Will my MacBook play these PC games?

The Game Room
1

I have this MacBook pro specifically. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Apple%26%23174%3B+-+MacBook%26%23174%3B+Pro+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i5+Processor+/+13.3"+Display+/+4GB+Memory+/+320GB+Hard+Drive/9755322.p?id=1218169737492&skuId=9755322&st=MacBook%20pro%20i5&cp=1&lp=2

I have a pretty hard time nowadays decoding pc game requirements because I rarely play games on them but there are a few I’m considering. My desktop is pretty powerful but I’m not sure on this laptop. Any thoughts for if I can play these games with decent graphic settings and decent frame rates?

Oblivion
Skyrim
Diablo 3 when it comes out.
Any of the Assissins Creed games?
Also how do I get my corded 360 controller to work in Lion? It works fine in boot camp windows but I’m not understanding how to make it work in Lion.

2

You have the graphics integrated on the chip - Intel HD3000. The hardware of your mac is no different than any other computer.

Here is a mac guide to finding out more about your graphics chipset.

I would look at the minimum spec for all these games. For example, Skyrim needs DirectX 9 and 512mb of graphics memory.
Here is a list of games that apparently work on HD3000.

The graphics on the 2500K is no different than the mobile chips but it runs a lot faster (3.3Ghz vs 2.3 Ghz for your mac) and has more cores. I am assuming from the speed you have a 2410M.

In looking around, I would say yes to Oblivion and Skyrim. Probably yes to Diablo 3, Blizzard is pretty good about being inclusive with their games. I have no idea about Assassin’s Creed but probably. Start with minimal settings and resolution and work up from there.

3

Diablo 3 will have a Mac version, so that shouldn’t be a problem at all. Blizzard is one of the few gaming companies that doesn’t ignore us Mac users.

4

Modern PC CPU’s blow anything on the consoles out of the water. So all you really need to worry about when it comes to gaming on them is your GPU.

In this case the intel i5 is an APU. The new wave of chips that have both a CPU and GPU parts on the same substrate. The 3000 embedded GPU chip from intel, however, isn’t very good. Intel pwns when it comes to CPU, but they lag tremendously behind Nvidia and AMD in the GPU department.

AMD’s APU (the “A” series) blows it out of the water, and would have easily handled all the games you mentioned. But I don’t think apple is using any AMD parts, sadly.

According to benchmarks and the articles linked ot above, this APU’s GPU parts are about as powerful as the xbox’s GPU, but they suffer from driver issues on some titles.

I think 720p at low settings will be just fine on the games you mentioned - which is the same to a bit lower than a console. I think you’d be able to run diablo at your full screen resolution as it’s not a demanding game on the GPU, and the i5 will eat it for breakfast.

I’ve been able to run the Diablo 3 beta on an old 7800 GT just fine, so I think the intel part can do the game justice.

5

You know, I keep forgetting what a huge resource youtube is for these kind of questions now a days.
Here’s your setup running Skyrim: - YouTube

Here’s your setup running Assgrabber’s creed 2: Assassin's Creed II On Intel HD 3000 - YouTube

So I think you’re good.

Also, there appear to be some mac drivers for the xbox 360 gamepad. But I’m not too familiar, so you’lll have to search for them.

6

Wow you’re right there is a video for everything. Thanks.

I can’t tell from that video but would you guess that Skyrim would look as good on the MacBook as it does on my 360?

Also what is the purpose of an FPS limiter?

I downloaded a 360 controller driver for the Mac but it doesn’t seem to work. I may not understand what I’m supposed to do. I downloaded it, clicked on the dmg file and it ran thru an installation but then the controller didn’t show up in Trine 2. Ideas?

7

This vid is better:

Here’s the 360 version:

I’m not seeing much difference. Mayb slightly better shadows on the console.

I believe their using the FPS limiter to fix the staggered performance of the intel 3000. It probably variates from 25 to 45 FPS depending on what’s being rendered. By limiting it to 30 FPS the experience will seem smoother since it’s big drops in FPS that tend to make things feel laggy.