Mac Mini

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

How well does Phoenix run on a Mac Mini? I know it works great on higher end Macs but what about this one?

[zagiman]

A quick look at the specs...I'd say it would run just fine.

[zagiman]

I should add that I am running it on an iMac, Core 2 Duo 2GHz with 1GB RAM using Boot Camp. I can run it at 1400 X 1050, with all the settings turned on and it runs very smoothly for me.

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

Well my biggest concern is the graphic card.

[zagiman]

If you already have Windows set up on it, download the demo version of Phoenix and see how it does.

Mine has the ATI card in it. Sorry, can't help you there.

[zagiman]

Contact Phoenix with the specs. I did for the laptop I had before I decided to put it on my iMac and they responded very quickly. Although, with this being the weekend you may have to wait until Monday or Tuesday for a reply.

[JesusFreak]

The Mini does not have a very good graphics card. I believe it may work, but probably not very well. Try the demo and see if it's acceptable. Typically you will have to be in to a mid-range iMac or MacPro to run the 3D PC games well.

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

I don't own a Mac or a Mac Mini...... that's why I'm trying to find out.

Anyone ever ran it on a Mac Mini? How well does it work on that computer?

[jeffk]

It won't work very well on the Mini due to the lower-end graphics card used in them. If you're looking at getting a Mac that will run Phoenix, you'll need to get a MacBook Pro, or an iMac with a higher-end ATI or Nvidia card in it.

You'll also need a Windows XP license and you'll have to run it in Windows with Boot Camp.

I can't even get X-heli or some of the other lower end sims to run acceptably on the mini. It's a great little computer, but it just doesn't have the graphics horsepower.

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

It won't work very well on the Mini due to the lower-end graphics card used in them. If you're looking at getting a Mac that will run Phoenix, you'll need to get a MacBook Pro, or an iMac with a higher-end ATI or Nvidia card in it.

You'll also need a Windows XP license and you'll have to run it in Windows with Boot Camp.

I can't even get X-heli or some of the other lower end sims to run acceptably on the mini. It's a great little computer, but it just doesn't have the graphics horsepower.
:noteworthy That's the info I was looking for! Thanks!

[TheBum]

You'll also need a Windows XP license and you'll have to run it in Windows with Boot Camp.
It'll run in Parallels when booting the Boot Camp partition, but not very smoothly.

[jeffk]

Right, that's why I didn't bother mentioning that initially. I tried running Xheli on my MacBook (NOT a Pro, but with 4G RAM and a faster processor than my Mini) in a Parallels VM and it was a painful experience to say the least :)

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

It's been a few months since this thread was active and I wanted to know is running Phoenix Sim still a bad thing on a MacBook...... NOT a Pro?

[TowPilot]

It's been a few months since this thread was active and I wanted to know is running Phoenix Sim still a bad thing on a MacBook...... NOT a Pro?

I just bought a Mac Mini, of course with each new model, the graphics ability is improved.

I'd have to set up Boot Camp, I have not done that on the mini yet because I have Boot Camp on the Mac Book Pro which is 2 years old. That runs it fine.

OH, are you near an Apple Store?

They will likely have Boot Camp with XP set up already on various Macs.

If not, I have seen them set up software for potential buyers so they can see if the software they wish to use, will work.

Without a copy of Phoenix to install, the best test would simply be to have a Mac mini set up with Boot Camp at the store, might be one already, and download the demo.

I've found the staff very helpful in most instances. It is certainly worth a call. You may need to set up an appointment to have them allocate the time.

[Big Fil]

I think there are a few variables that will determine what is acceptable level of performance. A mac mini or macbook may have difficulty running phoenix with all the graphics options turned on and running a 24in or larger cinema display but may run just fine with a few of the options turned off or reduced on a 17-19in monitor.

I do notice that the anti-aliasing, shadow detail, and water detail options can have noticeable performance impacts and are not much more than eye candy. My macbook pro can run everything one high unless you have all options at high and you are on a water level, then i get slight framerate drops. Turn down the shadow detail and it's silky smooth again. On my HP (work) laptop I notice I have to turn off anti aliasing and bring down the shadow detail and then it runs smooth. Running it on both machines I can honestly say that if your looking for those details then you will notice the difference but if your flying then you don't even notice.