Moving Back to the PC, Can My Mac Game, and How is WINE?

[david520able]

Oh, and I forgot to say that GTAIII and Vice City are for the Mac as well.

[rml695]

@david520able I saw that they're available in the app store. I wonder if the Intel HD 3000 chipset will support it.

[david520able]

As for GTA4, your graphics chipset is not supported. But, you can still get an earlier GTA game for Mac. Just search for GTA San Andreas Mac download. I think they have it in the App store. I found out that they ported San Andreas to the Mac by Wikipedia. I was very suprized that Rockstar did that. If you find it and download it, depending on whether the control scheme is the same, I could give you all of the controls.

[H4x0r18]

I've been using Windows 7 for my gaming and Linux for my browsing and everything else. I suggest Nvidia as your video card since Linux doesn't get along well with ATI. Integrated graphics doesn't play well for gaming, its lucky to get you The Sims 2 if that. Good luck man!

[stalkingalizee]

Will consoles remain? They are turning more and more into PCs every year. Where do they draw the line.

[rml695]

@stalkingalizee I can't say for sure - I have no idea.

[TimeFlux88]

pc is ftw on all aspects. in my opinion,gaming consoles are always... well errors. Awsome man. 5 stars :D

[IDontDoDrumCovers]

all PCs these days will play any game gaming pcs are just kinda over kill

[ATLMember]

@IDontDoDrumCovers That's really not true. Most computers don't have dedicated video cards and have extremely limited gaming potential. People who buy gaming PCs are usually enthusiasts, who are not only deeply interested in the technology, but like being on the cutting edge, maxing games, and taking advantage of the latest APIs. By the way I don't own a gaming PC.

[acynnon]

@GiLEns96 1.5 is minimum for Vista, 2GB is recommended for XP.

[AmiableAdder]

Also, if you order online, MOST major companies (Dell, HP, etc) will have teacher's discounts. They will probably also have a monthly payment program so you can get your computer and then pay it off over time (like a loan) instead of forking over the cash right away.

[TheOEMRootbrian]

Building yourself a gaming machine with the latest and fastest processor and graphics card available should save over buying a pre-built, store/name brand computer, which isn't always the best choice.

BIY (Build it yourself) computers are the better choice. Putting Dual or Tri-booting Linux/OS X/Windows on it should give you the most compatibility between all platforms specific to gaming.

Lastly, DO NOT get integrated graphics, go with addon cards instead. You'll have a much broader choice.

[AmiableAdder]

BIY comps are the cheapest for what you can get. I agree with that.

But you also won't have a warranty for it, so unless you are great at finding out what's wrong with your computer and fixing it, it would be better to stick with a pre-assembled computer.

[acynnon]

GTA 4's minimum specs are kinda high

2.4Ghz dual core or higher..

2gigs of ram or better (With windows 7 32bit 1 gig is needed alone)

256MB X1900+ or 256 MB nvidia 7900+ graphics card... Really I find now the processor is the biggest factor in games and the graphics card comes second.. Im going to be upgrading my processor to a AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition .. That processor is a beast .. has copper pipes on the heatsink lol. As for consoles they will always be around..

[Nazmus1992]

Can't you use bootcamp on the mac to play games???

[rml695]

yes but then we run into that issue with graphics. Tomb Raider, for instance, works on here but only with shared RAM.

[acynnon]

Windows 7 has been working fantastic for me so far. My brother just built a top of the line gaming PC for 800 bucks (CDN). Games are the reason I would never leave the PC and along with the upgrades being so much cheaper.

[vwbond]

I think you should run a dual boot setup with Windows 7 and Linux (people new to Linux seem to like the Ubuntu distro)

Wine works for some games.

[rml695]

I've worked with Ubuntu for a few years, but not so much Wine, due to fear of graphics limitations.

[acynnon]

OH also a good site to check out if your computer can run games is canirunit (dot) com .. it doesn't have every game but it will tell you whether or not you can run certain games.

[ambush276]

you can also run mac on your PC computer. If you cannot afford the mac "looks" but you like their OS, then u can still get Mac on PC with the OSX86 project.

anyway i like windows only, but still that is always an option, also linux is great upfront and the open source is nice, but really wine is .... ehh ok... it works but still i mean in the end run Windows 7 with slipstreamed to make it lighter..

[rml695]

The issue with the OSX86 project is it's legality. I put up a video response, btw, so you can watch that as well.

[kjdavey]

To be honest with you... the PC is dieing as a gaming platform. The current generation of consoles are on par with a midrange PC today and game selection is excellent.

[rml695]

Last I read, PC was outselling consoles by quite a significant margin.

