Can't decide what mac desktop to buy!

2325 Views 21 Replies 9 Participants Last post by BlueMax, May 16, 2007

Danman

Discussion Starter · May 15, 2007

I don't want two break the bank, but I do need a powerful mac computer. I know that mac wasn't built for gaming but, i'm a gamer. Any suggestions on where to any get good deals?

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

satchmo

· #2 · May 15, 2007

I think your best bang for your buck may be an iMac. Granted, you won't be able to upgrade the video card, but if you're on a budget...you can't have everything. From what I understand, most PC games run just as good running Bootcamp.

Of course you could look at an older G5 Tower...you'd have the flexibility, but the new games will be optimized for Intel chips.

Demosthenes X

· #3 · May 15, 2007

An iMac with the video card upgrade and extra RAM would be your best bet... but honestly, if you're looking for a gaming platform, you need a Mac Pro or a Windows box. iMacs just aren't designed for gaming - they're not easily upgradable like towers, and Mac Pros are expensive.

gizmo321

· #4 · May 15, 2007

I would buy a iMac and play games using Bootcamp. Upgrading the video card and RAM would be a good idea too.
Why do you want to buy a mac? It really isn't made for games...

applebook

· #5 · May 15, 2007

Main Mac: MacBook
Gaming: E4300 (easily overclocks to 2.8GHz and above), 7900GS (easily overclocks), etc.
Monitor: 20" IPS LCD

This way you have a fast Mac, a laptop, and a gaming PC.

All of this can be acquired for far less than the price of an upgraded 24" iMac or an entry Mac Pro.

monokitty

· #6 · May 15, 2007

applebook said:
Main Mac: MacBook
Gaming: E4300 (easily overclocks to 2.8GHz and above), 7900GS (easily overclocks), etc.
Monitor: 20" IPS LCD

This way you have a fast Mac, a laptop, and a gaming PC.

All of this can be acquired for far less than the price of an upgraded 24" iMac or an entry Mac Pro.

Unless, of course, he doesn't want two computers...

applebook

· #7 · May 15, 2007

Well, if he's a hardcore gamer and wants a Mac, then he'd better have lots of cash, or else having two is his only solution.

Demosthenes X

· #8 · May 15, 2007

Sounds like a good solution... a splitter to plug the monitor, keyboard, and mouse into the Macbook will also make it very convenient for home and portable usage.

Great suggestion!

Carl

· #9 · May 15, 2007

Dude, get an Imac 24 inch and upgrade the video card. Now you can play Half Life 2 and GTA San Andreas using Bootcamp. Mac gaming isn't that bad either. The 24 inch iMac is amazing

applebook

· #10 · May 15, 2007

You can barely play games like Oblivion and Need for Speed Carbon on the 7600GT. I refer to these games only because they are demanding on hardware not because the poster is going to play them.

This is the price breakdown of my suggestion:
MacBook: $1200
Gaming PC: $700-$900
20" LCD: $350
= $2250+

iMac 24" with 7600GT: $2250

The first set-up offers a dedicated gaming machine, so that the user doesn't have to boot into a different OS each time he wants to play a game. A 7900GS system can be built for around $700, and the E4300 is a very fast budget CPU that will blitz the iMac. Plus, on top of the superior gaming performance, the buyer gets a portable Mac!

The 24" iMac's LCD is superior by far, but it does not have inputs, which might be important to gamers and video enthusiasts who want to hook up consoles, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray players, etc.

Of course, the iMac is wicked, but at that price, gamers should look elsewhere, IMO.

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Vexel

· #11 · May 15, 2007

It all depends on the gamer inside you. If you're hardcore and constantly need the latest and greatest. Get a gaming PC. No question.

If you're a gamer like me.. and like to play the odd FPS/RPG and can live without the greatest settings.. get an iMac, my 1st Gen Core Duo iMac plays games like Battlefield 2, Quake 4 and many others just fine, with great frame rates.

Do yourself a favor and figure out which you are.. I agree with applebook's suggestions completely. The iMac is great.. but, if you're a true hardcore gamer, it's not for you.

BlueMax

· #12 · May 15, 2007

If you don't need portability, you could have a gaming PC (maybe a Shuttle XPC toaster-sized one) with a Mac mini right on top of it! Big monitor with dual inputs to switch and you're laughing!

