06-21-2010, 10:54 AM

Hi Everyone. I'm sure this topic has come quite a bit, so I'll try to make as short to the point as I can.

Basically, I have a 2008 black MacBook, and I have recently have gotten into computer gaming. It turns out that my graphic card is horrible for gaming, and I cannot upgrade it.

Of course, I still want to stick with Macs, so I'm thinking about getting an entire new Mac, and I have a few specific questions.

Is it better to get a new Mac, or is there some way to upgrade my current Mac that I do not know about?
If I must get a new one, out of all the Macs, which one is the best for gaming (except the Mac Pro cause that is to expensive)?
Is there speculation of any new Macs coming out in the near future? Basically, should I wait to get a new one?

Currently, I'm thinking about getting the 13' MacBook Pro sometime in the next month or so before the student discount goes out.
Thank you in advance for all your help. I really do appreciate it.

06-21-2010, 11:07 AM

Yes that thing is going to suck for games. There is no way to upgrade it. If you really want a Mac and use it for gaming it sounds like an iMac might be your best bet (since the Pro is too much). What kind of games do you want to play? Go with the Radeon 4850 and you should be pretty happy with it as long as your expectations are realistic.

06-21-2010, 11:19 AM

I bought the Orange Box on Steam, and my friend gave CoD4. I'm also starting to think that the iMac is the best to go with. Which iMac do you think is best, the 21.5' or 27'? Also, I'm a college boy, so money is a big factor.

P.S. I realized this is the best board for this question, so I moved the question here http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/app...ac-gaming.html.

06-21-2010, 11:33 AM

Both the iMac's would be fine. It all depends on how much you want to spend (obviously). If you have the space and the cash the 27" is pretty darn sweet.

06-21-2010, 01:26 PM

You can choose two different graphic cards with the 21.5' iMac "NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3" or the "ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory."

Which one is better with gaming?
Also, is there any speculation that the iMacs will be upgrade in the near future?

06-21-2010, 01:33 PM

Whoops. I would go with the 27" then and get the 4850. The 4670 would be better than the 9400M for gaming.

06-21-2010, 01:35 PM

I personally prefer the ATI Radeon card for speedy graphics rendering. As far as an iMac upgrade - it's difficult to predict. The average cycle for iMac upgrades vary from around 8 to 12 months. We are getting close since the last upgrade was October of 2009. However, with Apple focusing on the iPad and now the iPhone 4, there may be a delay.

Regards.

06-21-2010, 03:45 PM

I was reading an article 21.5" vs 27" iMac online and I thought this was interesting.

"The higher priced 21.5" model comes with an ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics processor with 256MB of memory, which is the same GPU installed on the basic 27-inch iMac. Since the GPU in the 27" iMac has more screen to fill, games will run faster on the 21" model. To beat the gaming frame rates on the 21.5-inch iMac, you'll at least have to order the basic 27" model with the optional ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card."

As of now, I am leaning toward the ATI 21.5"

06-21-2010, 04:08 PM

Basically what they are saying is the higher the resolution the better card you'll need. Either one will play the games you mentioned fine.