So I'm running The Witcher 2 on a 15" MacBook Pro, and I wondered whether anyone else was doing the same, and what performance they're getting.

I have a new MacBook with the following specs:

Processor: 2Ghz Intel Core i7
RAM: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 (384 VRAM); AMD Radeon HD 6490M (256 VRAM)

I have Windows 7 32b Home Premium installed, along with the latest AMD drivers (11.5b).

Still, I can only play on basically Low settings (turned Bloom off, but with Texture compression set to low). The game still looks good: better than Dragon Age 2 at least. But Two Worlds 2 actually looks better for me, as I can pretty much max the settings on that (and it is a really good looking game in any case).

I am well aware that TW2 is a demanding game, and that this MacBook is more-or-less the lowest end 'gaming' computer that Apple produces. But does that performance sound about right? But does anyone have any tips on how to improve it?

your gpu and cpu are junk

Hey man, thanks for the tip. I tried what you said and got a 5 FPS performance boost.

no i am serious. a 6490 is not enough to run this when it has only 256vram.

512 vram at LEAST. even then its a little low

I'm playing it on the mid-2009 Macbook Pro.
C2D 2.66, 8GB Ram and GF9600 256Mb. Runs on everything low (except for textures), native resolution (1440*900), without any problems.

Double-check which video card your Win7 uses, and remember to enable dangling object limiter.

AFAIK, the VRAM from the two cards is combined.

Non-graphics intensive apps use only the Intel; games (etc.) use both the Intel and the AMD. Should be 640 VRAM.

As I said, it isn't a top-end gaming computer. But for the most part I can run the game on Low (with improved textures) and get 30+ FPS. That's fine. I just wondered whether anyone had comparable experiences, or was somehow getting better performance out of a similar setup.

Intel integrated graphics like the HD Graphics 3000 tend to not have their own VRAM; they share up to the specified amount of RAM from main memory. Even if it did have its own VRAM, which isn't the case AFAICT, it's not going to be used by another GPU.

I'm not sure which exact CPU you have, but I'm inclined to think that it's a Sandy Bridge quad-core and that you've got the model listed as "15-inch (low end)

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4192/macbook-pro-2011-refresh-specs-and-details

based on the timing, GHz, i7, and particular video card selection. That CPU is decidedly not junk, considering that it's a quad-core from a quite modern architecture.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6490M.43843.0.html

However, the Radeon 6490M w/ only 256MB is going to hold you back; that's not a ltot of memory for textures. That page puts it fairly deep within Class 2 of network GPUs by performance; even on something much less demanding like StarCraft 2 on medium settings, people report 33.7 fps. The 3DMark 06 on a 2011 MBP, quite possibly the model you have, was only 5602. If we compare with the mobile version of the GeForce 8800 (chosen as the 8800, desktop version, was specified as the minimum)

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-8800M-GTX.8836.0.html

the 3DMark 06 score was above 8500 and usually over 9000 for all tested configurations.

And unfortunately, video is usually non-upgradeable in a laptop (MXM modules aside). Sometimes there's the option of driving an external monitor with an external GPU connected through ExpressCard or mounted in a docking station.

Yes, that's the model I have. Thanks for clarifying about VRAM.

On 1024x600 (with anti-aliasing on) I can actually play with most of the settings set to Medium if I reduce the texture compression to Low , and the texture memory set to Very Small (or whatever that is). Things like shadows can actually be set higher without much of a hit. Which would make sense, give what you said: somewhere between low and medium, with a decent CPU hampered by low VRAM.

Withouth really knowing I feel the performance you describe sounds about right.
This game needs tons of VRAM for fast high-res textures and needs a lot of GPU power for additional filters and effects like DOF, bloom and light shafts. If you are interested in tweaking the readme.rtf in the root install folder contains an explanation about each advanced setting in the launcher.

For myself I am playing under boot camp Vista x64 on a Mac Pro 2008 with upraded GPU (285 GTX) and I have been having no problems playing on Ultra (w/o ultra sampling) at 1920x1200 with some User.ini tweaking. I am not going into details here since it seems you are more interested in how MacBooks compare.

Hey I'm using the same set-up as you with a slightly faster processor (2.8 ghz) and 512MB of VRAM. I can barely get the game to run at all on low. 10-15 fps.

Windows 7 64-bit.

Any tips or advice? Can you share your settings?

I really don't understand what you intend to do here.

You're trying to navigate a Galeon with a spoon. I'm assuming you paid for the Macbook yourself. If so then you have the means to get a desktop.
Asking about this to people that are trying to be nice is not gonna cut it.
You're wasting their time and more importantly you are fooling yourself. You want to play the game? Get what you need to do it. You're not going to enjoy it otherwise and you're just creating an illusion. Is that simple.
I was in a position where I didn't had the means to play. I did what I had to do to get out of that situation and you should the same.

Grow up.

Yes, I have the money to buy the computer myself (although my bank would disagree). That does not mean I have the money to buy two computers.

I did not intend to buy a gaming desktop. I intended to buy a Mac laptop on which I could additionally install Windows and play games.

Ask for asking people about it, I am absolutely certain that most people try to get the best out of the rig they've got, rather than just buying a new computer every time a new game comes along which they can't play at ultra settings.

LOL, what a waste of time.

it's not junk, it's just not good enough for this game :P

To be honest, Just don't even try to run this game... burning books is wrong.

wtf?

apple is building laptops with integrated graphics *and* discrete gpus installed?

tell me how they are selling this arrangement as a plus.