1. Which Mac has the best gaming display? Apple has moved the majority of the Mac range over to high-resolution Retina displays, and these will look great for running your games.
2. Dec 16, 2019 Make sure that your TV is powered on. Choose in the menu bar., then choose your Apple TV. If an AirPlay passcode appears on your TV screen, enter the passcode on your Mac. Mirror your display or use your TV as a separate display: To mirror your display, choose, then choose Mirror Built-in Display.

Dec 07, 2018 Above is a near no compromise gaming option for using your Mac mini as a gaming hub in your den or living room. It's ideal since it's sleek, very quiet, and is able to do things beyond gaming such as serving as a media player.

Gaming on macOS is still not much of a 'thing' as many enthusiasts would like. In fact, iOS is a far better gaming platform in terms of sheer number of games than is macOS. However, you can get your gaming on if you are so inclined. If there is a will there's a way! So, if you have a Mac mini setup for use as a media center or a file server, why not add some gaming to the mix to get the most out of your $799 investment? Here's how!

Some caveats

Although I'll be setting up my Mac mini in my living room as an entertainment hub that will offer movies, TV, and gaming, I'd be lying if I said that this was an all-in-one solution. Although many aspects of the Mac mini on its own could be used for gaming, I'll be recruiting the help of some extra hardware and non-Mac software to get us to the point where we can use the Mac mini as a proper gaming hub.

The hardware

2018 Mac mini

For our 'ultimate' gaming Mac mini, I'll be buying the lowest end 2018 Mac mini for $799 Apple. This comes with:

• 3.6GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i3 processor
• 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
• Intel UHD Graphics 630
• 128GB PCIe-based SSD storage

I know what you're thinking. I can feel your look. Those specs aren't powerful enough to run the latest games. The GPU and CPU is way too weak, and the storage space is far too small. Well, you're correct for most modern games. Not only will we be adding some hardware to the mix, we'll also setup some gaming software that the Mac mini is able to play right out of the box. So sit tight.

Configure An Mac For Gaming Pc

We'll be connecting the Mac mini to a 5K display with a gigabit ethernet wired connection to my network. You'll get better performance out of this lowest end Mac mini if you limit your resolutions to 1080p but you can decide if higher resolutions are worth the performance hit.

External SSD (optional)

Extra disk space is completely optional depending on your needs. If you have an external NAS or are simply very good at managing your disk space (installing a single game and uninstalling it when no longer in use to save space), you can get away with not having to add external storage. In my case, I have both a Synology Diskstation, $370 on a gigabit ethernet connection and a Samsung 500GB thunderbolt 3 portable ssd, $299.

External GPU (optional)

If you want to play more modern macOS versions of 3D games, then you'll need a more powerful GPU. macOS Mojave has added excellent eGPU support for AMD Polaris and Vega GPUs right out of the box supported directly by Apple. You can also optionally add Nvidia GPUs but will be beholden to the company for driver updates and support.

You needn't add an eGPU if you plan on using the Mac mini for either emulated console and arcade games from yesteryear, or if you plan on streaming all of your games from a more powerful computer (we show you how shortly).

Mac Gaming Pc

I do plan on running native macOS games directly from the Mac mini so I got Apple's own eGPU enclosure, $599. It comes with a mid-range AMD RX 580 GPU which is a good match for the Coffee Lake CPU's in our Mac mini. You plug it in to the TB 3 port on the back of the Mac mini, and Mojave just makes it work.

Gamepad

You can use a number of gamepads of your choosing. You can attach wireless bluetooth device such as the Steam Controller, a PS4 controller or even an Xbox One controller that supports Bluetooth. You can also use a regular USB wired gamepad that is Xbox compatible as well. If you plan on connecting via bluetooth, simply pair your controller to your Mac using the Bluetooth System Preference panel.

Windows Gaming PC (optional)

If you want to be able to play any game without limitations, you'll actually need a powerful Windows based PC somewhere on your network. We'll still be using the more aesthetically pleasing and living room friendlier Mac mini as our front-end, but the Windows PC will be our gateway to all things gaming. The PC I'll be using is running Windows 10 with a 6700k Intel Skylake CPU, 16 GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD and a Nvidia GTX 1080ti.

