Confirming My Suspicions
Leslie, from fellow 451 site Apple Reporter is the inspiration for this article.
It boils down to this, Leslie has a Mac (obviously) and wants to know what games she can run on it with the GMA 950 card that it came with. So, with that in mind, I set out to explore the depths of Apple gaming and find out exactly what games she could occupy her time with.
Well…I’d love to say it was a successful journey and I learned a lot but that simply isn’t the case. Scouring every resource I could find there was still no reassuring answer. Everywhere I went I was told, in essence “you need a dedicated graphics card.” In fact, at the Apple Support center I read several people say that there is no good way to game on a Macbook at all, it was either Pro, if you had to have the portability of the notebook, or go with a desktop to get anywhere at all with gaming on a Mac.
That’s unfortunate.
Now, there are, of course, some games that can be run, but it seems that any of the newer games are going to require a dedicated card to play them, or at least play them at a performance level approaching reasonable.
So sorry all you Apple fans and Mac lovers, but I couldn’t do anything with what Mac was offering (for a premium price) when it comes to gaming. Maybe Apple should think about working with AMD a bit, since they own ATI now cost of production for a processor and video card could be significantly reduced (compared to the already overpriced Intel processors and the markup that Apple puts on their products).
mac, apple, gaming, mmo games, ati, amd, intel, gaming on a mac
May 9th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Thanks, Brandon. You went above and beyond the call on this one. I linked this article to my cult of Apple one, hope you don’t mind.
May 9th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
[...] In other Apple issues that I’d like to see improved… gaming. Apple used to be cutting edge for gaming, but not so anymore. It made me very angry that I had to shop for my budget, getting a MacBook instead of a MacBook Pro. The MacBook should be perfectly good for what I do - I’m a writer. But I also like to have fun, and the only thing I wanted MacBook to have that it didn’t was a decent gaming card. I have no idea why Apple chose to put in a non-upgradable GMA 950 card into its MacBooks and iMacs, but they did. And if you game at all, you know that card stinks like two week old gym socks dipped in curry. You can’t even play Myst Online with that card! Apple, Apple, Apple. I love you, but what were you thinking? How about letting those of us stuck with the GMA 950 bring it in to the local Apple Store for a free or low cost upgrade? Oh right, you stuck it on the motherboard for some reason so it isn’t that easy. Have I mentioned how much that sucks? Not even the Genius Bar can help this issue. [...]
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:35 pm
[...] to have that it didn’t was a decent gaming card. I have no idea why Apple chose to put in a non-upgradable GMA 950 card into its MacBooks and iMacs, but they did. And if you game at all, you know that card stinks like [...]