Macs are not the most incredible gaming machines, but they can be if you make some fruitful tweaks and add additional gear to your system. In this guide, learn about the hardware and software adjustments you can make to enhance your system’s speed to stay in top gaming shape.
Upgrade your Mac
If you’re using an old Mac, it is time to upgrade. The newest systems are much more gaming-friendly. So, it would be best to upgrade your MacBook or iMac to enjoy playing your favourite games.
The newer models include discrete and integrated AMD Radeon graphics cards, allowing users to dedicate the discrete card to gaming. In addition, it provides a much better outcome than older models’ GPUs.
If unsure what graphics you have, go to the Apple menu > choose About This Mac. You’ll see a label for Graphics in the overview section, which will tell you precisely what GPU is in your device. You can also consider buying an external eGPU or GPU with your system. However, these only work with Macs with Intel processors.
Declutter Your Desktop
A cluttered desktop can slow down your system. For example, if there’s an abundance of screenshots, photos, or documents all over the screen, the operating system has to render every one of them for quick preview purposes. You can put these documents, images, or files in folders instead of having them scattered over your desktop.
Speed up your Device by Disabling Background Processes
Macs have background applications and programs that are always running, constantly updating, and collecting information. However, for gaming, you don’t need these background processes slowing down your system. To speed up an iMac or MacBook for gaming, you can disable these unnecessary background apps so they don’t take up your precious RAM.
Open the Terminal located in the Utilities Folder, which is inside the Applications folder > type or paste this command:
“launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.notificationcenterui.plist”
Then, kill Notifications by pasting the command “killall NotificationCenter” > the Notification Center should be disabled now.
If you need the Notification Center again, type the command:
“launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.notificationcenterui.plist” to bring it back.
Alternatively, you can go to the Activity Monitor and go through the list of running apps and processes that are consuming system resources. If you find irrelevant apps taking up a lot of resources, you can force quit them. Click on the X icon, and the apps will stop running.
Use a Second Screen for an Enhanced Gaming Experience
If you are an avid gamer and love playing multiplayer games or games that require a second window to chat with teammates or run additional programs, you can use a second screen. Using a second screen means you don’t need to resize the windows but enjoy an immersive gaming experience. A quick online search will show you the best monitors for Mac.
Upgrade the RAM
RAM plays a critical role in ensuring your games are running smoothly. It also determines the kind of games you can play on your device. With time, the importance of RAM increases as operating systems and games become more demanding.
Casual games can run smoothly with 4GB of RAM, but if you wish to play AAA titles or engage in power gaming, you need to upgrade your system to at least 8GB or 16GB of RAM.
Upgrading the RAM can also help you tackle the problem of a slow Mac. It will help you to run more programs and multitask efficiently when there’s more RAM.
Upgrade the HDD
Gaming is not only about the graphics card and the processor. The hard drive is critical and does much more than store games. It has a significant role in accessing and loading the games. If you can upgrade your drive to a faster one, such as an SSD, the system tasks and boot times will be improved.
Most newer models of Macs come with an SSD. However, the older models will need an upgrade. But if you do not have the budget to upgrade to an SSD immediately, you can look for a 7200 RPM hard drive instead of the 5400 RPM model. If you have a quicker drive, it will help to boot up quickly, and your games will load much faster. Thus, providing you with a better gaming experience.
The Bottom Line
Apple has recently announced the release of Metal 3, and macOS Ventura is already available in its beta version. It is opined that Macs will get better at gaming with these introductions, and you can play games like Sonic Generations and Resident Evil 2 remake. However, if you have an older Mac model, you can follow the methods mentioned above to improve your gaming experience and prepare it for your favorite games.