The software

macOS Mojave

In order to get the best possible performance and compatibility, we'll be using macOS Mojave. Mojave offers support for the eGPU connected RX 580 without any configuring or hacking.

Xbox controller support

Download and install the open source 360Controller driver to be able to run your non-macOS native gamepads like the Xbox 360 or Xbox One controller. This will install a new System Preference panel that allows you to configure your gamepads. I strongly suggest to checkmark the Spoofing Preferences option to Pretend to be an Xbox 360 Controller under the Advanced tab if you don't actually have a true Xbox controller for compatibility purposes.

OpenEmu

OpenEmu is a multiple console and arcade machine emulator. It has a slick and easy to use interface where you and just drag and drop your supported game ROMs into the OpenEmu application and things get installed automatically. If you need M.A.M.E. support make certain you download the 'Experimental' version of the software. Download it. Run it. Use the wizard and install all defaults. That's it.

You can then configure your controllers per game or per emulated console. The lowest end Mac mini will likely run all of these types of games without the need of externally connected hardware like the eGPU or need copious amounts of disk space from an external SSD.

Configure your Gamepad settings as needed. Note that OpenEmu tries it's best to automatically bind the proper buttons to your selected gamepad.

Steam

For modern gaming, you'll likely want to install Valve's Steam platform. With Steam, you'll be able to buy and play a mountain of native macOS titles as well as a handful of pretty modern titles as well. If you opted to use a powerful Windows based PC on your network as well, you'll need to install Steam on both the PC and the Mac mini.

Simply download Steam and install it. Create an account and download your games. If using a networked PC to power your games, use the same account for both your Mac mini and your PC.

Configure An Mac For Gaming Laptop

For a list of owned games that can run natively on macOS, Click Library > Mac. Once you install your macOS native game, make certain to set your eGPU (if you have one) as the preferred device for graphics. You'll need to find the installed game with Finder, Option-click the Application > Get Info and set the check box.

If you added an external SSD for more storage. Be certain to add your SSD as one of the default download directories for steam in Preferences > Downloads > Steam Library Folders.

To Stream games, you'll need the game installed on the machine that you'll be streaming from and on the Mac mini Steam client, click Stream to play the game. The PC will provide the power, you Mac mini will be the interface.

If you have an eGPU and you want to stream from a PC, you can enable more advanced streaming options in Steam Preferences > In home Streaming > Advanced Client Options. Here you can enable hardware decoding for better visual performance capabilities. (Note that at the time of this writing the ethernet cable was faulty. Wireless streaming was used so the performance through streaming was worse than expected).

Your Controllers should also be automatically configured in Steam.

You can enable Steam's Big Picture Mode to get a controller-centric interface where you can sit on your couch and use your controller input to navigate Steam.

Final comments

Above is a near no compromise gaming option for using your Mac mini as a gaming hub in your den or living room. It's ideal since it's sleek, very quiet, and is able to do things beyond gaming such as serving as a media player. Adding the ability to run emulators is an extra benefit as well as simply having a full blown OS at your disposal. The ability to stream via Steam and connect a controller via bluetooth makes this setup very unobtrusive. A more integrated option could have been to use my AppleTV but unfortunately, at this time, Apple has put the kibosh on the Steam Link App from Valve to be able to stream games through my AppleTV. Let's hope that Apple gets with the program on this and makes that happen. Let us know your comments or thoughts in the comments section!

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If you're thinking about your childhood games on Atari, ColecoVision, or that old Commodore 64, you can relive those memories with retro gaming on your Mac. You're going to need some emulation software to help you get started. Our favorite emulation software comes from OpenEmu and we'll show you how to get it up and running.

What is OpenEmu

OpenEmu is a free (you can donate if you like their software) and open source graphical front end for many software emulators (which in turn are also open source). OpenEmu makes it exceedingly easy to get you up and running your favorite older generation titles from a multitude of systems such as Atari, Nintendo, Sega and even arcade systems.

Configure An Mac For Gaming Laptop

OpenEmu features

OpenEmu allows for simple set up. You just need to download the installer, choose the emulators you want to freely download, and then drag and drop your saved titles to the program window. It automatically organizes the titles into the various systems that they were created for and makes it easy for you to configure keyboard, gamepad, and joystick controller inputs.

