Cyberea
Caduceus Silhouette
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Posted - 2015.04.13 22:30:00 -
[1] - Quote
I have the late 2013 iMac 27-inch model.
iMac (27-inch, Late 2013), OS X 10.10.2 (14C1514)
Processor: 3.5 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 32 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4096 MB
Display: 27-inch (2560 x 1440)
Storage: 1.12 TB Fusion Drive
I run stability tests with both clients every (pre)release.
The cider encapsulated Mac client works but it is not as stable as the native version. BUT IT DOES WORK WELL!
The problem is mostly cider related as far as I can tell, with how calls and memory usage are made.
I've found a few unexplainable scenarios with the Mac client, but always submit the debugging data for the Dev team.
The Mac client in Yosemite is prone to frequent crashing, but I cannot isolate the cause at this time.
I'm probably the only one that tested EVE in Parallels for Mac virtualisation (v9), which apparently supports up to DirectX 10 which seems to work very well, apart from:
- Mouse cursor issue where the cursor frequently flashes upon movement and,
- Skybox (star field backdrop in space) alignment issue - the "skybox" is essentially a giant cube. You can plainly see the edges, when you're not supposed to - this is essentially driver support issue, who knows/knew about the Parallels driver.
However, as I understand it - Parallels does not make direct use of the graphics acceleration hardware on the Mac (nVidia) but uses the CPU and physical memory stack to power the graphics. Powered by their own driver. You cannot bypass this.
I have not attempted bootcamp, but there is nothing to suggest the native Windows client will work just as it would on any WinPC. Furthermore, you would be making direct use of that GPU and VRAM within the system. The only down side is that you won't have the convenience for out-of-game operations, such as web browsing etc.
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For now, my conclusion is that if you happen to own a Mac because you use it for other things such as work (like I do), then running EVE on it by the options available above is more or less fine. However, don't expect the Mac client to square up to the native Windows client because Mac client depend upon not only running within Cider (which is basically a Windows kernel) but also relies on the stability and support of the current OS X version.
For best results on a Mac, run the Windows client in a Bootcamp situation. For multi-tasking convenience, Parallels but expect a glitchy UX. And finally, just general convenience - the Mac client that CCP provide, which is prone to crashes (ever now and then).
N.B. ** I am currently designing and building a future proofed (maybe considered overkill) solution specifically for games, so that I do not have to make use of any nonsense for games on my iMac. I'll just use TDM (Target Display Mode) to use the iMac as a screen for the rig, like you would switching inputs on a TV. That way, I will still be able to switch easily been OS X running independently from the gaming rig.
Intel i7-5960X 3.0 GHz, X99 chipset MB
Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB 2666MHz DDR4
EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 SC 4 GB GDDR5
RAID 0 SSDs for maximum performance.
Liquid cooling for CPU.
I hope some of that helps.
-- Cyberea |