Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

brad92386 · Sep 7, 2006, 10:06 PM

I am buying an Imac very soon, and I am looking for feedback from people who play WoW and use macs. My PC is a real piece, and I doubt I can run WoW on it any longer. Also, I am a film student in college, so getting a PC is not an option, since MACs are better for my purpose.

The specs of the MAC I am getting are as follows:
-17-inch widescreen LCD
-1440x900 resolution
-2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor1
-4MB shared L2 cache
-1GB memory (2x512MB SO-DIMM)
-160GB Serial ATA hard drive2
-8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
-ATI Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB GDDR3 memory

Anyone out there who has or still does play on a MAC, please give me the pro's and cons!

Thank you all!

mozzep · Sep 7, 2006, 10:21 PM

should be able to run it fine.

mine is the same setup as yours but with a G5 and i barely had any problems, maybe a little lag in a major city.

Weezer · Sep 7, 2006, 11:19 PM

It will run it flawlessly, I have the same thing but with the 1.83 core duo and get like 25-30 fps in ironforge, higher other places

goMac · Sep 7, 2006, 11:43 PM

First, before someone else nitpicks, it's Mac, not MAC. Everybody does it first post.

WoW should run great on that setup. Blizzard has said the new iMac's ship with special drivers which will double the WoW framerate in the next patch. It's a good time to be a WoW player on the Mac.

Just to note, I don't think the configuration you've posted exists. The new iMacs use nVidia graphics.

brad92386 · Sep 8, 2006, 12:05 AM

Yeah, I decided to go with the 20", but I am putting 2gigs in it and im getting the 256mb graphics card. Im excited.

what is the movement interface with a mightymouse?

goMac · Sep 8, 2006, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by brad92386

Yeah, I decided to go with the 20", but I am putting 2gigs in it and im getting the 256mb graphics card. Im excited.

what is the movement interface with a mightymouse?

Movement interface? Feels just like you're using WoW with a PC.

Chuckit · Sep 8, 2006, 02:09 AM

Originally Posted by brad92386

Yeah, I decided to go with the 20", but I am putting 2gigs in it and im getting the 256mb graphics card. Im excited.

what is the movement interface with a mightymouse?

Just my opinion, but I really don't recommend playing WOW with a Mighty Mouse. It's too easy to get your left and right clicks messed up in the heat of battle.

Chuckit · Sep 8, 2006, 02:10 AM

Originally Posted by goMac

Just to note, I don't think the configuration you've posted exists. The new iMacs use nVidia graphics.

Only the 24-inch uses nVidia. The others use the same card as before.

goMac · Sep 8, 2006, 02:15 AM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Only the 24-inch uses nVidia. The others use the same card as before.

Yeah, just noticed that and came back here to correct myself.

lookmark · Sep 8, 2006, 02:35 AM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Just my opinion, but I really don't recommend playing WOW with a Mighty Mouse. It's too easy to get your left and right clicks messed up in the heat of battle.

I don't find mixing up left and right clicks with the MM to be a problem, but you should know that the MM has no chord-click function. There are undoubtedly better gaming mice out there by Logitech and MS, if you're a serious gamer.

LeeG · Sep 8, 2006, 05:45 AM

Originally Posted by brad92386

Yeah, I decided to go with the 20", but I am putting 2gigs in it and im getting the 256mb graphics card. Im excited.

what is the movement interface with a mightymouse?

Best move you ever made.

I have a 20" CoreDuo iMac 2 Ghz, 2Gb Ram, 256 X1600 - runs WoW like a CHAMP. The game is gorgeous, the screen is outrageous, and most people who see it are jealous. After reading your first post I was only going to suggest getting the 20 over the 17 - WELL worth it.

Movement is the same as a PC, and I have been using a mighty mouse really without problems-

Lee

brad92386 · Sep 8, 2006, 08:48 AM

does the game take up the whole screen?

brad92386 · Sep 8, 2006, 11:31 AM

so I won't have lag in IF and the AH's? That's sweet.

LeeG · Sep 8, 2006, 12:23 PM

The game fills the whole screen - there is a thread in the games section where we talk about specific changes you can make to enhance performance/frame rate. The large screen also means the interface doesnt take up too much of your playing room.

I have no lag in IF with a LOT of players there (unless its server lag).

L

liquidtrance123 · Sep 8, 2006, 03:30 PM

Wow you dont have any lag in IF? I'm running a dual 2gig G5 with 2.5gigs of ram and a x800xt and i still get lag in IF

jamil5454 · Sep 8, 2006, 04:24 PM

There's a difference between network lag and rendering lag.

With rendering lag, you'll notice a sharp decrease in framerate, sometimes lower than 1fps in IF. The game feels like a slideshow.

With network lag, the performance will still be ok, but it might take forever for you to open up your bag or character info. Also, your player will appear to skip around when he/she is running.

Just an FYI for those confused.

LeeG · Sep 8, 2006, 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by liquidtrance123

Wow you dont have any lag in IF? I'm running a dual 2gig G5 with 2.5gigs of ram and a x800xt and i still get lag in IF

You shouldn't. I have a 20" iMac, 2Ghz CoreDuo, 2Gb Ram, 256X1600 and I get pretty good frame rates even in IF when it's busy (>20fps). I do occasionally get AH or mailbox/bank lag - but thats network not your computers fault. I'll get 30-50fps in other places.

I found these steps to help a LOT:

Full Screen Glow OFF
1x multisampling
terrain distance at 1/2

making those changes improved my framerates by 2-3X.

Lee

brad92386 · Sep 8, 2006, 06:43 PM

So.. on top of those 3 steps, what else can I do to optimize my preformance, based off of a 20", 250gig hard drive, 256mb graphics card, 2 gigs ram, 2.16ghz processor.