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MAC vs Gaming PCs

J

JC0724

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 11, 2008
Messages
105
I am doing research to build a new PC for gaming, and I have quite a few friends telling me not to build one and just to buy a MAC.

I don't know much about MACs so it is hard for me to debate the issue. I am just assuming if I build my own PC with my own quality parts it should be just as good if not better then a MAC for gaming.

Does anybody have any input, or can give me their opinion on which one is better for gaming? MACs or building a PC for gaming? Are there any sites out there that compares the two, pros and cons?
 
For gaming, its much better to build your own PC. (This is coming from someone that's owned various PowerMac's, Mac Pro's, and Macbooks over the years)

What's your budget?
 
I would never buy a Mac. Building a Rig will give you WAY better parts then you get in a Prebuilt. Also not everything is supported by a Mac PC.

Dont take your friends advice in my opinion. Mac's have their place in life but Gaming is NOT one of them
 
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450 said:
For gaming, its much better to build your own PC. (This is coming from someone that's owned various PowerMac's, Mac Pro's, and Macbooks over the years)

What's your budget?
Click to expand...

x2

Mac PC's have their place, but gaming is not one of them. Either buy a pre-built 'generic' machine or build your own. You'll get better parts and more performance for a better price.
 
Agreed. If gaming is your main purpose for this machine, go build a PC yourself.

Macs are great for general purpose computer use since they don't require a lot of fussing around (defragging and virus scanning and firewall futzing and all that), and their warranty service is great, but the graphics cards are usually the entry-level or mid-range from previous generation at any given refresh. They're also run at lower clock speeds in the case of the iMac or Mac mini because of the less than optimal heat dissipation. If you get a Mac Pro you're basically buying server-grade parts with a last-generation high-end GPU.

That said, I'm totally getting a 27" iMac one of these days and hooking my PC up to it as a monitor for gaming. Best of both worlds.
 
I love my macs, and OS X, but gaming is the PC's domain. However, you CAN game on the mac, if you are willing to accept some limitations. Steam has opened up gaming big time on the mac, but driver updates aren't frequent like the PC, and the amount of games is much smaller. If you primarily want to game, go PC, but if you want the features of a mac, you will be -okay- if you got one.
 
450 said:
For gaming, its much better to build your own PC. (This is coming from someone that's owned various PowerMac's, Mac Pro's, and Macbooks over the years)

What's your budget?
Click to expand...

2500 dollars
 
If you need a laptop for school or work purposes, get a good Mac for around $1600.

If you just want a robust gaming/all-around desktop, you can build a *really* good one for also around $1600.
 
$2500 will build quite a box.. 6-core i7, a GTX 480 or two, SSD, etc...
 
please, please, please use that 25 hundo to build yourself a system. You'll be disappointed, where gaming is concerned, if you go the mac route.
 
I would just go ahead and go for a triple monitor eyefinity setup. Maybe wait for the 69xx series and see what happens there. Or at least wait for them so you get a price drop on the 5870's.
 
Here are a list of games, that have come out I plan to play over the time/would like to play on my PC

-World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
-Disciples III: Renaissance
-StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
-Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures
-Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood
-Aion
-DC Universe

Here are a list of future release games I plan to play.
-Age of Empires Online
-Star Wars: The Old Republic
-Crysis 2

So here are the list of games I plan on playing or types of games I usually play. Can a Mac play these games well or no??
 
If I had any machead friends, I wouldn't admit to it. They're just miserable reprobates who want to drag you down to their level. ;) Macs are no substitute for a PC when it comes to gaming. PCs have a huge edge in both compatibility with games and with bang for the buck.
 
Gaming wise building your own system will always be a better pick than going with a Mac, the level of customization you get with a PC is unparalleled, And if Windows does anything right, it's gaming.

Hardware in Mac machines are usually low level stuff, and paying that much just to get that would be a huge mistake.
 
JC0724 said:
Here are a list of games, that have come out I plan to play over the time/would like to play on my PC

-World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
-Disciples III: Renaissance
-StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
-Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures
-Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood
-Aion
-DC Universe

Here are a list of future release games I plan to play.
-Age of Empires Online
-Star Wars: The Old Republic
-Crysis 2

So here are the list of games I plan on playing or types of games I usually play. Can a Mac play these games well or no??
Click to expand...

Are you seriously spending $2500 to play those games? o_O
 
Friends don't let friends buy macs to game on. Time to look for a new friend.

Also if you don't know much about Macs you have to ask yourself realy why you would switch from something you're familliar with to something that's foreign.
 
