Windows On Mac :: Windows 32bit Or 64bit For Gaming On A Mac Pro?
Oct 5, 2009
Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction.
I have an 8-core 3.2GHz 2008 Mac Pro with 16GB RAM. I've just ordered the EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 graphics card and am hoping to turn my beloved mac into a bit of a sexy PC gaming beast for some evening fun. Already purchased Batman Arkham Asylum, Gears of War and an Xbox 360 controller to get me started
I'll cut to the chase. Microsoft are offering a free upgrade to Windows 7 if you buy Vista at the moment so that's not the issue. The issue is 32bit or 64bit for a gaming box - which is the best version to get for performance and compatibility with gaming on windows?
I'm looking to purchase either the 32bit or 64bit version of Vista (with the free upgrade to the corresponding Windows 7 version).
Which is the best to get? 32bit or 64bit? I've been reading that some games don't work well with 64bit Windows. Lots of conflicting articles and comments.
32bit or 64bit Windows... what's the best for a bootcamp gaming rig?
I have the 17" MBP Unibody so I want to start gaming again, and I have thought about Xp, Vista, and 7 and I have decided on windows 7 because its free and allows for DirectX10.
1. Now I am trying to conserve hard drive space but should i get the 16GB 32bit or the 20GB 64bit version of windows 7 and how much space should i allocate for the partition?
2. Games i will be playing: Counter Strike: Source Call of Duty: WaW Maybe Battlefield 2
3. I plan on getting some newer games since I don't have my crappy computer anymore. Any suggestions??
I'd appreciate it if anyone could offer me some advice on whether to go with the 32bit or 64bit version of Vista on a 4-core 'Nehalem' Mac Pro. I've read that some drivers will fail to work under this version of the operating system - is this the case for the hardware in the Mac Pro (particularly the HD 4870)?
i was just wondering if this is even possible... i started reading this thread but it was way too confusing for me so if you could explain it to a computer illiterate it would really help me out.
Im about to recieve my MPro w/8800, and plan to have a dedicated HD for Windows in bootcamp. Windows will be used exclusively for gaming (real-time-strategy games mostly, if this matters).
I am keen on going into Vista, trading a bit of XP performance/stability towards full/hassel-free compatibility with Directx10 and future games, but have no clue whether it makes sense or not to go with the 64 bit version.
I understand this version allows to use much more RAM (which i will have installed on the MPro), AND more than a single core used.
What i dont have a clue about is wether the 64bit version is compatible with all (or grand majority) of games, whether they do actually take advantages of the 64 bit possibility (which im not sure at all, as i believe you have to program it to do so), etc.
I'm not sure which forum this belongs in, but given that its really a vmware question, I'm thinking that applications is the best fit.
Anyways, if I decide to take the plunge and get windows 7, it will be for the express purpose of running within vmware. I have zero interest in running it in bootcamp (I use fedora and boot into that) so basically which version of win7 would provide the best performance. The 32bit or 64bit flavor
Is the 64bit and 32bit versions of Vista in the Vista Home Premium software? Or do you have to purchase the specific one? How can you tell the difference when looking at the package?
I know a lot of us have the Elgato Eyetv Hybrid and would love to use it on our Macs in conjunction with Bootcamp & Windows. Well I finally figured out how to do it! All I had to do is slightly modify some Windows drivers.
The hardware being used is very similar to the Hauppauge USB Sticks.
Elgato made 2 versions of the hybrid; the older version without QAM and the newer version with QAM. (It has been brought to my attention they also have a new version out with radio capabilities).
I have only been able to test this on the hybrid WITH QAM.
I was able to slightly modify the Hauppauge drivers which allowed the Elgato Eyetv Hybrid to work under windows using both the Windows Media Center and the standalone player by Hauppauge.
So here is what you need to do:
Go to Device Manager
Vista users: Right click on Computer > Click Properties > Click Device Manager
Now you should see some devices under "Other devices" with a yellow question mark next to them. Both should be called "EyeTV Hybrid" There are two because the USB stick has both a digital and analog tuner.
Right click on either device > Click Properties > Click Details tab > Where it says Property, scroll down to Hardware IDs
If the bold numbers match, these drivers will work for you. (If they don't match please provide me with your numbers so I can try and make drivers that will work for you.) USBVID_0FD9&PID_0008&REV_0005&MI_03
Now we can close the EyeTV Hybrid Properties windows which brings us back to Device Manager.
Download both the modified drivers (an attachment below) and the manufacturer software here:
[URL]
Unzip and open the manufacturer software, navigate to the Drivers folder, and replace: HCWemBda.inf and HCWemBda64.inf with the modified drives you downloaded from me. (You also have to unzip and open the folder you downloaded from me).
