Games with the Intel GMA 950

I recently won a contest, and got a new MacBook C2Duo 2.0ghz (black). I have long been a Mac user, and know my way around a bit. I did a lot of searching about how the Intel GMA 950 chip would do for games. The results are mixed, and mostly based on opinion. So, I thought I would simply add my 2-cents:

The Intel GMA 950 in the MacBook does not make for a GREAT game machine, but for the casual gamer, it might be ok. I played Halo ( universal patch ) from start to finish, without poor video performance. I am currently playing Empire At War, and am pleased with the performance.

While both of these games would be much more enjoyable with things like FSAA ( anti-aliasing ) and hardware shaders and lighting, they are playable with low quality settings. I even bumped-up the textures and geometry settings in Empire at War, without noticeable loss of performance ( at a high resolution too! ).

The bottom line is, if you are shopping for a portable gamer, keep shopping. If you are on a budget, already own one, or are just curious, it's not as bad as the so-called "experts" have guessed.

Get the Empire At War demo here, and see for yourself!

2Ghz Macbook Black/1.6Ghz G5 PowerMac Mac OS X (10.4.9) 1gig RAM in Macbook ( considering upgrade )