How To Minimize A Steam Game On Mac

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For years now, one of the aspects where PC users always were ahead of those of us with Macs was gaming. Franchises that many players around the world enjoyed on their gaming consoles were usually available only on PC, with Mac gamers left behind.

Nowadays though, thanks to Steam on OS X, Mac users can enjoy a lot more variety of choice when it comes to game releases. And even while the Mac Steam library is not as big as the one for PC, being able to access Steam on your Mac opens up a ton of possibilities.

So if you have ever wanted to give Steam a try on your Mac, read along.

What is Steam?

Long story short: Think of Steam as an independent App Store (requires a free account) but exclusively for games. The application helps users download and install their games on their computers, as well as offering a multiplayer and a social networking platform for players to interact.

Are You Ready?

The very basics you need to start gaming on Steam is to create a free account and download their native app.

There are some basic system requirements for running the Steam app, but you should be ok unless you have a very old Mac model.

Important Note: Note that the system requirements for running the Steam app are completely different than the ones for running games. So make sure to check the requirements for each game before jumping in.

Once you have the app on your Mac, open it to browse the different games available.

One of the great things about Steam is that it provides demos of most games for you to try before buying. Additionally, Steam is known for its constant sales, allowing you to get some great releases usually at lower prices than on consoles.

Once you find a game you are interested in on the Mac section of Steam (not all games are available on Mac sadly), make sure to check its minimum system requirements at the bottom of the game’s page of before downloading it.

Cool Tip: If you like to hunt for game sales on Steam, then you can check IsThereAnyDeal and CheapShark, two sites that constantly monitor and showcase the latest Steam sales and deals.

Perfect Control

One of the best aspects of using Steam to play on your Mac is that it allows you to use game controllers. And the good news is that if you have a game console, its controller will likely work with Steam.

For example, if you have a PS3 or PS4 controller, you can easily use those to play Steam games, which makes the experience a lot better than merely using your keyboard.

In the case of a PS3 controller, all you need to do is start Steam and then press and hold the PS3 controller’s PS button. After a while Steam will take over and the app will become full screen and take you its controller interface.

There you will be able to use your controller to navigate around all of Steam, including the shop and other media options.

And of course, you will be able to play games with the controller as well.

And there you go. If you never tried Steam and are into gaming, then use this guide and give the platform a try. It is a great way to play games on your Mac.

The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Also See#games

Did You Know

Houseparty was founded in 2012 and launched in 2016.

Top 4 Fixes for Activity Monitor Not Showing Columns on Mac

There have been a lot of reports on the internet from many users out there regarding Steam Games Lagging and the problems have been on an increasing trend with no solution in sight.

There are a few solutions and tweaks that could improve your situation. It must be kept in mind that these issues can be minimized only to a certain extent and you will not be able to fix Steam Games Lagging completely without a professional solution.

Fixing Lag In Steam Games

The cause of this problem might not be what you think it is. While you might be experiencing lag only in Steam Games, the problem might be because your system is not able to handle the game. The best way to verify this would be to check the official documentation for your game for the recommended system requirements.

It must be noted that while the official documentation of any game mentions the recommended system requirements, you should make sure that you aim for a build that is better than the specifications mentioned because developers usually understate a game’s requirement to attract more customers. This is also true because not everyone is on the latest available hardware out there.

Background Programs

You should also disable or uninstall any background programs that could be hogging your network resources when you are playing online. A few standard programs that fall under this category are as follows:

Internet Connection Optimizers
VPN or Proxy Services
Killer NIC Service
Quality of Service (QoS) configuration on your router
Download Managers

Note: The above list is not exhaustive and there might be other factors that make lag unavoidable in your situation.

A Good Internet Connection

A speedy and reliable internet connection is one of the very basic requirements for playing games online, and this is why it is crucial to have an internet connection that supports your gaming needs. If you have thought that your current 1MBPS or 2MBPS connection will allow you to fix Lag in Steam games, you are completely mistaken.

You must have an internet connection of 6MBPS or above if you want to avoid lag and other related problems in Steam but the problem is that even with a good internet connection, there is a big chance that you might not be able to solve this issue. This is because of configuration problems on your ISP’s end.

However, there are a few tweaks and fixes that you can try in this area:

Use a wired internet connection instead of a wireless one and use a reliable CAT6 LAN cable when connecting your computer to the router
Disable or uninstall any unrelated programs in the background including Download Managers, Antivirus, Automatic Updates and others
Switch to a different ISP in your area or try upgrading your internet connection.

Use A Gaming VPN

Since there are a lot of reports from players out there regarding lag in Steam games, we at Kill Ping have come up with an ultimate solution to fix this problem for good. Since most of the times these problems are unavoidable due to configuration issues on your ISP’s end, Kill Ping offers you a complete and permanent solution to this problem. Here are a few highlights for Kill Ping:

Optimized Servers For Gamers
Tier-1 Gaming Servers For Overwatch, Dota 2, League of Legends and others
Support for 100+ MOBA & MMORPG games
Ability to Add Your Favorite Games
All Servers Accessible In A Single Subscription
Recommendations For Servers based on Your Location
24/7 Live Support

Kill Ping has helped a lot of users reduce their Steam games lag, and those users who have been fed up of ISP throttling or limitations have also achieved peace with a Kill Ping subscription. What is more is that you will be able to play with your friends who you have not been able to play before due to high ping and distance issues thanks to Kill Ping’s network of dedicated servers.

Mac Games On Steam

The best part is that you can try Kill Ping and if you are not satisfied with the product, you can use our 15-day money back guarantee to get a refund for your purchase, no questions asked!

Hardware Drivers And Upgrades

You should check that your computer has the latest available drivers for your hardware. This is often overlooked and is one of the major reasons why you could be experiencing Steam Games Lagging. You should upgrade your device drivers to the latest available versions from your manufacturer.

Another overlooked factor in this area is the official system requirement for any game. You must make sure that you meet the recommended system requirements for any game and if you are upgrading your computer, I suggest that you select your computer parts which are superior to the official requirements.

The reason behind this is that developers often release unrealistic and low system requirements to attract more players to their game.