Which of the two biggest OS platforms is best for gaming, Windows or Mac? This is a big question with a pretty solid answer for once. Windows laptops are better gaming laptops than Macs, hands down.
So if gaming is more than just fun and games in your house, the PC wins hands-down. Getting Touchy-Feely: PCs Emphasize Speech and Touch. For all the passion of Mac users, PC advocates can now honestly say they have a more touchy-feely relationship with their computers. Ok i got an option i can get PC or a Mac but im a gamer on pc on my laptop i got skyrim, the sims 3, MW3, and WoW and i cant forget the f2p game TF2 so can i play all of these on a mac or not idc about the price all i want is a computer that will work for gaming i know in macs its rare to get viruses and in pc u need protection and stuff so idk about that =/ and in this laptop it has gotten. The gaming industry is huge. Computer games are becoming more advanced, and require a large amount of space and top-of-the-range graphics cards. For the price of a Macbook (which certainly couldn’t run the latest game titles), you can pick up a PC computer with the hardware needed to run modern games.
Macs are good for certain things, like coding or photo/video editing, but they are simply not good for games and the gaming world reflects this. You will find thousands of titles available for Windows but only a handful available for Mac. Why?
Because the majority of laptop users are Windows users and thus the majority of laptop gamers are Windows users. So, naturally, game devs develop their games for Windows first over Mac.
Windows also has the most laptops capable of withstanding today’s demanding games so it makes sense that there would be more games available for Windows than Mac.
Things to Consider
Games
The first thing you should consider when deciding between a Windows laptop or a Mac is the types of games you’ll be playing.
You’ll want a laptop that can run the games you want to play so always check the recommended specs for the games you are wanting to play and figure out what hardware you want in your laptop based on that.
There are a lot of really demanding games coming out for PC; ones that require huge processors and memory and graphics cards that make even Minecraft sparkle. If those are the games you want to play, then your laptop specs need to match that.
Currently, there are thousands more games available for Windows than Mac, and none (to this writer’s knowledge) that are available for Mac only and not Windows.
If you do decide on a Mac, do some research into what games are available for you and make sure they are games you would be willing to play for some time.
Budget
..Windows gaming laptops range in price from $500 to well over $2000 so there should be one in there to fit your budget and gaming style…
The next thing to consider is your budget. Windows gaming laptops range in price from $500 to well over $2000 so there should be one in there to fit your budget and gaming style.
If you’re wanting to play some of the more graphically demanding games on the market, you’ll need to be willing to pay for that super-charged graphics card and lightspeed RAM and processor.
Windows models that keep up with today’s games can rack up anywhere from $1500-$3000 but it isn’t always necessary to have top of the line everything.
My MSI was top of the line in 2017 and cost about $1300 but still runs the most graphically demanding games on the market with no issue.
Pro Tip: This is why you should always check your recommended specs before purchasing a game because they’re often far lower than the top of the line hardware that is available. This way you don’t have to worry about having the newest GeForce 10bajillion graphics card or Core i100 processor to run your favorite games.
Macs on the other hand are insanely expensive (even lower end models) compared to the hardware that comes inside them. Even the most gaming compatible models costing well over $2000.
Performance
The last thing to consider is performance whilst gaming. Obviously, you’re going to want your laptop to perform well when you’re gaming; that’s what it’s for.
Be sure to check the recommended specs for the games you want to play against the laptop that you are thinking about purchasing.
Windows
Pros
- More options
- More games
- More power
Cons
- Storage
- Bloatware
Mac Or Pc Laptop For Gaming Mouse
Mac
Pros
- More games becoming available
- Some models are game capable
Mac Or Pc Laptop For Gaming Windows 10
Cons
- Too expensive
- Not many games available
Windows
Windows still dominates the market despite Macs growing popularity. As such, game producers look to develop games for Windows first before ever looking to other platforms.
That is not to say that you can’t game on a Mac but you will have a wider selection of well-developed games on Windows.
The biggest reason why Windows is still the best platform to game on is simply because there is such a large user base that game developers would be silly to develop for Mac first over Windows; they would be cutting off their largest body of customers.
Windows laptops can be built for the sole purpose of gaming which is not the case with a Mac laptop. You can get insanely powerful gaming rigs with Windows that still cost less than the best Mac.
