Massive list of games benchmarked on M1 Mac mini w/ 8gb ram. Screens and settings included

[KiPhish]

After much internal debate, I settled with the Mac mini w/ 8 gb ram for family use. They're not gamers, so 16 gb would be overkill. They will use final cut from time to time, but 8gb is still adequate for their use case. Anyway for the gamers out there, I will post real world performance below.

Crossposted on /r macgaming

https://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/jw3e1c

 

[KiPhish]

Finished for tonight. More to follow tomorrow

 

[Jarrodbcall]

Thanks for posting! I’ve been curious about game performance. I’d love to hear how heroes of the storm runs if you get to it

 

[palebluedot]

Is the FPS so poor because of Rosetta or because this isn’t a real gaming machine (no dedicated GPU, etc)?

 

[phobos]

Is the FPS so poor because of Rosetta or because this isn’t a real gaming machine (no dedicated GPU, etc)?

I'm guessing a mix of the two

 

[Spindel]

Just a comment regarding Civ6.

At least to me FPS doesn’t matter in this game, who cares if it’s a bit choppy when paning he map. It’s more interesting to know late game round times on huge maps with lots of civs and CSs.

 

[lezmace]

Are there any perfomance differences between mac mini/ MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in longer gaming sessions (>1 hour)?

 

[leman]

Is the FPS so poor because of Rosetta or because this isn’t a real gaming machine (no dedicated GPU, etc)?

The FPS is not poor at all considering this is entry level graphics. The competitors are other integrated GPUs such as Intel Xe, AMD Vega mobile and entry-level dGPUs such as 450MX

 

[Cassandle]

What monitor were you using?

 

[adam_cy]

Are there any perfomance differences between mac mini/ MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in longer gaming sessions (>1 hour)?

That's a good q because most of the games pictured are games that you'll obviously spend more than an hour on lol. I'd also love to see this comparison

 

[kylejc86]

Have you been able to get a controller working in steam? I can't get my xbox one controller to connect as it fails to install the controller drivers.

 

[KiPhish]

Thanks for posting! I’ve been curious about game performance. I’d love to hear how heroes of the storm runs if you get to it

I'll try to get to it today or tomorrow!

Is the FPS so poor because of Rosetta or because this isn’t a real gaming machine (no dedicated GPU, etc)?

For an integrated, efficient chip I consider the performance phenomenal. But for general comparison against gaming PC's, yes it's due to a weaker GPU. Rosetta is also a factor. The native games were running on a different level.

Are there any perfomance differences between mac mini/ MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in longer gaming sessions (>1 hour)?

I don't have a MacBook Pro M1 yet - it will be arriving next week with the 16 gb flavor. I intend to do comparison benches on it. From what I saw somewhere, The air is indeed a tad bit slower than the mini by a couple frames. Having said that, I have yet to hear what my fan sounds like.

What monitor were you using?

I bought the LG 38WK95C-W 38" curved in early 2019. I'm a heavy Think or Swim user and need as much screen estate as possible (in terms of resolution and physical dimension). The super ultra wide and normal ultra wide monitors were not ideal for me due to their 1440p max. So I chose 1600p with a few more inches for an additional premium. Hurt my wallet at the time, but I consider it one of my better investments.

That's a good q because most of the games pictured are games that you'll obviously spend more than an hour on lol. I'd also love to see this comparison

I will be posting comparison benches next week!

Have you been able to get a controller working in steam? I can't get my xbox one controller to connect as it fails to install the controller drivers.

I haven't tested it yet, but I intend to next week.

​

 

[Jarrodbcall]

I'll try to get to it today or tomorrow!

For an integrated, efficient chip I consider the performance phenomenal. But for general comparison against gaming PC's, yes it's due to a weaker GPU. Rosetta is also a factor. The native games were running on a different level.

I don't have a MacBook Pro M1 yet - it will be arriving next week with the 16 gb flavor. I intend to do comparison benches on it. From what I saw somewhere, The air is indeed a tad bit slower than the mini by a couple frames. Having said that, I have yet to hear what my fan sounds like.

I bought the LG 38WK95C-W 38" curved in early 2019. I'm a heavy Think or Swim user and need as much screen estate as possible (in terms of resolution and physical dimension). The super ultra wide and normal ultra wide monitors were not ideal for me due to their 1440p max. So I chose 1600p with a few more inches for an additional premium. Hurt my wallet at the time, but I consider it one of my better investments.

I will be posting comparison benches next week!

I haven't tested it yet, but I intend to next week.

​

Thanks! And no worries if you have other things to do/don’t want to overwhelm your ISP

 

[KiPhish]

Night 2 finished! More updates posted