How do you guys think ESO will run on New Macbook Pro 13"?

Bobby · October 2016

I impulse bought the new Macbook today because it was time for a refresh and it JUST LOOKED SO BEAUTIFUL. I'm not very hardware savvy, so I'm just wondering. Apple has claimed that there's a 100%+ increase in graphics and gaming, but there always seem to be something technical that makes it very underwhelming.

So compared to the Macbook Pro 2015 13" standard, how do you guys think the Macbook Pro 2016 13" standard will run the Elder Scrolls Online?

Pandorii · October 2016

My Macbook Pro can't handle playing ESO even when I put it on the lowest settings.

I have serious performance problems, and my laptop quickly starts overheating. However, your model is likely better than mine, since mine is 2 years old now. It's one of the previous model with the DVD drive. Maybe you'll have a better experience. You'll likely still have to lower the quality settings to help it run.

What I can say for sure is that the mac support isn't that good for ESO. I think the mac support/mod guy left the company, so there isn't really anyone devoted to communicating status reports for mac-related problems. I've also noticed that every time apple has an update, ESO takes a while to catch up. Lots of people were unable to play when the Sierra update went live (for like a couple of weeks!).

This is just my opinion. I'm sure there are others who have made ESO work on their macs. I did, however, find a workaround that I'm much more comfortable with. Using steam remote play, I stream ESO from my PC. It does all the hard work, and I can have maximum settings over there + addons without having to worry about overheating on my weak performing laptop. My PC is LAN connected, but my laptop is not. It wouldn't be portable if I did. Sometimes my wifi signal will have hiccups, but, for the most part, it's quite seamless playing.

*You can add ESO to your steam library even if you didn't purchase ESO from steam.

kamimark · October 2016

Don't attempt to run it on any Intel GPU. You might be able to use the 15", but even that has a very low-end AMD GPU.

smacx250 · October 2016

I think it depends entirely on your expectations. My son runs ESO on generally low-med settings on an 11" Air and is fine with it (1.7GHz i5 w/HD 4000 graphics). I'm quite happy with med-high settings on my 15" MBP (2.3GHz i7 w/GT 750M). Yet I'm sure some others would call these same setups "unplayable". Since it isn't a buying decision (you already bought), give it a try, mess with the graphics settings, and judge for yourself.

Druachan · October 2016

i played most old last week on a 2015 MBP on high settings and it was fine. I also did a bunch of stuff posted elsewhere on checking out the heat and its not actually overheating, it gets warm but thats the fact that anytime you use the second cpu it bumps up the heat. I think you'll be able to play it but intel graphics dont seem to be designed for gaming something like eso.

Try it and let us all know

Alucardo · October 2016

If anyone could help you with a Mac related query, it would be @KhajitFurTrader

KhajitFurTrader · October 2016

@Bobby, you may want to keep an eye on the (ongoing) review of the new MBP over at ars technica. Take a look at the comments as well,, as coverage of performance is about to follow up next week.

Achernar · November 2016

The new MacBook Pro 13" (without Touch Bar) does have Intel graphics but they're the HD 540 with 64MB of eDRAM, which does significantly boost performance. My guess is that you'll be able to play okay on low settings.

While not a gaming laptop by any measure, I checked out the new MacBook Pro in the Apple Store the other day and it is indeed gorgeous. For everything other than intensive 3D games, it should be great. I'm interested in the touch bar model myself.