AMD taunts Apple's MacBook Neo for failing to run 75% of top PC games — Only 5 out of the 20 top PC games work on the Neo, while all run on AMD's budget offerings

AMD taunts Apple's MacBook Neo for failing to run 75% of top PC games — Only 5 out of the 20 top PC games work on the Neo, while all run on AMD's budget offerings Don't buy a MacBook is gaming is a priority. The MacBook Neo has been an astronomical hit for Apple, with both critics and consumers responding positively to the company's entry-level laptop. It changed the precedent for what a budget laptop could be, scaring Windows-reliant vendors, but one legacy chipmaker doesn't seem bothered. AMD has just released new marketing material that directly pits a Ryzen 200 series-equipped machine with the Neo, mocking the latter for not supporting 75% of top PC games. "While 15 of the top 20 PC games do not run on Macbook Neo natively, AMD systems give you access to massive game libraries," said the company. Only 5 of those 20 titles will work on the Neo. Technically, you can use emulation software to still access more games, but AMD specifically covers that ground, too, and mentions "no workarounds required." It then points out how multiple storefronts enjoy universal compatibility with AMD devices. For the comparison, AMD used HP's OmniBook X Flip powered by the Ryzen 5 220. That's not a new chip; it's a refresh of the company's Hawk Point lineup (8540U), and this SKU in particular features 2 full-fat Zen 4 cores and 4x Zen4c efficiency cores, for a total of 12 threads. It's paired with a Radeon 740M iGPU that's not exactly the most powerful by modern standards. It's the same integrated graphics found in the regular Ryzen Z1 APU, so it's about 2x less performant than the Z1 Extreme. If you actually look at the reviews of this iGPU, it's a mixed bag. It can run older titles like GTA V at over 100 FPS at low settings, but it struggles with pretty much modern games. Hellblade 2 runs at 8 frames per second, while Alan Wake 2 hits about 11 frames on average. So yes, AMD runs 20 out of the 20 top games on PC, but a good chunk of them will not be smooth enough to be called playable on this specific chip. It's the x86 architecture and the Windows OS that are the real difference makers. Everyone knows Apple Silicon is more than powerful enough, and the company's Metal API has modern features capable of real-time rendering. But there's simply not enough demand from the community and not a big push from Apple to pitch gaming as one of the platform's selling points. You can still emulate x86 code into Arm using Parallels, Crossover, or even Game Hub, but that's not native compatibility. Therefore, AMD is correct. The company doesn't stop there; it also highlights how the OmniBook X Flip specifically has a 512GB SSD compared to the MacBook Neo's 256GB of storage. This laptop also features a touchscreen in a 2-in-1 form factor, versus the Neo, which has just a basic screen. Lastly, the port selection is more varied with AMD as well; there are 2x USB-C, 2x USB-A, and 1x HDMI ports on the HP machine, while you only get 2x USB-C on the Neo. And, of course, the Neo doesn't come with a Windows 11 license. All that being said, the MacBook Neo is still an excellent laptop for the price. If gaming is imperative to you, Intel's Wildcat Lake laptops are also starting to penetrate this segment with similar pricing and impressive value propositions. If you're chasing that Arm efficiency, then Qualcomm's Snapdragon C-series chips also come with Windows, allowing you to at least bypass the OS difference. It's a great time to be in the market for budget laptops, but the simultaneous component crisis is still taming the full potential of this class. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds. Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun. - Zaranthos Reply "Don't buy a MacBook is gaming is a priority." Correction - Don't buy a MacBook if gaming is a priority.Admin said:AMD is reminding folks not to buy a MacBook, even if it's as good of a deal as the Neo, if you primarily want to game on it. Instead, AMD's own budget laptops can run all the modern titles you want, with a small caveat. AMD taunts Apple's MacBook Neo for failing to run 75% of top PC games — Only 5 out of the 20 top PC games work on the Neo, while all run on AMD's b... : Read more - LordVile Weird they didn’t state the price. Also “runs” isn’t the same as “playable”. As noted in the article one of the games runs at 8FPSReply - dion_ The Top 20 PC games, according to AMD:Reply Cyberpunk 2077 () Shadow of the Tomb Raider () Sid Meir’s Civilization VII () Total War: WARHAMMER II () Assassin's Creed Shadows Battlefield 6 Borderlands 4 Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Counter-Strike 2 DOOM: The Dark Ages F1 25 Far Cry (???) Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced Marvel Rivals Monster Hunter Wilds Starfield Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2Yes, there are 19 games on this list. No, I did not make a mistake. - TechieTwo ReplyZaranthos said:"Don't buy a MacBook if gaming is a priority." Correction - Don't buy a MacBook ! Fixed it for ya... ;) Without a doubt AMD is the laptop/desktop gaming value/performance winner. - LordVile Reply About right for the counting skill for all the companies investing in AI.dion_ said:The Top 20 PC games, according to AMD: Cyberpunk 2077 Shadow of the Tomb Raider Sid Meir’s Civilization VII Total War: WARHAMMER II Assassin's Creed Shadows Battlefield 6 Borderlands 4 Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Counter-Strike 2 DOOM: The Dark Ages F1 25 Far Cry (???) Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced Marvel Rivals Monster Hunter Wilds Starfield Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2Yes, there are 19 games on this list. No, I did not make a mistake. - bolweval Reply Crazy that the top 20 most played games on Steam, ranked by concurrent active players has some 20 year old games in the top 10, number 1 and 9... GTA 5 is 13 years old.dion_ said:The Top 20 PC games, according to AMD: Cyberpunk 2077 Shadow of the Tomb Raider Sid Meir’s Civilization VII Total War: WARHAMMER II Assassin's Creed Shadows Battlefield 6 Borderlands 4 Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Counter-Strike 2 DOOM: The Dark Ages F1 25 Far Cry (???) Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced Marvel Rivals Monster Hunter Wilds Starfield Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2Yes, there are 19 games on this list. No, I did not make a mistake. Just goes to show that just pretty graphics won't sell your game... 1. Counter-Strike 2 2. PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS 3. Dota 2 4. Apex Legends 5. Black Myth: Wukong 6. Helldivers 2 7. Path of Exile 2 8. Palworld 9. Team Fortress 2 10. Grand Theft Auto V 11. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege 12. Baldur's Gate 3 13. Elden Ring 14. Lost Ark 15. Warframe 16. Rust 17. Destiny 2 18. Stardew Valley 19. Dead by Daylight 20. Terraria - TerryLaze I wonder if they realize that they are the only supplier of APUs to the consoles (xbox/ps) , the steamdeck/machine ,as well as to most of the other handhelds....Reply most of them have linux and don't run games natively.... Basically they are saying that you shouldn't use AMD on linux devices?!?!?! - usertests Reply Unless the old games look good, which is pretty much the case for GTA V.bolweval said:Just goes to show that just pretty graphics won't sell your game... - TerryLaze Reply Eh, if you put years of your time in a game it's hard to switch, even if a newer game looks better AND has good gameplay.bolweval said:Crazy that the top 20 most played games on Steam, ranked by concurrent active players has some 20 year old games in the top 10, number 1 and 9... GTA 5 is 13 years old. Just goes to show that just pretty graphics won't sell your game... - ezst036 Apple basically followed the model Valve used for the Steam Machine 1.0 (2018) - port your games to Apple Metal!Reply Apple is just not serious, that model was already proven to fail. Apple have never cared about gamers and gaming and this is a generational attitude of theirs. That's why Linux has way more serious gamers on it these days than than Mac even though Mac has like 25% of the desktop marketshare and Linux only has 5% marketshare. For gaming, Linux is just the better platform for Windows escapees.