iMac for games = windows?

Hi all,

First time poster, hopefully someone will be able to point me in the right direction as other forums have failed to do so.

I now own my first iMac, i've had it for roughly 12 months and use it currently for my photography and design work.

I've always been an avid gamer, in particular using Steam!

I can currently play counter-strike, day of defeat etc, but I want to play more - unfortunately a lot of them are windows based.

If I buy a copy of windows, and partition it VIA bootcamp, could i expect good performance for games by that route? I'm currently able to play with the majority of settings on high with nice flowing FPS. Can I expect the same when using bootcamp, or is this not the best option for me?

I have a 2011 iMac
2.5 ghz intel quad processor
4 gb ram - looking to upgrade this.
350gb free space on my hdd.
AMD radeon HD 6750M

So basically, for games can i get away with using bootcamp and windows, or am I better off putting together a dedicated gaming rig?

You have the same machine as I have, the difference is I added more memory. Add at least another 4 GB of memory or more. Your machine will take up to 32 GB (which is overkill).

You should have no problem playing most games from a dual boot to Windows using Boot Camp. Only the most demanding games (graphic wise) may lag a bit on high setting, but otherwise you should be OK.

You mentioned putting together a Windows gaming rig. That may be your best bet to play anything that comes along. A Mac is not a gaming rig but can do well enough with most games. Try gaming with your iMac first and if you find that it doesn't meet your expectations, go with the Win box.

Thats quite reassuring, other responces i've had are basically to buy a PC

My next question regarding this, if you don't mind. If i go down to bootcamp route, will I need to format my current mac OS? Reason I ask is I have all my software installed, and HDD full of work and pictures to use for my work.

You will be dual booting. e.g. you will have 2 operating systems installed and boot into whichever one you want. It will not do anything to your current operating system except make the partition smaller by whatever size you decide to make the Windows partition.

Once you have Windows installed via BootCamp, Windows on your iMac will play any Windows game the same as a Windows machine with the same specs.


You really need to open up Applications - Utilities - BootCamp Assistant

Click on the 'Print Installation and Setup Guide'.
Print it, read it - at least twice.
From beginning to end - at least twice.
It'll take all of 10-15 minutes to read it - twice.
They really could not have made it any easier.

Once you have this basic knowledge and understanding, then come back with your additional questions.