iMac as a PC Moniter?

[iwarrior-poet]

I am idly speculating about getting an imac. I took the plunge to Mac migration last year when I purchased a MacBook. By and large I have not regretted it. The mac GUI is much more intuitive and MUCH more stable than any Windows machine I have ever had.
Except...
I miss the games. PC still has the stranglehold on good games, particularly first person shooters (Call of Duty, Doom/Quake/Castlevania).
Sooo...
I have been toying with the idea of getting the large iMac with the 27" screen. I would use it for all my normal stuff---but...
The iMac has a video input so that you can use it as a monitor. I think they did this primarily with MacBook users in mind---but I am wondering if I could connect it to a mini PC-Tower. I know I would probably need an adapter (Mac's video input is proprietary, of course...), but... what the heck? Do folks think it would work? Has anyone actually tried it?
(And yes, I know this is a VERY expensive workaround. I am just thinking about it...)

 

[iwarrior-poet]

This would also allow me to use WoTC's DDI (though I am not sure I ever will, because I would love to stick with 3.5 Forgotten Realms until the ink fads from my books--but sometimes progress wins...)

 

[Thanee]

Can't you use that, whatsitcalled, bootcamp thingie to put Windows on the Mac?
Or is the Mac hardware (gfx mostly) not fast enough for current games?

Something else... MiniPCs can have a heat problem... you need to be careful what components you select, if you really want one of those ultra-small cases.

Bye
Thanee

 

[NorthernGamer]

The new iMac would be powerful enough to run most modern games (I have a bootcamp partition on my MacBook Pro and can run most stuff).

The DisplayPort isn't actually proprietary - it just hasn't caught on much. Maybe it will maybe it won't. You should be able to get a DVI - DisplayPort adapter to connect the PC.

I am getting a new iMac later this year and will be attaching my Gateway PC to it using an adapter if possible.

If you just want the monitor -you can always get a decent 19-21" monitor and hook it up to your MacBook as well (you'll still need that adapter). Lots of options I would think.

Matt

 

[Rackhir]

Yeah, bootcamp is a far, far better solution and cheaper too. Unless you simply want a min-PC for some reason. Most of them have inferior graphics cards (or simply integrated graphics) to what you can get in a 27" iMac (ATI mobile 4850) and thus aren't going to be as good for gaming.

The virtualization solutions like Parallels or VMware are not quite there yet for playing games, but are getting closer all the time. Crossover (a mac implementation of the WINE wrapper) is also getting better all the time and is in fact used in porting a number of PC games to the mac like BioShock. Crossover is a bit different from bootcamp or virtualization in that it actually maps system calls/functions like DirectX to the mac OS equivalent. Which has it's advantages and disadvantages.

If you do get a 27" iMac you should know that they have apparently been somewhat problematic and the fact that Apple has been listing them as unavailable for a couple of weeks does mean that you might want to wait until they've gotten the bugs out. The hardware on one should be capable of being a pretty decent games machine in any case.

 

[Thanee]

The DisplayPort ...

If it has a DisplayPort, then there is nothing to worry about, really. Modern PC graphics cards have DisplayPort as well (i.e. the new Radeons). Even our work PCs have DisplayPort.

Bye
Thanee

 

[iwarrior-poet]

Yeah, I know about all of the Bootcamp/Parallels options. I just don't want to muddy my fantasy iMac with any buggy Windows software---particularly PC Games that might need frequent updates/downloads.

Like I said, I haven't done any hard research---but I think I should be able to get a pretty crankin' mini PC tower that has more video power than the iMac.

 

[Thanee]

Well, just get an extra Harddisk and keep them completely seperate?
Should be easy enough with the added benefit of not being too expensive.

But the Mini PC solution would work, too, of course. Just make sure the GFX card has a Display Port and your Mini PC doesn't explode from heat accumulation. The beating-any-Mac-in-video-power shouldn't be a problem at all, Macs aren't exactly powerhouses in that area.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Yeah, I know about all of the Bootcamp/Parallels options. I just don't want to muddy my fantasy iMac with any buggy Windows software---particularly PC Games that might need frequent updates/downloads.

Like I said, I haven't done any hard research---but I think I should be able to get a pretty crankin' mini PC tower that has more video power than the iMac.

The bugs of the windows software are irrelevant under BootCamp. You start MacOSX, use perfect MacOSSXsoftware, or you start Windows, using buggy Windows software.

Unless you find a tool that manages to accidentally destroy your hard drive. But that's about as likely as finding a tool that accidentally manages to destroy your monitor.

 

[iwarrior-poet]

Bugs may be irrelevant--but I was implying viruses and trojan horses---which definitely are not irrelevant. If I was to load PC Games (with their requisite downloads and updates) onto my partitioned hard drive...
Trouble...