What fairly priced Mac can run gamesalad well?

ryansbryansb Member Posts: 3
edited November -1 in Working with GS (Mac)
Hello i am looking to get a mac in the near future and im unsure what to spend on one. I will be using it for games development so what priced/model Mac can run Game salad and other programs Smoothly?

Comments

  • JohnPapiomitisJohnPapiomitis Member Posts: 6,256
    If you want new and dont need a laptop a new mac mini is great at around 700.
  • dunkelgeistdunkelgeist Member Posts: 68
    Have you tried a virtual machine? I use it for GS and haven't got any trouble until now.

    If you want a Mac for anything else, that's ok, they are the best computers I've tried, but if you live in a mixed environment, consider the cheap way, these are hard times...
  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Member, Sous Chef, Senior Sous-Chef Posts: 9,934
    Virtual MAchines will all depend on your PC weather or not it will even work. if you already have a monitor and stuff you can get a new mac mini for $700

    But quite honestly there is no such thing as a cheap mac. cheapest mac book is $999
    Check on Craigslist and stuff you ma come across a decent used mac book for under $700 but prob not much cheaper the real cheap ones you come across on craigslist are usually broke in some way or another I have found
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  • SnowSnow Member Posts: 124
    Not trying to endorse hackintoshes or virtual machines, but my A11 Toshiba business laptop runs a vmware image of snow leopard almost better than it runs on a little macbook we have. One of my classmates showed me the specs of a pc he wanted to build with pretty much the 3rd fastest desktop processor in the world and 8gb of ram for only $1100. The 8g's of ram itself was only $100 and was decent ram. If you have a decent pc, you could always upgrade, it seems that you can get more power for less now a days. If you can at least upgrade your cpu and your ram - if you have a board that is made within the last 4 years or so, you should be fine to run a virtual image. Just run it at the same resolution you would on a macbook so 1024x768 to 1280x800 or so is good enough. I run mine at 1280 and it's silky smooth.
  • ryansbryansb Member Posts: 3
    So with vmware you can everything that the mac has but with just a pc? Is it legal?
  • ryansbryansb Member Posts: 3
    Can anyone link any installion guides to installing vmware fusion 3.0 to run a mac on a pc Thanks!
  • jonmulcahyjonmulcahy Member, Sous Chef Posts: 10,408
    vmware has so much overhead it's not worth it, performance will suck. I've had terrible luck with it.

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  • FranzKellerFranzKeller Member Posts: 517
    there are some corners you dont want to cut.

    get a real mac, they are quality machines
  • ValanValan Member, BASIC Posts: 410
    If you already have a PC it is good to try out a virtual mac but you need to check so much. Not only GameSalad but also Xcode, Application Loader, iTunes (with Prov Profiles), Keychain access (Dev Certs).

    It all seems too much. People have all sorts of problems and I would always be wondering if behind it all the Virtual Mac is screwy.

    Check out the Refurbished Macs for a good deal.

    Cheers
  • jonmulcahyjonmulcahy Member, Sous Chef Posts: 10,408
    i've used an original intel white macbook i got off of ebay for $300 for awhile, i just upped the ram to 2GB

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  • HunnenkoenigHunnenkoenig Member Posts: 1,173
    There is no such thing, like "fairly priced mac"
  • PhoticsPhotics Member Posts: 4,172
    Hunnenkoenig said:
    There is no such thing, like "fairly priced mac"

    Ha ha... that's not entirely true. I picked up a Mac Mini for $600. While not as cheap as a PC, the Mini is a cute box that I will probably use for much longer than my last PC. Even when the Mac Mini becomes obsolete, there's a lot I can do with it... like turn it into a file server, Netflix device for a TV or even a web server.
  • HoneyTribeStudiosHoneyTribeStudios Member Posts: 1,792
    I got a 2009 13"macbook with 4gb ram for £550 from ebay. It runs GS fine - I have to quit and start again every 10-20 mins but I think everyone does?
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  • QbAnYtOQbAnYtO Member Posts: 523
    windows suck.. period..

    anyways yes a mac mini will do. mines lasted me a good 4 years and it still can last another few (hence, i'm giving it to my sister) .i'm getting the new remodeled mac mini in lets see.... 2weeks? awesome gamesalad 0.9 here i come!
  • dunkelgeistdunkelgeist Member Posts: 68
    Of course it sucks!!! but it pays my bills so... :-S
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