i realize that it’s easier said than done, but i think it would be much more productive to compare the generations within the same spec (8 core M1 vs 10 core M2 vs 10 core M3)
Please don't buy an air for gaming. The throtteling is real and actually really hard if it's getting hot outside. It's more than 20%. Who is playing for 50 minutes? Thats my warmup. A session lasts 4-8 hours. You need the active cooling to keep playing with okay framerates. Great machines though - i love the apple silicon design!
@@bhagbir510to even consider the base model would be irrelevant. Or even the 512gb model. The least you should consider should realistically be the 18gb 1tb model minimum
@@marthinlarsen1473 macs are so insaaaanley expensive compared to what specs you get so no way in hell im paying 3000 dollars for a macbook pro with specs my winows computer had 6-8 years ago. base model is the only option imo.
my real concern as a sim racing fan boy is that we can't have force feedback on steering wheels... and this is a pity because on m3 max performances seem good on these games
For thermals on the m1MBA, I added some thermal pads over the SOC so that the pads connect the SOC to the bottom aluminum plate. This way the heat comes right off the cpu straight to the outside of the case. Then I added a cheap laptop cooling fan pad and now I get m1 MacBook pro levels of performance
@@ShanerTheGreydon't worry, it'll only benefit your battery since batteries hate heat. Their capacity get decreased much quicker when operated on higher temperatures
@@d5dd you cannot forget the heat that will be dissipated to the whole plate, the fan will just provide air cooling, your cpu will run less hot but your backplate will still be on mid to high temps
So an air with 16 fb is the way to go. Starting from m2 and up. Got it. As some one who light games and mainly plays on the switch or phone airs are enough
I need MacBook for the kind of softwares I use my productivity work. But some steam games caught my eyes, so I maxed out my MacBook Air M3 15” with 24GB memory & 1TB SSD so I can try those games on it For serious gaming I have PS5, so I just will try those steam exclusives
For the Pro/Max chips Could you test native or Rosetta games with Low Power mode for performance and how much battery you would get (note brightness)? You can use sudo powermetrics to kinda see power usage Alternatively, you could run games at maybe Medium ~800p with a frame cap of 60 (or Vsync, but it would go to 120Hz on non 13" MBPs unless you adjust it down)?] Or preferably both at the same time And then maybe battery life tests at varying brightness, maybe also using Vivid/Lunar...
First of all, thank you for the informative video. I think the price difference between a MacBook Air 15 M2 and a 15 M3 is too small for me, because when I consider the performance of a 15 M3 with a 10-core GPU, I am on the right side for my games WOW and No Man’s Sky.
You should either compare the binned versions: M1 7c GPU, M2 8c GPU and M3 8c GPU or unbinned: 8c vs 10c vs 10c. Your comparison does not make any sense on that point.
I think a great and extremely helpful video would be any tips or tricks to get the most out of a MacBook Air Base M2/M3. Personally I have a large thermal pad conducting heat to the bottom shell and then also a dual GPU fan hooked up to a heatsink and mine sits on that. With that setup I've NEVER had any thermal throttling at all, even with Cinebench after 10+ runs
Es literal el futuro del gaming, siempre me gusto ver el potencial de los procesadores ARM, desde hace unos meses me emociona ver como fueron mejorando estos "emuladores" tanto en android como en las MacBooks, es increíble
You should have compared the m2 with 8 core gpu because the other have the same cores but you did it with the m2 with 10 core gpu so that might make it a bit of an unfair test
Thanks for posting, this is interesting. I'd so though that average FPS really is becoming an outmoded way of measuring gaming performance, and frame-time is more of a focus now. I noticed that the M3 was often getting higher average FPS than the M2 but the frame times were worse. 100fps average is no good if you get frame time spike of 50, 100 or 200 msecs between frame, which you see in the stuttering and your frame time graph in the HUD. Death Stranding is probably a better experience on the M2 than M3, as it has fewer stutters for example.
Is there something different about the M2 configuration? In both Grid Legends & Death Stranding, the HUD shows as "Direct" rather than "Composited" & appears to stutter less. I understand CAMetalLayer can't be forced 'Direct' but fullscreen/game mode may be Apple's way of doing this.
Can you make a video regarding running games from epic games launcher on mac and fixing errors..? There are lots of people got hundreds of paid games but can’t play cause of errors
I really don't know what to do, please help me out ! I really enjoy playing games, and I know all the macs are not for gamers context. But even than I really don't want a windows PC gamer. Anyway I plan to play mostly world of warcraft, apple arcade games and some steam games such as civilization 6 some total war games and I plan to play assassins creed shadows just announced as native for mac. I have two options in my country....A macbook pro 13" 8gb ram 2022 (the one with the touchbar) for U$ 1100 or a macbook air m3 13" but with 16gb ram for U$ 1500, both with 512hd. I know the m3 is much better but for my kind of gaming do you think 8gb would be enough ?
