Would Doom3 run on a Mac Mini?

[Tom]

How well would Doom3 run on a Mac Mini? I know that the processor is 1.42GHz at best, and they recommend between 1.5 - 2GHz, but I wanna know which type of Mac I should be looking at buying (bearing in mind that I'm short o' cash... I currently have about £420 or US$800) to run it decently. I don't have an XBox, and none of my PCs are powerful enough to run it very well, so I'm looking at the Mac version because I'm getting a new Mac soon anyway.

(PS: I don't think that anyone else has started a thread like this, but if they have, and this post is therefore redundant, I apologise in advance)

[haunted_i]

Well, the mini's graphics card is fantastically substandard, as far as games (I should know, the iBook G4 has same one). Doom 3? You'd want to start off with G5...and go from there.
Sorry.

[arthur_barnhouse]

I could swear there was a thread not too long ago on here that delt with exactly this issue, but I can't find it.  Anyways, yes it will run on a mac mini, but you have to set it to the lowest settings, and you will only get about 20 frames per second.  That makes the game playable, but perhaps not enjoyable.

[Nim]

No, the spec's are way too low.

[Arclight]

As was said, start with a G5 and go from there. You're being kind of dumb to think about buying a Mac based on its gaming performance, anyway...you'll find things equally good in that aspect for half the price on the PC side.

This is coming from a die-hard mac user - a IIvi, two Powerbook 1400s, an iMac DVSE, and a dual 2GHz G5 - but I still recommend a PC if the main concern is how well games will run. I have to get a windows laptop later this year for a few 3D programs that I need for my classes -- I don't like it, but it's the best tool for the task.

A Mac Mini bought for gaming is possibly one of the worst ideas I can think of. It's for people who do word processing, e-mail, internet and iTunes, a few small games, and maybe dabble a bit with iPhoto and iMovie. It's not even a photoshop machine like the G5s are. Good price, and great for what it is (since probably 85% of computer users never go outside what I've described above), but don't go thinking it's something it's not.

[haunted_i]

I'd look at an iMac, since they're still a cost-effective model, and have more than decent 3D performance...

[Tom]

To clarify, I'm not looking into it for games... I'm looking into getting a Mac for Flash 5/Internet Browsing/Programming stuff. I was just wondering if I could get Doom3 into the bargain. I can't spend too much, 'cause I start at Uni in September, and the debt that it causes is phenomenally HUGE.

[Brother Munro]

You need a G5 to run doom 3, and a Mac mini just deson't have the hardware to run it at playable speeds, sorry.

[haunted_i]

Quake 3, however, runs on just about any Mac...and it's still a lot of fun, if you can get past the lack of bump mapping. Get the mini and Q3.

[Konflict]

Quake 3, however, runs on just about any Mac...and it's still a lot of fun, if you can get past the lack of bump mapping. Get the mini and Q3.

Make sure you get the upgrades for Quake 3, otherwise you'll end up playing in Classic Environment (OS 9). Quake 3 looks and run fabulous on full settings under OS X 10.3.9 on my iBook (800MHz with 640MB RAM). I play it all the time!

[Arclight]

To clarify, I'm not looking into it for games... I'm looking into getting a Mac for Flash 5/Internet Browsing/Programming stuff. I was just wondering if I could get Doom3 into the bargain. I can't spend too much, 'cause I start at Uni in September, and the debt that it causes is phenomenally HUGE.

Probably not. You can run just about any other game today at 1024x768 or lower on that, though (Splinter Cell might be choppy). It's good for flash and internet browsing...programming, I dunno. Prretty much the only Mac IDE that compiles to multiple platforms is Codewarrior. You could always write more mac programs for us guys, though....*hint*

Quake III isn't as fun as UT2004 (which should run decently on a Mac mini with some of the settings down - I have everything maxed out at 1680x1050, and I still never get below 30fps (2GHz G5 and a Radeon 9600xt).

As for university -- well, you shouid have come to Canada. My tuition + room + board comes out to a little over $13k canadian per year, plus I got a $12000 scholarship ($3k per year). 10 grand for one of the best university ID programs in north america? Sign me up.
Oh, right, I did :p

[Konflict]

I agree with the Unreal statement, it's much more fun than Quake III mainly because of the different modes that Unreal has to offer.

The Mac Mini will be able to do everything including the programming since it includes a lot of stuff. The only problem I think you may find it purchasing software initially - it's fairly difficult to find software for Macs around, and they will definitely be more expensive in most cases than the Windows versions.