iMac +FFXI

[Burne]

Didn't know if I should put this in off-topic or not but it is FFXI related.

Ive been thinking of buying this imac.

http://www.apple.com/imac/

Also, with a student discount, I can get a free Ipod nano.

Know that you can install windows on a mac w/o hacking, I was wondering if this would be a good idea to get this to play FFXI, make music, drawing, and any other creative ideas I might have. I thought I would ask other ppl about there opinion on this and to hear from people who already own a mac.

Thank you

 

[Trippyhippy]

lolgamingmac

 

[Scizofrenic]

Lets just say that playing games on that iMac will not be a problem at all.

 

[Skaw]

The problem is, FFXI is very meticulous when it comes to drivers. Emulation would definantly be very risky, as far as trying to get stable performance.

 

[Reishu]

The older the drivers the better :s FFXI was made for DX 8.1, and SE hasn't updated it since.

New drivers might be all you can find though, but feel free to toy around with them, and make sure you have the functionality you need (in specific Transform and Lighting).

iMac's use ATI, right? I know Omega Drivers has always served me well, as far as ATI goes...

 

[Gatttsu]

My brother just got one of these a month or so ago, it is an awesome system, it has a Mac OSX (forgot the version # ) and Windows partition, switching between them for gaming and such is a snap, this is the only Mac they've ever made that I would actually use.

If you do get one of these, use the "Boot Camp" program as the instructions tell you to do so you can have your Mac/Windows partitons setup properly. You MUST use a Windows XP with Service Pack 2 CD, or it will not work properly, we tried getting around it but wound up making a WinXP: SP2 CD from an old XP Pro CD, if you need details on how to do this, check here: Slipstreaming Creating a WindowsXP Install CD with Service Pack 2 - PCStats.com. This method does work and allows you to install WinXP (I used WinXP Pro, same method) on your iMac as the instructions tell you, as much as I'd like to post a link to an image(ISO) of the completed CD, that's piracy and cannot be posted here.

My apologies for the brick wall of text there XD. These systems are pretty impressive(I've never said that about any Mac before ), just get one with a nice enough video card and it'll run like a regular PC would, the cards are usually ATI made, and there is no emulation of the Windows mode on these systems, it's actually running Windows XP on a separate partition completely as if you had a second hard drive in there that was for the WinXP stuff and such.

My apologies for bolding that one part, but I can't stress enough how important that line is, it just doesn't work any other way, we tried everything to get around that little quirk, and that's how I found the guide on making the XP: SP2 CD.

Edit: Watched that vid you posted Trip, that was always my argument when my bro wanted to buy the Mac Mini, when he saw the iMac, he jumped on it and sold his mini, now he's happy and can play actual games on his iMac without any of those crappy emulators that usually fail on the good stuff.

 

[nataka]

The problem is, FFXI is very meticulous when it comes to drivers. Emulation would definantly be very risky, as far as trying to get stable performance.

Boot Camp will burn a Disc for you that contains all of the drivers that your going to need while on your windows partition.

<3 Apple

 

[Burne]

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully in a few months I can get this.

 

[Guiller]

I have the first generation of Mac Book Pro and this thing runs FFXI extremely Well, the thing is you need to wait for spring 2007 for the new Mac OS (Leopard), this one will come with the full version of Boot Camp.

 

[Negorissimo]

I was gonna post that MAC users can surelly run FFXI easily (my example was going to be Guiller, but he already posted lol).

By the way, that iMac you are getting is great. Since it's Core Duo you will love the way it runs FF. ^^

 

[Burne]

I have the first generation of Mac Book Pro and this thing runs FFXI extremely Well, the thing is you need to wait for spring 2007 for the new Mac OS (Leopard), this one will come with the full version of Boot Camp.

Maybe I will wait, I can save more and maybe get a better version or a laptop. However, I was going to get an ipod and the deal they have for students sounds really good. Does anyone know if this is a temporary deal or has apple always had something like this.