Gaming on Apple Silicon
GPU TFLOPS and memory bandwidth are the two numbers that matter most for gaming on Apple Silicon. Ray tracing arrived with M3 and improves each generation. More GPU cores push higher frame rates at higher resolutions, while memory bandwidth determines how fast textures and assets stream in.
Laptops
The M5 Max 40-core GPU tops the laptop lineup at 20.5 TFLOPS and 614 GB/s bandwidth—ideal for AAA titles at native resolution. The M5 Pro is a solid mid-range pick for 1080p–1440p gaming. The base M5 and MacBook Neo's A18 Pro handle casual and older titles well, but lack the bandwidth for demanding games.
| Spec | M5 10c CPU / 10c GPU |
M5 10c CPU / 8c GPU |
A18 Pro 6c CPU / 5c GPU |
M5 Max 18c CPU / 40c GPU |
M5 Max 18c CPU / 32c GPU |
M5 Pro 18c CPU / 20c GPU |
M5 Pro 15c CPU / 16c GPU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Devices |
MacBook Air 15″ MacBook Air 13″ MacBook Pro 14″ iPad Pro 13″ iPad Pro 11″ Apple Vision Pro |
MacBook Air 13″ | MacBook Neo |
MacBook Pro 16″ MacBook Pro 14″ Mac Studio |
MacBook Pro 16″ MacBook Pro 14″ Mac Studio |
MacBook Pro 16″ MacBook Pro 14″ Mac mini |
MacBook Pro 14″ Mac mini |
| GPU cores | 10 | 8 | 5 | 40 | 32 | 20 | 16 |
| Execution Units | 160 | 128 | – | 640 | 512 | 320 | 256 |
| TFLOPS | 5.13 | 4.11 | – | 20.53 | 16.42 | 10.27 | 8.21 |
| Ray Tracing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CPU Cores | 10 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 15 |
| Super Cores | 4 | 4 | – | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Performance Cores | – | – | 2 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
| Efficiency Cores | 6 | 6 | 4 | – | – | – | – |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 153.6 | 153.6 | 60 | 614 | 460 | 307 | 307 |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X-9600 | LPDDR5X-9600 | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5X-9600 | LPDDR5X-9600 | LPDDR5X-9600 | LPDDR5X-9600 |
| Memory options (GB) |
16 24 32 |
16 24 32 |
8 |
48 64 128 |
36 |
24 48 64 |
24 48 64 |
Desktops
Desktop Macs range from the M6's 12-core GPU in the Mac mini and the M4's 10-core GPU in the iMac up to the M5 Ultra's 80-core GPU in the Mac Studio. The M5 Max is the sweet spot for serious gaming — its 40-core GPU reaches 20.5 TFLOPS on 614 GB/s of bandwidth, while the M5 Ultra doubles both.
| Spec | M4 10c CPU / 10c GPU |
M4 8c CPU / 8c GPU |
M6 12c CPU / 12c GPU |
M5 Pro 18c CPU / 20c GPU |
M5 Pro 15c CPU / 16c GPU |
M5 Ultra 36c CPU / 80c GPU |
M5 Ultra 30c CPU / 64c GPU |
M5 Max 18c CPU / 40c GPU |
M5 Max 18c CPU / 32c GPU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Devices | iMac | iMac | Mac mini |
MacBook Pro 16″ MacBook Pro 14″ Mac mini |
MacBook Pro 14″ Mac mini |
Mac Studio | Mac Studio |
MacBook Pro 16″ MacBook Pro 14″ Mac Studio |
MacBook Pro 16″ MacBook Pro 14″ Mac Studio |
| GPU cores | 10 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 16 | 80 | 64 | 40 | 32 |
| Execution Units | 160 | 128 | 192 | 320 | 256 | 1280 | 1024 | 640 | 512 |
| TFLOPS | 4.26 | 3.41 | – | 10.27 | 8.21 | 41.06 | 32.85 | 20.53 | 16.42 |
| Ray Tracing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CPU Cores | 10 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 15 | 36 | 30 | 18 | 18 |
| Super Cores | – | – | 2 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 6 |
| Performance Cores | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 24 | 20 | 12 | 12 |
| Efficiency Cores | 6 | 4 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 120 | 120 | 170.7 | 307 | 307 | 1228.8 | 1228.8 | 614 | 460 |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X-7500 | LPDDR5X-7500 | LPDDR5X-10667 | LPDDR5X-9600 | LPDDR5X-9600 | LPDDR5X-9600 | LPDDR5X-9600 | LPDDR5X-9600 | LPDDR5X-9600 |
| Memory options (GB) |
8 16 24 32 |
8 16 24 32 |
16 24 32 |
24 48 64 |
24 48 64 |
96 256 512 |
96 256 |
48 64 128 |
36 |