Now go back to your Device Manager window, Right click on one of the EyeTV Hybrid devices with the yellow question mark next to it and click Update Driver Software...
Click Browse my computer for driver software > Click browse and navigate to the drivers folder from the manufacturer's software > Click Ok.
Do the same for the other device in Device Manager.
Now go to the manufacturer's software you downloaded earlier and double click Setup.
Here's a new one for me. My 3 media keys don't work for any applications such as Windows Media Player, iTunes, Open Pandora. Everything else works though?!? I reinstalled the keyboard driver and there has been no change. It's like those keys are disabled. Pressing fn will let them use their typical F function, so they work, it's just being blocked by the BootCamp manager or something.
Something else - they keys are invisible to the OS. I can't use a 3rd party hotkey manager to just reassign them.
Last night I installed Windows Vista to run a game on here, but I got several issues. I already installed the drivers from the Snow Leopard DVD, but the problems still persist.
The issues are:
1. Sound is very very low and uneven. I have the volume all the way maxed, but the loudest it can go is less than half than the potential volume in Snow Leopard.
2. Headphones don't work. I've tried like 3 pairs of headphones and none of them work. When I plug them in, the sound still comes from the left speaker (I can barely hear the right speaker) on the laptop and not on the headphones. Also, the headphone jack is emitting a red light out of it.
3. The lights on the keyboard won't shut off. I used the F5 key to turn off the keyboard backlighting, and while it goes very dim they won't shut off.
I already tried the suggestions on this thread but none of those fixes work. I need help! Especially with the sound! Anything at all would be greatly appreciated.
I'm running a MacBook Pro 13" from June 2009, 2.26GHz Intel, 4GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce 9400M. I instlled a 64bit version of Windows Vista (OEM).
I'm new to using Windows on a Mac but need to do it now for some video rendering applications that have transcoding, filtering, effects (like VirtualDub) that are only available on a PC.
I have a 17"MBP (3 months old), 2.8Ghz Duo, 4Gb RAM. I recently upgraded to Snow Leopard, was excited about 64-bit though I'm not an expert, I just heard it would be faster.
I didn't realize SL doesn't boot 64-bit anyhow, that you need to hold "6" & "4" at startup to get it to boot in 64bit mode. This surprised me because I figure many people assumed SL was 64bit! Just getting it to boot properly was a hassle. The 6 & 4 trick didn't work for me.
I had to edit the preference file which wouldn't save at first either because of permissions (I had to drag it to my desktop, edit it, save it, then drag it back to the folder and enter in my administrator password).
Only then did I realize my brand new eSATA Express Card didn't work in 64-bit mode. Upsetting because I just bought the hot new Sonnet Tempo card for $200 that claims to work with Snow Leopard. So until it works I'll be running 32bit mode on my Mac.
But if I want to run Windows 7, does this mean I can only run the 32bit version?
when I get my new MBP (when they release them *sigh*), I intend on doing some moderate gaming on it. Things like MW2, Starcraft, Sims 3, Battlefield BC2, and some others I can't think of right now.
My question is, if a game is available for both OSX and Windows, would it be better to get it for OSX, or Windows? I was wondering if I should have like all my games in the windows partition, or have ones that I can get for OSX separate.
How's it going everyone, I'm fairly new to Mac and I'm not very technical at all. I just purchased an i7 15" and I'm confused when it comes to 64bit vs 32bit. Does the computer automatically switch between the two or is there something you have to specifically do to run one or the other? For instance, I downloaded Handbrake last night, it asked if I wanted 64bit or 32bit? I have no clue? I bought a powerful machine, I want to make sure I utilize it.
This article gave me a little bit more understand and also made me feel better that either booting in 32bit or 64bit kernel will not make a huge difference due to hardware limitation.
I've recently bought a new iMac and would like to migrate my stuff from my early 2006 iMac (first intel mac, 32 bit). There are several ways of doing this, but I'd like to achieve: 1) Identical copy 2) Defragmented drive (previously it was getting very slow)
As I know from using Windows, you cannot simply create an image from one PC and move to another, because of differences in the kernel. The new PC may never boot. I am moving from 32bit to 64bit, so that would be quite a change. Also, should I use the migration assistant, or boot from recovery disc and recover from my time machine backup? Will the latter not result in a more identical system? And, is that desirable? My old iMac has all updates installed, so it should be the same as the new system.
I'm glad Steam for Mac is out, but to be honest it does not work as well as on Windows. My question is, which is better for gaming. Windows XP or Windows 7?
