Has anyone played SC2 on MacAIR M1/M2? Do you have any recent (last 6 months) videos of the play/performance? I need to buy a lighter laptop for travel but I need to still play SC2 daily.
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On YouTube, thereās some FUD saying SC2 was designed for only 2 cores and cannot take more cores to improve performance. Is this true?
Regardless of SC2, buying an Apple product is always a mistake.
To be clear: even if you earn good money and can easily afford these products, itās still a poor decision because theyāre terrible.
You should not be wondering whether a $2000+ laptop released in 2021/2022 can run StarCraft, of all games.
The fact that the question needs to be asked in the first place tells you everything you need to know about this overpriced piece of garbage.
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I played on a Macbook Air 2017 back in 2020, and I played Co-op on Brutal only, no mutations. I assume the newest Macbook will be better, but not by much.
- Running on the lowest possible settings, early game was fine but mid-game would average 15-25 FPS
- During fights, it would dip below 10 FPS making micro impossible
- The game was unplayable with Stetmann or Stukov allies (<5 FPS!) ā I ended up dodging every single matchup with them
I only played on a Macbook because it was the only computer available at the time. Technically, a Macbook will be able to run (some parts of) the game, but only barely. If you want to enjoy SC2, I recommend getting Windows instead.
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Iām on windows nowā¦just addressing that last comment @pootis.
I have a Mac Air 2015 and I couldnāt play SC2 but I liked it because it was light and had incredible battery life. That is the only reason Iām even asking this question. On Windows, I can play 3 rounds of sc2 before computer runs out of juiceā¦
I have the following now
HP Zbook Studio w/64GB RAM Nvidia 8GB
HP Zbook Fury w/128GB RAM Nvidia 24GB
HP Zbook Z8 w/2TB RAM Nvidia 48GB via nvlink
Okay, first up, you either come from the future or donāt list computer specs correctly. (2TB RAM hp Z laptop is impossible)
Secondly, yes an M1 mac should technically run starcraft 2 well.
You could probably set your laptops to battery saver mode.
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I bought the 10 core Studio (M1 Max, 24 core GPU, so the entry level $1799 model) and I found SC2 to be pretty disappointing. Sure, it could play at 1080P medium and 4p v 4p, and it was ā¦ OK, sometimes a little skippy, but I was hoping for something at least a little competitive with my hack i5-12400 + AMD5700, and it wasnāt even close. The AMD5700 and the modern i5 handle 2560 x 1440 in ultimate, antialias with, usually, no problem at all.
I returned the Studio; I plan to get the M1 Pro in the 14" MBP 2021 due to a recent sale, and Iāll give that another shot (albeit with only 14 GPU cores now) and see if OS improvements, etc. have improved things at all, but Iām not terribly hopeful. Itās running an Intel game via 100% emulation.
I know itās almost a dead game outside of Korea at this point, but it would really be nice if Blazzard would release an Apple Silicon-native version. 
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Does the galaxy editor work?
Not necessarily. For instance, Iām a pilot (Gen Aviation) and while there are Android Flight Planning apps, I donāt think Iāve ever met anyone who doesnāt use Foreflight (iOS only). So, if youāre teaching a student, you kind of need to use the same software because otherwise theyād be lost trying to use their own format.
Most graphic designers (my girl is a fashion designer) use Macbooks, for reasons I donāt entirely care to know about.
That said, unless you have a very specific reason to buy a Mac, I would avoid it like the plague. Icing on the cake, if it breaks, their almost impossible to repair (by design).
Most of what you described is based on the software programs people write for mac, not the Macās performance itself.
Assuming a similar/compatible program were written for Linux or Windows, it would almost certainly be better to use the Linux/Windows version:
- The machines are usually better.
- Windows retains compatibility across operating systems that Mac OS and Linux usually donāt have.
- Linux systems are almost always free or include free versions. They are easy to run through emulators if needed, and they retain large archives of all of the OS versions, and programs/files you may need to run something.
Itās even more than that, the software is just as good. The issue is that itās more popular. I use Foreflight, because itās much easier to simply send someone a flight plan or to show other people software I already know.
Someoneās poor. go figure
-sent from my iPhone
StarCraft II was released in 2010. If you have to question whether a new computer can run it, that new computer is crap.
The fact that Apple products are needlessly overpriced compared to other computers is just another demerit.
I was judging MAC for a long time without actually trying an Apple computer and barely touching it, it was wrong without having experience with it.
After learning to use a MAC on basic to mid level, how to browse files, how programs work, how to have the .ā¦freedomā¦ to customize, browse files, copy paste and basically customize anything I want I learnt that:
MAC is a comp with target audience the PC DUMMIES (often boomers that cannot find their app for 10 mins on a mobile phone let alone on a computer) and because of that, EVERYTHING has to be PROTECTED and restricted from the dummies to not press THE WRONG button or install an APp/Game that GOTTA be FROM THE EATEN APPLE SHOP
And instead of being UX friendly like how products are made in America, I can sum up the EXP using MAC like a STRUGGGLE TO DO MOST NORMAL activities that you would do on Windows.
- Performance?? Lol I have few native apps and game Open and it starts lagging!
- OS Names: Big Sur, Montereyā¦ what are they even? When is Your Mom OS coming?
- I could not record game audio unless installing 3rd party audio (Multi-channel)
- Just browsing through files and folders is so bad
- How is having every menu on the top of a desktop better than being on the app itself esp when the window is not full screen?
- Some MACs (I have used more than one) need a docking station because they lack STANDARD PORTS. All gotta be that
PORTS - Desktop looks like a Phone Apps on a giant screen (I still remove this way on Win 11 but guess what I can customize it)
- Price for that crap lolololol
SO TELL ME WHAT MASOCHIST YOU HAVE TO BE TO BUY OR PLAY ON A MAC??????
Yet you see studs and such saying āMy Macbook this thatā
iPhone vs Android is still much better UX even though I do not like using iOS either, again lots of COUNTER-intuitive way t o use it but I guess because it is iPhone and brings some Prestige, we gotta tolerate that.
So WHAT IS EXACTLY STEEVE JOBS praised for?
After using a MAC I can say my low expectations made a hole in the Earth and went on the opposite side of the Earth surface (Assuming NO FLAT EARTH)
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I agree! I also hope at some point Blizzard updates Starcraft II for M1 or M2.
I would gladly pay for it!
Itās not ācrapā, itās just a different mindset. Mac are higher end than PCs and their lifetime (and cost) is generally higher. You can own and use the same Mac for 7 years and it would still run fairly well. One of the MacBook Pro I owned, I sold to a friend. The lifetime of that Mac laptop was about 10 years. Anyway, you can still dislike Macs if you want, Iām not here to convince you otherwise.
Any modern computer that can barely run SC2 is crap for gaming. Mac has ridiculously high costs and compatibility problems on top of that.
PCs (both desktops and laptops) can easily last 7-10 years if you take proper care of them. My 2009 laptop from Freshman year of college still works fineāAlthough I have bought two newer computers since then to play more modern games.
any news about native m version?