have my pc (which i made) it has a geforce 295 gtx 1g and a 9800gtx 1g that i used as a dedicated phyx card, factory oc i7 3.8@ghz 8g’s of corsair ram, and the whole system is liquid cooled so i OC everything and the system only cost me 1.5k (thats including my 22 inch screen & the speakers) also i dont think my keyboard the saitek cyborg is compatible with macs well at least the macro commands. Running vista ultimate i could get windows 7 but ultimate gets better benchmarks for gaming.
hell i love my mac but when anyone says gaming and mac i lol.
i like macs cause there stable and easy
i like pc’s cause there powerful and flexible
What’s really laughable here is that people are talking about Macbooks vs. a stationary PC they built themselves.
While Macs aren’t gaming machines, my PC laptop (from Dell) isn’t any better at gaming, it actually does worse but that’s another story.
The point is if you want a gaming machine you’re either building your own PC or you’re buying a console. The future seem to be in consoles anyway so maybe it’s the Mac users that will have the last laugh…
Dudes, my dad has a pumped mac with 20 terabytes of mem, 10 gig of ram and 8 traffic cards, think that’ll manage? Ha? Ha?
I mean 8 graffix cards
well, i just use crossover games on my imac. then i download steam then i bought crysis and runs smooth.
As a PC gamer I laugh a lot at Mac users who use their Macs for gaming. Since the cost of a Mac is so much higher than that of a regular PC, even though a Mac is just the same but with a pretty box and a different OS.
Apple advertise a Quad core Mac Pro starting at $2499! I paid less than 8 hundred pounds for a quad core PC with 6gigs of RAM and an ATi HD4850 with 1gig of on board video memory. That included Vista, Office 2007, Norton 360 for a year on up to 3 computers, 22″ HD monitor and free tech support for a year.
My PC vs. Cheapest Mac Pro
Processor
q8200 vs 2.66GHz Xeon Quad
GPU
Asus HD4850 1gig vs Nvidia gt120 512MB
HDD
7200 rpm 640GB vs. 7200 rpm 640GB
DVD drive
22x vs. 18x
RAM
6GB 1066MHz vs. 3GB 1066MHz
Cost
£780 vs. $2499
Plus all the affore mentioned software.
PC wins!
I must admit that this posting is as ludicrous as can be. This guy is expecting us to believe that he’s running Crysis at 60 FPS while burning Blu-Ray discs!
Ohhhhhhhhh, ho, ho, ho! I’m so glad it’s Friday! I like to start the weekend off with a chuckle or two!
Here’s the facts: the guy is living in a dreamworld and trying to get the rest of us to join. It ain’t happening. Crysis has a hard time running on some of the latest hardware, and we’re already well into 2009. No matter how you slice it, a Mac is NOT going to keep up no matter how hard it tries. Even the newest Power Mac is a joke. 8-core processor utilizing Intel i7 Extreme chips? Last I checked, those Extreme chips were meant exclusively for enthusiasts and overclockers. What Mac user overclocks???
Anyway, I won’t dignify this joke of a post anymore. I just thought I’d voice my laughter and ridicule over someone who can’t even get his stories straight.
so you people are saying I can just put the crysis disk that is designed for pc in my mac and it will install?
Buy a P.C. for gaming! And a Mac for FinalCut and other movie or music programs like I do. I have a Mac Pro spent too much $ on the junky machine .. I’m not impressed. But the newest O.S. is pretty solid. I use my P.C. with Windows XP for gaming and internet. As far as I’m concerned there’s nothing like building a P.C. from scratch and making kick ass computer.. Most people buy a P.C. for a deal and spend 500$ to 1000$. You’ll never get a kick ass comp like that. Do a little homework and put together your own .. You wont be disappointed. Plus!My mistake! But I was under the impression that Mac was American made. Made in China by Foxconn and Inventecc 2 shitty company’s. Cheaper labor, it`s a poor country, but with a strong economy. A worker does about 60 to a 100 hours a week. They never sleep! You can see it in the final product! Crappy comps.with lots of hardware issues. For the price there shouldn’t be problems . I know too many people that had to buy brand new Macs.. and that just blows
Where is the demo for this?! Ive wanted to play it for so long but I keep getting the PC version, and I have a mac. Any ideas?