Apple’s M5 chip may keep the same CPU and GPU core counts as the M4, but real-world gaming results show a clear leap in performance. Thanks to Apple Silicon’s efficiency and tuning, the M5 delivers stronger compute and graphics without needing extra cores—and it’s already turning heads in demanding titles. In one benchmark run of Cyberpunk 2077 with ray tracing enabled, the M5 reportedly pushed frame rates about 190 percent higher than the M4, highlighting just how much optimization and architectural improvements can matter.
That extra horsepower is especially noticeable in Where Winds Meet, the new open-world action RPG from Everstone Studio. When tested on the latest iPad Pro powered by the M5, the game held a steady 60FPS with every setting maxed out, creating a smooth, “console-like” feel that’s difficult to achieve on many mobile devices running visually intensive games.
What really separates the M5 iPad Pro from other high-end mobile hardware isn’t only the frame rate—it’s the quality level you can run while maintaining that performance. In testing shared by creator Dame Tech, the M5 iPad Pro configuration featuring a 9-core CPU and 10-core GPU sustained 60FPS with no noticeable frame drops. More importantly, the M5 iPad Pro could push the visual preset to Ultra and run at a higher resolution, while other flagship devices in the comparison—such as the iPhone 17 Pro Max with the A19 Pro and the REDMAGIC 11 Pro with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5—were capped at the “Extremely High” preset, which sits one tier below Ultra.
Gameplay footage also suggests the M5 iPad Pro maintained stronger 1% lows than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, meaning frame pacing looked more consistent during heavier moments. That’s not too surprising: a larger tablet chassis generally provides more thermal headroom, letting the chip sustain higher performance for longer without throttling, which is crucial for stable FPS in open-world games.
For anyone waiting to play Where Winds Meet on macOS, it can be run through compatibility tools like CrossOver, although a native macOS release is the better long-term option for performance and stability. And if the game already looks and runs this well on an iPad Pro, a properly optimized macOS version on an M5 MacBook Pro could be an especially impressive way to experience it.
