It’s fair to say that at one point, anytime I heard the words gaming and Macintosh in the same sentance I used to screwed my face up in a twisted mess followed by unpleasant obscenities from the mouth, but since Apple switched over to Intel based CPUs and have had time to optimise their software to run effectively they have really got my attention.
Since finding the career of my dreams as a web developer and interface designer I have found myself using Mac based operating systems more and more, but which do I think is best?
Can you game on a Mac?
One of the biggest fears I had when I bought my first Macbook (and my first apple product) back in 2012 with plans to do some travelling was whether or not I would be able to do any sort of gaming, and while it does get a little noisy and hot, it runs games surprisingly smoothly. Ok you are not going to find me playing Dying Light at ultra but I can comfortably play some Counter strike, DOTA2 or even starcraft when I am not working without it breaking a sweat.
So the simple answer to that question is – Yes you can game on a mac. However there is still one major let down which gets a little tedious when you are bored with all your games and that is game developers have not really realised the full potential of a Mac with an intel processor, Ok so Mac are initially a work-station computer with a strong emphasis on digital illustration and workflow however with so many people waking up to how good Mac OS really is (can anyone say free OS upgrades for life?) I think it’s about time game developers started to release bigger titles for Mac users.
Regardless of wether a Mac can handle gaming, like it or not there is no doubting Windows is king with the biggest game support, driver updates and overal biggest user base.
Mac OSX vs Microsoft Windows
First off its got to be said that both operating systems are in a league of their own with both good for different things, not because of a lack of support for one thing or another but because of the general flow of the system.
While Windows does support touch devices such as a trackpad, I was never really satisfied with how it felt under the finger, pinch zooming is buggy and unreliable and scrolling feels jerky. When you sit at your computer for 12+ hours a day writing thousands of lines of code small things really start of annoy you and that was my biggest gripe. Yes I could use a mouse but its slower and when it comes to my work I am a bit of a speed demon!.
Not only do I own an Apple Macbook Retina for when I am travelling away from home but I have a little Mac Mini, I picked it up for £400 just before the new generation come out that users are reporting are harder to upgrade, It came with a core i7 ivy-bridge CPU, 4GB DDR4 ram and a 1TB 5400RPM hard drive. I upgraded the hard drive to a SSD and upped the ram to 16GB, it’s an amazing desktop workhorse for my graphical / development work, I think the extra-large track pad, clean ui and smooth workflow is what keeps me coming back for more.
What OS am I using now?
I am switching between both Mac OS and Windows, not because I can’t decide which is best but because they both are unique in their own ways. Windows is a brilliant general day-to-day operating system for skype calls, streaming, internet browsing and hardcore gaming, however Mac OSX is much more tailored to the working environment regardless of its adoption of Intel cpus and high-end mainstream video cards, that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to play games but it does mean you will struggle to play the games you want as soon as they are released.
If you are a blogger, in a job where you are typing a lot, a graphic designer or web developer I would recommend finding a friend with a Mac and asking to borrow it for a few days, you might be surprised how simple the OS is to use.
