new to macs..

Hello everyone...I'm new to this forum as well as to the mac os...i been getting use to fairly quickly though and I have to say that I will never buy a pc ever again...i simply love it...but the only downside is that gaming is a def. no go..I'm not that much of a heavy gamer but i would like to play the occasional game whenever i have some free time and feel like playing something..i have a steam account and out of my 40 game library only 4 were mac compatible and but my macbookpro still has a hard time running them at times.. don't know if i should change my settings or what...any of you guys here have steam accounts and if so what are your setting for when you play them..
here is my list of games that i currently have installed:
left for dead 2
garry's mod
counter strike
team fortress 2
and the specs for my macbook are:
2.3ghz intel core i5
memory- 4 gb
intel hd graphics 3000 384 mb
mac osx lion 10.7

also could you guys point me the direction of some games do that run well on mac..
thanks in advance and sorry if i posted in the wrong place..new to this forum..

Welcome to the Mac Forums.

I'm not a gamer but there are some things to keep in mind about gaming on your MBP or any other computer. The better and faster the graphics are, the better most games are going to run.

Your machine uses an integrated graphics chipset - the Intel HD 3000 which "borrows" memory from the system. Since your machine has only 4 GB of system memory the maximum it will borrow is 384 MB. Upping the system memory to 8 GB (max for your machine) will then allow the HD 3000 to borrow 512 MB.

You might also want to play some games using a lower setting. And, do some searching around the web and see what settings others are using.

thanks... i will look into upping my memory..any idea on how much that would cost by the way?

fredy07 said:

thanks... i will look into upping my memory..any idea on how much that would cost by the way?

Click to expand...

Since there is only one bank in the MBP 13" model that means the 2 x 2 GB modules will have to be removed and replaced with 2 x 4 GB. Both Crucial and OWC stock the modules. I prefer OWC. Here's the LINK.

BTW, you may be able to install more than 8 GB if you have a late model MBP 13" machine. Take a look at the recommendations from OWC while you're there.

ok..so I finally got the money saved for the ram...but quick question since I myself won't be doing the replacing..would you recommend to take it to the apple store or could the average local computer store do it for me? Thanks in advance

Why not do the upgrade yourself? It's an easy upgrade as long as you follow directions and are careful. Go to the OWC site and take a look at their upgrade video for memory. Also, there are numerous videos on the web, (You-Tube), etc, that you can watch. Also, make sure you have the right tools.

Am I wrong, or don't most models of MacBook Pro ALSO have a discrete video card AS WELL AS the chipset?

Correct. All except the MBP 13" models have a discrete video chipset. The 13" models sport only the Intel HD 3000. Likewise for the MBA.

Thanks. So since the OP didn't specify which model he had, I guess he must have the 13" or he'd have a discrete video card that should just automatically turn on when playing demanding video games.