How well does the 2010 Mac Mini Play Cataclysm

[Deleted]

Hi all,

Looking at putting one of these under my 42" HDTV and a bit of WoW on it would be nice.

So I was wondering if anyone with a 2010 Mac Mini could tell me the performance they are getting whilst playing Cataclysm.

How much Ram do you have?
What settings are you using? (low - med etc will be sufficient)
How does it do in Dungeons (FPS)?
How does it handle 10 man Raids (FPS)?

Do you use OSX or Bootcamp and if any what's the difference in performance (FPS) ?

Thanks in advance.

[vesseblah]

MacMini is not a gaming computer regarldess of OS. It has old dualcore CPU and integrated graphics. You can play current games (including WoW) on minimum settings with FullHD TV barely, but it will not be too enjoyable.

[Lotice]

I may not be an expert on computers, but the "mini" part of its name tells me it probably plays WoW about as well as a block of granite.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the replies.

Im only looking to play the game at med settings at around 30-40 fps (res can always be turned down to 720p if needed).

Been on a break form WoW for last 12months.
My last desktop was a P4 3.0ghz - 1g Ram - 7600gt 256mb so as you can see I'm not looking for earth shattering performance.

It would be nice to also have some feedback from Mac Mini owners if your out there. lol.........

[Benser]

Seems daft to ask here imo, shouldnt you ask like a mac mini forum if anyone plays wow? not a wow forum if anyone plays on a mac mini?

[Deleted]

Asking in one when finally get validation email.

Just figured Id ask here on off chance.

[Postkrieg]

I don't see why it shouldn't run.
2.4 core 2 duo + 2gb of ram should be enough to run on med.
Ignore Benser .
I've played cataclysm on a Pentium 4 with a 6600t with 1 gig of ram, so i doubt you'll have much problems.
It'll definitely run, how well it'll run is a different question :].

[Deleted]

I've seen some Videos on youtube but they are all pre Cata except one which was Beta. Looked good enough to me but I am aware that Cata has added some graphical grunt.
I'd also be adding 4gb ram or 8gb ram.

[Postkrieg]

Should be fine then mate. Doesn't have much more.
No worries about it. When you get it just fiddle with the settings, fine tune them.
Enjoy your new mac :].

[vesseblah]

Mac Mini has pretty close same hardware as 13" MacBook. WoW is playable on it's own low res monitor, but not really on FullHD.

It's really bad choice to buy as a gaming computer, and you should seriously reconsider it. It's possible to build 3x more powerful PC that does not look ugly in livingroom if you want to put some money and effort to it.

edit:

It's a matter of taste really what you (or better half) think looks good in living room, but Silverstone has some pretty neat looking cases for HTPC's. Here's just one example I've been thinking.

[Deleted]

Thank you all for the replies - Looks like I have a bit of thinking to do.

Any further feedback is warmly welcome.

[vazar_da_priest]

Thank you all for the replies - Looks like I have a bit of thinking to do.

Any further feedback is warmly welcome.

go pc. buy a vaio...since it seems youre willing to chuck out the cash for a mac


...which suckkk..imo

[ZeroWashu]

is that the 320m model? I would make sure to have at least 4g of RAM regardless. If you have the ability swap out the HDD for a 7200rpm model.

Regardless, set shadows to bottom and water there as well. Basically on that one section of the graphics option panel, the right side, I set them to min for those specs.

I run this game on a first gen i5 iMac and have run 3 copies simultaneously. Its not like WOW is an intensive game unless you try cranking all their special effects up, many of which are broken pieces of code.

[Deleted]

The Mac Mini can play wow just fine on medium settings, but mostly just for casual play, Raiding etc will be abit laggy, but if u dont mind running on low settings u probaly will do just fine

[Alan1187]

Do not buy a mac mini period (I have 3 mac computers, and that thing is just garbage).

[Deleted]

Thanks for the replies.

I have also seen the Asrock 3d Vision which is plenty small but seems to be much more powerful than the Mac Mini.

The Model Ive seen (keyspecs) has :

Blu-Ray
i3-370m 2.4ghz CPU
1gb GT425m GPU
500gb 7200rpm HDD
4GB Ram.

[Spirets]

the mac mini is plenty capable of running wow, its just the graphics card you have to consider for better performance, but it exceeds the minimum requirements for cataclysm

[vesseblah]

the mac mini is plenty capable of running wow, its just the graphics card you have to consider for better performance, but it exceeds the minimum requirements for cataclysm

Official minimum requirements are sad joke. You can play AH and do solo questing with those, but raids or battlegrounds is not gonna happen.

[Deleted]

I don't see why it shouldn't run.
2.4 core 2 duo + 2gb of ram should be enough to run on med.
Ignore Benser .
I've played cataclysm on a Pentium 4 with a 6600t with 1 gig of ram, so i doubt you'll have much problems.
It'll definitely run, how well it'll run is a different question :].

I highly doubt you can run Cataclysm on those specs. I have a desktop with the exact same specs (P4 2.4Ghz, Nvidia 6600GT and 1Gb ram), and the computer couldn't even handle 10/25 mans back in ICC days (everything on minimum and 19" resolution, can't remember wich is xD).

[Tulion]

Although the CPU is capable of running wow, the lack of a graphics card makes it utter trash. You'll regret buying this to play games on. This machine is nothing more then an email/word doc machine