FG for M1 iMac

Hello all. Longtime FG user, and I have been running it from a 2017 MacBook Pro for 3 or so years. I made a career switch that reduces my need for a laptop, so I am considering switching to an M1 iMac for the extra screen real estate. Is FG still running well on M1? Has anyone used the mapmaker tools on an iMac, and do they work well?

I have always been happy with playing on my old rig (and I connect it to an old 24” monitor), but it has definitely gotten to a point of lagging noticeably when I use the image / editing tools in FG, and the fan has to run nonstop. Will going to an iMac be an upgraded play experience? Or are all Mac builds just laggy by nature?

I am running FGU on Mac Mini with M1 chip (16GB RAM, 256 GB SSD) and I have no issues with the performance or running large D&D combats with 20+ participants.
Map editing is OK, i have been working with 2K maps to put layers with walls and effects. Some lag can be observed in a very busy map with too much walls and complex geometry, but this is valid for Windows as well.

In short- it is quite OK.

FG on 8GB M1 Macs run circles around the Intel Macs with 16GB. I use a 42" Vizio TV as my monitor. I use a lot of extensions and have large combats with LOS without any problems.

I would be more concerned with an Apple Silicon Mac with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB of storage, depending on your storage needs/usage. My concern would be that it's less RAM to be shared amongst the CPU / GPU cores. A smaller amount of storage may be more likely to be filled up. With less free storage, there's less capacity to expand swap space — and it seems one is more likely to need swap with only 8 GB RAM.

Realized I should follow up on this thread. I got the M1 iMac, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The program runs well, and all this beautiful screen real estate makes the program a real joy.

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Originally Posted by CAPryde

Realized I should follow up on this thread. I got the M1 iMac, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The program runs well, and all this beautiful screen real estate makes the program a real joy.

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Thanks for the follow-up!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CAPryde

Realized I should follow up on this thread. I got the M1 iMac, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The program runs well, and all this beautiful screen real estate makes the program a real joy.

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@CAPryde, congrats! Sounds like a good upgrade. Which combination of RAM and storage did you end up getting?

Just the basic model: M1 iMac, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, currently running Ventura.

It kicks on the fan if I leave it open long enough with other programs in the background, but otherwise no hiccups (so far).