Playing on a Mac [need reports]

Bo0137

Hey guys! I'm considering acquiring a 2022 Macbook Air for work and I'm wondering if it can run ESO ok.

I've never gamed on a Mac before. How does ESO run on it? Have you faced any practical problems in the client (i.e. not being able to log in, launcher not showing up, delayed updates as compared to the Windows version)?

As of your experinece, is 8 GB of ram enough? (considering what the M1 chip is able to pull or not)

*Important info: I'd use the laptop mostly for daily writs and endeavors. No high-end performance needed, even though it would be appreciated.
*Also, the Macbook is my only option, since it's needed for my other tasks.

Thanks for replying!

JKorr

Bo0137 wrote: »

Hey guys! I'm considering acquiring a 2022 Macbook Air for work and I'm wondering if it can run ESO ok.

I've never gamed on a Mac before. How does ESO run on it? Have you faced any practical problems in the client (i.e. not being able to log in, launcher not showing up, delayed updates as compared to the Windows version)?

As of your experinece, is 8 GB of ram enough? (considering what the M1 chip is able to pull or not)

*Important info: I'd use the laptop mostly for daily writs and endeavors. No high-end performance needed, even though it would be appreciated.
*Also, the Macbook is my only option, since it's needed for my other tasks.

Thanks for replying!

It might depend.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/59187

Bo0137

JKorr wrote: »

Bo0137 wrote: »

Hey guys! I'm considering acquiring a 2022 Macbook Air for work and I'm wondering if it can run ESO ok.

I've never gamed on a Mac before. How does ESO run on it? Have you faced any practical problems in the client (i.e. not being able to log in, launcher not showing up, delayed updates as compared to the Windows version)?

As of your experinece, is 8 GB of ram enough? (considering what the M1 chip is able to pull or not)

*Important info: I'd use the laptop mostly for daily writs and endeavors. No high-end performance needed, even though it would be appreciated.
*Also, the Macbook is my only option, since it's needed for my other tasks.

Thanks for replying!

It might depend.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/59187

wow! That's pretty significant. And it solves my question. Thank you for the response. Mods please close this post.

merpins

Yeah, as that guy linked. I used to play on a 2019 macbook pro 15' with retina, and it ran like complete ass. Had to play on the lowest graphics just to get 30 fps. The only macs that could run ESO well were full sized iMacs. Anything smaller just doesn't have the power, and newer macs can't even run ESO due to not running an Intel Core. So EVEN if they did run on newer macs, I'd still recommend against it for ESO.

Gray_howling_parrot

MovesLikeJaguar wrote: »

Yeah, as that guy linked. I used to play on a 2019 macbook pro 15' with retina, and it ran like complete ass. Had to play on the lowest graphics just to get 30 fps. The only macs that could run ESO well were full sized iMacs. Anything smaller just doesn't have the power, and newer macs can't even run ESO due to not running an Intel Core. So EVEN if they did run on newer macs, I'd still recommend against it for ESO.

Even then, I have a full sized 2022 24” iMac and the absolute max settings you can run on to still achieve 30 fps most of the time is when everything is on low with certain things on medium. I assume it’s just the graphics card? But don’t know enough about it personally

woufff

I'm running ESO on a 2021 MacBook Air when I'm travelling without any additional apps and it runs perfectly fine.

Apple M1 chip with 8‑core CPU, 8‑core GPU, and 16‑core Neural Engine
16GB unified memory
512GB SSD storage

The only issue is the Apple mouse which is not at all suited for playing games

Bo0137

woufff wrote: »

I'm running ESO on a 2021 MacBook Air when I'm travelling without any additional apps and it runs perfectly fine.

Apple M1 chip with 8‑core CPU, 8‑core GPU, and 16‑core Neural Engine
16GB unified memory
512GB SSD storage

The only issue is the Apple mouse which is not at all suited for playing games

Could you elaborate it please? DM if possible. You are running the game without any third-party app? 100% native? And how is the performance?

xPoisin

I play on Macbooks for more than 4 years… On intel based Macbooks there was significant improvements when running on bootcamp windows. With the older Macbook Pro 13” i7 with 16GB of RAM I have run at smooth 45-60 FPS at medium details (but on windows not on mac client).

On older macs and also M1 you should always go for as much RAM as possible to improve performance. On Mac Air with 16GB RAM you should be able to run at medium graphics settings with 50 FPS, with high settings you will maybe touch 25-30 FPS.

ESO is using rosseta for emulation so always go for as much RAM as possible.

Also be aware that Mac Air has only passive cooling, so you will probably notice performance decrease after some time (overheating).

