Just a quick question for any ES players out there.

Following anther topic on xbox vs. PC, I'm still trying to decide whether or not to buy a PC, use the xbox or try it on the Mac.

I'm mainly a Mac user as I prefer the interface/feel etc. and I generally don't play PC games.


However, I'm wondering a couple of things;

* Does anyone play Oblivion on a Mac? (and what type of settings do you use)

* Do the mods from PC users work on a Mac too?

* If you do play on a Mac, what do you have and what settings do you play on?

* Does anyone plan to play Skyrim on a Mac?

Thanks for any help.

Please refrain from any non-constructive PC vs. Mac arguments

I have the same question, because I have a Mac, what PC program do You run on your mac? And do u think a Mac is highend enough to play Skyrim or even oblivion for that matter.

Chances are the PC system requirements won't be released until late summer or early autumn so it's hard to judge whether any Macs will be sufficient to play the game.

I believe I've seen people using bootcamp to play Oblivion on their Macs but I'm not 100% sure of that.

If there's a Mac version, what would be the advantage of using bootcamp over normal Mac version? I've heard people do this too.

Since I heard the chances are very slim that there will be a mac version (I'll keep my hopes up though), I think we'll have to use bootcamp. I don't think there's a reason to to use bootcamp if there is a mac version.

There is no advantage, you use it when there is no Mac version available. What bootcamp essentially allows is you to turn your Mac computer into two computers; one that can run the Mac OS and one that can run Windows.

The current Intel Macs should be sufficient to play most games that are around right now. With Windows installed, they make really decent PCs, and really if you already have a Mac, why buy a whole new system? If you bought one today, I believe you would be able to play Skyrim when it comes out, although maybe not at top settings. Because Skyrim is using a new engine and everything, there is no way to know if the requirements are going to be as demanding as Oblivion was at release, but I am sure they will attempt to make it accessible to as many as possible.

Personally, I am not going to get my hopes up about a Mac OS version. In any case since I will be playing some other games coming out next year through my iMac with Windows, I am not really worried.

You have to purchase Windows for that though.

If this is the case, I'll just buy a new Mac Pro or an Imac and just use bootcamp

Does anyone play in bootcamp? if so, how does it run? any problems?

It runs the same way it would on an equivalently specced PC, since “Bootcamp” is just a convenient way to partition a hard drive to install Windows. After that, you’re just running Windows, since an Intel Mac IS a PC (with EFI instead of BIOS, and a very nicely-designed case.).

Ah fantastic, thanks for the clarification.

even if you install windows on a mac doesn't the ctrl key not work because it is still command?

the BEST way would be to play in on windows, dual booting or virtual booting using bootcamp or WINE saps a large amount of memory and processing your game will suffer for this and since you cant upgrade a mac (No PCI Slots in most of the models) this can make it so you cannot play newer games... Macs just arnt gaming computers to being with plus they are way to expensive for lower grade components. That said OSX has some slick UI ill give it that but then again so does Ubuntu

Bootcamp is NOT virtual booting and if you install Windows, you ARE playing it on Windows. It allows you to partition the drive of a Mac and installs all the drivers to create a dual-boot system. This mean at start up, you have to choose which OS to run, and then it only runs that OS. By itself you cannot run Windows at the same time as the Mac OS. It uses no more memory than if the computer only had one OS installed.

True, upgrading can be an issue, but like I said, if you get one now or closer to when the game comes out, it should at least be sufficient to run the game if not better.





You have to do that anyways if you are purchasing a PC, and its cheaper this way. Only way you wont have to do any of this is if they develop a Mac version, which is unlikely and in the end you will be able to do so much more on your bootcamped Mac.

