gamesmacbook promacossoftware-recommendation
Is there any version of the game Civilization that will run reasonably well on a mid-2011 13" MacBook Air (1.7 gHz core i5; 4GB RAM) that shipped with Lion but now runs Mountain Lion?
PowerPC software won't run on Lion or Mountain Lion, and the graphics performance might preclude the latest releases, but is there any version modern enough to work with Lion/Mountain Lion but old enough that the graphics on an MBA will handle it?
The Macbook Pro 13'' uses integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics. But Intel HD 3000 graphics are used in different processors. The performance varies depending on whether it's a mobile or desktop CPU. You need to read benchmarks with caution:
On notebookcheck.net I've looked up some statistics. They keep benchmarks on how different games perform. I find these real world tests quite useful.
If you follow the link, you can click on the single fps results to see each system configuration.
You should have a minimum of 24-30 fps to enjoy playing. Considering this, I'll say that playing those games on a MBP 13'' of 2011 will possibly work, but not result in the maximum fun :).
As far as I know there is no way to dual-boot any Mac with Bootcamp and Windows XP. It is simply not supported. Bootcamp under Lion and Mountain Lion should be able to support Windows 7 or Windows 8; can't you use one of them to run your Windows software instead of Windows XP?
If you cannot use Bootcamp, then you should evaluate the commercial virtualization products VMware Fusion for Mac and Parallels Desktop. Either of those can run Windows XP. Perhaps they can give you enough system speed for your gaming needs.
Best Answer
I have the same generation MBA. You don't specify 11 or 13 inch, and that makes a potential considerable CPU difference, but on my 11" 1.6Ghz 4Gb RAM Air I have played Civilization V just fine. Slows down a little as the game progresses, but looks good and plays perfectly acceptably to me.