Getting OpenEmu

OpenEmu comes in two flavors. Press Pack and an OpenEmu Experimental Press Pack. The only difference as far as I can tell is that the Press Pack is lacking support for the M.A.M.E., which is arcade machine emulation software.

What is M.A.M.E.

For simplicity's sake, I'll define M.A.M.E. as an archive of the vintage software that runs arcade systems from yesteryear. The developers try their best to recreate the software systems that ran/run on arcade based computers and do so strictly via CPU emulation for that purpose. The developers avoid using GPU acceleration for the emulation because the actual running of the software is simply an aside to the purpose of their mission. As a result, if you want to run some older arcade games, aside from having an authentic arcade CPU board, your best option would be the M.A.M.E. project.

Here's how to get the full M.A.M.E. enabled version of OpenEmu.

1. Head to OpenEmu.org.

2. Click the Download Now button

   Source: iMore

3. Click Allow when prompted to allow OpenEmu to be downloaded onto your Mac.

When the download is complete, the OpenEmu icon will appear on your desktop.

Running OpenEmu for the first time

Upon launching OpenEmu the first time, you'll have to allow your Mac to run software from an unidentified developer and choose the emulators you want to download and run.

1. Double-click on the OpenEmu icon on your desktop.

2. Close the warning pop-up telling you the app can't be opened by clicking Cancel.

   Source: iMore

3. Click on the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your Mac's screen.

4. Click on System Preferences.

   Source: iMore

5. Click on Security & Privacy.
6. Navigate to the General tab.

7. Click the lock in the bottom left corner of the Security & Privacy window.

   Source: iMore

8. Enter your System Administrator password.
9. Click Unlock

10. Click Open Anyway under Allow apps downloaded from. OpenEmu will open immediately, and so will another warning.

    Source: iMore

11. Click Open System Preferences when prompted to allow OpenEmu to receive keystrokes from any application.
12. Close the OpenEmu program at this time.
13. Click the lock in the bottom left corner of the Security & Privacy window when it pops up.

14. Enter your System Administrator password.

    Source: iMore

15. Click Unlock
16. Tick the box next to OpenEmu to allow it to monitor inputs from your keyboard even while using other apps.

17. Click the lock in the bottom left corner of the window to prevent further changes.

    Source: iMore

Running the OpenEmu startup wizard for the first time

1. Launch OpenEmu on your Mac.
2. Click Next on the welcome screen.
3. Select or de-select any and all emulator cores you want to be able to download and use.
4. Click Next.

5. Click Go to begin your adventure!

   Source: iMore

Installing games

Installing games is as easy as a drag and drop of the game files you own. Games will magically be placed into their correct system heading automatically.

Configure Mac Pro

1. Open Finder.
2. Find your game ROM.
3. Drag your game ROM into the OpenEmu window.
4. Done.

Configuring inputs

As with everything else in OpenEmu, configuring your input devices is supremely easy.

1. In OpenEmu, go to Preferences.
2. Tap Controls.
3. Choose the system you wish to edit controls for. Having a similarly shaped gamepad makes it that much easier.

4. Click the control you want to edit and then tap the button, or keyboard input you want to map it to.

   Source: iMore

5. Complete all of the inputs as you desire.

Configure An Mac For Gaming Pc

Playing games

1. Find the system for which you installed the game.
2. Double-click the title.
3. Play.

Games? What games?

I purchased an X-Arcade Tankstick with trackball from Xgaming, and that purchase gave me over 200 arcade games that I can legally enjoy. M.A.M.E. also has an archive of free to download and play full-fledged arcade ROMS. On top of that you can also find a number of homebrew developers that have built and still build new games for the various emulated home consoles.

Final thoughts

I love gaming. Yes, even gaming on Mac (maybe especially so). I'm also set up for VR gaming on my MacBook pro connected eGPU. But I'll always have a soft spot for the older arcade titles from my youth. That's why I love OpenEmu. I can simply get right into the action without worrying about configuration. What emulator do you use for your retro gaming? Let us know in the comments!

Updated February 2020: Updated with steps for macOS Catalina's security workaround.

macOS Catalina

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Apple is now redirecting (PRODUCT)RED purchases to COVID‑19 relief fund

Now through September 30, Apple is redirecting 100% of a portion of (PRODUCT)RED purchases to the Global Fund’s COVID‑19 Response.