dear pc guys: advice

[nickfil]

So i find myself in an odd situation. I want to play PC games. That isn't the odd thing. The odd thing is that i have a pretty decent mac. I can duel boot.

Now- I'm pretty sure that my graphics card is the weak link in my computer.

I'm running:
dual 3GHz quad core processor
10GB ram
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT

My conundrum is this: If I'm going to upgrade my mac, i'd like to buy a video card that is at least offered through the applestore if not buying directly from them. Buying a card that apple doesn't support might make problems down the line.

So what I'm looking at are pretty pricey graphic cards. Either the ATI Radeon HD 4870 at $350 or the EVGA GeForce GTX 285 at $450. In addition to this, i was thinking of upgrading the PC side to a solid state harddrive.

Bottom line- is this worth it? Or should i just put together a whole new PC? Will i get more performance out of this- or out of a new 800-1000 PC?

[Jungell]

Well, which Mac do you have?

If it's an iMac or Macbook; get a PC. You're going to need to upgrade your machine every now and then to be able to play the latest games.

If it's a Mac Pro you can upgrade it just as easily as any desktop PC when you need to.

This is the problem with gaming on the computer, you're never quite sure if the new games will run or not, unlike with console gaming where the game was made for that particular system...

[Niode]

It's obviously a Mac Pro. No laptop has dual quad core processors.

Personally I'd get a HD4870. I have one and it can play all the latest games no problem. It will play anything that will be available on the Steamplay platform. You'll be fine with a HD4870.

The 285 is slower than the HD4870 but more expensive. It's a no brainer really. As for buying a PC version and slotting in. I'm not sure, surely if it's the same brand and same card it should work. If not, then you might be able to get it work with some Kexts from InsanelyMac or the Hackintosh forums.

[JordanPlayer]

So what I'm looking at are pretty pricey graphic cards. Either the ATI Radeon HD 4870 at $350 or the EVGA GeForce GTX 285 at $450. In addition to this, i was thinking of upgrading the PC side to a solid state harddrive.

Good lawd those prices are high for some older cards... if I remember correctly those prices are close close to what they were on release day. DX 11 is out already (and has some games that use it); but the cards listed only support up to DX 10. You can get a GTX 470 for $350, or step up higher to an ATI 5870 for $400 and both of those can put the hurt down on what Apple offers (obviously they aren't offered on Apple Store). SSD hard drives are also pretty expensive; not really sure if you could build an entire PC with this type of equipment in it for under $1,000 though.

[MrPopo]

I'd hold off on the SSD for now; you really don't need the improved access time for PC gaming and the prices are still quite high.

[nickfil]

I'd hold off on the SSD for now; you really don't need the improved access time for PC gaming and the prices are still quite high.

this makes me want it...

Personally I'd get a HD4870. I have one and it can play all the latest games no problem. It will play anything that will be available on the Steamplay platform. You'll be fine with a HD4870.
The 285 is slower than the HD4870 but more expensive. It's a no brainer really.

ah- this is exactly the answer i was looking for. Thanks. I was having some issues running half life. It would run on medium settings fine, but it would also have a drop in frame rate if ALOT of stuff was on the screen. Seemed like a red flag and time to upgrade. I want to be ready when left 4 dead goes mac.

[J T]

this makes me want it...

Me too!

[nickfil]

this makes me want it...

Me too!

yeah. There are a lot of quick load videos online. It is really fast. The HDD i have in my pc side of my mac right now is only 80 gigs. I only use it for gaming, and only install one or two games at a time. Even though it is crazy expensive for very little space... that load speed is outrageous.

[Niode]

You would get comparable speeds with two high 10,000 RPM drives in RAID0 configuration. You would get much higher space for around the same price as an SSD. That would be the most favourable option currently. You can always upgrade to SSD later when the price per GB falls.

[ZeroAX]

So what I'm looking at are pretty pricey graphic cards. Either the ATI Radeon HD 4870 at $350 or the EVGA GeForce GTX 285 at $450. In addition to this, i was thinking of upgrading the PC side to a solid state harddrive.

Bottom line- is this worth it? Or should i just put together a whole new PC? Will i get more performance out of this- or out of a new 800-1000 PC?

holly shit those cards are expensive. I'm guessing you already have a screen. I don't know what the prices are like in the US. I bought a kick-ass gaming PC for 700€. I could get a really good gaming PC for 500€, which is almost as much as that GeForce card will cost you. But if prices in $ are higher go with a new card for your Mac.

SSD drives are a waste right now imo. As Niode said you can ger comparable speeds with high RPM. Also it's new tech, so it ain't going to be good enough yet, so let others do the Beta testing on them, and you can buy one 1-3 years from now, when they become cheaper.