I was wondering if it is possible to play PC games on Macs, since you can have Windows?
There is a program called Virtual PC that I had on my G3 which allowed me to run PC software on my Mac. I decided it was easier to just switch over to PC since Macs were getting to be such a PITA.
Well, just got the Air. First experience with a Mac ever. Slightly bewildered. Anybody know the shortcut key to switch the language in which I type?
If you have the Macbook Air, you have OS X Leopard. Leopard has bootcamp built in, so you can partition the drive and install Windows. I have done this with my wife's Macbook (Core Duo 2.0 Ghz.) Works great and yes, you can play Windows games without any issues. As mentioned above, you can also install VMWare that will allow you to open a window that is running XP, but you are sharing resources and games may not necessarily play well. That's why I chose dual-boot for my wife's Macbook.
PC gaming on a Mac is equal to, if not better than, gaming on a PC. I've been doing it for about 6 months with all of the steam games (CS, HL2, Portal, TF2) and other things like Max Payne 2 & flight simulator. Bootcamp runs like a dream; You can't tell the difference.
Open up the system preferences (It'll be in the dock, square icon with gears in it), then go to "International".
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304733 Type the word language in the search menu, then choose SYSTEM PREFERENCES INTERNATIONAL & that will take you to language / Formats / Input menu control panel. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Should run way smoother. Macs are more stable and run quite a bit smoother than a PC (for the most part).
+1 I have this setup on my wife's account for the Russian language. So she can use either a US keyboard, or Russian Keyboard (character map shown on the screen.) My account is setup for English. I love how flexible OSX is. Absolutely love the Macbook.
Ok so... you're making your statement that PC gaming on a Mac is equal to PC gaming... because you're playing Games that are all based on an engine from years ago and are not the least bit demanding? "Macs" running the same hardware and software (Windows XP for instance) are going to somehow be different than a "PC" running the same hardware and software? LOL. The difference between a "Mac" and a "PC" is only the OS now. Take your make, boot up XP and if it runs it just like a PC, it IS a PC. Its not a "Mac" anymore.
But there is no way like in Windows where you have the little language icon and you can just click on it to chenge language? It is not very convinient to have to go through all these menus to just toggle a language.
Such as? Hardware wise? If Intel is making the CPU, and the motherboard, and it can natively run Windows XP... what exactly do you think distinguishes them? That PCs can also use AMD? And as an aside, Modern PCs can natively run OS X. Lets pretend there is a significant difference. Take that Mac, run XP. Try to play games. Do you think it is somehow going to be smoother using non-native hardware without proper driver support? Give me a ****ing break.
Great question. I wanted to get the new Pro but wasn't to sure if MS Flight Simulator X worked on it.
To answer the original posters' question yes you can probably play pc games. Since its for your little brother I would assume that he will not be playing the latest high end first person shooters so he should be okay. Just be aware drivers for high intensity games are released very frequently on pc's for a reason. They are buggy. So it may not play real smooth on the mac. I would be interested to know what bus speeds are on a mac? How much data its bandwidth can handle? Whether it can do two million pixels at 40hz on a big display?
There's a lot of ambiguity going on in this thread. If running Crysis, Assassin's Creed, Etc., at 1920x1200 is your first priority, you're NOT going to go out and buy a mac. That's what FalconNW, Alienwares are for. Gaming on a Mac is for the occasions when there's nothing to do and 6-month old engines are perfectly suited for your needs.