Although Cyberpunk 2077 remains one of the most demanding games, recent tests reveal that Apple’s M5 can deliver surprising results. In a benchmark by the YouTube channel The Tech Chap, the new M5 MacBook Pro showed performance gains of up to 290% compared with the M4 model when ray tracing was enabled.
The comparison wasn’t entirely even. The test paired an M5 MacBook Pro with an M4 MacBook Air, the latter lacking active cooling.
Despite strong performance in everyday tasks, the M4 MacBook Air quickly encounters thermal throttling — lowered CPU and GPU clock speeds to avoid overheating. The M5 MacBook Pro, by contrast, features a fan and an improved cooling system that lets it sustain peak performance for longer.
Cyberpunk 2077 performance comparison:
| Mode | M5 MacBook Pro | M4 MacBook Air | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| With ray tracing enabled | 58 FPS | 20 FPS | +290% |
| Without ray tracing | 75 FPS | 48 FPS | +56.25% |
Although the lead is largely explained by cooling differences, the results indicate the M5 delivers a meaningful boost in power — especially in graphically intensive titles.
In Cyberpunk 2077 the new MacBook Pro consistently holds around 60 frames per second with ray tracing enabled — a level that, until about a year ago, seemed out of reach on macOS.
Source: iXBT.games