With that gaming rig, you could have access to all of today’s biggest PC titles at release and be able to play them without your laptop turning into a nuclear reactor.
With a Mac, there’s no guarantee that a specific title will be released for your platform and you could be waiting months or even years before it is released.
..customize your Windows gaming laptop to have whatever processor, graphics card, RAM, and storage that you want to fit your gaming style…
Windows laptops have the customizability that Macs simply do not. You can customize your Windows gaming laptop to have whatever processor, graphics card, RAM, and storage that you want to fit your gaming style.
With Mac, you have a limited number of options to choose from (with little to no customizability) and an even smaller number of options that will perform well when gaming.
Windows is the heavyweight champion, here, and probably always will be (unless Apple comes out with a gaming Mac) and it all comes down to the range of gaming options and the price. You have a massive variety of laptops to choose from for your gaming experience.
You can go with a low end $500 gaming laptop and still have a range of thousands of games to play or you can go with a high end gaming laptop and, with the money you save from not getting a Mac, you still have money left over to play some of today’s top games.
Mac
Macs are built for performance in daily work but lack the important components for gaming. For example, the less expensive Macbook options rely on integrated Intel graphics cards which are not ideal for gaming.
The more expensive Macbook options appear to have the ability to run games (and they can and do) but they are more expensive than an iMac desktop and still more expensive than most Windows gaming laptops.
The cost of a Mac compared to the hardware is not balanced at all. The hardware in a Macbook can barely run even low end games and still costs over $1000. For the same price, you could get a high end Windows laptop with almost all of today’s top performing hardware.
Macs are just not built for gaming. They lack the proper hardware to run games safely. Because they’re built to be ultraportable, they don’t have the fan power to keep your CPU and GPU cool during your gaming sessions and this can be catastrophic to your already expensive Mac laptop.
However, despite their low end specs, there are many popular games that you can play on a Mac. Many AAA titles have been released for both Windows and Mac including: League of Legends, Counterstrike, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Fortnite, and many more.
It’s not that you can’t play games on a Mac, it’s just that your performance and the variety of games available to you pale in comparison to Windows laptops.
If you are a casual gamer who needs a Mac for other things outside gaming (e.g. work or school) then a Mac is not a bad option, especially if you already have one or are used to macOS and Apple products.
But if you are a hardcore gamer or like to stay up to date with new titles, there is no better option than a Windows laptop. Customize it to fit your gaming style and it will still probably cost less than a Mac and be far more cost effective.
Related Posts
The rivalry between the MacBook and the PC laptop has been ongoing on for many years. It is as fabled as the legendary battle of David vs. Goliath. On the one hand, the MacBook, and particularly the flagship MacBook Pro, is famed for its exquisite style, exceptional build quality and lightning speed of use. On the other hand, the PC laptop, featuring the Windows operating system and manufactured by a variety of brands, is celebrated for its inexpensiveness, its accessible user interface, and the usefulness of its programs. The battle continues, with several excellent new laptops from both sides of the debate hitting the shelves in the first few months of 2016. This blog post will take a quick look at some of these newest models and the ongoing battle between the two competing formats.
MacBooks were first released under the guidance of Apple’s technological mastermind, Steve Jobs, in 2006. MacBooks differed from PC laptops in that they were often more expensive than their counterparts.
They also made use solely of the OS X operating system, yet featured groundbreaking aesthetic design, lightning-quick performance, and minimal background noise.
They soon became immensely popular across the world and are currently the best-selling laptop model worldwide, being sold under the ‘MacBook Air’ lightweight edition, the regular MacBook, and the ‘MacBook Pro’ model.
PC laptops, on other hand, first appeared on the scene in the 1990’s, specifically with the release of IBM’s seminal ThinkPad.
Since then, models such as the Sony Vaio, HP Pavilion and Acer Aspire, celebrated for their ease of use and relative inexpensiveness, have achieved millions of sales globally.
As opposed to MacBooks, PC laptops make use of the highly familiar Microsoft Windows operating system, itself featuring the Microsoft Office Suite amongst numerous other useful desktop programs.This, in turn, appeals to a wide variety of demographics: students catching up on assignments, office workers creating PowerPoint presentations, and beginners attempting to use personal computers for the very first time.