(Or a USB KVM...)

Danman

Discussion Starter · #13 · May 15, 2007 (Edited)

#11

Thanks guys, but I was also wondering if there were any PC's that would be at a good price and have the specs to play Call of Duty 2 and other good games? Call of Duty says it needs a ATI Radeon 9600 64MB or NVidia GeForce FX 5200 64MB Graphics card does the computer have to have that or will it work on the '17 2.0 Ghz iMac. If so then let me know.

Danman

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 15, 2007 (Edited)

#12

I also looked up the '17 and it only has a 128MB ATI Radeon X1600 which isn't the greatest. Where could I get a Shuttle XPC? I'm new to alot of this and right now I have a Compaq Deskpro EN(old computer) and it's so slow.

applebook

· #15 · May 15, 2007

COD2 is still a very demanding game. On the 20" iMac with the X1600, you can play it at 1024x768 with medium settings, but the frame rate will drop below 20 in many scenes. Still, it's playable.

Older and awesome games like Far Cry play amazingly well on the X1600. You can pretty much crank up all of the settings at 1280x1024 and get a solid 30 FPS.

This is the PC system that I was planning on building to complement my Mac, but I'm just not a hardcore gamer and can't justify it. See if it suits your needs:

ASUS P5B ATX LGA775 Conroe 965P DDR2 PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI 6 SATA2 Sound RAID Motherboard
In Stock 19355 $133.99 $133.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Dual Core Processor LGA775 1.8GHZ 800FSB 2MB Retail
In Stock 22149 $129.99 $129.99

Nmedia MP-500 500W ATX Power Supply 20/24PIN W/ 140MM Fan Retail Box
In Stock 18928 $59.99 $59.99

Coolermaster CAC-T05 Centurion 5 Aluminum ATX Tower Case 5X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT SILVER-BLACK No PS
In Stock 13954 $62.91 $62.91

Samsung SH-S183A Black SATA DVD+RW 18X8X16 DVD-RW 18X6X16 DL 8X INT DVD Writer OEM W/ SW
In Stock 23433 $37.99 $37.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 8.9MS Hard Drive 3YR MFR Warranty
In Stock 23993 $75.99 $75.99

Kingston ValueRAM KVR667D2N5/1G PC2-5300 1GB 1X1GB DDR2-667 240PIN DIMM Memory
In Stock 22390 $46.99 $93.98

EVGA E-GEFORCE 7900GS KO 500MHZ 256MB 256BIT 1.38GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card
In Stock 20496 $162.88 $162.88

Total is $757.72

NCIX.COM

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monokitty

· #16 · May 15, 2007

COD2 is still a very demanding game. On the 20" iMac with the X1600, you can play it at 1024x768 with medium settings, but the frame rate will drop below 20 in many scenes. Still, it's playable.

Are you running the Universal verison of the game?

Danman

Discussion Starter · #17 · May 15, 2007

Where do you buy all that stuff and is it available in ontario? Would COD2 play on a '17 iMac? I have never built a computer before.

applebook

· #18 · May 16, 2007

Lars, the only games that I've played on the iMac are on XP. Is the Mac version more efficient? I'd be surprised if it isn't.

NCIX.com delivers Canada-wide, but I'm not sure about their shipping rates since I just pick up my stuff when I order from there.

The 17" iMac makes a solid gaming machine for all games that were made prior to 2007. Some of the more recent titles like FEAR and Oblivion don't run too well but are still very playable at lower resolution.

BlueMax

· #19 · May 16, 2007

I know it's not perfect, but this beastie with an upgraded power supply and fancy video card would look REALLY nice with a Mac mini plopped down right on top.

Shuttle SS30G2-Silver SiS Socket 775 SFF Barebone Audio Video PCI Express 10100 Ethernet LAN USB 2.0 & Firewire Serial ATA RAID 200 Watt Power Supply SS30-G2-SV-V1 in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

Demosthenes X

· #20 · May 16, 2007

Granted, I haven't played CoD2 on a gaming machine to compare, but I can run it very happily on my MacBook. Any game that runs on a MacBook can't be all that demanding...

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