Apple’s M5 chip is making headlines with jaw-dropping gaming performance gains, particularly in Cyberpunk 2077. According to recent benchmarks, the M5 can deliver up to 290% faster frame rates than the M4 when ray tracing is enabled—a game-changing leap for Mac gaming enthusiasts.
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M5 vs M4: Cyberpunk 2077 Shows 290% Gaming Performance Leap
YouTuber The Tech Chap tested Apple’s new 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro against the M4 MacBook Air, revealing the massive performance gap. However, there’s an important caveat: the comparison pitted the fan-cooled M5 MacBook Pro against the passively-cooled M4 MacBook Air, which lacks active cooling and relies solely on a heatsink.
Performance Breakdown
| Scenario | M5 Performance | M4 Performance | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| With Ray Tracing | Higher FPS | Thermal throttling | 290% faster |
| Without Ray Tracing | 75 FPS | 48 FPS | 56.25% faster |
| Cooling System | Active fan | Passive heatsink | Major advantage |
Why Such a Massive Difference?
The M4 MacBook Air likely hit thermal limits early when running the intensive game, giving the fan-cooled M5 MacBook Pro an enormous advantage. While passive cooling works for 99% of everyday tasks, running demanding games with ray tracing isn’t one of them.
With ray tracing disabled, results become more realistic—the M5 MacBook Pro achieves 75 FPS compared to the M4’s 48 FPS, representing a 56.25% improvement.
M5 Chip: More Than Just Gaming
Beyond gaming, the M5 delivers up to 15% faster multithreaded CPU performance and 30% faster graphics performance compared to the M4. The chip also features improved memory bandwidth at 153GB/s versus M4’s 120GB/s, and a new GPU architecture with Neural Accelerators delivering over 4x peak GPU compute for AI tasks.
Should You Upgrade?
Reviews suggest the M5 MacBook Pro is excellent, but upgrading from M4 isn’t necessary. However, users still on M1, M2, or Intel machines will notice immediate differences. The M5 MacBook Pro starts at $1,584, while the M4 MacBook Pro remains available at $1,349—a solid $235 savings if gaming isn’t your priority.
For more tech insights and Apple silicon comparisons, keep following the latest benchmarks as they emerge.
FAQs
Is the M5 really 290% faster than M4 in gaming?
Yes, but only when comparing the fan-cooled M5 Pro against the passively-cooled M4 Air with ray tracing enabled.
Should M4 users upgrade to M5 for gaming?
No, the performance gains don’t justify upgrading from M4 unless you’re on older M1/M2 hardware.