Gixg17 does his videos look fine

Bethesda have never developed a game for mac, and I don't see any reason for them to start doing so now.

there is absolutely nothing cheaper about anything do to with macs. they offer subpar parts at inflated prices. the only reason to get a mac is if you have a preference for their OS and their programs like iMovies, iPhoto, iporm etc. and a 4000 dollar mac doesnt even come close to matching a 3000 dollar PC. as they found out with the game Portal(valve) even if you running it in bootcamp the drivers on the mac are not optimized as well as ones on a normal PC. macs will always be playing catch up in that regards.

i built my current PC for $2500 for everything new monitor, new keyboards speakers,,,,,,,everything. i had a i7 processor and a 285gt card that apple didnt even offer at the time and probably still dont. the closest i could get with a mac was a computer that cost over $4000 bucks and it had inferior harddrive and as i mentioned i would have had a weaker graphics card. i recenlty upgrade my PC with a new velociraptor drive and a more powerful CPU which totalled $500 for both so that makes my current rig worth $3000. not bad for an i7 950 OCd at 3.6 GHz, 12 gigs of ram and two velociraptor drives. and a top of the line auzentech sound card 26 inch or 28 (i forgot which one) samsung monitor etc.

as for reliability that is only an issue if you buy crappy PCs like dell or gateway in which case you get what you deserve. i you build it yourself (assuming you arent a total klutz) or have a computer store build one for your then you will find that your PC will run with the exact reliability as a Mac since they are both computers and Macs use alot of PC compenents.....like i said they just dont offer the best ones and they charge alot more.

all that being said i actually hope that they do a mac version if not right away then eventually like that have for some other games in the past. the only reason windows 7 is as good as it is is precisely because apples OS was wiping the floor with them for the last few years. i want more macs sold because competition means better and cheaper stuff for me.

I have a Macbook Pro unibody (late 2009), and i run Windows 7 Ultimate via bootcamp, which is the best way for a mac user to play games .... I play Oblivion on the highest settings, but i do plan to get a PC for this year's games...

see it this way, if you're a casual gamer, a mac does the job.
if you're a hardcoe gamer, get a pc

:)

You didn't understand what I said. Its cheaper this way than buying ANOTHER computer. If you already have a Mac or you are getting one for certain, its cheaper to just install windows on it rather than buying a new computer. And although I didn't get it for gaming, my 27" iMac was well under $2000 and runs all the games I have right now just fine in addition to doing all the work I intended for it much better than I could have hoped. Currently, there is no reason for me to buy a brand new computer, and if TESV runs on it well enough for me to enjoy, thats what I will continue to do.

Yes, I have a Mac, and I use bootcamp to play Oblivion, and it works just fine. It all depends on your Mac's graphics card, RAM, etc. If you want a super computer for gaming, though, I'd go PC. That way you can get all the specs you want and won't have to partition a hard drive.

If this game supports DX11 will a bootcamped machine have it? Since most Macs don't have DX11 capable cards (I assume this since you need windows seven and an advanced card to use DX11) But don't hold me to anything I said.

gotcha.

@oreic........you can replace the existing card that comes with the mac for a more powerful one after you get the computer. it will run fine under the windows OS but im not entirely sure if the same drivers would work for the apple OS. perhaps someone who has done this could specify. the only things ive replaced on macs are harddrives and bad memory sticks and thats about it.

lol what on earth do you need 16gb of RAM for?! My first gaming rig was a PIII 900 with 128MB RAM and a 64MB graphics card... oh how she did purr...


The only problem I have with building a rig like that is the fact it'll probably only last 18 months on 'ultra settings' before something needs to be upgraded

If I could use a mac and play on 'high' settings I'd be fine with that. To be honest I'd imagine 'xbox360' graphics are represented by 'medium' on most PC rigs anyway. Push the draw distances back and away you go with the mods

No, I think Xbox 360's graphics are set to Very High, but the distance you can see is toned WAY down.

Definitely not an Xbox, I love all the different things you can do with mods so that is a definite no-go for me personally, its really a matter of personal choice. If you have a relatively new Mac then you'll probably be in the clear, you honestly don't need to get a mega-PC to run most games these days (unless you're playing Crysis Wars) so you should be fine with your Mac, even if they don't release a full-compatible version for Macs you can still use Boot Camp and Parallel Desktops to operate the Windows OS from your Mac.