Mac Pro - new setup for gaming

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Level 1

5 points

Mac Pro - new setup for gaming

Hi Everyone,

I've been thinking for some time now about getting a new Mac to replace my old G5/2.5Ghz, and would like to really squeeze as much out of it as possible. To that end I was thinking about installing faster hard drives, more RAM (ahem, obviously) and a video card cooler. As you may suspect, I'm a bit new to this, although I would still have no problems poking around the innards of a mac.

Here's what I was thinking of getting:
Apple Mac Pro, 2.66Ghz, minimum spec + X1900
Western Digital Raptor 150GB 10000rpm x2, striped (raid 0)
4Gb RAM from Crucial (cheaper than Apple BTO)
Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer Accelero X2
(total comes to under £2500)

I've been reading these forums for the past couple of days (kudos to The Hatter, btw), and this has helped greatly. However, do these sound like decent choices? Should I use the WD Raptors as my startup disk? Would you recommend anything for keeping the hard drives quiet? Is the video card cooler necessary? Am I talking complete rubbish?

When I say "gaming", I'm really only talking about World of Warcraft. Currently I have a 22" CRT monitor, which I'm looking at replacing with the NEC MultiSync 20WGX.

So, apologies about this slightly rambling post. If there's any advice or feedback you can give, that would be most welcome.

G5/2.5 dual / 9600 XT / 2Gb RAM Mac OS X (10.4.8)

G5/2.5 dual / 9600 XT / 2Gb RAM, Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Posted on Apr 5, 2007 5:10 AM

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Answer 1

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Apr 5, 2007 5:38 AM in response to Rob Allen

Thanks for the vote. 🙂

RAID is what you want for scratch and editing, not for boot drive. StorageReview has tried to educate folks on the topic, and tests on Macs show it is only helps on real heavy Photoshop. Barefeats has some tests between RAID and non.

The Radeon 1950 moved the fan back so it is less audible. Let's see what the AMD R600 offers. Overall, I'd wait until June-Sept time frame.

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Answer 2

Fortuny

Level 7

21,455 points

Apr 5, 2007 6:14 AM in response to Rob Allen

Hi Rob,

I mostly have the same setup (except Raptors) and I find it very decent.
The cooler on the X1900 is a bit loud (not annoying me, but...) so the Accelero can be necessary.
A RAID system is not necessry for gaming, but for other things (photo, video editing) quite appropriate.

There was an issue where an Apple update could not be applied to OSX on a RAID, so maybe you want to go with the System on an non-raid HD or with an external HD with OSX on it (just in case).

As for gaming speed I can only say that I run Elder Scrolls:Oblivion (Windows via BootCamp) in 1600x1200 with everything cranked up and it runs like a charm.
So WoW should not have any dificulties at all.

And as The Hatter said, waiting till mid year could be the thing to do.

Regards

Stefan

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Answer 3

Rob Allen Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 5, 2007 6:22 AM in response to The hatter

Cheers for the RAID info re: startup disks. I did go over to Storage Review, but am struggling with information overload (today I learned about DIMM positions in Risers, joy...). However I presumed that striping 2 fast disks will make them even faster - and give you a larger disk?

My problem is I've already put off buying a new Mac for a couple of months to see what Apple announces, only to find out that it's just the top-end 3.0Ghz Mac this morning - which I'm not willing to fork out for, seeing as they don't seem to have improved anything else like graphics, bus, etc. Similarly, I'd rather not buy just the new graphics card for my current Mac, as I'd still struggle with hard drive speed and so on. There's no way I'm putting up with another 3 months of 5-15 FPS, when all my PC guildies have 60 FPS.

I know just buying a new Mac would be an improvement over my current one, but will it be a massive improvement, or should I be looking at a different setup?

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Answer 4

diffkid

Level 3

790 points

Apr 5, 2007 6:40 AM in response to Rob Allen

I have a similar setup, and WoW just flies. It's great. (except when my girlfriend decides she wants to use my computer to play on, and won't let me have it back). But if WoW is the most system intensive thing you do, the Mac Pro is a little overkill.

But if you're like me, and you like the tower (versus the all-in-one iMac), want to play newer, more demanding games through Bootcamp, or even want to use it for "work" (video, 2D/3D graphics), then the Mac Pro is the right choice.

The 10,000RPM drive is probably a great choice, but you might find yourself running low on space quickly. Another 250/300GB SATA 7200RPM drive should run you under $100 (or £s).

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Answer 5

Fortuny

Level 7

21,455 points

Apr 5, 2007 7:11 AM in response to Rob Allen

Hi Rob,

I have switch over from PCs when buying the MacPro on Oct. 2006 so I have no exact figures in how much it outruns you current G5.
Also the 5-15fps you have now are mainly due to the 'outdated' 9600 ATI.
With the X1900 you are way on top of this one, especially in highre resolutions.
And because you are up to getting a 22" LCD, which I suppose has a resolution of 1900x1200, you are wanting to run WoW in that resolution.

Personally I give my MacPro a usetime for of about 3-4 years, in which I eventually will upgrade the graphics card (when Apple does provide them).

So, while not been able to give you any orders, I would say:
Go for it !

Regards

Stefan

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