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I've just started educating myself on Macs and such, but I had an idea spring into my head today and didn't find any concrete answers on Google just yet. As a heavy PC gamer, would it be a good idea to look into buying an Apple laptop and running Boot Camp or Parallels on it for Windows gaming if I were somewhat interested in getting a Mac? How compatible are most PC games in Boot Camp and/or Parallels? Would they run just as smooth as they would on a native Windows machine? I don't want to make compromises, but it wouldbe nice to have a best of both worlds scenario of work/business stuff on the Mac side and have a fast and highly compatible Windows enviroment purely for gaming.
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Sep 14, 2011 18:56
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If you don't work in an environment where you need to use OS X or it's an up and coming thing, you have no need to get an Apple computer unless you want the design. Even then, you're going to be out at least $1600+ if you want one that runs anything decently. You'd probably be better off making a Hackintosh if you still want the most power you can get, because you'll quite literally spend half of the amount.
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Sep 14, 2011 19:00
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Charles Martel posted:As a heavy PC gamer, would it be a good idea to look into buying an Apple laptop and running Boot Camp or Parallels on it for Windows gaming if I were somewhat interested in getting a Mac? How compatible are most PC games in Boot Camp and/or Parallels? Would they run just as smooth as they would on a native Windows machine?
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Sep 14, 2011 19:04
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Charles Martel posted:As a heavy PC gamer, would it be a good idea to look into buying an Apple laptop and running Boot Camp or Parallels on it for Windows gaming if I were somewhat interested in getting a Mac? Would the Macbook graphics hardware be enough for your games?
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Sep 14, 2011 19:44
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Depends on the laptop.
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Sep 14, 2011 19:55
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There aren't that many demanding PC games now. Developers learned that lowering requirements means more people can buy your game.
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Sep 14, 2011 20:00
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Mu Zeta posted:There aren't that many demanding PC games now. Developers learned that lowering requirements means more people can buy your game. I think it's more due to console ports rather than catering to lower end machines.
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Sep 14, 2011 20:03
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I have a late 2009 iMac, 2.66 Intel i5 with 4GB RAM. Our company is starting doing some video editing, and we need a machine for it. We'll just be editing 5-10 minute HD clips from a camera we're buying, in Final Cut Pro. What I would like to do is dedicate this machine to video editing, and then buy myself a new SSD iMac. The question is, is this late 2009 iMac going to be good enough for that video editing?
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Sep 14, 2011 20:41
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Strict 9 posted:I have a late 2009 iMac, 2.66 Intel i5 with 4GB RAM. Our company is starting doing some video editing, and we need a machine for it. We'll just be editing 5-10 minute HD clips from a camera we're buying, in Final Cut Pro. A quad i5 should have no problem with HD video, if a G5 could do it...
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Sep 14, 2011 21:09
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Strict 9 posted:is this late 2009 iMac going to be good enough for that video editing? If you're smart and you optimize all of your footage to ProRes or some intermediate codec, I'm sure you can get away with your setup as-is. You can easily max out the RAM to 16GB for RAM previews and it won't touch the disk as often, but I would at least upgrade to 8GB. The game with FCP is reducing read/write to the same source. If you want to see a huge difference and have scores of footage, get an OWC data doubler and put another big HDD in the optical bay. That way you can separate your scratch disks or renders from your footage. A FW800 drive should be fast enough for read-only AVCHD files and audio, though, if you don't want to get inside your mac. Anything above 1080p (i.e. RED) should be stored internally in order to edit in anything close to real-time.
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Sep 14, 2011 21:33
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Sweet, thanks! Looking forward to finally working on a SSD machine all day and still getting use out of this older system.
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Sep 14, 2011 21:38
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Charles Martel posted:Also remember that Apple tends to equip graphics chips in their machines based more on how much of a deal the vendor is giving them, rather than them saying 'LETS ROCK THIS THING TO HELL" and asking the vendors for the bleeding edge. At least they have to be powerful enough to process 3D at a decent clip since the OS offloads drawing instructions directly to the graphics chip; everything on your Mac screen is technically a 3D object.. Binary Badger fucked around with this message at 22:14 on Sep 14, 2011 |
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Sep 14, 2011 22:12
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Binary Badger posted:Also remember that Apple tends to equip graphics chips in their machines based more on how much of a deal the vendor is giving them, rather than them saying 'LETS ROCK THIS THING TO HELL" and asking the vendors for the bleeding edge. From what I'm seeing though on Apple's site, I don't think the graphics in a Macbook Pro are going to cut the mustard for me. $2200 for a laptop with a 5400rpm drive and a Radeon 6750 chip? Really? I guess they are geared more towards business presentations and multimedia then a nerd like me who wants to run Battlefield: Bad Company 2 at 60 frames per second? I knew Macs commanded a premium for what they do and do well, but I didn't think it would be that expensive...or am I looking in the wrong place? Thanks for the help, guys.
