[SOLVED] CPU

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Even on a Mac, your gaming prowess is determined more by the graphics card than the CPU. In general, the Mac laptops and iMacs are not so good for gaming due to the limited graphics. The Mac Pros have more powerful processors and better graphics capability, but they start at $2500.

For gaming, it is best to choose a Windows 7 PC with at least a Core i3-2100 processor. Right now the most popular processor is the Core i5-2500k as there is no advantage to a Core i7 for gaming.
 
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If you only want to use Mac OS then no. There are not as many games for Mac OS though steam is trying to narrow the gap. If you dual boot with Windows 7 then yes you can play the same games you play on a PC. Of course, a similarly priced (and well balanced) PC from a Cyber Power, or even Alienware, will be able to play the same games on higher detail.
 
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Which would (probably) allow you to install the games, but doesn't address the fact that Apple systems don't have the most up-to-date hardware to run it like a Windows-based system would.
 
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I was looking at the Apple Store, where the GPU options for Mac Pros are 1x or 2x a 5770, or 1x a 5880. Who uses 6990s in them?

No game currently exists which could use 12 cores, so there would be zero point in using a Mac Pro as a gaming machine from that perspective, either.
 
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A Mac Pro is not a gaming machine, don't waste your money. Point me to any configuration of a Mac Pro, and I'll give you twenty custom built configurations that are both faster and cheaper. If you want you can put OS X on them too.

Hardware in a Mac is no better than hardware in a Windows machine, and in most cases is literally identical. Paying more just so you can install Windows to play your games does nothing but inflate the price without providing the slightest shred of a benefit.
 
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I think that 12 cores at 2.93GHz are going to beat 4 at 2.5GHz any day, but you are welcome to your view. I stand by my statement that that is the most powerful CPU in a Mac.
 
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I quite agree that a Mac Pro would be a very expensive gaming machine, and certainly wouldn't be my choice as value for money. But that's different from saying that you can't play games on Macs. If you have the money, and the desire, you certainly can.
 
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You won't buy them configured that way, but a little Googling would tell you the answer.

I believe that Flight Simulator X will use as many cores as you throw at it; it thrives on CPU power. I'm sure there are plenty of other games that will utilize all available cores. And why limit your buying choices to current games? Do a little futureproofing.
 
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Only if the application you are using is multi-threaded. What if it can only take advantage of 1, 2 or 4 cores? I don't believe that the 12 cores would offer significant advantages, if any, in that case...a case which is representative of gaming. However, feel free to point us in the direction of benchmarks which prove otherwise.



Well, I did some Googling and it looks like people have problems putting a 6990 into a MP, from not being able to find enough PCIe power connectors to not having Windows recognising it as a dual-core GPU in Bootcamp. So can you show the community here the results of your Googling...a website with a MP user succesfully using a 6990 on his system would do nicely. :)

As for FSX...sure, maybe this is a case where the MP would be better. It's one game...the majority of games out there are only starting to take advantage of quad-core CPUs, so 12 cores would be a waste in a gaming system. Future-proofing? Tenuous...

Coming back to the OP's question, a MP isn't the most cost-effective, easiest or powerful system to play games on. The MP is more of a workstation which uses highly-threaded applications as standard...in that case, it'll blow a high-end Windows-based gaming system out of the water, no question. But by suggesting that you could drop a 6990 into a MP and play games is misleading, as it's not going to be anywhere as simple as that.

However, I'm happy to admit I'm wrong...but you'll need to show us links, not simply tell us to Google it. :)
 
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I wouldn't dispute that. But that wasn't the OP's original question. Of course, as I have pointed out several times, a Mac is not the most cost-effective way to play games. But that doesn't mean that you can't play games on a Mac if you have some overriding reason to purchase one.
 
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Still waiting on those links. :)
 
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To finish your sentence...
"despite the fact that..." by the time you could actually use those 12 cores in games, they will be outdated cores by future standards. The best future proofing while being cost effective, is building for the next 3 years, IMO. Building for too far in the future with current tech is always bad cost effective wise and performance wise in the future.
 
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I appreciate that a thread like this is always going to attract a deal of anti-Mac trolling. I tried, in my original post, to provide a simple, factual answer to the question asked. The most powerful Mac CPU is as I listed; what you do with it is your own outlook.

Big mistake on my part; there's always bound to be zealots who will take every opportunity to knock hardware (or software that they have not chosen). I have, unwisely, allowed myself to be sucked in to a pointless argument.

Me, I'm quite happy with both my PCs and my Macs and a fairly wide selection of Operating Systems. I wouldn't dream of trying to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't buy. They're all just computers in the end.
 
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Oooooh, I was all ready to walk away and all, but then you had to say that... :non:

First thing's first. I've not been 'anti-Mac trolling', as you put it. I have, in my time, had an iPad, an iPhone and a MacBook Pro in my possession. I still have an iPhone (4S) as I think they're the best phones on the market, when you look at hardware, stability and OS. Personally, I wouldn't go Mac in the future for a PC as I don't think they have the same bang for buck, especially as Windows is now very robust. Anyways...IMHO, and all that.

Yes, your first post did give a simple, factual answer...but then you went on to make some claims that you still haven't substantiated, despite being asked to. You were quite happy to beat the Mac drum up to that point.

Oh, and I'm not being a 'zealot', as you put it, I'm a member of a technical community who wants to know a bit more about what you claim is possible...ie, running a MP with a 6990. We're still waiting for the 'simple, factual answer' to the question 'Please show us evidence that that is possible' (acceptable evidence in the form of a URL showing how to successfully install and operate said GPU will graciously be received).

:)
 
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