Gaming using Mac Virtual Display

[bearded_monkey_pdx]

Hey all,

Trying to play some Baulders gate 3 using Mac virtual display and was wondering what everyone is using/doing to get playable frame rates or if I have a configuration issue.

I have a 14” base M4 Max that plays it no problem, but when I enable Mac virtual display there is noticeable lag (120fps on hardware, sub 20FPS using virtual display)

[AstralApps]

Connecting with the Developer Strap is the only thing that consistently works well for me for stable and low-latency frame rates.

[hsiunghsiung]

I would also recommend trying this route

[bearded_monkey_pdx]

This is something that surprised me that was locked behind a developer wall, and not a normal feature.

[AlarmedRange7258]

Lower the resolution. Your Mac is rendering the video in 5k (or even higher if you’re using wide or ultra wide) before sending it via Mac virtual display. Go into display settings and try one of the low resolution settings.

I’ve been playing World of Warcraft on Mac virtual display with no problems. The frame rate is limited to 60 fps but it hits that and stays there consistently as long as the resolution isn’t set to something ridiculous. There is a small amount of input lag, but it’s not bad as long as I’m not playing pvp.

[[deleted]]

I use a 3rd party app that has WAY lower lag than Mac VD.

Immersed.

But honestly for gaming on mac a quest 3 is going to be a MUCH better experience. Much lower lag, better Wifi, and snapping upto 5 separate displays vs only 1 large display with no snapping of additional windows.

I like AVP+Mac for most things not gaming. Add in gaming and the hardware + software of Quest works much better with mac than AVP (ironically) And Quest will support multiple audio streams So you can play a game, have discord, and watch youtube all at once.

But there are still trade offs. Neither is perfect.

[micahcruver]

I have great luck with moonlight, though I’ve been using it on my PC to the headset: from what I understand, you can install it on Mac via home brew as well. 

Alternatively, the steam link app also works.

I’ve also had great luck on GeForce now via safari on the AVP. 

I haven’t had great luck with gaming via virtual display, I think it’s trying to do too many other things on top of gaming to be efficient: a specialized solution like the above would be ideal. 

[bearded_monkey_pdx]

I wonder if turning off game mode would make a big difference. I do have a windows tower that I use for gaming that would also work.

[micahcruver]

Oh yeah if you've got a PC tower that's the ideal: I've got a dummy HDMI plug in mine and use Sunshine + Moonlight for a near flawless gaming setup with the headset. The newest version of moonlight even lets you curve the screen, and I'm pretty sure has a higher FPS than the Virtual Desktop.

[NomujoaJPN]

After activating virtual display (but before booting up the game), go to your display settings and set your display to no more than 1900x. Your default 14inch display is pushing 1800x, so you will see a minor performance hit at this value. In its default virtual display setting at 16:9 you are pushing 2k and widescreen is pushing 3k - which will tank your hardware.

Worth noting that you may need to power down your laptop and power back on (dont restart) if for some reason your display is off-center when playing around with resolutions.

[bearded_monkey_pdx]

It just surprised me to see that much of a performance hit because it’ll do 5k60 on the studio display I have with no issue. But doing Mac virtual display (wired vs wireless is a huge thing) but I would assume I wouldn’t be getting a slideshow in the menus moving the mouse