Is iMac M1 good for gaming, considering its price point, features and speed? This PC is a wise choice for people who like to have everything they want in one machine. It boasts built-in speakers, 8GB unified memory, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, and other high-end features.
The iMac is also expensive. So, why shouldn’t it be a great gaming PC considering its hardware potential?
We’ll discuss how much of a gaming PC the iMac M1 is. But if you plan to buy it for gaming, we urge you to read this post before forging ahead with your plans.
Is iMac M1 Good For Gaming?
It depends on the type of game you wish to play on the M1. The M1 iMac hardware’s potential looks enticing, but note it was never developed to be a gaming computer in the first place.
Don’t get me wrong; the M1 can run some good games. It can run several casual games and some top ones smoothly. However, it cannot run most high-end games, and the reason is simple. Most developers are not conversant with the macOS. That is why you see that majority of PC games are compatible with desktop computers.
Should You Buy The iMac M1 For Gaming?
The M1 cannot play most games. It can’t run highly demanding PC games because it wasn’t built for such.
So, you’ll be better off with other PCs if you’re an avid gamer. The M1 isn’t for serious gamers. It’s best for casual gamers or people that want to relax by playing a few games after a tough day at work.
You can play some simple games on the M1 and then a handful of top games like the MMORPG World of Warcraft. This game runs on Windows and macOS. I have had the privilege to play it on the M1, one of my best games on this machine.
Join thousands of heroes like yourself in Azeroth, a world of adventure and magic. That’s what the World of Warcraft is.
Interestingly, this game received native support from the first day of its release. The graphics are also enticing. It can run at 60FPS on high graphics settings and even 2k.
Myst, a graphic adventure and puzzle video game, is another exciting game you can play on the M1. Note that this game runs on 4K resolution, delivering high texture quality when played on the 24 inches iMac.
In a nutshell, the future looks bright for the M1 iMac. It also feels so refreshing to see that “GeForce Now”, a cloud gaming service, has added the Apple M1 to its official app. It shows things will only get better for iMac M1 users that fancy gaming.
I have been privileged to play some games on the M1 iMac. One of them is the Shadow of the Thumb Raider on the iMac M1, and I enjoyed every bit of the game. The Shadow of the Thumb Raider is natively available on the M1 iMac. So let me not make it seem like a big deal.
Another exciting thing about this game is that it runs smoothly on the M1 iMac, even in medium settings. So you can see the gaming potential the M1 has. This PC’s speed is also insane. It has almost everything a user would want in a computer.
A Handy Tip: The Apple M1 chip gives the iMac a considerable advantage and significantly influences its future gaming potential.
According to Apple, the M1 chip outperforms some Nvidia and AMD. The M1 iMac boasts an 8-core GPU, which juggles around 25,000 threads. Now, this is insanely huge, but it doesn’t end here. It also has the potential to offer about 2.6 TFLOPS of throughput.
These Are Games You Can Play On The Apple iMac M1
The M1 is a powerful chip. There’s no doubt that. It boasts 8-core GPU and has what it takes to run several games without stress and maintain good battery life. It can run myriads of games on high graphics.
A Handy Tip: Note that the M1 Pro chip and M1 Max chips are more powerful than the first-gen M1 chips. Here’s how the chips are arranged performance-wise M1 < M1 Pro chips < M1 Max chips.
Apple has also started making M2 chips which are a little upgrade over the M1 chips. We’ll discuss this new chip some other time. For now, let’s focus on the M1.
Here are games you can play on M1 iMac computers. The list has grown in size over the years and keeps increasing, but we’ll only mention a couple of them here.
- Fall 2
- Fall 4
- Fall Out
- Clash Royale
- Albion Online
- A Hat in Time
- 112 Operator
- Apex Legends
- Among Us
- Alien Isolation
- Baba Is You
- Assetto Corsa
- Battlefield 3
- Caves of Qud
- Fallout New Vegas
- Call of Duty Mobile
- Asphalt 9 Legends
- Batman: Arkham City
- Assassin’s Creed Rogue
- AER: Memories of Old
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III
- Alien Swarm Reactive Drop
- Age of Empires HD Edition
- Age of Wonders: Planetfall
- Age of Empires II HD Edition
- American Truck Simulator
- Diablo III: Reaper of Souls
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)
- Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
- Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
A Handy Tip: The list of potential games the M1 Macs can run has grown over the years. However, while most of these games may run smoothly, some might require tweakings, such as sideload, cloud gaming, steam client and Parallels for Windows.
Can Gaming Damage The iMac M1?
The simple answer is no. Gaming will not damage your iMac. Why? Firstly, you’re talking about a non-modified (stock) computer. The fan is the only movable part of the computer.
So, gaming will not ruin your iMac M1 computer. But then, ensure the computer meets the requirement of the game you’re playing.
It may overheat when you run high-end games on your iMac computer. But when this sort of thing happens, one great move you can make is to run the game on low-performance settings.
This way, you’ll prevent your computer from overheating and have the opportunity to play the game you want.
Understand that most computers, including the iMac, overheat because of their fan’s condition. The fan’s duty is to cool down the CPU when running a program. And the more intense or demanding the program or programs are, the faster the fan would rotate to cool down the CPU.
Unfortunately, dust buildup on the fan can make it difficult to function as it should. That’s why it’s essential to monitor your PC’s fan occasionally. If you find dust on it, clean it properly.
3 Things To Consider When Choosing iMac For Gaming
Do you fancy the iMac M1? Do you like the collection of games this computer can run smoothly and hope more will be added in the future? Then go for it.
But before you make your move, here’s one thing I want you to have at the back of your mind. If you’re considering the gaming capabilities of Macs, have at the back of your mind that some will perform better than others.
So, if you’re considering acquiring a brand new iMac or upgrading your current one, consider the following pieces of hardware.
1: The RAM size: What’s the iMac’s RAM size? Or rather, what importance does RAM play in gaming? Note that RAM can improve frame pacing and frame rate when gaming. So, always check your computer’s RAM speed and capacity before splashing the cash.
You can aim for 8GB RAM (The iMac M1 RAM size is 8GB anyway). But then, remember that bigger is always better when it comes to hardware, including RAM.
2: The CPU size: The CPU is crucial. So, consider it when buying a gaming computer. The GPU can’t work without the CPU. Why? The CPU processes the actions you take while gaming and sends them to the GPU for further processing.
I will also like you to keep this in mind. Some games are more CPU-intensive or, rather, demanding than others. Ensure the computer you’re buying has a high CPU if you want to play most high-end games.
Here is another thing I would like you to know about the CPU. Getting a higher CPU and lower-end GPU isn’t a wise thing to do. Your computer’s performance won’t improve this way. Instead, get a higher CPU and corresponding GPU.
3: The GPU size: The GPU is another crucial hardware gamers need to consider when choosing an iMac for gaming. Ensure you choose an iMac with a powerful graphic card.
The GPU’s job is to display the graphics on the screen. It renders both 2D and 3D. A computer capable of delivering better graphics performance will give you a better gaming experience. It will enable the games to run at faster frame rates and higher resolution.
So, choose a computer with a higher GPU. Also, when upgrading, go for a higher GPU and CPU. Don’t only focus on GPU.
Conclusion
Is the iMac M1 good for gaming? Well, it depends on the type of game you are talking about. The M1 iMac is a powerful machine. It is fast, has long battery life and has other enticing features.
Now, understand something. The iMac M1 wasn’t designed to be a gaming computer. Nevertheless, it can run casual games smoothly and some serious ones too.
We made a list of games you can play on the iMac M1. You can check them out. We also discussed factors you need to consider when choosing an iMac for gaming.
