Is Parallels suitable for "graphically complex" games?

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Is Parallels suitable for "graphically complex" games?

Hello,

I am planning to purchase the 2012 iMac when it's released. I currently have a 2010 iMac with 4670M which I sometimes play games on.

At the moment I switch to Boot Camp for playing Windows games. I wonder if I could just use Parallels with the 2012 iMac, with its more powerful hardware, to avoid rebooting each time I want to play a game.

Do you think this would work well with "graphically complex" Windows games like Rage, Stalker, DiRT Showdown, even Battlefield 3? Is there DirectX 11 support?

Has anyone tried running such games under Parallels with the current-gen iMac? How was the experience? Or should I still switch to Boot Camp for such games when I get the 2012 iMac?

Thanks in advance!

Posted on May 24, 2012 7:39 AM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

May 24, 2012 11:52 AM in response to Onur Otlu

Hello, I don't have those games but have benchmarked several things running under Parallels, and about the best I could do was about 40% the speed of comparable CPUs running Windows natively.

All I can really find out about DirectX 11 is here...

http://parallels.fanhow.com/parallels-7-directx-11

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Answer 2

Onur Otlu Author

Level 1

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May 24, 2012 11:02 PM in response to BDAqua

Hello BDAqua, thank you for the answer.

It's disappointing to learn that the best I can expect is about 40% of the speed I would get if I ran the game natively under Boot Camp. Doesn't this mean it's not really appropriate to market Parallels as a "solution for Windows games"? Only for simpler games like Terraria, maybe?

I would appreciate any further replies, I would really like to know more about the performance of modern games under Parallels with an up-to-date iMac. I was hoping I could get away without switching to Boot Camp everytime I want to play a game with good graphics.. 😐

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

May 24, 2012 11:35 PM in response to Onur Otlu

Doesn't this mean it's not really appropriate to market Parallels as a "solution for Windows games"? Only for simpler games like Terraria, maybe?

Tough call, no idea what that game is about really, could look it up, but is it a Stategy Game, or does it use those criptic keys for navigatiun & shooting? I'd say it's doable, not exeptional. 😉

I would really like to know more about the performance of modern games under Parallels with an up-to-date iMa

What's a modern game to you?

A 1st person shoot'em up? I'm worthless on them... gave up when my 2 sons whipped me at Pong & never looked back.

Hopefully some more helpers will pipe in with theier experiences, good luck & thanks! 🙂

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Answer 4

Onur Otlu Author

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May 25, 2012 4:13 AM in response to BDAqua

Well, I thought of Terraria as an example of a game that has low system requirements but runs only on Windows. Such games would probably run fine under Parallels/VMWare. Terraria can be thought of as a 2D version of Minecraft, by the way.

With "modern game" (I see now that I chose the wrong word..) I tried to mean a recent game with a big-budget; one that has complex graphics, physics and sound and requires strong hardware. I'm worried these would not run acceptably under Parallels.

Many indie games are also "modern" but they usually don't need a fast graphics card, and often also have native Mac builds, so they won't be a problem anyway.

I would like to play the Assassin's Creed series, DiRT Showdown and Dark Souls under Parallels, but it seems I shouldn't keep my hopes high.

BDAqua: The new generation is indeed wonderful at computer games. Thank you for your input, and I would like to hear other users' experiences too!

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