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Sep 15, 2011 02:19
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Charles Martel posted:From what I'm seeing though on Apple's site, I don't think the graphics in a Macbook Pro are going to cut the mustard for me. $2200 for a laptop with a 5400rpm drive and a Radeon 6750 chip? Really? I guess they are geared more towards business presentations and multimedia then a nerd like me who wants to run Battlefield: Bad Company 2 at 60 frames per second? I knew Macs commanded a premium for what they do and do well, but I didn't think it would be that expensive...or am I looking in the wrong place? WE GOT TROLLED
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Sep 15, 2011 02:22
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Charles Martel posted:a nerd like me who wants to run Battlefield: Bad Company 2 at 60 frames per second...am I looking in the wrong place? Star War Sex Parrot fucked around with this message at 02:25 on Sep 15, 2011 |
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Sep 15, 2011 02:22
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Bob Morales posted:WE GOT TROLLED No, I honestly didn't think there would be that much overhead for that kind of video hardware. I was thinking along the lines of giving Apple a try and getting more hands-on experience with OSX while enjoying the things it does well like audio/video tools like Pro Tools and Final Cut Pro while having a Windows gaming environment at the same time. If I came across like a dick or a brand loyalty fanboy (which is stupid, imo), I didn't mean to. I should've done more research, but I was at work earlier and just figured I'd ask. Star Wars Sex Parrot posted:Yes. Go buy an ASUS. Roger that.
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Sep 15, 2011 02:32
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Charles Martel posted:or am I looking in the wrong place? If you're okay with dropping $2200+ on a laptop and were mainly balking at the chipset... well, Razer's got you covered. Gotta admit, that trackpad would be pretty sweet if developers support it.
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Sep 15, 2011 02:37
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Space Racist posted:If you're okay with dropping $2200+ on a laptop and were mainly balking at the chipset... well, Razer's got you covered. That's pretty spiffy.
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Sep 15, 2011 02:40
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oh god what have I done
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Sep 15, 2011 04:01
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DEUCE SLUICE posted:oh god what have I done 
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Sep 15, 2011 04:07
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So I just sold my old Macbook and replaced it with a Mac Mini for use with the TV. I figured hey, I'll just pull the HD from the Macbook, throw it in the Mini when I get it and I'll be back up and running in a half hour. Of course, you know it didn't go this easily or I wouldn't be posting. The problem I have realized after swapping my old drive into the Mac Mini: my old Macbook's HD was an install of Lion upgraded from Snow Leopard. I have since been able to surmise that the Mac Mini EFI does not allow booting from a version of Lion updated over Snow Leopard. Currently, the Mac Mini contains the hard drive from my old Macbook and the Mini won't boot it. As I see it, the steps I need to take form here are: 1. Pull the Macbook's hard drive back out of the Mac Mini 2. Put it into an enclosure, then back the files up elsewhere 3. Make a bootable external HD with the Lion installer on it 4. Take the Macbook's HD out of the enclosure and put it back into the Mac Mini 5. Install from the external HD 6. Transfer files back to the Mini I haven't slept for poo poo lately due to getting a new puppy, so I might be overcomplicating this in a serious way. Any suggestions or advice are definitely welcome.  edit: Maybe this would've been more appropriate for the Mac software thread. My bad if so. riht fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Sep 15, 2011 |
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Sep 15, 2011 04:17
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New MacBook Airs and Minis are currently on a different branch of Lion builds, which is probably inhibiting you from doing a drive swap from another system. Your plan is fine, though you don't need to make any Lion installation media. You should be able to just do an Internet Restore, so that takes one step out of your list.
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Sep 15, 2011 04:20
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Ordered a 13" MBA and want to put Windows 7 on it. I need a decent OS so OS X is out of the question. I don't want to dual boot or use Parallels, I just want to nuke the Mac portion and install a clean copy of Windows 7. Would I void my warranty or anything like that? Anything else I should know?
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Sep 15, 2011 04:23
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rsjr posted:I need a decent OS so OS X is out of the question.  Yes a Genius will refuse to touch your MacBook Air if you nuke OS X, and you'll be unable to do EFI updates. Perhaps you should wait for ultrabooks to start shipping. Star War Sex Parrot fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Sep 15, 2011 |
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Sep 15, 2011 04:24
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Star War Sex Parrot posted:Your plan is fine, though you don't need to make any Lion installation media. You should be able to just do an Internet Restore, so that takes one step out of your list. Ah, right. I guess I can just Internet Restore once I format the drive thanks to EFI. Thanks for the second opinion and advice.
