The Apple Mac Studio powered by the M5 Max chip can run demanding modern games at 4K resolution using native ports and translation layers. Testing conducted by tech creator Andrew Tsai shows the $2499 desktop delivering playable frame rates across 17 titles when utilizing MetalFX upscaling and frame generation. Mac hardware still trails dedicated Windows gaming rigs in raw performance per dollar, but these results demonstrate significant progress for Apple Silicon in gaming workloads.
Testing focused on the base configuration of the Mac Studio equipped with the M5 Max processor, featuring 18 CPU cores, 32 GPU cores, and 36GB of unified memory with a 512GB solid state drive. The benchmark evaluation covered 17 separate titles, examining performance across native macOS builds as well as Windows games running through the CrossOver translation environment.
Modern titles showed stable performance when paired with Apple MetalFX upscaling technology:
- Crimson Desert: 60 fps at high settings using 1440p upscaled to 4K with frame generation enabled.
- Cyberpunk 2077: Over 40 fps at high settings when upscaling from 1440p to 4K, increasing to 60 fps when scaling from 1080p.
- Baldur's Gate 3: 50 to 60 fps at native 4K on ultra settings throughout demanding Act 3 locations.
- Total War: Attila: 50 fps at extreme settings in 4K.
- No Man's Sky: 40 fps at native 4K on ultra settings.
- Wuthering Waves: Over 100 fps at maximum settings in 4K.
- Genshin Impact: 60 fps at native 4K.
Running non-native Windows games through CrossOver also produced solid results in several major releases:
- GTA V Enhanced: 60 fps at very high settings in native 4K.
- Horizon Forbidden West: 60 fps at medium settings using MetalFX upscaling from 1080p to 4K.
- Gears of War E-Day: 60 to 70 fps during story campaign sequences at medium settings, upscaled from 720p to 4K.
- Resident Evil Village: 45 to 60 fps at high settings depending on scene complexity.
Despite these gains, gaming on macOS continues to face hurdles outside pure graphical power. Incompatible kernel-level anti-cheat systems and inconsistent third-party port optimization remain the primary barriers preventing Mac hardware from fully competing with Windows gaming setups.
