Are Macbooks terrible for gaming?

JayRich

Honorable
Feb 2, 2013
21
0
10,560
Title says it all. Debating between buying a new PC notebook for around $700 or a second hand Macbook around the same price.

Thoughts?
 
Solution


lol that sounds like something straight out of an apple commercial.

macbook airs are not powerful. they use an ULV processor and use integrated graphics. Also you cant get one for under $1000. the things i like about macbook air is the battery life and very thin design.
https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs.html



computernewb

Distinguished
Aug 9, 2010
165
0
18,660
i believe most macbooks use integrated graphics except the really high end macbooks which have a gt 650/750 (which are mid-range gpus). for gaming laptops youre usually looking to get the best price to performance ratio which will be found in PCs
 

JayRich

Honorable
Feb 2, 2013
21
0
10,560


Thank you very much for the reply. Yeah, the bulk of my usage will be for school and various business stuff (mainly spreadsheets). However, I would like it to be able to handle some light gaming if need be (mainly League of Legends). I have wanted a Mac for awhile and currently have 5-700$ to spend on a new laptop and am mainly just weighing out my options.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Light gaming? Sure, mac books will be sufficient enough.
I personally hate macbooks and I always laugh when people use mac book and gaming within the same sentence. But we are here to emphasize YOUR personal wants, not what people think of it. Do you like it? That's all that should matter. If you decide to not get the mac book, you can take a look at this. One of the best laptops for gaming under $600: http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model/NX.MCTAA.005

If you're using it for school & business oriented activities via spreadsheets, you may want to look for a 1080p laptop. I don't think you'd be too comfortable working with a 720p laptop (like the one I have suggested above). League of Legends isn't a very demanding game at all, so integrated graphics should handle it just fine after some tweaks with the settings. If you want, you could take a look at the Lenovo U530 Touch ultrabooks (lower models; has intel HD4400 integrated graphics); I'm about to buy one of the higher end models with the dedicated graphics card on monday.

IMHO, I'd stay away from used products. When it comes to laptops, I ALWAYS buy brand new so I wouldn't have to worry as much about problems. For desktop parts, I don't mind buying used parts because you can easily swap them out if you have problems. But laptops are basically a system that cannot easily be replaced, so new is what you would want to look at. Again, this is my personal opinion.
 
G

Guest

Guest


It seems we are now on the same path :)

For the same price via $599 USD, you could get the model I suggested that comes with a 1TB HDD (they seem to be the same laptop excluding the storage)
 

JayRich

Honorable
Feb 2, 2013
21
0
10,560
Okay. Well this is the second time I have been reccommended this exact laptop, so I think I am going to pull the trigger. Taxes in (on mine) is like $671. Think it's worth it?
 
G

Guest

Guest


Taxes ruin everything don't they? :p
But yes, definitely. That is the best laptop you can find for gaming around that budget range. Best of luck and I hope you enjoy it!
 

computernewb

Distinguished
Aug 9, 2010
165
0
18,660


the 2nd one is the best option. Better graphics, more hard drive space, more ram.

your very first link doesnt seem to have a GPU
 

JayRich

Honorable
Feb 2, 2013
21
0
10,560


Well I have a desktop PC already, I just need a laptop for exactly that, portability. I think saying the best choice for a laptop being a Macbook Air is a bit ambiguous.



Blah... "usually ships within 3-4 weeks" on the 2nd link is somewhat of a dagger lol
 
G

Guest

Guest


I know that's what turned me off while looking for a laptop, try maybe ordering from their site?

As for the macbook air being the best laptop out there, YOU GOTTA BE JOKING bahaha.
It's not that much powerful, it doesn't even have a dedicated graphics card. Not to mention that it's also overpriced, I've been around Apple products for a very long time (currently have an iPhone 5s which I really regret) and I can tell you if you do the research, you can find WAY better products and it'll also be cheaper. Most people are blinded by the image of Apple products holding a premium value.
 

computernewb

Distinguished
Aug 9, 2010
165
0
18,660


lol that sounds like something straight out of an apple commercial.

macbook airs are not powerful. they use an ULV processor and use integrated graphics. Also you cant get one for under $1000. the things i like about macbook air is the battery life and very thin design.
https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs.html



 
Solution