Macbook - Run DayZ Through Partition?

[Kazu (DayZ) 2]

First off, Hello DAYZ forums and member! It's been long overdue but I've finally found my way here. ^_^

On to my question. I know there are plenty of "CAN I RUN DAYZ?!" threads, and I apologize for being another, but I have a unique problem. I'm trying to run mine on a Macbook. Obviously partitioned with Windows XP. Macs are known to not have that great of performance but I have run Fallout 3 and New Vegas as well as the Half-Life series and Oblivion on this laptop. So down to my actual problem. I want to play DAYZ. More than anything in the world. I am willing to do just about anything to get this laptop to run it. So I need to know what I can do. I know there are mods for Skyrim that let you play it on machines that can pretty much be considered ancient. I'm curious as to if there is anything like that for Arma 2 so that I can play DAYZ.

I got Arma 2 installed WITHOUT DAYZ and tried to play it and it was about 1-2 fps during the menu and I tried to lower the graphics options completely which barely helped. Then I tried to play campaign just to see if I could run the game itself, and it crashed some time through what I assume was a video. I didn't see anything playing, just heard a voice and something about China and it's population. So, please people, help me out.

(According to my Apple.com) Here are my basic specs:

2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

1GB (two 512MB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300); supports up to 4GB

Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory

800MHz System Bus

According to the Windows Partitions, these are my specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 @ 2.40GHz

1.96 GB RAM

780MHz

According to my OS X Partition, these are my specs:

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Intel GMA X3100 144 MB

I'm sorry for the scarce details on my specs but quite honestly, I'm not sure how to find my specs on the Windows side. D:

I have a Desktop that is better performing that this laptop but it has a video card that only supports Shader Model 2. If there is a way to bypass this, I would appreciate the info on the method.

Also, minor detail, I may be able to obtain a late 2011 Macbook Pro in the near future so if you are aware if that laptop is able to run DAYZ, please tell me as well.

Thank you,

KAZU

Edited July 31, 2012 by Kazu

[Aftershok 14]

Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory

Unfortunately your GPU isn't powerful enough to handle ArmA 2, and unfortunately it doesn't have any equivalent to Oblivion's 'Oldblivion' mod allowing it to run on ancient machines.

Your processor would also struggle a bit. You could try a GPU upgrade on your desktop, if you could post your other specs I'd take a look and see if it's worth it.

Chances are, as your graphics are integrated you won't be able to upgrade as there won't be a spare slot, and the other components let you down a bit so there isn't really an option to play DayZ on your laptop.

[Kazu (DayZ) 2]

Sorry. The editor is being screwey. :/

Unfortunately your GPU isn't powerful enough to handle ArmA 2, and unfortunately it doesn't have any equivalent to Oblivion's 'Oldblivion' mod allowing it to run on ancient machines.

Your processor would also struggle a bit. You could try a GPU upgrade on your desktop, if you could post your other specs I'd take a look and see if it's worth it.

Chances are, as your graphics are integrated you won't be able to upgrade as there won't be a spare slot, and the other components let you down a bit so there isn't really an option to play DayZ on your laptop.

Thanks for the info man. I really do appreciate it.

So this is the part where I take you up on your offer to look at other spec. ^o^

My desktop has a 2.8GHz Pentium D Processor with 2GB of RAM. Not sure the MHz. I'll figure it out later.

I am looking at a few graphics cards on craigslist and they are all about the same price. But since, I don't know a ton about graphics, I don't know if they'll run Arma 2 and I don't know which is best.

Here are the models:

Gigabyte HD Radeon 4550 (This one is the one I thought would be the best. The seller is also close to me. I could buy it today.)

PNY Nvidia GeForce 210 1GB DDR3 Memory

EVGA GeForce 8400 GS 512 MB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0

MSI Radeon 6450r 1gb pci-express graphics card (Price is unknown as of now)

I'm also going to stop by a few pawn shops in about an hour to see if they have anything so I may have updates.

Thanks again for the help, my friend. ^_^

Edited July 31, 2012 by Kazu

[Aftershok 14]

What is your current GPU in your pc? Do a dxdiag if you're unsure and go to the 'Display' tab, also if possible could you provide your PSU wattage as you need to make sure there is enough power to handle the game.

The graphics cards you have posted are ok, but you might want to spend a little more and get a better card for decent performance

Edited July 31, 2012 by Aftershok

[Kazu (DayZ) 2]

What is your current GPU in your pc? Do a dxdiag if you're unsure and go to the 'Display' tab, also if possible could you provide your PSU wattage as you need to make sure there is enough power to handle the game.

The graphics cards you have posted are ok, but you might want to spend a little more and get a better card for decent performance

It's a Radeon x300/x550/x1300 series. That's all it tells me. But Arma told me it doesn't support Shader Model 2 anymore so I assume it's one of the lower two and not the x1300. I also have an ATI Radeon x700.

My PSU is a 375 watt.

[Aftershok 14]

Depending on your budget, you could look at upgrading to an 8800 GT; I used to run ArmA 2 a few years ago with the 8800 on a 375W PSU. The 8800 GT uses about 105 watts of power so check your consumption stats before buying it (methods can be found through a simple google)

You can pick them up for relatively cheap on ebay, just ensure you have enough space and a PCI-E x16 slot on your motherboard and in your tower.

Here is a comparison of the 8800 GT vs the GT 210 to give you an idea of the performance of the card.

http://www.hwcompare.com/893/geforce-8800-gt-512mb-vs-geforce-gt-210/

[Kazu (DayZ) 2]

That sounds like a good option. Out of curiosity though, would those GPUs I listed be worth $20? Because that's what all of them are selling for on Craigslist and I can probably have one today.

[Aftershok 14]

GT 210: £18 = $28

Radeon 4550: £35 = $54

EVGA GeForce 8400 GS 512 MB: £18 = $28

Radeon 6450: £23 = $36

They are all of the prices BRAND NEW, so second hand should obviously be less.

As for performance, looking at benchmarks you won't be able to get high constant fps, but it will be playable on low settings (just try and stay away from cherno/elektro, i get an fps dump on a 2.5gb 460GTX SE). Just ensure they have the same slot as your PC and you have enough power to run them and you should be fine! You could try going for one of the intermediary cards between those listed and the 8800 GT (i.e 9500 GT), although again this depends on your budget.

Hope this helps

Edited July 31, 2012 by Aftershok

[Kazu (DayZ) 2]

Actually that helped quite a bit. Thanks a lot for guiding me through this! Honestly, I'm not trying to deck out my desktop. This graphics card I'm buying is just so I can play the game and get started and allow me to play DAYZ until I buy a laptop for college which should be within the next few months. So I'm not looking to invest in my desktop before my new laptop. So I guess the Radeon 4550 will have to do if I don't find anything better at the pawn shop.

Thanks again man. Major kudos.