Yeah, if your friend(s) recommended a MAC for GAMING, then you really take his/their future computer advice with a grain of salt. Something is definitely not right in their heads.
 
Even though it sounds like you haven't had any experience with OSX if you really wanted to use the OS you'd be far better off building a hackintosh for a fraction of the price and dual boot to windows for when you want to game.
 
Krieger91 said:
Good god, if you spend that much on a home built PC, it will be nothing short of a fucking super computer.
Click to expand...

hehehe! +30

Spend 1/4 of that and you'll still have yourself a sweet rig. Spend it in the [H] FS/FT and you'll have something even better.

Macs and gaming just don't mix well.
 
3far4shot said:
Ya i agree with what he said^

You could easily spend less then half of that amount to run those games maxed out.
Click to expand...

Ha ha you guys asked my budget. Budgets just means what you don't want to go over. If I can build a quality gaming machine for 1600 I am good, no desire to waste money. But I am working with 2500 is all I am saying and my main purpose is for gaming. Now would I like room to play more intensive games of course. Those are just the games I have been wanting to play or looking forward to playing.
 
People saying you could spend less than half of 2500 and play all the games maxed out can't know for sure. If Crysis was anything to go by, Crysis 2 will be impossible to max out for 3 more years after it comes out :p
 
Almighty ODST said:
People saying you could spend less than half of 2500 and play all the games maxed out can't know for sure. If Crysis was anything to go by, Crysis 2 will be impossible to max out for 3 more years after it comes out :p
Click to expand...

Isn't Crysis 2 a console port?
 
Almighty ODST said:
People saying you could spend less than half of 2500 and play all the games maxed out can't know for sure. If Crysis was anything to go by, Crysis 2 will be impossible to max out for 3 more years after it comes out :p
Click to expand...

Have you even seen the screens and videos of that game? It's like a step backwards.
 
Krieger91 said:
Have you even seen the screens and videos of that game? It's like a step backwards.
Click to expand...

IQ and well-optimized code are two different things lol I guess only time will tell (read: when the game comes out) if the game is optimized or not.
 
MAC address vs PC? I don't understand the question ;)

Really though, as much as I love Macs- if gaming is your primary concern then building your own machine is without a doubt the better route. Gaming on a Mac is completely doable, I mean it's improved so much over years. And using Boot Camp you can run Windows natively on you Mac (meanng no emulation). Regardless, if all you want to do is game then definitely build your own.
 
If desktop gaming is your primary use, build a PC yourself. The iMacs are great machines, and if do you end up getting a Mac notebook in the future you'll be able to game on it just fine, but if we're talking dedicated gaming desktops here then you'll definately want to put one together yourself. My Windows PC is basically a very expensive game machine.

fury said:
That said, I'm totally getting a 27" iMac one of these days and hooking my PC up to it as a monitor for gaming. Best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

That's what I do. Target display mode on the new iMac is such a nice extra bonus. Playing games from my PC on that beautiful iMac monitor at 2560x1440 is awesome. :)
 
JC0724 said:
Ha ha you guys asked my budget. Budgets just means what you don't want to go over. If I can build a quality gaming machine for 1600 I am good, no desire to waste money. But I am working with 2500 is all I am saying and my main purpose is for gaming. Now would I like room to play more intensive games of course. Those are just the games I have been wanting to play or looking forward to playing.
Click to expand...

If you really have $2500 to spend, that leaves you lots of room for a very nice IPS monitor. Hell, max it out for the hardware + Win7 license at $1500, then spend the extra $1000 on the 27" Apple display if you really want to go all the way. You'll get one hell of a desktop combined with one of the best desktop displays on the market, win-win. :)
 
you don't even need to take our word for it, look at the hardware you get when you buy a 27 inch iMac for $2k:

2.8Ghz i5
4GB RAM
1TB HD
1GB 5750

Anyone here in GenHard could take $2k and completely destroy that iMac setup to the point that steve jobs would cry himself to sleep at night.
 
Owning MACs and PC's, and looking at the list of games you want. Go PC!

MACs are for video and music editing, web, work, etc. Not gaming, even tho they will play some games pretty dam good. Your selection of games is limited. Even if you try and run them in Windows there a pain in the ass.

And I am building a 2 new PC rigs, one for my son which is right at $1000.00 and is kick ass, and one for me $1800.00 super kick ass :)

Go PC and build it your self, if your unsure of the parts there are plenty of people in here who will point out the parts for you.

Good Luck.
 
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