The launch of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition for Mac has introduced a new challenge for performance enthusiasts, particularly with its intensive graphics requirements. When you add ray tracing or path tracing into the mix, the demands soar even higher. Fortunately, Apple’s M3 Ultra with its 80-core GPU has been put to the test, showing remarkable capabilities when handling these features. This setup delivers impressive results, especially with path tracing enabled and graphics settings cranked up to their highest levels.
Thanks to AMD’s Frame Generation technology, the M3 Ultra manages to hold an average of 50 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition. Max Weinbach recently showcased his M3 Ultra-powered Mac running the game at a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440, with Apple’s MetalFX set to ‘Auto.’ The results were impressive, sporting an average frame rate of 50.64 FPS and peaking at 59.99 FPS despite the intensive path tracing.
This performance, however, reveals why CD PROJEKT RED chose not to enable ray tracing or path tracing by default on Apple Silicon Macs, as it would substantially impact performance. The M3 Ultra, while potent, owes its success in this test to AMD’s FSR 3.1 Frame Generation. Without this feature, the game might operate at significantly lower frame rates, possibly around half of the current performance.
Achieving such performance settings on a Mac with Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition does come at a high cost. The base M3 Ultra configuration, featuring a 32-core CPU, 60-core GPU, and 96GB of unified RAM, is priced at $3,999 in the U.S. Despite the hefty price tag, these results underscore the impressive strides Apple Silicon continues to make in the gaming landscape. However, there’s a need for Apple to consider reducing the costs of these powerful chipsets to make them more accessible to a broader audience.
