Considering a MBP

[apeZ]

From wiki, regarding Steamplay:

Originally planned for release in April 2010, Steam for Mac OS X was launched worldwide on May 12, 2010, following a successful beta period. In addition to the Steam client, several features were made available to developers to take advantage of a cross-platform Source engine and platform and network capabilities using Steamworks. Through SteamPlay, the Mac OS X client will allow players who have already purchased compatible products in the Windows version to re-download the Mac versions at no cost, allowing them to continue to play the game on the other platform; however some third party titles may require the user to purchase again to gain the cross-platform functionality. The Steam Cloud will be cross-platform compatible. Multiplayer games can also be cross-compatible, allowing Windows and Mac players to play with each other.
Upon launch, over 50 games, most supporting the SteamPlay feature, were available for the client. As part of the launch, Valve offered both PC and Mac users to download Portal for free during the first two weeks of launch. For some weeks after the Mac client launch, Valve will expand the catalog of offerings for the service on a weekly basis, with each week highlighting a new feature of the service. Valve plans to include native Mac OS X; OpenGL versions of Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Portal, and the entire Half-Life series following Steam's release. Portal 2, due in 2011, will be the first Valve title simultaneously released on both the Windows and Mac versions of Steam.

 

[pingwing]

Yeah all my steam games that have a mac version are cross compatible, pretty handy

The apple care deal is really good with the HE discount, mainly for peace of mind!

I did the same thing and traded my pc in for a mbp back when it had the 9600gt in it. Mine is a very very capable machine, the only game I find it struggles with is civ5 (but that is mainly the game its self not being well optimized in dx11 or towards the end game).

Really recommend one either way as they are amazing laptops

 

[manic111]

Good stuff, looks as though I will be able to re-download Valve things. As Raymond says though, gaming is far from the primary reason I'm interested in a Mac...

Does anyone know more about any hacks to plug a PS3 into an iMac?

EDIT: It looks as though some sort of USB peripheral would be needed, which sounds like a bit of a messy hassle.

 

[Margaret]

Price is relative, you are not gluing to get value for money in terms of spec...except the 27" iMac, try get a pc with that spec with an IPS monitor that size in and you'll see, not to mention the lack of tower unit.

Well if you build your own you can definitely get an IPS monitor with a considerably better specced PC, this rings true for both the £1400 and £1600 iMacs.
This is if custom building though, you probably have a point when talking about pre-built PCs with IPS monitors.

I fully support the notebooks though, they are a lot better than any Windows notebook I've used, the quality of the build especially. Plus it's hard to find Windows based notebooks with high specs and decent battery life, Apple have that covered.

 

[apeZ]

Does anyone know more about any hacks to plug a PS3 into an iMac?

This is the sort of thing you'll need

http://kanexlive.com/products/kanexXD.html

However, that won't display at the iMacs native resolution, so I don't know how good a solution it is.

Full screen HD playback of Blu-Ray DVD, Playstation 3, Xbox Elite, Direct TV, Dish Network or other components with HDMI output set at 720p. This is due to limitation of the iMac 27" as a display which accepts only 1280x720(720p) or 2560x960 resolution base on the display EDID. If when the iMac 27" accepts a 1920x1080(1080p) resolution the Kanex XD will be able to output at 1080p.

Based on the EDID of the 27-inch Apple LED Cinema Display, the 27-inch display will only accept two input resolutions of 2560 x 1440 @ 60Hz (native resolution) or 1280 x 720. HDMI can not render at 2560 x 1440 so it can only support 1280 x 720.

Playback not possible on Apple LED Cinema 24" because this display only accepts 1920x1200 resolution and PS3, Xbox 360, Blu-Ray does not have a matching resolution at 1920x1080. However depending on your PC DVI/HDMI video signal, it will work because it has more resolution to select from to match.

Edit: You could always get a MBP and a decent monitor (not Apple) for a similar price to the base 27" iMac. That way, you have portability as well as a good monitor to watch dvds/do work/use PS3 with.

Failing that, maybe Mac Mini + Monitor, but I don't know much about those...

 

[manic111]

Yup, I'm thinking of picking up an MBP and decent monitor...pretty much where I stand at the moment! Will need some thinking time though, it's a reasonable sum of money!