[raijz]

How well is the 13inch macbook pro for gaming? I need a laptop for college and I was wondering how well the macbook pro is for playing games (starcraft 2 and l4d mainly)

[Akaimizu]

No idea. That particular one (latest 13" Pro), though using the new i series of Intel processors, is stuck with the Intel Graphics card and doesn't have the Nvidia option like the larger Macbook pros. I think the verdict is still out on the performance of that machine over the previous line which did have Nvidia cards in them.

For instance, I know the 13" Macbook Air, 2010 can handle both games quite nicely. (With some stuff turned down, even the 11" can. But that's mostly because that Nvidia 320M holds its own for those games).

The best forum for asking would be here:

http://forums.macrumors.com/forumdisplay.php?f=90

and

http://forums.macrumors.com/forumdisplay.php?f=101

(And while most will say, most macbooks aren't really made for gaming (though of course the 15 and 17" Pros always had decent mid-range gaming specs); since your question is targetting specifics, you'll get some good answers to it.)

[Randomness]

You can probably get a cheaper laptop for gaming by not getting a mac, from what I've seen. (At the Apple and Microsoft stores, respectively, right across from each other!)

Without having specs in front of me, just outright don't consider anything with Intel brand graphics cards. They're all integrated, none of them have the power of a dedicated Nvidia or ATI model.

[Blitzkommando]

I have one of the last generation 13" MBPs before they switched to the new chips. I can say it safely plays most games fairly well at native (1280x800) resolution, though not at highest settings by any means. Mind, that's with the aforementioned 320M chip which is decent, if a hampered by the shared rather than dedicated video memory and the rather paltry 256MB of it at that.

My personal suggestion? Get last generation's 15" for a song and you'll be happier with the performance as you can get what's left of those for around the same price as the top end 13". Yes it's a bit larger but the processor and graphics are in a different time zone compared to the rather abysmal combination found even in the top end 13" units. That's not to say I don't really like my 13", as I do, just keep in mind gaming was not a priority to me when I chose it. I really wish manufacturers would offer beefier 13" laptops but to do that you really either have to go with a smaller Alienware mX11 at 11" or any number of 15" models, like the MBPs. It just seems silly how you can get it all crammed into the mX11 but not a slightly larger 13" unit. I'm also quite tired of seeing 1366x768 and 1600x900 screens.

[Ezodagrom]

It's possible that the Macbook Pro with Intel HD Graphics 3000 might be able to play both of those games at their lowest settings.
Here's a review that shows how the desktop version of the HD Graphics 3000 performs in some games:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/t...2100-tested/11

The mobile version has a bit lower frequency at standard mode, but has the same frequency as the desktop version in turbo.
Of course, the Geforce 320M, Radeon HD6490M, those are better GPUs.

Another website that shows how the HD Graphics 3000 performs:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-H...0.37948.0.html

Anyway, don't expect to run any somewhat recent game in settings higher than the lowest.

EDIT: Just found a review of the 13" Macbook Pro, here are the gaming pages:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4205/t...andy-bridge/18
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4205/t...andy-bridge/19

[McLaughlin]

For the same money you could probably get a more powerful laptop. Unless you need a Mac for media editing I'd get a Windows machine.

[Split]

Starcraft 2 is good on it, and in the end, isn't that all you need?

[CupOfCoffee]

My computer is a last generation (mid 2010) 15" MBP, and I use it for a little gaming. It's actually, surprisingly, pretty slick--running Windows in Bootcamp, that is. I get a steady 50-60 FPS in L4D/2 with settings on medium (at 1680x1050 fullscreen. I think the 13" is 1280x800), and it's had absolutely no problem with anything else I've thrown at it. The performance is less good running games natively on OSX, but Starcraft 2 and the Left 4 Deads should still be extremely playable (you'll probably be able to get them running more smoothly than they do on Xbox, for instance).

That said, Macs still aren't exactly built for gaming, and Windows caught up with OSX in the media editing department years and years ago. The myth that Macs are better at Photoshop is still floating around for some reason, but Windows machines really are just as capable. (Of course, recent Macs have beautiful LED screens that are arguably better than the average Windows laptop for accurately gauging colors and the like, but that's a moot point if you can dig up a decent monitor to hook your laptop up to.)

[Firocket1690]

My mbp is almost two years old. I've got a 9600 GT in here, and it plays L4D2 fine; then again, source engine is almost a decade old. For what it's worth, yeah, it'll play your games, exceeding average benchmarks. But for a pro? You can easily get another Asus pc that'll have better specs. People will argue to death that Macs make everything better/easier/simpler, and honestly? It doesn't. If you insist on getting a Mac though, I do suggest you get the higher resolution display, and the antiglare screen; you can have a higher resolution/pixel density on the same size monitor. For Memory and HDD space, get the bare minimum, and buy your own upgrades, it's cheaper.

Edit: Also, if you do intend to play games, never play the OSX version, put things on a bootcamp partition.
I've tried L4D on both sides, it runs a lot more smoothly in Windows.

Edit2: @Coffee: Mine's a first generation Unibody from 09, slightly older. Have you noticed your battery bulging out a bit? The Li-Ion is getting old, and the battery's getting fat, and starting to stretch the battery aluminium casing. I've been meaning to get that checked out. :/

[Kion]

Does it have to be a mac? Intel graphics may work, but over all they're crap.

Mac Book Pro 13" $1,200
Intel i5 2.3Ghz
Intel HD 3000 Graphics
4GB DDR3 Memory
320GB HDD

You can spend less and get a better PC. A vaio none-the-less

Vaio S 13"(configured) $1030
Intel i5 2.66Ghz
nVidia Gefore 310M GPU
4GB DDR3 Memory
320GB HDD

Or the Vaio YB 11.6" $550
AMD e350 1.6Ghz
Radeon 6310 Graphics
4GB DDR3 Memory
500GB HDD