Steam for Mac: First Impressions, Windows Is Faster

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I can't say I didn't see this coming. The problem is that the older games will be ported and not optimized like the article said. Newer games, hopefully, will be optimized for both DirectX and OpenGL, so that the performance in both OSes will be close to equal.

I commend Valve for taking an interest in OS X gaming, but unfortunately, now it is up to apple to make it work. Currently, the only platforms that can game are the high end iMacs and MacBook Pros, which are difficult to upgrade, or impossible. Apple needs to put some more effort into the Mac Pro line or, if they REALLY care about this and there is some community support behind it, create a new gamer's line of Macintosh computers.
 
Listen to all of you, your focus is on GAMING, grow up and get a job.
 
omg ... so many windows id10ts ... seriously get a grip. OS X is optimezed for a different workload than gaming. also the opengl drivers for OS X are inferior, because no serious opengl gaming ever took place on OS X.

this will change with time, then you will have a reason for envy and hate 🙂

(p.s. I am a Linux user, no Apple fanboy)
 
Isn't the reason for lack of GPU on macs due to the fact they use laptop parts for everything? Since the HD5xxx laptops parts are not long out it just means that apple need to refresh their product lines. That will come probable in the next year or so
 
[citation][nom]bison88[/nom]You have got to see this guys review of Steam on Mac straight up Facepalm if you're a PC user.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCEQZ_4V7NY[/citation]
OMG, I really don't know what to say about him...
 
It's funny how people here complain about Mac fanboyism when they are clearly PC fanboyis. Really, what did you expect from a Windows game that was probably just a bad port to run on a Mac? You think it'll be much different when Steam releases something for Linux?

Please take the word from a neutral guy who likes computers and not vendors: PC fanboys can be just as annoying as Mac fanboys. Just remember that while you thumbs down me.
 
[citation][nom]Digital Dissent[/nom]I think we can pretty much expect that when steam for linux comes out, it will also run faster than on mac. No proof yet obviously, but if it does that will be somewhat pathetic, given that were dealing with opengl and unix on both sides. But mac is still totally better. See, its shiny! dur...[/citation]
I have no doubt that it will, Graphics drivers for Linux, while not as polished as for PC are much more optimized then Mac drivers. I will have to run Linux again once it comes out just to play some games to check :)
 
[citation][nom]hoggdoc[/nom]Listen to all of you, your focus is on GAMING, grow up and get a job.[/citation]
Hard not to focus on GAMING when the article is about GAMING. Just as an FYI I work to have the money to game and have fun, that is my focus in life to enjoy myself and work just gives me the means to do so.
 
i'm sorry, you're behind updates.. Carmack has been long since IDTech5 said that from Dx9 over, D3D it's better than opengl... it's a fact...
 
[citation][nom]aznguy0028[/nom]is anyone surprised? lol. so much for your "superior" computer mac fanbois, that can get owned by a PC that is 400+ cheaper[/citation]
Your rant is null, as in the article the Open GL poert is not optimized yet to meet time constraints on release. Man these MS fanboys just kill me. They probably believe Obama never lies either.
 
[citation][nom]vant[/nom]Your still not getting it aznguy. MacBooks are superior in usability. I can care less about playing SC2 on my tiny 13" screen. Thats when the dual 20" Win7 rig comes in handy But in classes, I'll take my multi touch shortcuts anyday.[/citation]
I agree that Windows still is faster only because of optimized game code and video drivers geared toward games. Time may change that. I use a 24"Samsung with my home built gaming rig. I have used Windows and Mac for years, Linux for 2years straight too as my main laptop until my cat just recently spilt my beer all over it while it was running. I love my 13" Macbook Pro. The hardware and Software make Win7 seem like a second rate setup.
The PC game market is starting to really suck, Draconian DRM at every turn and the like. If I did not have my big gaming rig I built I would be buying a new 27" iMac and bootcamp it with Win7 for games what few games I really want. aka Fallout 3 New Vegas and maybe Dues Ex 3.
 
[citation][nom]descendency[/nom]I imagine it is optimized for Windows, but this is about the difference of a generation of graphics cards - which is embarrassing for the fruity company.[/citation]
Another fact too but anyone on this site who remotely supports this idea of games on Mac will be given many thumbs down by all the little MS trolls who visit this forum. They are all playing on their new Win7 gaming rigs their mom bought for them.
 
[citation][nom]falchard[/nom]A consumer grade video card will run DirectX better then OpenGL. You might want to try a workstation card since the gap between DirectX and OpenGL is not so great.BTW its PC for gaming, PC/Linux for real work. Mac has very little to offer for any computing needs aside from simplicity.[/citation]
Since the vast majority of PCs are sold to home users that have no need for workstations and the overpriced MS Office are not needed. Macs make surfing the web, music and all the things that every day individuals do on a computer just as Win7 can but much better.
HTML5, Linux and OS X all use Open GL so all you Direct X fanboys can eat that one too.
I own 2 macs but do not plan on playing games on them. I do love Ubuntu and plan on installing it on my gaming rig as a dual boot when I put Win7 on it. WINE should handle any real old 2D games that 7 may not, such as Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale.
 
Yeah while it still isn't quite as good as the windows version, I can now play steam games on both my windows and mac OS (and install on both with no issues). And if i really need to see the higher FPS I can hit windows, but when I use my mac for everything else its convenient if i want a quick break.
 
