View Full Version : Think Macs will get SLI?
Hey guys,
All this talk about Doom 3 not running well on the Dual 2.5 Ghz Macs, and with Tiger coming out soon, I hear that the game is supposedly running a lot better and lets face it, if Macs get their gaming setup right I dont see a reason why we should stick with XP and not get some variety and get a sweet Mac setup....but is it unrealistic to imagine that an SLI setup for Macs could be out? I am just curious.
Thanks
Jimmers
15-Apr-2005, 21:11
How much would Apple charge for this SLI setup? $5000? I don't think that will lure too many XP-gamer types into the Mac world. Even if Apple managed to put out a SLI/Dual-CPU setup at a competitive cost to PC, then what, play Doom3 all day? As far as game titles go, there's a lot out there that uses DirectX, which is completely M$-proprietary, unless you use an emulator.
Well see, Macs have historically been graphically advanced...err meaning people do vdo dev work on it. Is it possible to have a multi vpu setup based on say Quadro FX cards or FireGL cards? That could be an option. And there are actually a lot of games for Macs. Not just Doom 3...
Well the best game on the mac still remains to be photoshop.
In anycase, Macs have been used heavily on the 2D side mainly, desktop publishing, vector graphics and general bit messing. When it comes to 3D as far as I can remember, video toaster and big iron was the name of the game. After that, things moved towards Intel, even back in the Pentium I days, I remember companies using them for wireframe stuff and big iron in the back rooms. I don't think Apple as a platform got much traction in that area, but that's just me.
As sales go up, demand will reach a level where this stuff will really hit.
As for Quadros and so on, well that's more CAD and 3D aminmation which AFAIK is still heavily PC influenced.
Jimmers
17-Apr-2005, 22:21
Yes, there are enough games for the Mac to occupy several lifetimes, but when compared to the behemoth that is PC-gaming, it is dwarfed. Luckily, two of the 'Big Three' engine makers put out linux and mac clients - Epic and id. UT2004 even comes with an on-disc linux installer. I think the problem with Mac vs PC gaming is a little like this:
Devlopers follow the cash flow -> More people own PC's w/ Windows than any other setup
People buy PC's because they are cheaper than Macs -> More people own PC's
The trouble is Apple doesn't allow OEM (right term?) products to be used in their computers, video cards, HDD's and a few others excepted. This is for good reason because it cuts down on the amount of HW conflicts, driver issues, etc. I believe that any given Mac setup is more solid than it's PC counterpart and can outperform it in certain conditions, but how are you going to convince people to pay possibly 50% more for such a system when most follow their wallets (also for good reason)?
Jabjabs
19-Apr-2005, 13:12
When will Mac get SLi? When Apple makes the 80 inch screen! :P
Seriously, gaming on mac can only get better with the next few years. Thanks to iPod, mac sales are on the rise. While this amazing apparent at the moment by next year it hould start to become noticable. if apple doubles it's user base in the next few years that is a good start as it will mean that more people will be aware of Mac's and start get more sold and thus the games will come.
Mac mini is the first real major step and a great one at that (I'm using mine right now) will get people on board, iPod shuffle is also getting the apple name out there. Now while i hate the fact that more people think that Apple makes primarilly iPods and not Mac's is epressing (i have nothing against iPod, I have a mini) it is a start and hopefully will bring the sales of macs and eventually new games... in other word YAY!
Well, Macs do have World of Warcraft.. and what other game would anyone need, or indeed have time for?
I think all Steve Jobs needs to do to upset the world of M$ is to have a Mac port of DirectX :twisted: :P and release a Mac OS X for the X86 and x86-64 architecture...and then watch the people switching...hell I would be the first in line haha
archie4oz
21-Apr-2005, 18:23
How much would Apple charge for this SLI setup? $5000?
They're not going to have one to begin with. First Apple needs to release a system with a PCX motherboard (which they currently don't have). And when they do, it'll likely have more emphasis on more lanes per slot (e.g. 4 lanes for video IO boards, 32 lanes for GPUs)...
Well the best game on the mac still remains to be photoshop.
Nah, It's all about Final Cut Pro nowadays, video and DVD authoring (and audio) is what's moving macs these days. Yeah there's still publishing that revolves around Photoshop, but it's not the big focus it once was. It's also becoming a popular platform for Java dev as well...
When it comes to 3D as far as I can remember, video toaster and big iron was the name of the game.
Video Toaster? Nah... SGI still gets around with critical real-time large scale simulation stuff, but other than that it's largely Windows (for smaller outfits) and Linux workstations and big renderfarms...
I don't think Apple as a platform got much traction in that area, but that's just me.
Well there's still Lightwave, Maya, C4D, Modo, Shade, PRman, Mental Ray, etc... XSI and Houdini would be nice to have though... But it's certainly *FAR* better than it used to be...
The trouble is Apple doesn't allow OEM (right term?) products to be used in their computers, video cards, HDD's and a few others excepted.
Huh? This is purely vendor choice. ATI still does provide their own graphics card for Mac though. As for HDDs, my G5 came with a 250GB Maxtor, but it's currently got a 72GB Raptor, and a Hitachi 400GB drive...
is to have a Mac port of DirectX
There already is one...
OS X for the X86 and x86-64 architecture...
Well Darwin already runs on x86, but porting the rest of the OS to x86 would be a pointless, wasted effort for no gain, and would probably kill off the platform...
Nah, It's all about Final Cut Pro nowadays, video and DVD authoring (and audio) is what's moving macs these days. Yeah there's still publishing that revolves around Photoshop, but it's not the big focus it once was. It's also becoming a popular platform for Java dev as well...
True, but I was just being a jerk, thank you for updating my jerk-ness.
Video Toaster? Nah... SGI still gets around with critical real-time large scale simulation stuff, but other than that it's largely Windows (for smaller outfits) and Linux workstations and big renderfarms...
Well there's still Lightwave, Maya, C4D, Modo, Shade, PRman, Mental Ray, etc... XSI and Houdini would be nice to have though... But it's certainly *FAR* better than it used to be...
This was in the context of way back in the day, well before OSX. Today, I whole heartedly agree with you.
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