Can my Mac run these games?

[onatj]

So I sold my PS3 since Gamestop was a sale where I got 30% for trade-in. I thought I would just get a few games on mac during the summer sale with one of those $20 cards that I can play until the PS4. Currently all I have is TF2, I can play it without lag but after an hour of playing it will freeze for 5 seconds and then it will crash, this started happening a month ago, also I want to know if anyone knows how to fix the problem I just listed, I already un-installed and still not fixed. So I wanted to get L4D2, Portal 2, CS:GO, and Garry's Mod. For $5 each during the sale. But I need to know if my mac can run them, and also if it even has enought memory to hold the games. Here's the Specs, sorry if I miss some stuff, im a noob with this stuff so thats why im asking. Thanks in advance!


Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac10,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 3.06 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 9400

[Robohtman]

I have a Macbook Pro Laptop and I run
-TF2
-L4D2
-CS:S
-Garry's Mod
So im guessing sure your computer would be fine to run the games you want, but maybe check with someone else just to be sure. :)

[Chas.]

A GeForce 9400 is not a gaming card. It's designed for HD video playback, not gaming.

Sorry.

[FuzzyPuffin]

The 9400 is pretty weak, but you should be fine running those games on low settings.

[Drygore Slayer]

I olay tf2 and Left for dead 2 on my macbook air 2012

[FuzzyPuffin]

Originally posted by Drygore Slayer:

I olay tf2 and Left for dead 2 on my macbook air 2012

You have a much better graphics card than he does.

[dissonent]

Originally posted by FuzzyPuffin:

Originally posted by Drygore Slayer:

I olay tf2 and Left for dead 2 on my macbook air 2012

You have a much better graphics card than he does.

I can run those low settings on my macbook air 2011

[76561197991858962]

I have a macmini3,1 (Early 2009 model which hosts the 9400M. A 9400M-equipped machine CAN play a lot of games, but as everyone else stated, it has it's limits because the max ram is 256MB (that's SAD even in 2009-2010 computing standards). One thing that I HIGHLY recommend is that you upgrade your RAM from 4GBs to 8GBs as in my experience, the Mac struggles with kernel_task (the OS duties), running Steam, plug-ins throughout the OS AND your game. With all of this activity, it means more and more page-ins/outs (swapping) to the hard drive, which means overheating, slow performance, and opportunity for crashes as you are currently experiencing.

The max graphics RAM can't be increased, but with 8GBs or RAM (I bought a set a few months ago for $55.00 USD) the difference was night and day as the OS, Steam and games had more room to breathe, meaning (again) less load on the hard drive (the game will carve out space in your physical RAM instead).

I also recommend fan control software as Mac's smc settings are abysmal when automatically cooling their machines when they begin to overheat. Google for smcFanControl, install it and set 4000RPM as the default. That way you have some added insurance and some additional cooling when you start gaming. The only thing wrong is that the software doesn't change the fan speed automatically when the system overheats; the controls must be set manually. If you want automatic fan speed changes, FanControl (another app) is available, but it has a habit of permanently messing with your Mac's settings. Stick with smcFanControl.

I'm more or less in the same boat as I got rid of my PS3 for personal and financial reasons (I really wish I didn't as I wasn't finished with Sleeping Dogs yet), but that was after years of fine-tuning and experimenting with my Mac and downloading (as of yesterday) 102 games.

Specs as of today: Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz, Nvidia 9400M 256MB, 8GBs DDR3 SODIMMs, 500GB 7200RPM Hitachi Travelstar, Mac OS X 10.8.4. I try to push the games to run at full 1080p if they can handle it, but my machine likes 720p better.

- Left 4 Dead 2: playing at 1080p at 30+ fps with no dialog skipping or graphics issues (though the game performs better at 720p)
- Half Life 2: 1080p, 50+fps
- Counter-Strike: Source: my machine no longer tries to die while playing. but the framerate hovers between 25-30fps. Gameplay is smooth, though the video stress test gave a 24.4 fps readout.
- CS:GO: no issues whatsoever (I'm not a GO player as I prefer CS:S)
- TF2: same as Counter-Strike Source. I'm not a TF2 fan anymore since the game became free-to-play. Plus, I'm sick of the Earbuds requests.
- Portal 2: 35-45fps running at 1080p.
- Borderlands GotY Edition: (Mac Game Store version) 1080p, no issues (can't get a framerate readout).
- Cities in Motion/Cities in Motion 2: these games DEMAND a GPU with 512MBs or more but can still run - just in a range of 8-20fps depending on maps or (in the case of CiM2) the time of day. These are transit sims though, so while low frames are a nuisance they don't bother me.

Anyway, you get the idea. I'm just saying if you want to play games while saddled with the 9400M, be prepared for some frustration, some compromises and the reality that you won't be able to play a lot more games unless you upgrade to a new machine.

[onatj]

Will my Mac actually have enough space to download the games though?

[FuzzyPuffin]

Originally posted by Zeniin:

Will my Mac actually have enough space to download the games though?

We can't answer that because we don't know how much free space you have left. Open a Finder window and it'll say X GB available on the bottom. Game sizes are listed in the system requirements.

[76561197991858962]

Originally posted by FuzzyPuffin:

Originally posted by Zeniin:

Will my Mac actually have enough space to download the games though?

We can't answer that because we don't know how much free space you have left. Open a Finder window and it'll say X GB available on the bottom. Game sizes are listed in the system requirements.

Some Finder windows won't show it. Click Apple>About This Mac>More Info>Storage. If you're running Mountain Lion, you'll get a line graph showing available space.

[fogell]

Most macs can run source games easily

[Jim Bond]

What version of OS X are you running? The latest mac release (Mountain Lion 10.8.4) has the latest graphics drivers and the highest potential of performance. 9400 graphics drivers where improved significantly in later OS X releases. If you're still running Snow Leopard (10.6), performance is going to be a mess with the 9400.