M1 basic configuration enough?

Inoki

Call me crazy, but I want to move to Mac from Windows to (not just) play ESO. My question is: will the basic Mac Mini config with 8 GB RAM suffice to play the game?

aldriq

For the little I've seen in YouTube and forums the consensus seems to be that 16GB is highly recommended – with the unified memory model (no separate graphics memory) most games will struggle with just the 8GB.

Inoki

aldriq wrote: »

For the little I've seen in YouTube and forums the consensus seems to be that 16GB is highly recommended – with the unified memory model (no separate graphics memory) most games will struggle with just the 8GB.

That doesn't seem to be the case with the M1, and certainly not for ESO. From what I saw, most people actually say that having the 16 GB model makes only about 1% difference.

I don't intend to do heavy gaming, and ESO is an old game whose requirements state that a computer with 8 GB is enough (recommended spec).

From your comment it appears you're not actually an ESO Mac player.

Coorbin

By "suffice to play the game" what do you mean? The game won't crash, but you may experience degraded performance.

Do you want 60 FPS on a 4k external monitor with ESO settings on high/ultra? Then no, it won't suffice. No M1 Mac configuration will suffice by that standard.

On an M1 MacBook Pro with 16 GB RAM and 8 GPU cores, with the ESO window at 2560x1440 on an external monitor ("1440p" - halfway between 1080p and 4k), with Texture Quality and Subsampling Quality on High, Shadows and Grass OFF, antialiasing on FXAA, I consistently get about 30-50 FPS while running through a town like Greenhill in Reaper's March. Occasionally I hit 60 FPS or higher in low demand scenes, like an empty house. That's with 3.6 million pixels.

The game runs at a 1680x1050 resolution by default on a Macbook retina display, and that's about 1.7 million pixels, so you could reasonably expect 40-60 FPS at that resolution. Note, 1680x1050 is considerably lower res than 1080p.

Know that ESO uses about 4 GB of system memory and 2-2.5 GB of VRAM with texture quality on high. That is pushing near the memory limit of an 8 GB M1 system. If you have significant other programs loaded in memory (even just a web browser or Discord) you could be in a situation where part of ESO or your web browser might get paged out to the SSD, which not only creates excessive write wear on the SSD, but will be a major slowdown compared to running in RAM.

I can't recommend an 8 GB model. I'd sooner recommend 7 GPU cores than the 8 GB model. But if you want the best performance and if you don't want to wear out your SSD, obviously you should pay up for 16 GB RAM and 8 GPU cores.

If you're fine running the game at a low resolution with all graphics settings on Low, you might be able to squeak by with a base model M1. However, the game will use over half of your system storage. If you don't mind that, it should be "fine" for some definition of fine. No, it won't play well, but it will play.

aldriq

Inoki wrote: »

That doesn't seem to be the case with the M1, and certainly not for ESO. From what I saw, most people actually say that having the 16 GB model makes only about 1% difference.

I don't intend to do heavy gaming, and ESO is an old game whose requirements state that a computer with 8 GB is enough (recommended spec).

From your comment it appears you're not actually an ESO Mac player.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply you can't play ESO with 8GB, you absolutely can, but as @Coorbin has eloquently explained – only if you are OK with low/medium settings and no future-proofing.

I'm still playing ESO on my 6 year-old, 8GB Intel MacBook Pro (and to be fair, for all its issues ESO can run on very old hardware in gaming terms) and at this point I'm holding off for the next gen (M2?) to upgrade.

Given that with my current settings ESO uses 3.5GB of memory, and that Safari on normal days takes 1.5GB, once you take system usage and any other app you might have left open it's a no-brainer for me to go for the 16GB option. Honestly, in 2021 no one should be buying a desktop or laptop with 8GB unless it's for the lightest of uses (browsing/email/writing). Honestly, I'd argue Apple shouldn't even be selling MacBook Pros with 8GB, only the Air and the Mini.

If you already have the 8GB Mac Mini and want to use it to play ESO, go ahead and make the most of it, but if you are on the fence on whether to buy 8 or 16GB, my advice is to go for 16GB.

Inoki

Thanks a lot, guys, I appreciate it.

I don't mind going with 8 GB to play on medium settings or try high settings. Truth be told, I haven't noticed much difference between running ESO on Ultra on my Windows machine and High settings, it felt the same.

ESO is actually the only game that I play installed, the rest is via GeForce NOW, which doesn't require superb hardware, only a good internet connection, hence the 8 GB config. No point in overblowing it over one installed game, and if they ever decide to put it back to GeForce NOW all problems will be solved for Mac gamers.

I wanted to know if I'll be able to run it and how well given the description on Steam that it requires a computer with 8 GB of RAM. Wasn't sure how up to date that description is.

