Will a mini work for me?

BoA

BoA


Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
174
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Florida
Your Mac's Specs
iMac G5, 17", 160 GB, 512RAM/ iPod 1gen, 15G/iPod video black
I'm looking at Minis for around February to get one. I want to upgrade the HD and ram in it of course, and such. But, would it run bootcamp and XP games well? I'd use it for only gaming probably and it'd sit next to my iMac... I would look at a MBP or a PC Laptop but portables don't work well for me, my mom just hoards them lol like the iBook I got off here. But anyway, for the same price as a mini + upgrades I could get a PC that runs games, but I'm trying to keep it mac.

I can't justify a Mac Pro, or another iMac (I get this one last December), so I was figuring a Mini would work since I have a monitor, keyboard, etc. now.

So, should I go with a Mini or an XPS or something...
 
dtravis7

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
What kind of games we talking about? You know the Mini has an Intel GMA950 Integrated Graphics chip? If they are older games, they might work fine, but newer and more demanding ones like Doom 3 and Quake 4 forget it. The Mini is not a Game machine, not at all. It was never intended to be. I am surprised mine plays GTA3 and Vice City as well as it does, but more demanding games will be way slow unless you set everything to minimum settings.

If all you want to do is games in Windows, get that XPS.
 
OP
BoA

BoA


Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
174
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Florida
Your Mac's Specs
iMac G5, 17", 160 GB, 512RAM/ iPod 1gen, 15G/iPod video black
dtravis7 said:
What kind of games we talking about? You know the Mini has an Intel GMA950 Integrated Graphics chip? If they are older games, they might work fine, but newer and more demanding ones like Doom 3 and Quake 4 forget it. The Mini is not a Game machine, not at all. It was never intended to be. I am surprised mine plays GTA3 and Vice City as well as it does, but more demanding games will be way slow unless you set everything to minimum settings.

If all you want to do is games in Windows, get that XPS.
Click to expand...
I plan on playing GTA, will Morrowind and/or Oblivion play?
Is there a way to upgrade the graphics card?

I know the XPS is probably a better buy, but it's so... ugly :(.
 
dtravis7

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
The Mac Mini is built like a Laptop. All on one board. No slots. It would be impossible to put a AGP or PCI Express slot in a system that size. So, it's the Integrated Intel graphics. No way to change it just like most laptops.

I will check on those games and get back to you. I am told that even GTA San Andreas plays smooth.

I like the looks of Macs better also, but if I am playing games and want a decent frame rate, I will just build my own box and ditch the Dell or any other brand.

I have XP Pro on my Core Duo Mini and it runs great. I really don't use it as I have a home built dedicated game computer so do not need it. I really installed XP on it to help others having install problems with Boot Camp. It runs great though.
 
OP
BoA

BoA


Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
174
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Florida
Your Mac's Specs
iMac G5, 17", 160 GB, 512RAM/ iPod 1gen, 15G/iPod video black
dtravis7 said:
The Mac Mini is built like a Laptop. All on one board. No slots. It would be impossible to put a AGP or PCI Express slot in a system that size. So, it's the Integrated Intel graphics. No way to change it just like most laptops.

I will check on those games and get back to you. I am told that even GTA San Andreas plays smooth.

I like the looks of Macs better also, but if I am playing games and want a decent frame rate, I will just build my own box and ditch the Dell or any other brand.

I have XP Pro on my Core Duo Mini and it runs great. I really don't use it as I have a home built dedicated game computer so do not need it. I really installed XP on it to help others having install problems with Boot Camp. It runs great though.
Click to expand...
What are the specs for your game computer? Sounds interesting...
I MAY go this route, it's something I was looking in to before but there aren't very many good guides to it...

Any screens of XP on your mini?
 
L

Logan

Guest
There is no Mini Pro like there is a Macbook Pro, but if you look the MacBook and the Mac Mini are using the same vid card.

Both at this moment can't run Oblivion at all really... Doom3 is unplayable. Personally I highly suggest not getting a mini if you plan to do serious gaming, it just isn't really worth it with it's current design.
 
OP
BoA

BoA


Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
174
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Florida
Your Mac's Specs
iMac G5, 17", 160 GB, 512RAM/ iPod 1gen, 15G/iPod video black
Logan said:
There is no Mini Pro like there is a Macbook Pro, but if you look the MacBook and the Mac Mini are using the same vid card.

Both at this moment can't run Oblivion at all really... Doom3 is unplayable. Personally I highly suggest not getting a mini if you plan to do serious gaming, it just isn't really worth it with it's current design.
Click to expand...
Gracias!

Yeah, I think I'd be better off with a XPS or building one...

I do have a question, Do you think Oblivion would run okay if I changed the P4 in one of my computers for a C2D chip, and upgraded the graphics card and ram?
 
dtravis7

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
Doom 3 will play if you turn every setting down and the resolution as low as it will go. I tried it. Anything more though and it's jerky. Can't expect more from Integrated graphics in a case that small.
 
leecho7

leecho7


Joined
Jul 26, 2006
Messages
587
Reaction score
51
Points
28
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Pro 8 Core 2.8, 6gb Ram, 2TB HD space, Geforce 8800GT//Macbook Pro 2.16, 2gb Ram
BoA said:
Gracias!

Yeah, I think I'd be better off with a XPS or building one...

I do have a question, Do you think Oblivion would run okay if I changed the P4 in one of my computers for a C2D chip, and upgraded the graphics card and ram?
Click to expand...

If you want to go C2D, you need a new motherboard as well. From what I heard, to use C2D you need to use DDR2 ram, which means your mobo running the P4 is definately out of date. You might as well get an entire system upgrade, since you'll most likely have to replace your power supply too.

With Oblivion, a dual core proc will definately help, however you will have to unlock dual core capabilities within the oblivion.ini file. It's real easy to do though.

If you want an uber gaming computer, stick with a do-it-yourself PC, unless you want to spend uber bucks for a high-end MacPro. If you're not sure how to do it yourself, pm me and I'll help you out. Or you could just go with Dell.
 
ByzantineRemnant

ByzantineRemnant


Joined
Dec 15, 2004
Messages
614
Reaction score
3
Points
18
Location
USA
Your Mac's Specs
MacPro, MBP C2D, iMac G4
A mini will play Morrowind but not Oblivion. You could sell your iMac, and get a newer 17" or 20" and youd be in a lot better shape for playing games...
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top