What is the difference between a Mac and a PC laptop?
When faced with a physical model of the top level 15” MacBook Pro and that of your run-of-the-mill PC laptop placed side by side, you will most likely spot some marked differences in aesthetics. The current line of MacBook Pros, for instance, makes profound use of a utilitarian design ethos. Featuring striking curves, expensive materials, wafer-thin bodies and the ubiquitous ‘Apple’ logo on each cover, the MacBook Pro 15” model has praised by many for its stunning beauty.
On the other hand, PC laptops enjoy the accessibility and universality of the Windows operating system, complete with easy to access menus, a straightforward folder structure and extensive customisation abilities. Nonetheless, the popularity of the iPhone and other associated Apple products swings the pendulum in favour of the MacBook Pro once more, with connection between products, connection to Apple’s iTunes Store, and uploading to the expansive file storage service iCloud all big draws. Performance wise, both formats feature models of impressive capability, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y700, for instance, boasts 16GB of RAM and a 2.6GHz Intel Core i76700HQ processor, while the very topspec MacBook Pro makes use of a 2.5Ghz QuadCore Intel Core i7 processor and AMD Radeon R9 graphics card.
In terms of resourcefulness, PC laptops offer lots to students for a relatively low price. Models such as the Dell XPS 13, priced at $799, run the latest edition of Microsoft Office Suite, perfect for writing that last minute essay or creating a special effects laden PowerPoint presentation for tomorrow’s seminar.
Furthermore, models such as the Asus Zenbook UX350, featuring a clear and responsive keyboard, a straightforward graphical user interface and excellent social integration are clear winners in terms of functionality and ease of use. Wi-Fi connectivity is also wonderfully quick and very straightforward to access. The Asus, priced at $794, is relatively cheap to purchase. The Macbook Pro (priced between $1,099 and $2,499 ), also offers several key features to attract students, including a 3 month free trial of Apple Music, and a wealth of useful programs such as iTunes and Facetime.
Both PC laptops and the MacBook Pro have made significant strides in terms of battery life. The latest 13inch MacBook Pro supports up to 10 hours of internet browsing, while the similarly priced Toshiba Kirabook reaches the 9 hour, 7 minute mark. Other models, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X260 (priced at $999), the Acer Aspire One Cloudbook (priced at $218), and the Sony Vaio Z (priced at $1,549), have all been found to reach wellover the 10 hour mark of continuous web surfing.
Where both the Macbook Air models and Macbook Pro models appear to outperform is in their overall lifespan. The unibody aluminum shell of the latest line of MacBook Pro features, like most Apple products, very good buildquality and strength, while the products themselves come with very strong warranty agreements and the unique ability to enjoy free repairs at your nearest Apple Store.
In terms of overall performance, the highest specification MacBook Pro currently on the market, priced at $2,499, is top of the tree, featuring a 2.5Ghz QuadCore Intel Core i7, with a AMD Radeon R9 graphics card and 16GB of internal memory. Nonetheless, cheaper PC laptop alternatives also come close. The recently released Dell XPS 13, for instance, packs in an Intel Core i7 processor, a QuadHD touch display, and 8GB of internal memory, all for a mere $799. If you are in the market for something with a bit more grunt, the highly impressive Lenovo IdeaPad Y700 (priced at $1,035), with 16GB of RAM, a 2.6GHz Intel Core i76700HQ processor and a beautiful 15.6 backlit screen, makes the perfect companion for enjoying high-definition video or playing power-hungry video games with online friends.
In conclusion, the choice really depends on your budget and needs. If you are after a good-looking and lightweight laptop with an extensive battery life, the MacBook Air is an excellent choice; however it does come at a price of around $1000. The current line of Windows laptop PC’s, priced anywhere between $300 for the Acer Aspire Notebook, and $1,799 for the Sony Vaio Z, come with all the useful Windows programs and office suites you would expect, plus a straightforward menu design and lots of options for customization. If, however, you are after the very best in laptops in 2016, the current 15” model MacBook Pro offers fantastic styling, a bright and beautiful screen and very impressive performance, though for the higher price of $2,499.