If Cyberpunk 2077 stutters or runs below your target frame rate on a Mac, first check that your Mac meets CD PROJEKT RED’s requirements, then start with the game’s “For This Mac” graphics preset. If performance is still poor, reduce output resolution and use MetalFX Dynamic Resolution Scaling where available; leave ray tracing off while troubleshooting. Update macOS and the game, restart, and close nonessential apps before considering a reinstall.
Check that your Mac meets the game’s requirements
Open Apple menu → About This Mac and note your chip, memory, and macOS version. CD PROJEKT RED’s Mac requirements specify macOS 15.5 or later, an SSD installation, and different hardware targets for different frame rates and visual settings. Its published targets are configurations, not a guarantee that every scene will hold a particular frame rate.
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| Published tier | Mac configuration | Target and resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | M1, 16 GB memory | 30 FPS; maximum listed resolution 1440×900 |
| Recommended | M3 Pro, 18 GB memory | 60 FPS; maximum listed resolution 1800×1125 |
| High fidelity | M2 Max or M3 Max, 32 GB memory | See CD PROJEKT RED’s current requirements page for the tier’s listed resolution and target. |
| Very high fidelity | M3 Ultra or M4 Max, 36 GB memory | See CD PROJEKT RED’s current requirements page for the tier’s listed resolution and target. |
These are the standard published tiers; ray tracing has separate requirements and targets. The listed resolution is the maximum for the corresponding target, not a minimum needed to launch the game. The developer requires installation on an SSD; HDDs are unsupported. Storage space also depends on storefront: the requirements page lists 92 GB for GOG, Epic, and Steam downloads, and 159 GB for App Store downloads, plus additional temporary installation space. Check the current figures on the Mac system requirements page.
Start with “For This Mac” and identify when the slowdown happens
In the game’s graphics settings, select “For This Mac” to establish a device-aware baseline. It is not a universal maximum-quality profile: the game selects settings and resolution for the hardware. Apple’s WWDC26 presentation says the preset configures target FPS, MetalFX Dynamic Resolution Scaling boundaries, V-Sync, and HDR for each device.
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Test a repeatable demanding stretch, such as driving through a crowded area, and compare it with a quieter location. Note the displayed FPS and whether the hitching happens constantly or mainly during traversal, combat, or dense scenes. Crowds, traffic, AI, physics, animation, quests, and interactions can load the CPU; lighting, reflections, volumetrics, and ray tracing add graphics work. That is why performance can fall in busy scenes even if a quieter area appears smooth. Apple describes dense crowds, driving through dense areas, combat, and screen-space reflections among the heavy CPU/GPU scenarios considered during development.
For a useful diagnosis, write down your Mac chip and memory, macOS and game versions, storefront, display resolution, ray-tracing status, and the situations that trigger stutter. Those details help distinguish a hardware or pixel-load limit from a problem that appears only in particular scenes.
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Reduce resolution before lowering every graphics setting
If FPS remains below your goal, lower the game’s output resolution, especially if you are playing on a high-resolution external display. CD PROJEKT RED notes that 5120×2880 contains about four times as many pixels as 2560×1440. That does not mean frame rate will be exactly four times lower, but processing the larger image requires substantially more work.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsKeep MetalFX Dynamic Resolution Scaling enabled if it is available. It renders frames at a lower internal resolution and upscales them to the output, trading some image detail for performance headroom. Resolution and scaling options can vary with the Mac and settings. The developer explains the resolution trade-off in its guide to how resolution affects performance.
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- BUCKLE UP — Along with a next-generation CPU, faster unified memory, and up to 2x faster SSD storage,* M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a more powerful GPU with a Neural Accelerator built into each core, delivering faster AI performance and on-device training capabilities. So you can blaze through demanding workloads at mind-bending speeds.
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Keep ray tracing off while diagnosing low FPS
The “For This Mac” preset does not enable ray tracing by default, even on hardware that supports it. Leave it off to establish baseline performance. If you want to try it afterward, CD PROJEKT RED says Mac ray tracing requires an M3 or newer chip and at least 16 GB of memory; enable it manually under Settings → Graphics.
The developer’s examples for medium ray tracing use MetalFX Dynamic Resolution Scaling enabled manually and an output of 1800×1125 or 1920×1080:
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| Ray-tracing target | Published Mac configuration |
|---|---|
| 30 FPS | M3 Pro, 18 GB memory |
| 60 FPS | M3 Max, 36 GB memory |
These are specified targets for those configurations and settings, not a promise for every scene or other Mac. Consult CD PROJEKT RED’s Ray Tracing on Mac guidance before enabling the feature.
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Update, restart, and close nonessential apps
Once you have established your graphics baseline, follow the developer’s troubleshooting order:
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- HAPPILY EVER FASTER — Along with its faster CPU and unified memory, M5 features a more powerful GPU with a Neural Accelerator built into each core, delivering faster AI performance. So you can blaze through demanding workloads at mind-bending speeds.
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- Install available macOS and game updates. Check the current version through your storefront rather than assuming a particular patch will improve frame rate.
- Restart your Mac, then launch the game without other demanding apps running.
- Quit nonessential applications, including hardware-monitoring tools, antivirus or firewall software, and overlays, as CD PROJEKT RED recommends.
- Follow Apple’s steps for when your Mac runs slowly.
- If the problem remains, reinstall the game, then contact CD PROJEKT RED support if performance issues persist.
The developer’s full Mac troubleshooting guidance covers crashes, launch failures, and performance issues.
When the remaining slowdown may be expected
If the Mac is below the published minimum, or the game only struggles at a resolution or graphics load beyond its listed tier, settings changes may not deliver the frame rate you want. Likewise, a slowdown limited to crowds, driving, or combat may reflect the extra CPU and GPU work in those scenes rather than a single broken setting. Use the requirements and repeatable scene comparison to judge whether the issue is persistent across the game or tied to a heavier workload.
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