[legacyb4]

I'll probably have to go mobile in the next few months and on the assumption that I move to an iBook 12"/900 with maximum RAM, I was wondering if current owners could vouch what performance for non-FPS but simulation-heavy games such as AOE II, Starcraft, Tropico, etc. on the iBook feels like.

Thanks in advance.

[SupahCoolX]

Well, my 600mhz iBook handles Starcraft just fine (heck, that game ran fine on my friend's old Powermac 7300/200, IIRC). I'm unsure of the others, specifically.
If they're not 3D, it should be no problem at all. Some 3D ones (Quake, Unreal, etc) should generally run OK, though you won't get the same performance as a Powermac, obviously.

[darcybaston]

Quake ran fine on my iMac DV SE 400mhz (8 meg video, 256 megs ram). You won't get 60fps but I was getting close to 30 which is pretty cozy.

Diablo II got choppy at times but only during insane battles with dozens of enemies.

SW Pod Racer just screamed. Super fast.

The Sims - all worked great.

WC III - VERY choppy and uncomfortable with lowest resolution and minimal colors and effects. WC II, obviously, works like a charm.

Recent StarWars First Person Shooter from Aspyr (forget the name) - unplayable

Wolfenstein RC multiplayer- plays tolerably well with all funky rendering settings turned off and 640x480 screen res. The settings GUI for game or whatever options is very slow.

Myst III Exiles : works great.

Tomb Raider II, III, Chronicles etc. - turn the settings down and it's pretty spiffy!

AvP Gold - Keep the settings down and it tanks really nice.

Black & White - works pretty good with settings turned down but occasionally gets too bogged down and choppy. Especially in part 2, or act II whatever it's called. The second world heh. Too much activity on screen.

So that's been my experience on the ol' iMac with a lesser video card, less ram but same system bus. I'm sure the latest iBooks will do the games I've found ok on the iMac, exceptionally well. Hope this is insightful!

[ybalx]

I've been running WC III on a iBook 800 with 640 ram without any problems.

[MartiNZ]

Same, but only single player. Even just watching a recorded game with more than 4 people is pretty hard going, so I don't think it would be much fun to play online with.