Civ6 performance on entry level Macs?

[beetle]

Anyone running Civ6 on the 2017 entry level (i.e., not Retina Display) iMac? Is it okay?

The new Mini, which I had been eagerly awaiting, has an unsupported video card quite similar to the one in that new-but-low-end iMac. I think the new Mini is quite pointless for consumers, since it has no internal hard drive, but all the reviews are breathless. I do not get it!

 

[lanval]

If you spend the money on an i7 processor, you can pair it with a eGPU. These will work with 2018 mini:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...erbolt-3-egpu-cases-for-mac-and-windows-users

This means you can upgrade the video card more often without replacing the entire unit.

 

[beetle]

Thanks @lanval, but I am not wealthy enough to go that route. The currently available eGPU cost far too much to justify playing a game. Plus, now I need to plug two boxes into a Mini just to get started? External hard drive are cheap enough, but they are so ugly. Apple has totally walked away from the consumer market (as far as their computers go).

Anyone know if Civ6 on an iPad has the same deep game play as on OS X?

 

[doolar]

Thanks @lanval, but I am not wealthy enough to go that route. The currently available eGPU cost far too much to justify playing a game. Plus, now I need to plug two boxes into a Mini just to get started? External hard drive are cheap enough, but they are so ugly. Apple has totally walked away from the consumer market (as far as their computers go).

Anyone know if Civ6 on an iPad has the same deep game play as on OS X?

I play on my 2017 Macbook Pro 15", my Macbook Air 2015, my Imac 2013 and my Ipad Mini. It works on all devices, with some slower than others. What I'm saying is that you don't need to have the latest and greatest to enjoy Civ6. Sure, you may have to turn some (many) graphics options down, but it's still very enjoyable on an older Mac (or PC).

The Ipad version is the full version, with the same deep game play - albeit without R&F. Also, the Ipad Mini is slow in late game (not supported but still working).

 

[beetle]

Thanks so much for that feedback @doolar. That is all very encouraging, and much better than I would have expected!

 

[kiwipeso]

Anyone running Civ6 on the 2017 entry level (i.e., not Retina Display) iMac? Is it okay?

The new Mini, which I had been eagerly awaiting, has an unsupported video card quite similar to the one in that new-but-low-end iMac. I think the new Mini is quite pointless for consumers, since it has no internal hard drive, but all the reviews are breathless. I do not get it!

I'm playing Civ6 on the top end 2011 27" iMac i5 with 1GB vram & 16GB ram, also on the 2013/14 Macbook Air 13" i7 with 8GB ram (uses 1.5GB for integrated GPU).

The 2017 iMac and the 2018 mac mini have more than enough grunt in the CPU and GPU to run Civ 6.

 

[Spark217]

I'm playing Civ6 on the top end 2011 27" iMac i5 with 1GB vram & 16GB ram, also on the 2013/14 Macbook Air 13" i7 with 8GB ram (uses 1.5GB for integrated GPU).

The 2017 iMac and the 2018 mac mini have more than enough grunt in the CPU and GPU to run Civ 6.

Source for this? I am considering the new Mini as my main machine, the old one just bit the dust.

 

[doolar]

Source for this? I am considering the new Mini as my main machine, the old one just bit the dust.

I’m no source (don’t have a Mac Mini) but I’ll bet you’ll be fine. I’m playing the Game of the month on my 2015 Air right now. It’s a slow dual core with Intel 6000 graphics and 8 gigs of RAM.
Sure, graphics set to low, and the resolution on the Air is small, and yes, turns take longer than on my 2017 15” Pro, but it works fine. And the FPS is low, but I don’t mind in Civ, there’s no fast gameplay anyway.

I bet the new Mac Mini is way more powerful than my old Air. Just don’t expect ultra settings at 4k with 60 fps, and you’re golden. Civ 6 scales really well on older hardware IMHO, even under MacOS.

 

[kiwipeso]

Source for this? I am considering the new Mini as my main machine, the old one just bit the dust.

Does this screenshot help ?

 

[Spark217]

Does this screenshot help ?

Not sure, that i7 probably runs it about the same compared to my 2017 MBP i5 with integrated graphics. I think the issues I have with that is the dual cores just can't handle the load, the integrated graphics are actually ok on lowest resolution and settings. Anyway I ordered it so I'll see and report for anyone else who's interested.

 

[KWagle]

Anyone know if Civ6 on an iPad has the same deep game play as on OS X?

It's exactly the same game, and fast even on a first gen iPad Pro.

 

[KWagle]

It's payable, barely, on a 2015 MacBook. So it will be just fine on the new Mini.

 

[Spark217]

So for anyone interested, my new Mini 2018 (i5 6 core, 8gb, integrated graphics) runs it pretty well, loading and AI turn times are decent in the later game, as you might expect it gets choppy at this point.

Obviously I wouldn’t buy this for gaming, but as a side feature for my main workstation I’d say it’s pretty good considering the lack of a graphics card. When I have the time/money I’m going to get an eGPU.

 

[beetle]

I really appreciate all the feedback on this thread. But rather than buy a new Mac for a game with mixed reviews that does not really support new-but-entry-level Macs, I think I will try the New Game from Jon Shafer.

 

[jkp1187]

So for anyone interested, my new Mini 2018 (i5 6 core, 8gb, integrated graphics) runs it pretty well, loading and AI turn times are decent in the later game, as you might expect it gets choppy at this point.

Obviously I wouldn’t buy this for gaming, but as a side feature for my main workstation I’d say it’s pretty good considering the lack of a graphics card. When I have the time/money I’m going to get an eGPU.

For the record, I am running Civ6 + Rise and Fall on a 2018 Mac Mini i7 6-core, 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD, no eGPU, and it is smooth as silk. I am not maxing out video settings (they're set to the default 'medium' settings) but no issues on standard size map into the endgame era. I was curious how it would respond with the whole Intel UHD 630, but it's just fine. The extra onboard RAM no doubt helps!