I think your posts answer my question. I'll go with the 8 GB RAM version.

henrycupcakerwb17_ESO

Lol you are stubborn and putting yourself in the corner by saving little money for 8GB model

I’m using the 16GB model and this apple scilicon performance is godlike … I tried run the game on extreme setting and getting 2x fps
From my experience
Even just daily usage + background app running are enough to burns out 16GB ram

You don’t ever use safari for internet ? Apple News for news ? Apple Music + discord + galaxy 2.0 ?

Even just 2 hours scrolling through magazine ONLY on Apple News are enough to run out of ram

Sometimes I use parallel 17 to allocate 12 GB ram for a windows vm to play Everquest

henrycupcakerwb17_ESO

Funny … so the purpose of this thread was you just wanting people to tell you 8GB is enough

NetherClawSr

I have played ESO in the M1 with 8GB without any issues. It’s fast even on high graphics. There is however a problem with the ESO native client in general on Mac. Which is why I have moved to Stadia months ago. Plays fantastic on Mac (keyboard and mouse of controller), iPad and TV with controller. Only issue is that I can use no addons, but that’s what it is I guess.

morwynne

NetherClawSr wrote: »

I have played ESO in the M1 with 8GB without any issues. It’s fast even on high graphics. There is however a problem with the ESO native client in general on Mac. Which is why I have moved to Stadia months ago. Plays fantastic on Mac (keyboard and mouse of controller), iPad and TV with controller. Only issue is that I can use no addons, but that’s what it is I guess.

What what what? You’re using Stadia to play ESO on your iPad? More details please!!!!

NetherClawSr

Stadia is very straightforward on iPad and Mac. There is a subscription needed obviously and then you can play (after purchase of eso game) through the Stadia app on the iPad or in Chrome on the Mac. On iPad a controller is mandatory but on the Mac a mouse is fine. And wired chromecast ultra with controller is used to play on TV.

Only issue is that addons are impossible. So in a trials I am behind with the rest of the group on that. (No pvp for me)

morwynne

Well I already own it on the Mac. So would they want me to pay for Stadia AND buy the game again thru them to play on the iPad?

NetherClawSr

Yes, I have had to buy ESO on Stadia and a Monthly Stadia subscription

Squatch4x4

The Stadia monthly subscription is only for 4k and HDR support, and for the catalog of games to play "for free". After you buy the game through Stadia you can play for free in 1080p with no sub. On a MBP the 4k is not supported anyway, playing with a chromecast on a 4k TV it looks great.

Also, you only need to buy the base game for it to launch. After that all the DLC and stuff you purchased through Zenimax should show up. When I bought the game on Stadia it was on sale for $8.99 and Google gave me a $10 coupon towards my first game purchase so I bascially got it for free.

morwynne

I don’t need stadia for my MacBook Pro, I have the Mac version of the game running on high graphics on that on its own. I was just wondering what it would be like to play it on my iPad. Maybe I’ll watch for a sale then since I dont’ actually _need_ it. Heh. Thanks for the info.

Squatch4x4

Using a PS4 controller to my iPad (2017 10" base model) the performance is okay. There is some noticeable pixilation's and buffering at times, and the controller inputs are sometimes off. Could be my low end iPad idk. I wouldn't run a dungeon, but for daily rewards and stuff it's fine. The Stadia controller is much better since it's WiFi and goes directly to the cloud.

What is nice is Stadia uses the PC/Mac megaserver, so my character and progress and everything is there on my gaming rig, my M1 MBP, iPad, phone, and Chromecast.

morwynne

I am going to have to try it. I have the iPad Air 4th gen which should perform pretty well, and I have a brand new purple iPad Mini that it will probably run brilliantly on!

Update: $10 off first game so got ESO for $9, linked my ESO and Stadia accounts and all my expansion packs are there? Wow, this looks amazing and runs amazing on my new iPad Mini. Just works in Safari in iOS 15. Having to learn the controls with my ps4 controller though, been playing with my trackpad on my MBP since ESO doesn’t use the ps4 controller like FFXIV does. Finally figured out how to mount, wasn’t able to send email. No keyboard comes up with the controller but if I tap in the subject line it pops up the iPad keyboard, lets me type, but then pops up a window to either go back to the game or quit the game. So can’t figure out how I could send emails or txt in chat… ?

Squatch4x4

morwynne wrote: »

I am going to have to try it. I have the iPad Air 4th gen which should perform pretty well, and I have a brand new purple iPad Mini that it will probably run brilliantly on!

Update: $10 off first game so got ESO for $9, linked my ESO and Stadia accounts and all my expansion packs are there? Wow, this looks amazing and runs amazing on my new iPad Mini. Just works in Safari in iOS 15. Having to learn the controls with my ps4 controller though, been playing with my trackpad on my MBP since ESO doesn’t use the ps4 controller like FFXIV does. Finally figured out how to mount, wasn’t able to send email. No keyboard comes up with the controller but if I tap in the subject line it pops up the iPad keyboard, lets me type, but then pops up a window to either go back to the game or quit the game. So can’t figure out how I could send emails or txt in chat… ?