[VideoGuyNC]

I recomend getting a really inexpensive (YET GOOD) generic-brand PC from a company such as TigerDirect, loading Ubuntu on it, and I think you'll be very HAPPY. Windows 7 has it's pros, but 7 is (in the trend of Mickeysoft, BLOATED). Ubuntu is very efficient, and it has some very nice gaming possibilities.

[SamueltehG33k]

theres something called consoles maybe you should look into them

[Tips4n00bs]

PC gaming is awesome, for gta4 (which has a nice modding userbase) a good quadcore processor would be desirable. ATI are releasing directx 11 gpu's end of oct. you could build one for about 500 dollars i would say that would play all what you need. I build pc's as a hobbie

[jls1114]

yes it is possible to get a good gaming pc almsot anyting pc is cheapter then a mac to be hoenst with .

[bluetech7753]

I don't see game consoles disappearing anytime soon.There is not a lot of gaming on linux that I am aware of I would just go with Windows 7. You might want to do some Compareisum between Buying aan off the shelf system or building your own system. To be continues with a video rasopnse.

[VideoGuyNC]

If the economy was good - I would agree that consoles wouldn't go away. But the fact is, serious gamers like a variety of titles, and most of us don't have hundreds to buy multiple consoles. With a decent (NOT expensive) PC, you can get a nice cross section of titles and genras on one PRETTY inexpensive box.

[bluetech7753]

You have a good point. It is just that game consoles have alway been around right along side the PC. The pc makes a very good all in one platform, one system for all games.

[Tuxxy87]

My experience with Wine has been pretty low; as in nothing working. I might be doing something wrong, but I have had bad luck.

As for modern games, some of them are horribly coded and can't run decently no matter what spec you throw at it. Like someone under me mentioned: GTA4 can barely run with a good quad core and a Geforce 285 GTX.

[a7RoX]

i'm afraid your mac isn't suitable for gaming at all...

my windows 7 (which is the best os for gaming) laptop has way better specs for gaming and i don't even bother installing the newer games...for gta4 e.g. you need a monster rig (or a xbox/ps3 + any HD display) to play it to it's full visual potential.

nevertheless there is a larger number of nice older games you missed through the years and will run...

and btw, firefox is proprietary, iceweasel is not, thats why e.g. debian has no firefox!

[jasonkarllees]

you do not need a monster rig to run gta 4 all you need is a duel core prossecer 1gb of ram nvidia graphics card most macs nowadays come with that and i priced a rig that can play gta4 at £250

[a7RoX]

i quote myself: "...to play it to it's full visual potential."

and rml said he has an integrated graphics adapter!

think first, then post!

[jasonkarllees]

if your mac was brought with in the last 5 years then yes it can game you just need wine to run them

[x3n0nfr4n]

the games are cheaper on the pc and you can get mods for games on the pc if you are going to start pc gameing i recomend

dual core processor atleast 2.5ghz and up 2gb ram and 512 ddr2 dedicated graphics card

[Gr33nAv]

Are you willing to play around $1k for a gaming pc/work pc because if you want i can send you a spec list for a killer setup for gaming and many other things.

[rumbleforce2]

and that's why i never moved to a mac the games are awesome on PC im a hard core gamer

[x3n0nfr4n]

me too

[MN12BIRD]

Dual boot W7 and Ubuntu or some other version of Linux. Since you're only a casual gamer and not a "Hardcore" gamer you don't need to spend thousands on a PC. Spend your money on a decent case, motherboard and power supply and don't worry so much about the CPU and Video Card. You don't need the high end quad cores or high end video cards. AMD Athlon II or Phenom II x2 or x3 CPU and an ATi 4770 is a good mainstream setup. Middle of the road is key not high end but not low end either!

[IzzYandPalpro]

Macs can game there are tons of Mac Games , Pc and Macs Share games not to many people realize this , stick to linux and and OS X ,

[Dem0nflare]

Also go with Cedega instead of wine.

[Dem0nflare]

I have 2.8 Ghz Pentium 4 with 2 gb of ram and Ati HD 2400 PCi and 500 gb and 40gb hard drive with vista basic installed, the graphics card was 100 dollars, but the computer all together goes for around 500 dollars, i can run games like DeadSpace, COD4, Half-life 2, And GTA San Andres, but the newest gta runs but the driving of the cars in the game is horrible. That is a almost minimum computer for running those games with good visuals. and windows 7 would not run those games as good as vista.

[MN12BIRD]

Windows 7 beats Vista in gaming performance in every game I've seen.

[Xjkjk3264X]

PC gaming FTW.

And what is WINE?

[beachzone2]

wait for windows 7