Hardware Requirements

[dp_fusion]

There are a lot of bits and pieces of information scattered around the site and the internet regarding hardware requirements for running Fusion. There are also comments here and there that Apple did not properly implement OpenGL on some platforms. This clearly impacts what will ever run in Fusion and something this important shouldn't be so difficult to discover.

There is an application compatibility thread going that tries to provide information on what applications run using DirectX and what issues might be seen. This seems an appropriate place to mention hardware requirements with some detail. If I know, for example, that my MacBook Pro has no hope of running DirectX well then I won't bother buying or trying DirectX software. Same with my Mac Mini. And Apple has muddied the works by offering multiple versions of the MacBook Pro and Mini and that is why I mention a need for detail.

For example, what should I expect with this early MacBook Pro and should I bother exploring DirectX further? Now answering this individually is not practical, but publishing what you know about all the platforms you've tested on is, so I'm not expecting an answer here but would like to see a page where this information can be found and depended upon for being current.

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro 15"

Model Identifier: MacBookPro1,1

Processor Name: Intel Core Duo

Processor Speed: 2 GHz

Number Of Processors: 1

Total Number Of Cores: 2

L2 Cache (per processor): 2 MB

Memory: 2 GB

Bus Speed: 667 MHz

Boot ROM Version: MBP11.0055.B08

SMC Version: 1.2f10

Serial Number: xxxxxxxx

Sudden Motion Sensor:

State: Enabled

ATI Radeon X1600:

Chipset Model: ATY,RadeonX1600

Type: Display

Bus: PCIe

VRAM (Total): 256 MB

Vendor: ATI (0x1002)

Device ID: 0x71c5

Revision ID: 0x0000

EFI Driver Version: 01.00.068

Displays:

Color LCD:

Display Type: LCD

Resolution: 1440 x 900

Depth: 32-bit Color

Built-In: Yes

Core Image: Supported

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Quartz Extreme: Supported

Display:

Status: No display connected

[admin]

I'm not quite sure what you're asking. AFAIK the following is true:

• The problem with Apple's implementation of OpenGL is limited to machines with integrated graphics (a.k.a. Intel GMA 950), i.e. all versions of the MacBook and the Mac mini.

• Anything with a dedicated graphics card (i.e. MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro), is fine, and I would expect the particular graphics card you have to matter more than just about anything else except possibly RAM.

• has some entries with a MBP/ATi x1600 (so at least someone has it working). You could try some of the demos that are known to work well.

[rcardona2k]

FWIW, I did most of my initial DirectX testing on this exact model and of what I tested to be documented to work under DirectX by VMware worked. I think the big differences in graphcs hardware that are notable are in the Intel GMA 950 graphics processor in the minis and some MacBooks?. The ATI X1600 in your MBP is a very capable GPU. Clearly the GeForce 8600M GT in Santa Rosas are better. And the Pros today have NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GTs or ATI 1900XTs or any other Mac-compatible high-end card.

The test matrix is huge so I can only tell you what I've tested. Most companies won't share the whole test matrix and say they have a "mix" with coverage.

[jonheal]

So what, exactly, is now and forever hosed, OpenGL/DirectX-wise on my Mac Mini 1.66 Core Duo?

[Bob_Zimmerman]

I wouldn't say forever. Apple may be able to fix their OpenGL implementation.

As for what doesn't work, I haven't had much luck getting anything DirectX to work on my MacBook (also uses a GMA 950). Things run, but there is a lot of weirdness. Mechwarrior 4, for example, is playable but some of the textures are all kinds of screwed up.