How does the MacBook measure in the video game market right now? I was simply wondering how well it runs windows games (Steam games) emulated (VirtualMachine or an emulator) and non-emulated (Having windows installed parallel-y). Overall, is the MacBook a better choice for a (very) occasional weekend gamer who is a hard-core student, or would a Windows machine still better?
Thanks for your opinion.

If you've got the spare cash to get a MacBook that can match the gaming power of a PC for much less, than go for it, it will be fine, as long as you're clever.

"If you've got the spare cash to get a MacBook that can match the gaming power of a PC for much less, than go for it, it will be fine, as long as you're clever."

I have an entry level Macbook, with 4Gb of RAM.  I play RTS games on it (booted on Windows), so I don't about anything above that.  Civilisation IV runs on my fine and that makes me happy.  My kids also play Viva Pinata on it and it runs fine.  The settings may be need to be lowered on some games to get a smooth operation.

Can't see why a Mac should be better than a Windows machine for studying?

Mac can run COD4 fairly well ive heard but if you really want a computer for gaming you have to go PC. Emulated windows is crummy for games There's more support, more companys produce hardware for it and it has a larger gaming audience. Also although you cant beat a mac for school work and such a mid level gaming PC should perform just as well.

"Can't see why a Mac should be better than a Windows machine for studying?"

Don't use Macs for gaming, even if the specs allow gaming, the games are never written for OSX so run worse any way. I love using macs but then again I'm not a PC gamer.

"TMThomsen said:

"Can't see why a Mac should be better than a Windows machine for studying?"

Well... As far as I know you get waay more battery life on a Mac running OSX than any Windows-equivalent machine running Windows. Also it's a sleeker, more responsive, more reliable machine that I would much more prefer for academics than a Windows machine."

So now you don't have to emulate windows on a mac. Darn, now i want one

"So now you don't have to emulate windows on a mac. Darn, now i want one"

Honestly I don't know how strong MACs get but I know for pure gaming purposes they can be a bit expensive compared to a PC. Speaking from a personal experience - my room mate payed $1000 for his iMac used (was $1400 new) near the end of last year and I just recently purchased a cheap PC for ~$470 prebuilt (I'm lazy) with no OS (but lets be honest, that is not a big deal). We both play World of Warcraft now on the same video settings and my machine runs the game about twice as good as his. I'm not sure on his exact specs but I know for a fact I have a better video card and double the RAM.

If you seriously want to play games on a computer, a Mac definitely isn't the way to go.

I currently have an iMac but I'm running windows on it for my games, and I use the mac side for work :D

Go pick up a cheap Windows-based laptop for about half to two-thirds the price for more power.

I have a new macbook pro, very nice, and i run run windows on it using bootcamp and the most demanding game i've played on it was far cry 2, and it ran quite well actually. 

"Go pick up a cheap Windows-based laptop for about half to two-thirds the price for more power."

"PowerSerj said:

"Go pick up a cheap Windows-based laptop for about half to two-thirds the price for more power."

Somehow I doubt a 350 dollar laptop is as powerful as a MacBook. "

I love Apple products and OSX is real nice, but unless you really need a portable gaming machine I would rock a Windows based desktop. Otherwise you're just pissing away money.

Ok, so here is the thing about Apple.  Just because it costs more doesn't mean its' better.  When you by a mac, you are paying "apple tax".  You could buy a PC twice as good as the Mac Book pro for the same price.
If you want to game, don't buy a Mac. 

"Peach said:

"PowerSerj said:

"Go pick up a cheap Windows-based laptop for about half to two-thirds the price for more power."

Somehow I doubt a 350 dollar laptop is as powerful as a MacBook. "

Where are you finding a 700$ MacBook :/ ?"

"PowerSerj said:

"Peach said:

"PowerSerj said:

"Go pick up a cheap Windows-based laptop for about half to two-thirds the price for more power."

Somehow I doubt a 350 dollar laptop is as powerful as a MacBook. "

Where are you finding a 700$ MacBook :/ ?"

(1000 * 2/3= 333.33) I rounded to 350, but you get the point."

"Peach said:

"PowerSerj said:

"Peach said:

"PowerSerj said:

"Go pick up a cheap Windows-based laptop for about half to two-thirds the price for more power."

Somehow I doubt a 350 dollar laptop is as powerful as a MacBook. "

Where are you finding a 700$ MacBook :/ ?"

(1000 * 2/3= 333.33) I rounded to 350, but you get the point."

Math fail.  1000 * 2/3 = 666.66 dollars, not 333.33.

As far as Mac: it's great for everything, I love them, but I'm too poor to be able to afford one powerful enough to game on.  With a PC I can get as much power for a lot cheaper.

"

The new Macbook's cn handle most games. But if your a HARDCORE PC gamer then you might wanna get a PC.

Take it from someone who's been shopping for laptops for gaming lately.  I just spent a little less than 2k on one.  If you want to be able to run everything fairly well, a mac is completely out of the question.  I wanted one, but soon realized along the way that the graphics and memory that they offer is comparatively lackluster at best, side by side, cost by cost.  You'll often hear people talk about how you're really paying for the award winning customer support and the superior OS, honestly vista 64 runs my shit fine, and as for sleekness, my sager is going to look cooler than any silly sterile white macbook anyway.  If you don't believe me just look at some of the specs below and try and find me something comparable on a mac notebook for less than 2k.  You won't be able to, but go ahead.  FYI I bought this on xoticpc.


1x Sager NP5797 Custom Notebook (Built on Clevo M570ETU)
- Warranty: 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warra
 - Operating System: None Standard - Drivers & Utility
  - Fingerprint Reader: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
  - Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
  - Case: Basic Black Business Case - Incl
  - Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D
  - Camera: Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
  - Wireless Network: Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 530
  - Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth + EDR
  - Memory Card Reader: Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/
  - Primary Hard Drive: ~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 3
  - Optical Drive: ~ 2X Blue-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Supe
  - Exterior Finish: NP579x Orange Frame Trim
  - Ram: ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel
  - Video Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 280M 1,024MB
  - Processor: ~Intel® P9600 45nm "Montevina" C
  - Dead Pixel Policy: Standard Dead Pixel Policy
  - Arctic Silver: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
  - Display: 17" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Cl

A PC will offer you much more power for far less cash. A Mac is useful for other purposes, but if you care about gaming a PC is your best choice.

well once onlive comes out macs will be fine for gaming

I'm honestly suprised that macs can play pc games. I meant you might need to use windows at least on it dual boot considering that osx if that's the operating system it uses isn't compatible with pc games. About the videocard, I heard the highest is a hd4850, not sure if it's for the imac or macbook pro. I'm not really going to recommend a mac for anything to do with gaming, only general computer use.  Imo it's not going to be cheap, expect to pay alot to get a gaming mac product.

Anybody who's looking to game on their Mac but don't feel like dual-booting and giving up a large chunk of your harddisk, should really look into giving the application CrossOver a go. It's fairly cheap and doesn't require Windows installed in any way or form... and it works surprisingly well.