20 inch iMac any good for games

Question

Level 1

9 points

20 inch iMac any good for games

Hi there,

I am a new Apple user of a MacBook Pro and have convinced my parents to get on the bandwagon and upgrade their desktop pc to an iMac. I was just going to go for the base model:

* 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB memory
* 250GB hard drive1
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory

However, my Dad likes to play games such as Soldier of Fortune, Doom, etc and I was just wondering how these games would run on this iMac... any feedback would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Nicola

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Apr 7, 2008 12:45 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 8, 2008 12:35 PM in response to Nicjasp

Go for the 24-inch iMac. The quality of the display is so MUCH BETTER.
Buy 4GB of 3rd-party RAM for $96 USD.
Buy VMware's Fusion ( http://vmware.com/products/fusion/) for $80 and install WIndows XP. Then play the games you already own under Windows.

"Real" gamers build their own Windows machines so they can control all aspects of the experience.

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Answer 2

Nicjasp Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 8, 2008 8:19 PM in response to Community User

Thanks for your response, I will take your comments on board. However, I guess I am looking at confirmation as to whether or not games will actually run OK on that base model. My Dad is not a complete 'gamer' but does enjoy from time to time. I don't want to buy all the extra's if it is not necessary.

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Answer 3

Apr 9, 2008 4:40 AM in response to Nicjasp

Nicola, the 20" iMac base configuration would definitely run the games but the experience might be better, improved performance if you would add another 1 GB of memory for a total of 2 GB. You can choose this as you order from Apple or as some have suggested buy memory from another source and install yourself. Personally, I prefer to let Apple do it just for easy and to insure compatibility. I have the 20" iMac but I choose to upgrade the processor (2.4) and add the memory (2 GB) and the 20" display is awesome! Hope this helps!

Rick

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Answer 4

Apr 9, 2008 4:49 AM in response to Nicjasp

Hi,

I'm not so sure, i would go with the 2.4ghz model at least as it has the 256mb 2600 pro card rather than the 128mb 2400xt. I have the 2.4 model (24") and doom plays good enough but not at full settings etc.

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Answer 5

Nicjasp Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 9, 2008 7:40 PM in response to Evangelist

Is it possible that I can get the 20 inch but upgrade the memory to 2GB & also update the graphics card to the 256mb 2600 pro, or is that a question for the shop guy?!

I know lots of people LOVE the bigger screens but my folks (who will be the main users) have checked them out and much prefer the 20 inch.

By the way, thanks for your responses so far :o)

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Answer 6

GJ_Mass

Level 1

14 points

Apr 9, 2008 11:26 PM in response to Mark Thornton

Even the second level iMac (one I have) with 256mb card thingy will be noticeably better on your fps and general gameplay than the 128 card. The 24", while nice isn't much different than the 20" except obviously the bigger screen. If you can max your RAM (or least to 2GB) and get the 256 card than you'll be much, much happier imo.

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