Macs are not the go-to option among gamers looking to have an optimal gaming experience. If anything, you will hear claims that Macs are behind consoles, custom-built PCs, and gaming laptops as far as the pecking order goes.
It is understandable why such an idea exists. Back in the day, MacBooks were not optimized for video games. Video game developers did not bother to make their games viable on macOS either.
However, things have changed. You can find that more and more Mac owners are giving video games a shot. Thus, if you have one yourself, you should not hesitate and discover some of the most popular games available.
Of course, there are still some potential struggles that you might run into while gaming on a MacBook. To avoid them, you need to know how to make adjustments, and that is the purpose of this article.
Optimize the Sound Quality
Let’s start with audio. Even though most games excel in gameplay thanks to the visuals, failing to enjoy high-quality audio hinders one’s experience significantly.
MacBooks are laptops, and it means that they come with integrated speakers. Scuffed sound quality is expected, so it makes sense to switch to headphones.
One can connect bluetooth headphones in a click, and that should be the approach. Headphones with wires limit your movements, whereas wireless headphones offer that freedom while still providing good quality sound.
Declutter the Desktop
Desktop clutter is often overlooked. The issue can snowball out of control. Similar to how you need to clean the dust inside the computer regularly, you should also declutter the desktop so that the games can run with fewer resource hogs in the background (keep an eye on Activity Monitor as well).
It might take a while getting used to a computer desktop without shortcuts to various apps, folders, documents, and other files, but the effort of clearing that and transferring the files to another location comes with benefits.
You will notice performance improvements to the computer, which will affect your overall gaming experience as well.
Switch to Gaming Mouse and Keyboard
MacBooks come with an integrated keyboard and a trackpad instead of a mouse. It just so happens that playing video games on such a setup is not ideal.
Even if you are looking to take a casual approach and not bother playing competitive games, you will have more fun if you get proper gaming accessories, particularly a keyboard and a mouse.
Right now, there are quite a few different brands that specialize in manufacturing gaming equipment. Razer, Logitech, and SteelSeries are some of the most standout options.
If you were to browse through available products from these manufacturers, you would find that there are gaming accessories available at different pricing. Sure, the best of the best costs hundreds of dollars, but you do not have to splash money to get a decent gaming mouse or a keyboard.
Adjust In-Game Settings
The true and tested method of tinkering with in-game settings is another worthwhile method to improve one’s gaming experience.
Most video games offer different options as far as graphics go. You will often see options to set graphics from Low settings to Ultra settings. Of course, as a MacBook user, you are unlikely to go with the highest quality because your device will not be able to run a video game that way.
Trying different variations is a good approach. You can test which setup offers both performance and looks. Disabling water reflections, shadows, and other redundant visuals is also something to consider, particularly if you are more interested in the overall performance rather than a forgettable visual or two.
Free Up Enough Storage
Not enough free space on the drive is also one of the issues that could be preventing you from enjoying video games on a MacBook.
The issue occurs quite often because Macs are a bit lackluster when it comes to the overall available disk space. And since video games require a lot of space, you are left in a situation where figuring out a solution is a must.
To free up storage, incorporate some of the most commonly used methods:
- Avoid large media files and stick to streaming services to watch movies or listen to music
- Figure out which files are not important enough to keep on the computer all the time and transfer them to external storage
- Go through the drive and remove localization data, old downloads, duplicate media, and other data you no longer need
Try your best to keep at least 20 percent of total disk storage free. And once you finish a video game, remove it from the MacBook so that there is more available disk space. Even if it is just a few gigabytes, they still make a significant difference and should not be underestimated.