News Archive for Monday, April 1st, 2013:       Goto Current News Page

Mac Upgrades/Mods | CPU Upgrades | Storage | Video | Audio/HT | Apps/OS/Network | Search
Miss a Day?  See the Archives
= Recent Articles/Updates =
(Send Tips/Reports/Questions to news at xlr8yourmac.com)

Gaming on a 2012 Mac Mini?
A recent thread in Apple's mac mini forum asked about Gaming on the new (2012) Mac Mini. Replies included a link to HD4000 PC/windows benchmarks and a user's youtube video of Half Life 2 on a 2012 Mini. (Not watched it personally.)
   Onboard Intel GPUs have not been good gaming choices, although the HD4000 is faster than previous Intel motherboard GPUs. (As before it uses shared system memory. With 16GB ram installed, it shows 768MB vs 512MB w/base 4GB ram.)
   I know minis aren't a gamers choice but curious if any 2012 mini owner has ran new games like Grid (just out last Thursday) or Borderlands 2 (steam reqd, ugh) on it and how playable they are in actual game use. (If you have, include details/rez used to news at xlr8yourmac.com. TIA)

   I don't own any of the latest games but have a lot of older ones (most from the PPC mac era) and recently tried an old favorite - Mac Call of Duty 4, installed on a 2012 Mac Mini (2.3GHz i7, SSD, 16GB ram, OS X 10.8.3). Only ran the intro/training phase so far at 16x9 res/medium detail settings and remains to be seen how well it will run in battle scenes but I'm optimistic at least for older titles like this, barring any compatibility issues. (I have a COD4 v1.7.1 updater (and 'reissue'?) from march 2009 but Aspyr's support site only lists v1.7, although MU D/L links to v1.7.1.)
   I've not benchmarked the mini in COD4 to compare to the last time I ran COD4 tests (2009 Mac Pro w/GTX285, ATI 4870, GT120 back in June 2009. Many OS/driver updates since then.)
   I want to transfer over that profile (w/completed game saves) and see if the scripts to run benchmarks still work in 10.8.3. (I'd mentioned earlier I saw a surprising increase in Cinebench OpenGL scores on the 2012 Mac Mini after upgrading to OS X 10.8.3: 26.51 vs 22.85 w/10.8.2.)
  

Apple/products related Sales/Rumors/Tips/Op-Ed:


  
Updated Apple Support/How-To/Troubleshooting Articles:


= From my Site Sponsor = miniStack Max
miniStack MAX, 4-in-1 Storage Solution
Combines an external drive, optical drive, SD card reader + USB powered hub. Interfaces: 2x USB3.0/2.0, eSATA, 2x FW800 and USB charging port. Available with up to 4TB HD (+ Blu-Ray writer or CD/DVD writer/Blu-Ray-reader) or as an enclosure kit (add your own drive(s)).
For more details, see the MiniStack MAX home page.

  
Other News/Reviews/Op-Ed/Tips/Tech/OT:


  
Recent Articles/Tips/Tweaks/Reviews:
Listing/links of updates to mod/upgrade articles, tips and reviews you may have missed. (2012 Mac Mini SSD upgrades, $250 Mac Pro Dual 3.2GHz Quad-Core CPU Upgrade, DIY Fusion drives, Low-Cost 2006 Mac Mini CPU Upgrades/unofficial EFI updates, 2012 Mac Mini HDMI video problems/display tips/USB 3.0 interference, mods and more)
  
Previous Day's News Summary:
    Friday March 29th, 2013 News Archive
  • (Op-Ed) When will Apple get serious about security?
  • Apple again said to be planning game (controller) hardware
  • Apple and Samsung's Very Awkward Chip Relationship
  • Apple + WiFiSLAM = Game on for Indoor Location
  • Updated Apple Support/How-To/Troubleshooting Docs:
    - iTunes 11: Frequently used features
    - FC Pro X: Importing Sony XAVC/XDCAM/XDCAM HD/XDCAM EX media
    - Mac notebooks: Enabling the "Ignore trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present" feature
  • Other News/Reviews/Op-Ed/Tips/Tech/OT:
    - AMD provides a sneak peek of their Radeon HD 7990
    - Razer Edge Pro tablet: insane performance that's completely impractical
    - Review: 8 Minispeakers ('bookshelf'speakers) under $400 - Researchers create fiber network that operates at 99.7% speed of light
    - Cash Claws, Fake Fascias & Tampered Tickets
    - 'Tactile' helmet could aid firefighters
    - NuForce S3-BT Wireless Speaker System
    - MinION: DNA sequencer on a USB stick
    - 5 Tornado Safety Myths Debunked
    - 15 Coolest Cars at NY Auto Show
    - 7 Ways to Live a Longer Life

For links to older news pages, see the Archives.
  


OWC XYM SPECIALS!
(Ad/Sale Items)

= UPGRADES by Model =
Upgrades for YOUR Mac!

= Refurb Mac Pros =
(Click for Current List)

= SSDs up to 4TB =
SSDs for Most Macs!

= ThunderBolt =
Drives, Docks & More

= HARD DRIVES =
Up to 12 TB HDD
HGST, WD, Seagate, Toshiba

= 2.5" HDs & DIY Kits =
Notebook Hard Drives and DIY drive/case kit bundles

= MEMORY =
Lifetime warranty RAM Upgrades!

= OPTICAL DRIVES =
Internal and External Superdrives/Blu-Ray drives

= VIDEO / DISPLAY =
Graphics cards, Displays, Adapters, Cables & more

= AUDIO ITEMS =
Interfaces, Cables, Software, Speakers, Headphones & more

= SOFTWARE =
Apps, Utilities, OS, VM, Games and more

= WIRELESS =
WiFi and Bluetooth Devices/Adapters/More

= Repair Service =
for iPhone, iPad, Macs

= iPad/iPhone/iPod =
Accessories, Cases, Docks & More

= back to www.XLR8YOURMAC.com =
Copyright 1997-2018. All Rights Reserved
All brand or product names mentioned here are properties of their respective companies.
Legal: Site Privacy and terms of use.