Hi there,
I have a 2015 macbook pro running on High Sierra with the following specs:
2.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
8 GB 1867 MHz DDR3
Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB
Is this the minimum I need to start using UE4 for game dev or do I need to invest in a desktop?
**A friend recommended this to me **
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/guide/gtYcCJ/modest-amd-gaming-build
That laptop is a on the low-end, the processor wasn’t great when it came out and the RAM is slow and it’d be much better if you had 16GB. Also, most laptops (like that one) use an integrated GPU rather than a separate dedicated GPU, it’s designed to do only the most basic graphics work since most people don’t need much graphics power.
So, if you want to develop with UE4 it would be better to get that desktop. Though I’d recommend changing the 240GB SSD to a 512GB SSD
If you really want a laptop, you’d be looking at something that would cost around $2,000 for games development
i say give it a shot and see if it works. typically its not the ram or cpu you have to worry much about now as much as it is the gpu. with intel graphics you might run out of vram and it has to virtually swap ssd or hdd as vram page filing type system in windows or linux. another thing to note is the shader model, you should take a look at ue4 requirements and see what shader model it requires as this will determine if you can even boot unreal engine up or not. dont expect fast speeds especially if you’re designing huge open worlds. honestly you should take a look at the older UDK unless you really like ue4’s eye candy effects like volumetric lighting and advanced lighting techniques over UDK’s older lighting model. i say i say just download it and give it a shot! one more thing to note a SSD really helps and you will be waiting about 1 hour to build the shaders allowing you to use your map or a example map with that cpu model.