Is anyone playing on a mac mini?

[Dixi1801]

Namely the 2.3ghz i5 model, mid 2011?

I'm planning on getting one, and would like to know how it handles steam games such as CS:S and TF2, so I know whether to put the windows pc away and just use the mini for everything!

Please let me know the good and the bad if you are using a mac mini to play, and your graphics settings and such.

Thanks in advanced!

[Bastardo]

dont buy mac buy pc if u want to play :)

[Kavelli]

if its an intel version of the mini go ahead. i hav an older mini and i wasnt able to download steam

[Paul Pierce's Wheelchair]

I have the mid 2011 mini and run TF2 and CS:S very smoothly, with little to no hiccups. Some map loading for TF2 can be a little slow but beyond that actual gameplay is unaffected.

[Captain L]

Considering that I can run CS:S and TF2 on my Core Duo Macbook Pro, the Mini should be no problem.

[Son Maikeru - 孫まいける]

I just bought a mac mini i5 with radeon 6630 HD w/ 4gb ram and i played team fortress 2 on it with some 5 friends online and it runs pretty well on default settings, but i am going to bump up the ram to 16gb because crucial has 16 gb ram for $81

[Dixi1801]

Originally posted by Zavoxor:

dont buy mac buy pc if u want to play :)

I already have a PC, i'm wanting a Mac since i've never owned one!

Originally posted by Scrambles:

if its an intel version of the mini go ahead. i hav an older mini and i wasnt able to download steam

It's intel yeah, the i5 from mid 2011 :) thanks!

Originally posted by C. Mangione:

I have the mid 2011 mini and run TF2 and CS:S very smoothly, with little to no hiccups. Some map loading for TF2 can be a little slow but beyond that actual gameplay is unaffected.

Fantastic, thanks for that! My pc sometimes takes a while, but i only play 2fort on TF2 cause im a noob like that lol!

Originally posted by Captain L:

Considering that I can run CS:S and TF2 on my Core Duo Macbook Pro, the Mini should be no problem.

Oh great, i can't wait to get it and play! thanks :D

Originally posted by ultra magnus:

I just bought a mac mini i5 with radeon 6630 HD w/ 4gb ram and i played team fortress 2 on it with some 5 friends online and it runs pretty well on default settings, but i am going to bump up the ram to 16gb because crucial has 16 gb ram for $81

I wouldn't be getting the one with the discreet gpu, only the integrated graphics! but i'd be also upgrading the ram like you mention! as 8gb gives 512mb vram :)

Thanks again for everyones help!

[TorrentKing aka SlotMagPro]

I have mini mac! It only can play Killing Floor for now, but it is possible to run games. All the developer tools available on pc are gone though

[soot]

Originally posted by Dixi1801:

Namely the 2.3ghz i5 model, mid 2011?

I'm planning on getting one, and would like to know how it handles steam games such as CS:S and TF2, so I know whether to put the windows pc away and just use the mini for everything!

Please let me know the good and the bad if you are using a mac mini to play, and your graphics settings and such.

Thanks in advanced!

I have one and it runs Mac compatible Steam games GREAT. Be aware, though, do NOT get the 2.3 GHz model. Get the 2.5 GHz, it has a MUCH better video card. (That is what I have and have used.)

[soot]

Originally posted by C. Mangione:

I have the mid 2011 mini and run TF2 and CS:S very smoothly, with little to no hiccups. Some map loading for TF2 can be a little slow but beyond that actual gameplay is unaffected.

Yeah, map LOADING takes forever. Everything else, however, is very smooth. Suck it Windows gamers, we have our own topic section. :3

[KiteX3]

For your needs, a Mac Mini would be fine. As would nearly any $300 PC on the market, for that matter. Unless you have your heart set on trying out OS X or Apple hardware quality, I suggest you give Linux a try, dual booting on your current PC before you hand any cash over to Apple.

OS X generally runs more smoothly than Linux since the hardware manufacturers actually cooperate with Apple, but it should give you a general idea. It is similar to the Mac's OS X in a great many ways (there's a lot of mutual idea "borrowing" between Apple and the open source community), and since it's free it may give you a good idea of whether or not you actually would enjoy a UNIX-based operating system over Windows without actually committing to it.

If not, it's better that you figure that out now than when you've already put down $600 on a machine containing $300-$400 worth of hardware just to spend another $100+ to get Windows on it.

[Dixi1801]

Originally posted by foagal1775:

I have mini mac! It only can play Killing Floor for now, but it is possible to run games. All the developer tools available on pc are gone though

Oh right! i don't use the tools anymore so that won't be an issue!

Originally posted by RP MacP:

Originally posted by Dixi1801:

Namely the 2.3ghz i5 model, mid 2011?

I'm planning on getting one, and would like to know how it handles steam games such as CS:S and TF2, so I know whether to put the windows pc away and just use the mini for everything!

Please let me know the good and the bad if you are using a mac mini to play, and your graphics settings and such.

Thanks in advanced!

I have one and it runs Mac compatible Steam games GREAT. Be aware, though, do NOT get the 2.3 GHz model. Get the 2.5 GHz, it has a MUCH better video card. (That is what I have and have used.)

The problem is that the one i want is £529 but the next one up is £699... quite a big difference for a little increase! Money is tight atm, hence going for the cheap base one! I'm sure the card makes a difference, but apples prices for minor upgrades is silly :P

Originally posted by KiteX3:

For your needs, a Mac Mini would be fine. As would nearly any $300 PC on the market, for that matter. Unless you have your heart set on trying out OS X or Apple hardware quality, I suggest you give Linux a try, dual booting on your current PC before you hand any cash over to Apple.

OS X generally runs more smoothly than Linux since the hardware manufacturers actually cooperate with Apple, but it should give you a general idea. It is similar to the Mac's OS X in a great many ways (there's a lot of mutual idea "borrowing" between Apple and the open source community), and since it's free it may give you a good idea of whether or not you actually would enjoy a UNIX-based operating system over Windows without actually committing to it.

If not, it's better that you figure that out now than when you've already put down $600 on a machine containing $300-$400 worth of hardware just to spend another $100+ to get Windows on it.

That's exactly what i want to do, try things the apple way! I use linux and windows, but would like to get into the mac side of things, as i've not tried one for longer than 10 mins really! I do really enjoy Linux when i go onto my linux phase, so i assume i'd enjoy OSX. The features of the operating system on the apple site really seem appealing, and the App Store must make life somewhat easier and safer!

Thanks for the words of caution! Really appreciated! I keep reading more and more about the Mac to make sure it is for me, and from what i can understand, it's a wonder I haven't gone to Apple before now!

[Dixi1801]

Haters gonna hate?

But on a serious note. I'm bored of Windows. And as for Windows 8... I'd rather chew my own foot off and beat myself in the face with the bloody end.

I honestly want to try Apple's offering to the market, considering EVERYONE i have spoken to says they could never go back to a Windows machine. Something has to make them wanna stick with Mac OSX.

But thanks for the warning Shindig :)

[the eeker]

I have recently bought a Mac Mini, but it crashes after joining a match in TF2