Now I use my 14” macbook pro M1Max with 64GB ram (the highest possible config) and the results are fine. I run ESO as Mac native client (with rosseta) and also on windows using parallels (fast no difference, so I run the mac client as long as it works).
Both run smooth at high - max graphics setting with minimum of 75 FPS to 120FPS (using Vsync).

SeaGtGruff

I play ESO on a 2017 MacBook Air.

It runs fine, but it isn't my main computer for playing ESO, just my backup for whenever I'm unable to play ESO on my Windows desktop computer for whatever reason.

There have been a few times in the past when ESO had some serious problems running on my MacBook, usually right after a major ESO patch or macOS update-- major graphics issues, or CTDs-- but right now it seems to be running fine.

I might add that I play with ESO set to its minimum graphics settings-- on both computers-- if that makes a difference. And as for hard drive space, I don't have much of anything else installed on my MacBook.

SeaGtGruff

woufff wrote: »

The only issue is the Apple mouse which is not at all suited for playing games

Ain't that the truth! Apple's Magic Mouse is very unmagical when used as a game controller!

ZOS_GregoryV

This thread has been moved to a more appropriate category.

woufff

Bo0137 wrote: »

woufff wrote: »

I'm running ESO on a 2021 MacBook Air when I'm travelling without any additional apps and it runs perfectly fine.

Apple M1 chip with 8‑core CPU, 8‑core GPU, and 16‑core Neural Engine
16GB unified memory
512GB SSD storage

The only issue is the Apple mouse which is not at all suited for playing games

Could you elaborate it please? DM if possible. You are running the game without any third-party app? 100% native? And how is the performance?

Performanc is ok, as you also can see on other posts meanwhile:

xPoisin wrote: »

I play on Macbooks for more than 4 years… On intel based Macbooks there was significant improvements when running on bootcamp windows. With the older Macbook Pro 13” i7 with 16GB of RAM I have run at smooth 45-60 FPS at medium details (but on windows not on mac client).

On older macs and also M1 you should always go for as much RAM as possible to improve performance. On Mac Air with 16GB RAM you should be able to run at medium graphics settings with 50 FPS, with high settings you will maybe touch 25-30 FPS.

ESO is using rosseta for emulation so always go for as much RAM as possible.

Also be aware that Mac Air has only passive cooling, so you will probably notice performance decrease after some time (overheating).

Now I use my 14” macbook pro M1Max with 64GB ram (the highest possible config) and the results are fine. I run ESO as Mac native client (with rosseta) and also on windows using parallels (fast no difference, so I run the mac client as long as it works).
Both run smooth at high - max graphics setting with minimum of 75 FPS to 120FPS (using Vsync).

I fully agree

fiender66

I do not own the Air, so my answer is not exactly suited to the OP question.

Anyways, I own a 24" M1 iMac and an M1 MacBook Pro 16" (both with 16 GB Ram, and THIS is relevant).
ESO runs absolutely smoothly on both. I've had some login issues that I solved by starting from eso.app directly.
It's true that Apple mouse is not satisfactory, so I use a DS4 controller (works better when USB tethered).
PTS with the most recent patch also runs OK.

Alvalanna

I am also using a 24" M1 iMac with 16GB Ram for ESO. I have had no issues. I am still using Big Sur so I cannot speak to how it runs on Monterrey, but there are other posts in this forum where people say that ESO runs fine on Monterrey.

I play Windowed (Fullscreen) because it's easier for me to switch to another app while I'm in ESO. I don't mind having the menus at the top of my screen. My graphics settings are all the Default for my iMac, which are mostly high.

I agree that the Apple mouse is not good for gaming. I use a Logitech G305 wireless mouse for ESO and the Apple mouse for everything else.

fiender66

Alvalanna wrote: »

I am also using a 24" M1 iMac with 16GB Ram for ESO. I have had no issues. I am still using Big Sur so I cannot speak to how it runs on Monterrey, but there are other posts in this forum where people say that ESO runs fine on Monterrey.

I play Windowed (Fullscreen) because it's easier for me to switch to another app while I'm in ESO. I don't mind having the menus at the top of my screen. My graphics settings are all the Default for my iMac, which are mostly high.

I agree that the Apple mouse is not good for gaming. I use a Logitech G305 wireless mouse for ESO and the Apple mouse for everything else.

I keep Monterey (my Macs were shipped with it). Only problem I've had has been a very long logging time, but this too appears to be solved by the last patch. I blame the launcher app for it, cuz bypassing it I have a very fast log in.
That said, no problem at all with Monterey. I'm using the same setting as in the quote.