Glad it's working for you! I don't really email or chat when on Stadia so I'm not sure. But I did get fairly used to playing with a controller and actually prefer to run dungeons on controller, and general questing and crafting with mouse/keyboard. I feel like I get better DPS and survive longer with a controller, but I'm not a huge fan of the interface.

Inoki

morwynne wrote: »

I don’t need stadia for my MacBook Pro, I have the Mac version of the game running on high graphics on that on its own. I was just wondering what it would be like to play it on my iPad. Maybe I’ll watch for a sale then since I dont’ actually _need_ it. Heh. Thanks for the info.

If it runs on Stadia it would run on GFN.

GFN will now introduce new memberships which include RTX 3080 cards, 120 Hz on up to 1440 resolution, and 4K streaming on SHIELD TV, so playing games in the cloud becomes much better than owning a computer.

[snip] You're renting a cloud supercomputer (always the latest specs, best performance and the best quality you could imagine - literally the way it's meant to be played).

[edited for bashing]

Squatch4x4

Coorbin wrote: »

By "suffice to play the game" what do you mean? The game won't crash, but you may experience degraded performance.

Do you want 60 FPS on a 4k external monitor with ESO settings on high/ultra? Then no, it won't suffice. No M1 Mac configuration will suffice by that standard.

On an M1 MacBook Pro with 16 GB RAM and 8 GPU cores, with the ESO window at 2560x1440 on an external monitor ("1440p" - halfway between 1080p and 4k), with Texture Quality and Subsampling Quality on High, Shadows and Grass OFF, antialiasing on FXAA, I consistently get about 30-50 FPS while running through a town like Greenhill in Reaper's March. Occasionally I hit 60 FPS or higher in low demand scenes, like an empty house. That's with 3.6 million pixels.

The game runs at a 1680x1050 resolution by default on a Macbook retina display, and that's about 1.7 million pixels, so you could reasonably expect 40-60 FPS at that resolution. Note, 1680x1050 is considerably lower res than 1080p.

Know that ESO uses about 4 GB of system memory and 2-2.5 GB of VRAM with texture quality on high. That is pushing near the memory limit of an 8 GB M1 system. If you have significant other programs loaded in memory (even just a web browser or Discord) you could be in a situation where part of ESO or your web browser might get paged out to the SSD, which not only creates excessive write wear on the SSD, but will be a major slowdown compared to running in RAM.

I can't recommend an 8 GB model. I'd sooner recommend 7 GPU cores than the 8 GB model. But if you want the best performance and if you don't want to wear out your SSD, obviously you should pay up for 16 GB RAM and 8 GPU cores.

If you're fine running the game at a low resolution with all graphics settings on Low, you might be able to squeak by with a base model M1. However, the game will use over half of your system storage. If you don't mind that, it should be "fine" for some definition of fine. No, it won't play well, but it will play.

How did you get your retina display to run at 1680x1050? I just updated my Mac client on my M1 MBP and I'm stuck at 1440x900

sean.plackerb14_ESO

Inoki wrote: »

morwynne wrote: »

I don’t need stadia for my MacBook Pro, I have the Mac version of the game running on high graphics on that on its own. I was just wondering what it would be like to play it on my iPad. Maybe I’ll watch for a sale then since I dont’ actually _need_ it. Heh. Thanks for the info.

If it runs on Stadia it would run on GFN.

GFN will now introduce new memberships which include RTX 3080 cards, 120 Hz on up to 1440 resolution, and 4K streaming on SHIELD TV, so playing games in the cloud becomes much better than owning a computer.

[snip] You're renting a cloud supercomputer (always the latest specs, best performance and the best quality you could imagine - literally the way it's meant to be played).

[edited for bashing]

"so playing games in the cloud becomes much better than owning a computer"

I have gigabit fiber, and a gaming PC (8700K and RTX 3080). I still prefer playing games natively on my PC compared to using GFN or Stadia etc (I've given both a try with a sub).

I like the GFN model and Microsoft model to streaming where you can either run the game natively OR stream it. But as an only option, nooooo thank you.

Streaming is a very cool option or solution to gaming for some people but it def has limitations. No mod support or in ESO's case addons. People that have an ISP with data caps, which is a lot of ISP's at least in the US sadly (thankfully I don't have a data cap but A LOT do). I get the appeal but there are reasons I prefer to run a game natively. For example, I replayed Witcher 3 recently. I play with 1 or 2 quality of life mods, and a fantastic mod called The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project that improves the graphics (esp textures) of almost every asset in the game, while keeping the original art style. (1st image is vanilla 2nd is with the mod) https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/1021?tab=images
It's so good CDPR has hired the guy to help work on the next gen "update" or version of Witcher 3 they are working on. If streaming were my only option, I couldn't enjoy playing the game exactly how I like, or the visual improvements from that mod. Also having zero chance of my connection or the streaming service its self causing issues or disconnects (granted on gigabit fiber that is rare, at least the possibility of issues due to my connection).

I like streaming as an OPTION, but def don't want it to be the only choice.

ZOS_Bill

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