Though a 2012 Mac mini, running a gtx 1070 at 80% blows away anything Apple offers gaming wise. Though not tested, it should be able to power VR. The 300w PSU can run the GTX 1070 without problems, hence I choose it.

Macbook Pro 13 inch vs 15 inch for Gaming I am considering buying a new Macbook pro, either 13 inch or the lower end 15 inch one. The only thing thats getting in the way of my decision is the graphic card. I am not a huge gamer but I do play some games like Starcraft2, Sims3 and Diablo3 when it comes out. If the graphics are good on the 13 inch then I would love to buy the 13 inch, because the 15 inch is a little out of my price range. Anyways my question is, is the 13 inch macbook pro good enough for a mid level gamer? Best mail client for mac yahoo redirect. I also like to watch movies and shows on my laptop but i will probably get a bigger monitor in the future. • Asked by fn from Alexandria • Apr 26, 2011.

Best Answer: The 13 inch will very likely *run* all of the games you mentioned (Starcraft2, Sims3 and Diablo3). I suspect this because I have a 13 inch model from 3 years ago when they first introduced the uni-body and made the 13 inch a Pro category laptop. Here is the problem: it will very likely NOT run them *well*. The on-board Intel card for the 13-inch is, compared to 15 and 17, a *horrible* card.

You can see that by looking all three cards up here: google: 'Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List' (first hit) The 13-inch's card (Intel HD Graphics 3000) ranks 208. For comparison, my card from 3 years ago ranks 257. Both are buried deep in the 'Low-Midrange' category. The lowest 15-inch card ranks 79. It is only 3 slots away from the 'High End' category.

So the CURRENT 13-inch card is closer to my card from 3 YEARS ago than it is to the current 15-inch card. Not much of an upgrade, if you ask me. I will be going with the 15-inch. If I am going to shell out $1000+ for a new computer, want my gaming experience to be significantly better, not basically the same. • Answered by Chris R from Lawrence • Dec 4, 2011 •. Any modern MacBook (2010 or later) will play HD video without a hitch.

Size is irrelevant if you use an external monitor. The biggest impact to gaming is the graphics card.

The 15' and 17' MacBook Pro laptops (current model as of Nov 2011) offer the AMD Radeon graphics card, which is vastly superior to the Intel graphics that come standard in the 13' and 15' models. For games like you mention above, the current model base 13' MacBook Pro should suffice. But, it is always best to check the 'Minimum Requirements' on the retail software box. • Answered by Chris A from Norristown • Nov 12, 2011 •.

Less than 2 months ago I bought the upgraded Late 2011 13' Macbook Pro and found it totally unsuitable for gaming. While SC2, WoW, and D3 run ok they did not run at a smooth framerate. Was getting 30 fps in WoW on high settings and 20 to 22 fps with SC2 with high settings. Took it back to the Apple store and bought the highest 15' 2011 MBP and have been much happier with it.

Getting 60 fps with WoW and 50 fps with SC2 and D3. I'm sure the new 15' models will run even better since they have the same graphics chip as the Alienware M14x (with less vRAM). • Answered by David G from Ladera Ranch • Jun 13, 2012 •. From my extensive Youtube video surfing, the reading of reviews, and common knowledge on graphical horsepower, I can safely say that I know the 15 inch higher end model can run todays games, (not tomorrows, as I can assume will be too taxing for ultra/high settings) fairly easily. As long as you realize it can't play games such as Crysis 2 on ULTRA, then you're good to go, but according to Youtube videos, people are playing at great settings with solid frames per second. My 15 inch is in the mail as we speak, and I look forward to putting many games on mine.

Do some simple Youtube searches and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results. • Answered by Shawn D from Gore • May 9, 2011 •. For gaming, the 13' will be a disappointment.

Games like Splinter Cell: Conviction and Assassin's Creed will not even work on the machine. Bioshock and Modern Warfare work fine. But do you really want to spend an extra $1000 so you can play the few games available on the Macintosh system? I do not know all of your considerations, but portability was a big issue for me.

And I'm a pretty fanatical gamer. So I use my Mac 13' for work and my PS3 for gaming. This solution also prevents me from gaming when I should be working.

• Answered by Paul T from Seattle • Aug 29, 2012 •. We've had some very good answers to your question. To sum it up even easier - a 13' is not build for gaming or any graphically demanding application - main reason being that the 13' models don't have a graphics card. Get a 15' macbook pro, or for even better value-for-money, an entry level iMac at £999 will cover you a nice 21.5' monitor for those films, a graphics card and decent quad core for gaming. Dont forget we still have the student deals at the moment if you are a student! • Answered by Matthew D • Aug 29, 2012 •. The non-retina 15 inch is considerably better because it has a dedicated graphics card, while the 13 inch only has integrated graphics.