I always find the whole Mac vs PC debate amusing. It's not the PC that's inherently any faster, it's the optimisation that Microsoft has done in DirectX. Let's face it, they've been working on it a long time, and the graphics card vendors are dedicated to squeezing the maximum performance out of their hardware. It's such a cutthroat market, they have to. Apple typically sell Macs to a very different audience, so the focus has never been on making OpenGL perform well for gaming purposes. Maybe the release of Steam will persaude Apple, ATI and nVidia to do some more work in this area on the Mac. To be honest, I don't really care. If I want to play games on my Mac, I boot Windows. If I want to run Logic or Final Cut (the main reason I went with a Mac), I boot OSX. It's not that the Mac is better or worse, but it has the software that I like using.
 
i don't understand how people get so emotional over the fact that someone uses a different computer than them. The more adamant you are for your side in the mac vs pc argument, the less you are getting laid, same goes with the nvidia v ati, xbox v ps3.....i can go on. but seriously, people need to chill. If you loose sleep at night because some 20 year college chick buys a macbook over a pc then u got some issues.
 
'sigh' I'm finding it funny that both MS and apple fanboys are calling each other idiots, morons, using the old 'living in your mom's basement' lines...Anybody ever heard of the pot calling the kettle black?

Look, the difference between the platforms is DirectX vs OpenGL. DirectX is better. End of story.

Now OpenGL COULD be better IF it was better supported by the OS for gaming...This is because APPLE does not support gaming as well as MS.

IF Apple decides to work on better drivers and OpenGL support for developers and hardware manufacturers then yes, they could close the gap.
Will Apple do so?
No. Of course not. Supporting gaming would lead to people wanting to upgrade rather than replace computers (speaking of which, I've always wondered what the apple faithful do with their old computers...anyone care to enlighten me?) which leads to a lower margin and more work for Apple.

Microsoft is a software company, Apple is a Computer company. Microsoft works with third parties to deliver an all around decent OS that you can use in any setting. This leads to them not having perhaps the best in any one area (although it looks like they do in gaming right now), but they can be used in the widest variety of settings.

Apple, is a computer company. They deal in hardware, software, and accessories. They are the control freak, the obsessive compulsive kid. They focus on a few key areas (battery life, aesthetics, simplicity) and ignore everything else. So if all you care about is what apple focuses on then yeah, go with them, you'll be happy.

If you want choice and versatility then go with windows.

In a diverse world, MS wins in the long run because in the end people want their computers to do more than what Steve Jobs says they can do.

Note: I am ignoring Linux because while it is also versatile, it does not have a single company to back it (single as in one company that controls it, not as in no one will back it).
 
I have to remind everyone on this board one more time that an apple laptop, for example, is NOT more expensive than a similar spec'ed Think Pad or Sony Vaio. It is actually often cheaper with better specs.

The mac books are VERY good value for money, strictly in terms of specs, for a thin-light laptop. And ironically, especially because of the relatively powerful graphics cards in the mac books, compared to what you find in vaios or think pads.

On top of this, they are proabably the most well designed and well manufactured laptops out there.

So this is not about paying for an apple logo. Apple laptops (and even the desktops, when compared to similar spec'ed dells) ARE competitive in terms of price/spec. They are actually cheaper. And you get an exeptional product design and build quality on top of that for free.

It seems no one on these board actually understood this...

If you want to compare prices/specs, just go to sony.com or lenovo or even dell, and try to spec a machine comparable to the mac.

 
Learning to make a multiplatform (or OS-agnostic) game-selling system is an amazing thing to do.

For game devs, getting a "free" 10% market to gain from is not a little thing when you don't have to develop all that much more (Source Engine + Steam sell).

This is beyond getting Mac users some games to play. Think farther ahead!

Cheers!
 


but this is an enthusiasts site, comparing desktop brands is meaningless since most here build there own (cheaper, better specs)
as for laptops, apple can't even offer the CPU i wanted for my laptop (not to mention the laptop i have would be 2x the price from apple), or the screen (its actually a better screen than the mac screens)
and this has already been debated to death on this site, since if you shop around you can find a better PC for the money (something you CAN"T do with a MAC)

@OrderChaos, they usually sell there old macs used on ebay or to a friend/relative
 
Trying to run a 2010 game on a Mac would be like trying to run FarCry on a NES. Apple please stick to your shiny photo editing hard/software.
 
OK, here's how it's going to work.

Steve Jobs has worked with Microsoft before and still does on certain projects as long as it benefits him and him alone. Even though they are a competitor and they only have 5% of the market and even though it is a REAL ball ache, they get to have Microsoft Office.
So..........
Steve Jobs now needs to go cap in hand to Microsoft, swallow his pride, beat down that MONUMENTAL ego and ask, please, sir, if it's not too much trouble, can they have DirectX for OSX.

Personally, if I was Steve Ballmer I would tell Steve Jobs to go f**k himself, but i'm sure a billion dollars would swing it.
 
ther OS is obviously not meant for gaming and MAC's will never be meant for gaming so Valve STOP NOW YOURE WASTING YOUR TIME!!!!!! lok at the results for portal seriously the game isnt even that graphically challenging, lets see MAC's with something like CoD4 that would be funny or how about Crysis.
Click to expand...

hey now, let them have games already, it makes me happy thinking that this is also pushing them to make steam for linux and get companies to make games for all three OS's would be awesome (i would love to have linux not in a VM as i don't like dual booting)
 
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