[HELP] Macbook Rig

[SGxiaosin]

Hi all,

Would love to get the iMac 5K, but can't as I need a lapop to carry around. Thus I'm looking to build an alternative rig close to the iMac 5K.

Hope you guys can help me out with some of my queries below. Thanks in advance!

- Will the 13" 2.9Ghz MacBook Pro hold out games such as Dota, Skyrim, and Fall Out 4?

- I plan to dock the MacBook with a monitor, keyboard and mouse, whereby I can use the monitor and macbook display, any recommended docking brands?

- Which monitor display is similar to the 27inch iMac in terms of quality and price? I understand there is also the thunderbolt display, but it has not been updated the last 5 years, should I still get the thunderbolt display?

- Can the magic keyboard and mouse be compatible with the games stated above, I'm thinking I should get a razer mouse rather than the magic mouse if I play games such as those right?

 

[Elijahonli]

Hi all,

Would love to get the iMac 5K, but can't as I need a lapop to carry around. Thus I'm looking to build an alternative rig close to the iMac 5K.

Hope you guys can help me out with some of my queries below. Thanks in advance!

- Will the 13" 2.9Ghz MacBook Pro hold out games such as Dota, Skyrim, and Fall Out 4?

- I plan to dock the MacBook with a monitor, keyboard and mouse, whereby I can use the monitor and macbook display, any recommended docking brands?

- Which monitor display is similar to the 27inch iMac in terms of quality and price? I understand there is also the thunderbolt display, but it has not been updated the last 5 years, should I still get the thunderbolt display?

- Can the magic keyboard and mouse be compatible with the games stated above, I'm thinking I should get a razer mouse rather than the magic mouse if I play games such as those right?

hmm... with a Iris Pro 6100 , u are even unlikely to play Dota 2 at full resolution.. Maybe at best 1280x720 resolution at medium-low settings. The rest of the games u mention obviously no need to mention already.

Pick the 15" 2.5Ghz with AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB . Even with this, expect to play your games at medium settings at 1080p at best on bootcamp.

For dock, i suggest any thunderbolt dock with hdmi and with multiple USB3.0 ports. Its recommended not to get the hinge vertical docks as they are not true docks.

 

[MoneyFace =p]

Since you are looking at the 5K iMac then might as well you just go for that. It cost just $89 more than an alternate Dell UP2715K 27" 5K monitor alone LOL.

For the first time an Apple product that seems super dirt cheap value for money LOL.

 

[yodajedi01]

Would love to get the iMac 5K, but can't as I need a lapop to carry around. Thus I'm looking to build an alternative rig close to the iMac 5K.

Did you read TS carefully?
I too thought he needs a Desktop Rig.

Since you are looking at the 5K iMac then might as well you just go for that. It cost just $89 more than an alternate Dell UP2715K 27" 5K monitor alone LOL.

I'm planning to get "Razer Core" or the "Asus XG2 Station" shown in CES2016. Both are using the Intel Thunderbolt 3 Type-C An idea for EGPU Gaming for Laptops.
If you getting MacBook Pro for Gaming, Bootcamp is the way to go for AAA Titles Windows Games.

 

[enenyi]

I'm planning to get "Razer Core" or the "Asus XG2 Station" shown in CES2016. Both are using the Intel Thunderbolt 3 Type-C An idea for EGPU Gaming for Laptops.
If you getting MacBook Pro for Gaming, Bootcamp is the way to go for AAA Titles Windows Games.

Hackintosh would be much better and much cheaper way to go.

Imagine having a GTX 980 or GTX 980 Ti to game on a Mac (if u can even game on Mac OSX at all). AMD Radeon cards kinda lack support for Hackintosh though.

In this case, TS can just get any gaming-grade laptop and dual-boot Mac using Hackintosh.

 

[Elijahonli]

Hackintosh would be much better and much cheaper way to go.

Imagine having a GTX 980 or GTX 980 Ti to game on a Mac (if u can even game on Mac OSX at all). AMD Radeon cards kinda lack support for Hackintosh though.

In this case, TS can just get any gaming-grade laptop and dual-boot Mac using Hackintosh.

Unless if everything including the swipe gestures and can be mimicked, i dont recommend using hackintosh on a mobile platform

 

[yodajedi01]

Unless if everything, including the swipe gestures and can be mimicked, I don't recommend using Hackintosh on a mobile platform

I agree. Hackintosh (Desktop) is not really for newbies.
To make things worse, you can't 100% on some function working for Hackintosh on Laptop. The compatible for some part will not work Out of the Box.

