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How Cyberpunk 2077 Graphics Settings Affect FPS on Apple Silicon

Resolution is the clearest FPS trade-off in Cyberpunk 2077 on Mac. Learn what the For this Mac preset, MetalFX, DRS, and ray tracing mean for Apple silicon.
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On Apple silicon, the biggest graphics-setting trade-off is resolution: higher output resolution can significantly reduce frame rate. Start with Cyberpunk 2077’s For this Mac preset, which selects settings and a resolution for the detected Mac, then adjust one option at a time if performance or image quality is not right for you. CD PROJEKT RED’s published FPS figures are targets for specified configurations, not guarantees for every scene.

What FPS should you expect from your Mac?

CD PROJEKT RED publishes target configurations for the Mac edition. The targets below are recommendations from the developer, not independently measured results or promises that the game will hold the stated frame rate in every scene.

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Developer tier Example hardware and memory Target resolution FPS target
Minimum M1, 16 GB RAM 1440×900 or 1600×900 30 FPS
Recommended M3 Pro, 18 GB RAM 1800×1125 or 1920×1080 60 FPS
High Fidelity M2 Max or M3 Max, 32 GB RAM 1800×1125 or 1920×1080 60 FPS
Very High Fidelity M3 Ultra or M4 Max, 36 GB RAM 2294×1432 or 2560×1440 60 FPS

These configurations and targets are from CD PROJEKT RED’s Mac system requirements. The same page specifies macOS 15.5 or later and SSD storage. Actual FPS can vary with Mac configuration, scene, output resolution, and settings.

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Which settings affect FPS most?

Resolution

Resolution is a direct performance trade-off: the game has more pixels to render at higher output resolutions. CD PROJEKT RED warns that “Using a higher resolution will significantly affect FPS” and recommends the resolution selected by For this Mac, including when using an external display. If you want more performance, try a lower output resolution, but there is no universal FPS gain; the result depends on your Mac and display. Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

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MetalFX upscaling and Dynamic Resolution Scaling

MetalFX upscaling renders the game at a lower internal resolution and reconstructs the image at the chosen output resolution. Dynamic Resolution Scaling (DRS) adjusts rendering resolution under load to help maintain performance. Apple’s technical session on the Mac port describes how these tools gave the game more headroom in demanding scenes and helped stabilize performance. They balance image quality and performance; the available sources do not establish one FPS uplift that applies to every Mac or setting. Apple’s WWDC technical session.

Ray tracing

Ray tracing is off by default in For this Mac, including on capable systems. Enable it manually in the Ray Tracing settings or choose a ray-tracing preset. CD PROJEKT RED lists M3 or newer and at least 16 GB RAM as the requirement for ray tracing to be available. Its published Ray Tracing Medium targets are 30 FPS on an M3 Pro with 18 GB RAM and 60 FPS on an M3 Max with 36 GB RAM, at 1800×1125 or 1920×1080 with MetalFX DRS enabled manually. These are developer targets, not measured guarantees. CD PROJEKT RED’s Mac announcement and configuration details.

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Overall preset and demanding scenes

For this Mac chooses graphics options and a resolution based on the detected device, assigning higher settings to more powerful hardware. As one example, CD PROJEKT RED lists an M2 Max Mac Studio at High graphics, 1920×1080 using MetalFX DRS, with a 60 FPS target. Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

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Performance can feel different in a quiet area than amid crowds, reflections, dense traffic, or combat. Apple’s account of the port describes the team evaluating demanding CPU- and GPU-heavy situations such as these; it is not a universal benchmark for every Mac. Apple Developer.

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What settings should you use?

  1. Begin with For this Mac. Let the game select a device-based graphics preset and resolution rather than assuming the highest available setting is best for your hardware.
  2. Check performance in a demanding situation. Use a repeatable gameplay scene with activity such as crowds, driving, or combat; a quiet scene may not reveal dips under load.
  3. If performance is short of your goal, lower output resolution first. Resolution has a direct effect on rendering work, and the developer cautions that higher resolution significantly affects FPS.
  4. Keep MetalFX and DRS in the balance. The game uses these techniques to trade some internal rendering resolution for performance while targeting the selected output. The preset’s target frame rate and resolution bounds are device-based.
  5. Change one variable at a time. If you are comparing resolution, MetalFX/DRS, or ray tracing, keep the scene and other options as consistent as possible. This suggested self-test helps identify what matters on your Mac; it is not a published benchmark method or a guaranteed result.
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How to interpret FPS claims

CD PROJEKT RED’s configuration table is useful for choosing a starting point by hardware tier, but it does not isolate the FPS effect of every individual graphics toggle. Tom’s Guide has reported benchmark testing across a sample of Macs and noted that its coverage was not exhaustive; those results describe that publication’s tested machines rather than universal Apple silicon performance. Tom’s Guide’s Mac testing.

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