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Sep 15, 2011 04:29
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riht posted:Ah, right. I guess I can just Internet Restore once I format the drive thanks to EFI. Thanks for the second opinion and advice.
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Sep 15, 2011 04:31
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Star War Sex Parrot posted:You don't have to format it before putting it back in the Mini. Just hold Command-R at boot to load the recovery tools, select Disk Utility, wipe it, then select Load OS X Lion or whatever it's called and install to your freshly wiped drive. I've tried that and it gives me the gray screen with the no smoking circle for some reason.
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Sep 15, 2011 04:48
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rsjr posted:Ordered a 13" MBA and want to put Windows 7 on it. I need a decent OS so OS X is out of the question. You have made a mistake.
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Sep 15, 2011 05:04
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2011 Mac Air here... Occasionally upon waking the air from sleep, something inside it it starts making a very audible crackling static noise, which only stops if I reboot the computer. The noise becomes even more audible and persistent whenever I do gestures on the trackpad (for example, scrolling on Safari). What gives?
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Sep 15, 2011 05:07
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Star War Sex Parrot posted:That's more than mine does. Looks like it just needs a recapping. You can get kits for it, or ship your board to someone who will do it for you.
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Sep 15, 2011 05:09
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rsjr posted:Ordered a 13" MBA and want to put Windows 7 on it. I need a decent OS so OS X is out of the question. I don't want to dual boot or use Parallels, I just want to nuke the Mac portion and install a clean copy of Windows 7. Would I void my warranty or anything like that? Anything else I should know? Surely a poorly conceived troll. You should look into http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/exec-tech/we-preview-the-first-ultrabook-the-asus-ux31/story-e6frgazf-1226127696690
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Sep 15, 2011 05:10
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With all the reasonably decent laptops coming out, why would someone buy an apple product if they don't want OSX? I just don't understand it. It seems likena huge waste of money.
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Sep 15, 2011 05:15
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Kilometers Davis posted:With all the reasonably decent laptops coming out, why would someone buy an apple product if they don't want OSX? I just don't understand it. It seems likena huge waste of money. I don't really see where he's coming from either but if you want a really thin laptop with an ssd at least where I live the only other competition seems to be the Samsung 9 series or whatever which has worse specs in basically every way & is >$500 more expensive..
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Sep 15, 2011 05:25
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Kilometers Davis posted:With all the reasonably decent laptops coming out, why would someone buy an apple product if they don't want OSX? I just don't understand it. It seems likena huge waste of money. Well, if you're looking for an ultrabook-class laptop, perhaps not. That said, buying a Mac and not even wanting to give OS X a fair shake is ridiculous enough to push that post into 'probably trolling' territory.
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Sep 15, 2011 05:31
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It is amazing the degree to which PC, tablet and smartphone manufacturers are trying to copy Apple now. I just don't think I've ever seen the "me-too" designs so stark. You can't win with that kind of approach.
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Sep 15, 2011 06:03
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I want to get my SE/30 online so badly, just can't really swallow paying $90 for an ethernet card when the thing cost $30. Going to get a USB floppy drive and steal some 3.5's from my dad, though. Shufflepuck cafe, here I come!
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Sep 15, 2011 06:25
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You can get a Mac that has both ethernet and serial ports (beige PowerMac is ideal) and install LocalTalk Bridge on it for probably much less than $90 all up. http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1258?viewlocale=en_US
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Sep 15, 2011 06:38
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I'm severely constricted by the wife as to the amount of gear I can spread around my house. The only way I got away with getting the SE/30 was because it's tiny. I think it's the card or nothing. I'm curious how well the MacCon would work plugged into a wireless bridge, though...
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Sep 15, 2011 07:08
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Should work fine assuming it can negotiate a link. Some of these older ethernet cards aren't great at negotiating their desired rates when plugged into 100 Mbit gear and may need you to set the port to 10 Mbit manually. I saw a guy who had his PowerBook connected to wireless networks via an AAUI transciever and a portable wireless bridge powered from the ADB port...
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Sep 15, 2011 07:26
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Just wanted to confirm: It's safe to use a 85W Magsafe with the 13" MBPs, right? (From what I remember, you can use larger wattage adapters with MBPs that require less, but obviously not in reverse). I have quite a friends who visit who often forget their adapters for their systems, and since I planned on getting a second one anyway so I can leave my original at home all the time, I figured I'd get one that they could use as-needed with the larger MBPs some of them have.
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Sep 15, 2011 07:37
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