LOTRO on a Macbook

[Quasar]

I'm wondering...has anyone tried to run this on a Macbook? Would this actually run with the graphic settings on low?

[Tenacious B]

I'm assuming it has the 64MB Intel GMA 950 graphics processor? If so, then, yes, LOTRO will probably run with the lowest possible settings, but it will look like complete ass. I'm not sure how it would handle places like Bree, though, where large groups of players tend to congregate. I often experience lag on my 20" iMac.

[Maggie]

I often experience lag on my 20" iMac.

Is the puissance of a Macintosh computer really measured by its physical size? :confused:

I'm not trying to be a smart alec; I will soon need to learn about Macs for my career, and I had no idea they were so strange.

[Tenacious B]

Is the puissance of a Macintosh computer really measured by its physical size? :confused:

It's a good question, and for the most part, the answer is, yes.

For instance, the current generation of iMacs come in two flavors -- the 20" and the 24". The lower end 20" has a ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory, while both 24" models feature an ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory. That small distinction makes a big difference where gaming on the Mac is involved.

[Maggie]

It's a good question, and for the most part, the answer is, yes.

For instance, the current generation of iMacs come in two flavors -- the 20" and the 24". The lower end 20" has a ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory, while both 24" models feature an ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory. That small distinction makes a big difference where gaming on the Mac is involved.

So Macs are more like calculators or toasters as opposed to PCs? You choose the model and get what it comes with, like it or not?

[Quasar]

I'm assuming it has the 64MB Intel GMA 950 graphics processor? If so, then, yes, LOTRO will probably run with the lowest possible settings, but it will look like complete ass.

Well...I'm running it not much higher (the second lowest setting) on my PC and it looks fine to me.

I'm not sure how it would handle places like Bree, though, where large groups of players tend to congregate. I often experience lag on my 20" iMac.

I thought that would be more an issue of your net connection as much as anything else.

[Quasar]

So Macs are more like calculators or toasters as opposed to PCs? You choose the model and get what it comes with, like it or not?

Pretty much. Even the crazy expensive Pro models don't offer much choice when it comes to video cards.

[Maggie]

For what it's worth, I don't think LOTRO looks that bad on its lowest setting. Of course, I can run it at its highest setting, so it would be a little painful to go back down, but it really isn't that detracting from the game.

Just don't look at any screenshots, cause boy, is it pretty when maxed out.

[Tenacious B]

So Macs are more like calculators or toasters as opposed to PCs? You choose the model and get what it comes with, like it or not?

With iMacs, Mac Books and Mac Book Pros that's more or less true, although you can upgrade memory and the hard drive. Mac Pros, on the other hand, are fully customizable, albeit a hellova lot more expensive. They start at around $2500.


I thought that would be more an issue of your net connection as much as anything else.

I'm referring to video lag. I don't believe your MacBook will be fast enough to handle the processing load once you step foot in Bree. My frame rate takes a nose dive the minute I hit the front gates (my latency never changes, though). Here's a rather extensive overview of running LOTRO on a Mac (http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=33021&highlight=intel+macintosh), courtesy of the official forums.

[BlakeT]

I'm referring to video lag. I don't believe your MacBook will be fast enough to handle the processing load once you step foot in Bree. My frame rate takes a nose dive the minute I hit the front gates (my latency never changes, though). Here's a rather extensive overview of running LOTRO on a Mac (http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=33021&highlight=intel+macintosh), courtesy of the official forums.

That's pretty much the point I was going to make. I think that if you cranked down the settings and played in low population areas you'd be OK, but still chug a bit, but if you stepped into any of the high population areas it'd probably be a slideshow, and honestly you'd have to hit the areas sooner or later.

It's probably worth a try as you can get free trials from various places I think.

[Quasar]

That's pretty much the point I was going to make. I think that if you cranked down the settings and played in low population areas you'd be OK, but still chug a bit, but if you stepped into any of the high population areas it'd probably be a slideshow, and honestly you'd have to hit the areas sooner or later.

It's probably worth a try as you can get free trials from various places I think.

Right.

I don't actually have a MacBook, but I have been thinking about it and whilst I don't want or expect it to be a gaming laptop, I would like to be able to use it to play some MMO like LOTRO.

Maybe I'll just have to put aside my desire for a OSX laptop and get a similarly priced Dell or something that has a proper video card.

[Mengtzu]

For what it's worth, I don't think LOTRO looks that bad on its lowest setting. Of course, I can run it at its highest setting, so it would be a little painful to go back down, but it really isn't that detracting from the game.

Just don't look at any screenshots, cause boy, is it pretty when maxed out.


I'll disagree; I think LotRO suffers pretty badly from playing on the lowest detail settings. It relies a lot on atmosphere, which is provided with the subtle beauty and detail of the graphics. I've played on lowest and highest settings and it made a huge difference.

WoW didn't make as much of a difference, though I was surprised at how well it did clean up (it's gorgeous). It just loses less when you step down because of the highly stylised art.

[Glen Osterberger]

I played it on my new Mac Pro last night and it is very nice. I am glad I am able to play it on my new mac rather than my wife's old PC.

World of Warcraft also works on my mac (it worked on my old G4 as well but it wasn't as pretty) but it isn't as bell and whistle filled as LOTRO and there isn't as much of a bump from ugly to pretty settings and performance hits.