I would mainly play games like: - Source games (Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Garrys Mod, Left 4 Dead etc) - Battlefield Bad Company 2 - Modern Warfare 2
My thought on Windows XP would be that it's lighter therefor possible better gaming performance. My thought on Windows 7 would be that it has up to date drivers, which games would take advantage from, therefor increasing the gaming performance.
My System: 15" MacBook Pro - Late 2008 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 4GB Ram NVidia GeForce 9600M GT
I need some assistance. How much memory would you recommend if I'm only going to play about 4 games on Windows? The games are:
The Witcher - 15gb according to Steam Left 4 Dead - 7.5gb according to Steam Left 4 Dead 2 - 7.5gb according to Steam Oblivion - 4.6gb according to Steam (although I own it on disc)
I only plan on using Windows to play those games since half of those can't be played on OSX and I need Snow Leopard for both Left 4 Dead games. By the way, I have XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 on disc. Which should I install? I'm leaning towards Vista since it looks better. I wish I could install 7 on my current MBP but I can't because it's one of those exclusive Snow Leopard features.
Hey just wanted to ask if it is possible that my late08 mbp which runs under WIN7 home premium is getting too hot while playing? Just played about 15 mins when my screen (aion)ingame froze (but sound + mouse didnt) and a few seconds later i've heard skype shutting down - and a few seconds later everything started to shutdown -> bam bluescreen for about 1 sec -> restart O_o happened now 3 times in an hour..
I have tried to browse through the threads in MacRumors and failed to find an answer that provided the solution for this problem.I have a 2009 Unibody MacBook Pro 15" and when I go in Windows, the fans usually spin at the normal 2500RPM speed, and while I game the fans go up really high, so when I play a game like Need for Speed: Undercover or a MMO, it just freezes. (Probably because the computer is going at a temperature above the operating limits.)
I looked at some solutions that were said in the threads. One example was to set your fans at 3500RPM or 4500RPM (Or at any speed you wish) in Mac first, then restart to Windows to have the same speed.
I tried that and it worked once, but after I put it to sleep mode and resumed it from standby/sleep mode, the speed went back to 2500RPM..Are there any permanent solutions (Driver updates, programs that speed up fans,)?
It appears that for whatever reason, the kernel on my Mac is 32bit/i386, but the architecture is 64bit: Darwin system.local 11.3.0 Darwin Kernel Version 11.3.0: Thu Jan 12 18:48:32 PST 2012; root:xnu-1699.24.23~1/RELEASE_I386 i386
Though the kernel itself is a universal binary: mach_kernel: Mach-O universal binary with 2 architectures mach_kernel (for architecture x86_64): Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64 mach_kernel (for architecture i386): Mach-O executable i386
i have my aluminum 2.4GHz 4gb RAM aluminum macbook with the geforce 9400m. and i was wondering. is DirectX 9 better then DirectX 10?. even if the difference is only 8 FPS it still counts.(really the only game im going to play is elder scrolls 4 oblivion)
I'm considering installing Windows on my MacBook Pro just for the purpose of running windows games. My question is, is it safe to do this so that it won't overheat my computer to the point that it kills components in my laptop? I have the early 2008 MBP with an upgraded 7200 RPM hard drive I did myself. I just don't know if the heat from the harddrive and GPU will eventually kill the GPU (I know that the GPU in the early 2008 MBP's have had problems)
I'm new to the forums. I'm using a 17" Macbook Pro, and recently I've thought about running Windows via Bootcamp to play Fallout 3. I have Fallout on X-Box, but I really want to download some mods, plus it would be awesome to play it on the go. So I guess my question is where would I start, and is it worth it.
I installed Windows 7 RC 64bit on my 2.53 Unibody late 2008 Macbook Pro with 4gb or ram, and thought I would try a game or two on it. On the OS X side, it runs Halo UB flawlessly even on the 9400 at highest settings (except AA), but on the Windows 7 side I installed Command and Conquer: Generals, and it slows to a slide show when I add 3 or more computer players. Graphics settings have no apparent effect on performance. The game runs perfect in 1 vs 1 matches on high, and is unplayable in 5 player or higher matches at lowest. The game is from 2003, and the requirements are minuscule:
Hardware Requirements System: PIII 800 or equivalent RAM:128 MB RAM CD-ROM: 8X CD-ROM Video Memory: 32 MB VRAM Hard Drive Space: 1800 MB Mouse: Yes DirectX: DirectX v8.1
Recommended System Requirements System: Pentium 4 1.0 Ghz or equivalent RAM: 256 MB RAM 3D Sound Card: Yes
I've run Windows Update, and downloaded all of them except the language packs and the tests updates. Gaming is not a priority for me, but I still want to know whats going with my computer.
