Windows vs. Mac for Gaming Edition | Which One to Choose?

Which of the two biggest OS platforms is best for gaming, Windows or Mac? This is a big question with a pretty solid answer for once. Windows laptops are better gaming laptops than Macs, hands down.

Macs are good for certain things, like coding or photo/video editing, but they are simply not good for games and the gaming world reflects this. You will find thousands of titles available for Windows but only a handful available for Mac. Why?

Because the majority of laptop users are Windows users and thus the majority of laptop gamers are Windows users. So, naturally, game devs develop their games for Windows first over Mac. 

Windows also has the most laptops capable of withstanding today’s demanding games so it makes sense that there would be more games available for Windows than Mac.

Things to Consider

Games

The first thing you should consider when deciding between a Windows laptop or a Mac is the types of games you’ll be playing. 

You’ll want a laptop that can run the games you want to play so always check the recommended specs for the games you are wanting to play and figure out what hardware you want in your laptop based on that.

There are a lot of really demanding games coming out for PC; ones that require huge processors and memory and graphics cards that make even Minecraft sparkle. If those are the games you want to play, then your laptop specs need to match that.

Currently, there are thousands more games available for Windows than Mac, and none (to this writer’s knowledge) that are available for Mac only and not Windows. 

If you do decide on a Mac, do some research into what games are available for you and make sure they are games you would be willing to play for some time.

Budget

..Windows gaming laptops range in price from $500 to well over $2000 so there should be one in there to fit your budget and gaming style…

The next thing to consider is your budget. Windows gaming laptops range in price from $500 to well over $2000 so there should be one in there to fit your budget and gaming style. 

If you’re wanting to play some of the more graphically demanding games on the market, you’ll need to be willing to pay for that super-charged graphics card and lightspeed RAM and processor. 

Windows models that keep up with today’s games can rack up anywhere from $1500-$3000 but it isn’t always necessary to have top of the line everything. 

My MSI was top of the line in 2017 and cost about $1300 but still runs the most graphically demanding games on the market with no issue. 

Pro Tip: This is why you should always check your recommended specs before purchasing a game because they’re often far lower than the top of the line hardware that is available. This way you don’t have to worry about having the newest GeForce 10bajillion graphics card or Core i100 processor to run your favorite games.

Macs on the other hand are insanely expensive (even lower end models) compared to the hardware that comes inside them. Even the most gaming compatible models costing well over $2000.

Performance

The last thing to consider is performance whilst gaming. Obviously, you’re going to want your laptop to perform well when you’re gaming; that’s what it’s for. 

Be sure to check the recommended specs for the games you want to play against the laptop that you are thinking about purchasing.

Windows

Pros

• More options
• More games
• More power

Cons

• Storage
• Bloatware

Mac

Pros

• More games becoming available
• Some models are game capable

Cons

• Too expensive
• Not many games available

Windows

Windows still dominates the market despite Macs growing popularity. As such, game producers look to develop games for Windows first before ever looking to other platforms. 

That is not to say that you can’t game on a Mac but you will have a wider selection of well-developed games on Windows. 

The biggest reason why Windows is still the best platform to game on is simply because there is such a large user base that game developers would be silly to develop for Mac first over Windows; they would be cutting off their largest body of customers.

Windows laptops can be built for the sole purpose of gaming which is not the case with a Mac laptop. You can get insanely powerful gaming rigs with Windows that still cost less than the best Mac. 

With that gaming rig, you could have access to all of today’s biggest PC titles at release and be able to play them without your laptop turning into a nuclear reactor. 

With a Mac, there’s no guarantee that a specific title will be released for your platform and you could be waiting months or even years before it is released.

..customize your Windows gaming laptop to have whatever processor, graphics card, RAM, and storage that you want to fit your gaming style… 

Windows laptops have the customizability that Macs simply do not. You can customize your Windows gaming laptop to have whatever processor, graphics card, RAM, and storage that you want to fit your gaming style. 

With Mac, you have a limited number of options to choose from (with little to no customizability) and an even smaller number of options that will perform well when gaming.

Windows is the heavyweight champion, here, and probably always will be (unless Apple comes out with a gaming Mac) and it all comes down to the range of gaming options and the price. You have a massive variety of laptops to choose from for your gaming experience. 

You can go with a low end $500 gaming laptop and still have a range of thousands of games to play or you can go with a high end gaming laptop and, with the money you save from not getting a Mac, you still have money left over to play some of today’s top games.

Mac

Macs are built for performance in daily work but lack the important components for gaming. For example, the less expensive Macbook options rely on integrated Intel graphics cards which are not ideal for gaming. 

The more expensive Macbook options appear to have the ability to run games (and they can and do) but they are more expensive than an iMac desktop and still more expensive than most Windows gaming laptops.

The cost of a Mac compared to the hardware is not balanced at all. The hardware in a Macbook can barely run even low end games and still costs over $1000. For the same price, you could get a high end Windows laptop with almost all of today’s top performing hardware. 

Macs are just not built for gaming. They lack the proper hardware to run games safely. Because they’re built to be ultraportable, they don’t have the fan power to keep your CPU and GPU cool during your gaming sessions and this can be catastrophic to your already expensive Mac laptop.

However, despite their low end specs, there are many popular games that you can play on a Mac. Many AAA titles have been released for both Windows and Mac including: League of Legends, Counterstrike, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Fortnite, and many more. 

It’s not that you can’t play games on a Mac, it’s just that your performance and the variety of games available to you pale in comparison to Windows laptops.

If you are a casual gamer who needs a Mac for other things outside gaming (e.g. work or school) then a Mac is not a bad option, especially if you already have one or are used to macOS and Apple products. 

But if you are a hardcore gamer or like to stay up to date with new titles, there is no better option than a Windows laptop. Customize it to fit your gaming style and it will still probably cost less than a Mac and be far more cost effective.