Guild Wars and MacBook

Katadare

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2006

R/Me

16 May 2006 at 22:56 - 1
Hi All,

Apple just released their MacBook,
I was just wondering if it is possible for it to run Guild Wars on it.
I love my Mac, but I want to play GW on the go!

So I want to know if GW will run before I replace my current laptop.
Boot Camp should work, so I should be able to install windows on it without much problems.

Note: I know MacBook Pro will run it without problems... but it's much more expensive

Here are the specs:
- 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo processor
- Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
- 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300)

What do you all think?
I'll probably bump this post when the MacBooks starts arriving and people get their hands on them to play with.

Thanks!

EternalTempest

EternalTempest

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

United States

Dark Side Ofthe Moon [DSM]

E/

16 May 2006 at 23:14 - 2
With apple's boot camp (and the ability to install Windows XP) I would say yes.

The only thing I would be worried about is the Intel GMA 950 GPU.. I would wait till reviews come out about trying to run games on that card using bootcamp / windows xp before taking the leap in to GW.

Saraphim

Saraphim

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Mar 2006

The Hand of Omega [WHO]

E/

16 May 2006 at 23:20 - 3
mmm.. I've decided to get a MacBook soon, but not for gaming as I can't bear to part with my monster CRT monitor for that. Plus I'm not convinced the graphics card will handle it anyway.

Be interested to hear from people who have splashed out though.

shadow_kick

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: May 2006

East Texas

R/N

17 May 2006 at 01:05 - 4
With the intel-switch, I'm sure GW on a Mac is a near (if not already) possible venture. Of course, performance is still in question as said before.
Whether or not you want to stain your hard drive with Windows may also be an option in the future, as development of the wine port for X continues to show steady improvement. I ran a few games on Debian with wine a while back, and they ran quite nice..and I was using an ATI card..
*gasp*

Raptox

Raptox

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Oct 2005

Huntington Station, NY

Une Annee Sans Lumiere [UASL]

E/Me

17 May 2006 at 01:31 - 5
Boot Camp should provide you with native video card drivers. You do, of course, have to own a copy of Win XP (or maybe 2k, I dunno).

koneko knows more than I do.

ldisc66

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jun 2005

Stoicheio Athanatos

E/Mo

17 May 2006 at 04:11 - 6
I don't own a Mac-Intel but if you manage to load Windows XP with the appropriate drivers it should be possible to run Guildwars without a hitch. That intel GMA video should be enough to play. I think (speculating here) that XP drivers have problems finding the hardware because of the way these Mac-Intels utilize "their" version of Plug'n Play rather than the standard ACPI found in standard PCs.

Raptox

Raptox

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Oct 2005

Huntington Station, NY

Une Annee Sans Lumiere [UASL]

E/Me

17 May 2006 at 13:31 - 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by ldisc66
I don't own a Mac-Intel but if you manage to load Windows XP with the appropriate drivers it should be possible to run Guildwars without a hitch. That intel GMA video should be enough to play. I think (speculating here) that XP drivers have problems finding the hardware because of the way these Mac-Intels utilize "their" version of Plug'n Play rather than the standard ACPI found in standard PCs.
Again, Boot Camp fixed this, at least on the iMac. Boot Camp makes a CD with all the drivers you need to run your hardware native in XP. It's pretty slick.

(Oh, and it works, too, can't forget that.)

Serafita Kayin

Serafita Kayin

Exclusive Reclusive

Join Date: May 2005

Tuscaloosa, AL

Seraph's Pinion (wing)

R/Me

17 May 2006 at 14:21 - 8
It will run it, the only caveat being that the GMA950 is a really suck way to draw anything. If you're gonna play a lot, consider the upgraded version.

Raptox

Raptox

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Oct 2005

Huntington Station, NY

Une Annee Sans Lumiere [UASL]

E/Me

17 May 2006 at 18:03 - 9
Quote:
Originally Posted by Serafita Kayin
It will run it, the only caveat being that the GMA950 is a really suck way to draw anything. If you're gonna play a lot, consider the upgraded version.
You know, I was wondering what the heck was going on with the GPU not being the ATI one I had heard about. Then I realized you guys were talking about the new MacBook, not the previously released MacBook Pro. Heh, I didn't know Apple changed it for the new one. -_-

Katadare

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2006

R/Me

17 May 2006 at 22:35 - 10
hehe, yeah, the Macbook announcement was pretty low key

Has anyone tried running GW on a GMA950? (Mac or PC)
I just want to find out if it is playable...
ie. even with all the graphics stuff turned down, will it be choppy?

Katadare

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2006

R/Me

24 May 2006 at 02:18 - 11
Any one tried running GW on a macbook yet?

spiff101

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Apr 2006

28 May 2006 at 12:22 - 12
MacRumours has this report on WoW; it's surprisingly optimistic compared with the dreadful benchmarks I've read - but then, it seems that most benchmarking is done with extremely intensive Doom-style games.

Can't find any specific reports on GW, just speculation.

Given that WoW seems to be ok, what I want to know now is: does that automatically mean GW will play ok too? Which is more demanding of the MacBook's puny graphics card?

Gildor Took

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jun 2005

Australia, 3rd rock from the sun

Mo/

24 Sep 2006 at 03:50 - 13
Guild Wars should be able to run on a Macbook in fact its probably the only decent game that runs well. I personally haven't tried it but mac forums suggests that it will work but the tests are done with 2GB RAM. Sorry for bumping such an old post