OSX Updated may sometime screw up your Hackintosh System if not done properly.

I got a Hackintosh Rig at Home along with my Mac mini as well.
I mainly use my Hackintosh for most of the time.
you can check my rig specs.

 

[SGxiaosin]

hmm... with a Iris Pro 6100 , u are even unlikely to play Dota 2 at full resolution.. Maybe at best 1280x720 resolution at medium-low settings. The rest of the games u mention obviously no need to mention already.

Pick the 15" 2.5Ghz with AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB . Even with this, expect to play your games at medium settings at 1080p at best on bootcamp.

For dock, i suggest any thunderbolt dock with hdmi and with multiple USB3.0 ports. Its recommended not to get the hinge vertical docks as they are not true docks.

Hmmm okay I will consider the 15" one, but what do you think of external graphics card like the "Razer Core" and "Asus XG2 Station" as stated by yodajedi01 below?

It's my first time hearing of it as well.

Did you read TS carefully?
I too thought he needs a Desktop Rig.

Thanks for this.

I'm planning to get "Razer Core" or the "Asus XG2 Station" shown in CES2016. Both are using the Intel Thunderbolt 3 Type-C An idea for EGPU Gaming for Laptops.
If you getting MacBook Pro for Gaming, Bootcamp is the way to go for AAA Titles Windows Games.

Wow I'm still a newbie in this, I didn't know it is possible to have an external graphic card, so it acts like a dock and an upgrade for the laptop?

But even though there is a graphic card, will the "Razer Core" or the "Asus XG2 Station" help with the processor etc to run games stated above? (dota, skyrim, fall out 4) Actually apart from the graphics card, what should I look out for to see if the computer is able to run those games?

I agree. Hackintosh (Desktop) is not really for newbies.
To make things worse, you can't 100% on some function working for Hackintosh on Laptop. The compatible for some part will not work Out of the Box.

OSX Updated may sometime screw up your Hackintosh System if not done properly.

I got a Hackintosh Rig at Home along with my Mac mini as well.
I mainly use my Hackintosh for most of the time.
you can check my rig specs.

so boot camp all the way huh? hahaha

 

[kandinsky]

The most important question: What's your current budget and how far can you stretch it?

Asking cos if your budget is $2K+ (based on the mbp you were asking about), then alot of this talk of eGPU is redundant. Cos the Razer Core is projected to cost approx S$700, and that's not including a GPU that you will have to get to put in it. So for a eGPU alone, you're roughly looking at a minimum outlay of $1.1K and above if you go with a $400+ GPU

2nd question: How important is gaming to you on this rig?

If it's important enough, can consider getting a separate desktop rig for gaming?

I have a 2011 mbp with a discrete gpu, when I first got it, it was my main comp and other than for work, I did get by with some light gaming on it (team fortress 2). Didn't dock it but just connected it to a 22" monitor, keyboard and mouse. I still use it today for basic stuff like surfing and word-processing.

Given that the only mbp in the current lineup with a discrete GPU is the 15" 2.5ghz @ S$3288), plonking down $3.3K on a mbp for gaming wouldn't be my choice. You're paying a lot for what is essentially a mid-range card.

For just $200 more to stretch the budget to $3.5K, what I'd rather do is get a refurb 13" mbp (assuming you die die want OSX for general daily use - I can totally understand this, lol. Enjoy my mbp whenever I switch to using it) for about $1.7K, leaving you with $1.8K for a DIY desktop gaming build.

My 2cts, others may have better suggestions.

 

[SGxiaosin]

The most important question: What's your current budget and how far can you stretch it?

Asking cos if your budget is $2K+ (based on the mbp you were asking about), then alot of this talk of eGPU is redundant. Cos the Razer Core is projected to cost approx S$700, and that's not including a GPU that you will have to get to put in it. So for a eGPU alone, you're roughly looking at a minimum outlay of $1.1K and above if you go with a $400+ GPU

I guess my budget can hit 3k-3.5k, max is 4k

2nd question: How important is gaming to you on this rig?

If it's important enough, can consider getting a separate desktop rig for gaming?

I have a 2011 mbp with a discrete gpu, when I first got it, it was my main comp and other than for work, I did get by with some light gaming on it (team fortress 2). Didn't dock it but just connected it to a 22" monitor, keyboard and mouse. I still use it today for basic stuff like surfing and word-processing.

