Cyberpunk 2077 performance on Apple Silicon variants demonstrates varied outcomes, spanning from roughly 13 to 105 frames per second at a resolution of 1080p, contingent upon the specific Mac device and game parameters used.
YouTube creator Andrew Tsai has conducted a series of tests to determine the performance of Cyberpunk 2077 on various Apple Silicon Macs. The tested devices included an M4 MacBook Pro, an M3 Max MacBook Pro, an M1 Max MacBook Pro, and an M1 MacBook Air.
Recommended Specifications
According to CD Projekt Red, the game's recommended specifications for smooth 1080p 60 FPS gameplay are an M3 Pro chip with 18GB of unified memory [2][3].
Performance Summary
Andrew Tsai's tests revealed some interesting findings. The M3 Max MacBook Pro delivered the best performance, achieving around 78 FPS at 1080p High Settings without MetalFX and up to 104 FPS with quality MetalFX [3][4]. The M1 Max MacBook Pro offered reasonable performance with approximately 51.87 FPS at 1080p High Settings [3][4].
The M4 MacBook Pro, while capable of running the game, did not perform ideally for smooth gameplay, delivering an average of 26.22 FPS without upscaling and up to 38.98 FPS with upscaling enabled [3][4]. The M1 MacBook Air, unfortunately, was not recommended due to its hardware limitations, achieving only 12.76 FPS with MetalFX enabled [3][4].
Comparing Native and CrossOver Performance
Interestingly, when running Cyberpunk 2077 natively on the M4 MacBook Pro, it performed better than the same device running the game through the CrossOver compatibility layer. The FPS numbers for the M4 MacBook Pro running through CrossOver may improve as the game is optimized further for Apple Silicon [5].
Availability and Installation
Cyberpunk 2077 was initially expected to arrive on macOS in early 2025, but it landed on July 17, 2022 [1]. Users who previously bought the game on Steam were able to install it directly on their Apple computers at no additional cost.
In conclusion, for a smooth 1080p 60 FPS experience, the M3 Pro with sufficient memory is recommended, while the M3 Max provides superior performance. The M1 Max offers playable but less optimal results. The first-generation M1 MacBook Air is not recommended for playing Cyberpunk 2077 due to its hardware limitations.
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The M3 Pro chip with 18GB of unified memory is the recommended setup for a smooth 1080p 60 FPS experience when playing Cyberpunk 2077, as suggested by CD Projekt Red. In terms of smartphones and other gadgets, considering the performance of the game on various Apple Silicon Macs, one might infer that future high-performance smartphones and advanced devices with chipsets comparable to the M3 Pro or M3 Max might offer a similar level of smoothness in playing graphically demanding games.
Furthermore, while the M1 MacBook Air initially was not expected to be suitable for playing Cyberpunk 2077, given its hardware limitations, the advancement of technology and potential future upgrades could make it a viable option for such games in the future.