Given that the only mbp in the current lineup with a discrete GPU is the 15" 2.5ghz @ S$3288), plonking down $3.3K on a mbp for gaming wouldn't be my choice. You're paying a lot for what is essentially a mid-range card.

For just $200 more to stretch the budget to $3.5K, what I'd rather do is get a refurb 13" mbp (assuming you die die want OSX for general daily use - I can totally understand this, lol. Enjoy my mbp whenever I switch to using it) for about $1.7K, leaving you with $1.8K for a DIY desktop gaming build.

My 2cts, others may have better suggestions.

gaming is not that important, I don't need to buy a desktop especially for gaming.

but I do some video and photo editing so I hope that the display is closer to the iMac 5K.

by the way, what are your thoughts on the thunderbolt display?

 

[kandinsky]

I guess my budget can hit 3k-3.5k, max is 4k



gaming is not that important, I don't need to buy a desktop especially for gaming.

but I do some video and photo editing so I hope that the display is closer to the iMac 5K.

by the way, what are your thoughts on the thunderbolt display?

Ah, okay, that helps. That wouldn't be enough for the top end mbp with discrete GPU + a separate 4/5K screen, so you're definitely going to figure out what your priorities are and decide what to compromise on.

On Apple's TB display, it's quite gorgeous, but I'd find it hard to fork out S$1.4K for a 1440p 27" screen, and like you said, that's not been updated for 5 years. You might as well top up 1.3K and grab the cheapest 5k imac at S$2.7k lol, and a refurb MBA with the remaining $1.3k.

 

[lalalalalala]

Buy a dated Macbook and gaming desktop lah. Settled

Still got spare change for NAS or cloud storage subscription
Sent from OnePlus A0001 using GAGT

 

[marsbarsz]

so is boot camp the best?

 

[SGxiaosin]

Ah, okay, that helps. That wouldn't be enough for the top end mbp with discrete GPU + a separate 4/5K screen, so you're definitely going to figure out what your priorities are and decide what to compromise on.

Oh how much would they cost?

Anyway, do i need to get anything else other than the discrete GPU, or the discrete GPU will be sufficient to run the AAA window titled games?

On Apple's TB display, it's quite gorgeous, but I'd find it hard to fork out S$1.4K for a 1440p 27" screen, and like you said, that's not been updated for 5 years. You might as well top up 1.3K and grab the cheapest 5k imac at S$2.7k lol, and a refurb MBA with the remaining $1.3k.

Hmmmm.. Then will there be other brands of display models comparable to the iMac 5k in terms of value and price that you could recommend?

 

[MoneyFace =p]

Did you read TS carefully?
I too thought he needs a Desktop Rig.



I'm planning to get "Razer Core" or the "Asus XG2 Station" shown in CES2016. Both are using the Intel Thunderbolt 3 Type-C An idea for EGPU Gaming for Laptops.
If you getting MacBook Pro for Gaming, Bootcamp is the way to go for AAA Titles Windows Games.

I didn't read wrong. I was trying to point out that if he ever intend to buy a 27" 5K monitor display i would rather he pay another $89 to get a full iMac system. He can still buy another notebook to connect to the monitor....

But after reading on iMac i later found out they do not offer any video input port for external connection like Windows AIO PCs..

 

[lalalalalala]

I didn't read wrong. I was trying to point out that if he ever intend to buy a 27" 5K monitor display i would rather he pay another $89 to get a full iMac system. He can still buy another notebook to connect to the monitor....

But after reading on iMac i later found out they do not offer any video input port for external connection like Windows AIO PCs..

Well its a Mac.. They will probably offer that in the future and name it iMac pro or S or Plus

Sent from OnePlus A0001 using GAGT

 

[Elijahonli]

Hmmm okay I will consider the 15" one, but what do you think of external graphics card like the "Razer Core" and "Asus XG2 Station" as stated by yodajedi01 below?

It's my first time hearing of it as well.

External Graphics card is a great solution, but unusable on the Mac's current lineup.
A thunderbolt 3 is needed and a supported device bios. So if you need Apple's then the razer core and the asus dock would have no use. Unless if you are able to accept windows machines like the Razer blade 2016 then Razer Core is something that suites you really well.

The Razer Blade 2016 comes with a Quad core processor and 16gb of ram coupled with a external graphics, gaming on a 1440p shouldnt be an issue(depending on the gpu u put in the Core)