M2 air with 8 core GPU was better than 10 core for almost every situation except for in some editing situations because the 10 core got too hot too soon and throttled performance more often. Thermal pad between cpu and bottom panel was a good mod
It seems like you're suggesting that if Steam were to integrate CrossOver into their platform, it would potentially enable support for Apple devices for all games by default. CrossOver is a software that allows users to run Windows applications on macOS and Linux without needing a Windows license. However, it's important to clarify a few points: Steam Integration with CrossOver: If Steam were to integrate CrossOver into its platform, it could simplify the process for users to run Windows games on macOS or possibly iOS devices, assuming CrossOver could be adapted for iOS. This could potentially broaden the range of games available to Apple users. Compatibility: While CrossOver is a useful tool, not all Windows games are guaranteed to work flawlessly on macOS or iOS through CrossOver. Compatibility issues can arise due to differences in operating systems and hardware configurations. Apple's Policies: Integrating CrossOver into Steam to support games on Apple devices may still be subject to Apple's App Store policies and guidelines. Apple has strict rules regarding app content and functionality, and any integration would need to comply with these guidelines. Business Considerations: Valve, the company behind Steam, would need to consider the financial implications of such integration. They would likely need to acquire or license CrossOver technology, which could involve significant costs. Overall, while integrating CrossOver into Steam could potentially improve gaming options for Apple users, there are technical, policy, and financial considerations that need to be addressed before such integration could happen
so much stutter and that's with low graphics without anti aliasing. one would think that being fanless is a huge design oversight, but what do i know about fashion statements, right? i wonder if a cheap cooling pad would partially fix this
For productivity fanless is amazing. I have a M1 Pro and one M1 Max device (32gb and 64gb of RAM) and it does make some noise sometimes, but most of the time it's completely silent and I love this. Had a couple of Windows laptops before that - namely the Dell Inspiron 7391 14" and it was a nightmare in terms of battery life and fan noise.
Hey man I got Fortnite running on my MacBook air M2 with crossover 24 and heroic, everything works fine until I go into a game. I get kicked out back into the lobby after a few seconds and the error "failed to reach backend services" comes up
I suspect that the 8GB devices heat up more because of the extra on-chip activity of caching to the hard drive. A 16GB device caches less or maybe not at all and perhaps this will allow it to run cooler.
can you test some older games? i really want to see how gta san andreas, need for speed underground/mostwanted and some other titles would run playing with gptk/whisky app
San Andreas should definitely run well if you're using the iOS/iPad version, but if you're like me you'd ideally want to play it with a mouse rather than a controller.
@@Andytizer Fortnite works! Requires a workaround (disabling adbd) in the current beta but I think it’s also now the only way to play the latest version of Fortnite on an Apple device
Buy Windows Desktop if you want to game or buy steam deck if you like handheld 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️ Gaming on MacBook Air will definitely kill its processor or battery due to constant heat. For gaming MacBooks are not there yet, you are gonna spend a lot. For the price of Max/Pro MacBook - you can buy Windows gaming PC + MacBook Air 😂
Just bought my first Mac today (M3 Air base spec) and I think as a dedicated gaming PC owner ima just try to completely avoid using the Mac for gaming. I bought mine for work productivity… if you’re buying a Mac for gaming you’re a fkn ret*rd, honestly. I’ll NEVER understand people who buy a $1100+ Mac with the performance of a $350 Acer laptop to game on. That’s NOT what it’s built for. Yes, that goes for you Mac Pro owners too. If you have enough money to waste on an iPad Air with a built in keyboard (MacBook) then you have enough money to buy a laptop with a RTX 4070/intel i7-14700hx with 32gb of DDR5 RAM with 1440p 165hz IPS screens that can run AAA titles like MW3 at ultra settings with 120+ fps. STOP BUYING APPLE LAPTOPS EXPECTING TO GAME! You guys in these comments are getting excited that the 2024 M3 Air has the performance of a 2012 windows gaming laptop you can buy today for $100 on Facebook marketplace.
the performance is extremely bad, I have a Macbook Pro 14 m2 and its 16 cores do not surpass an RTX 2060. On the RTX2060 on a Ryzen 7 3700x processor the game Death Stranding runs at ultra 90 to 100 fps. gaming performance is still a long way from being real.
To be real, you can get acceptable to great graphics performance on Apple Silicon. Not fantastic or mind blowing. Context: for decades Mac gaming was in the pits. Now we are finally seeing some light. Comment again in 3-5 years.
i realize that it’s easier said than done, but i think it would be much more productive to compare the generations within the same spec (8 core M1 vs 10 core M2 vs 10 core M3)
yea wanna see how much those 2 extra cores on the m3 fare
Please don't buy an air for gaming. The throtteling is real and actually really hard if it's getting hot outside. It's more than 20%. Who is playing for 50 minutes? Thats my warmup. A session lasts 4-8 hours. You need the active cooling to keep playing with okay framerates. Great machines though - i love the apple silicon design!
Would the MacBook Pro M2 be a better option?
@@humbertoo Absolutely! Anything with a fan. We just bought the M3 Pro for my wife and she is happily playing World of Warcraft for hours and hours.
Not all are hardcore f*cker’s to play more than 2 hours lol
This is exactly what i was looking for!! Thank you so much. Please do more games comparisons on the base macbook air!
Finally, real hardware people use, not these 3K$ configurations. Thank you!
Very impressive with only 8GB of shared RAM, no fan, and going through an ARM to X86 coding translator. With that said, get 16GB of RAM always.
Please compare pro versions
amen , that would be good content also base and max versions would be nice for pro
@@bhagbir510to even consider the base model would be irrelevant. Or even the 512gb model. The least you should consider should realistically be the 18gb 1tb model minimum
@@marthinlarsen1473 macs are so insaaaanley expensive compared to what specs you get so no way in hell im paying 3000 dollars for a macbook pro with specs my winows computer had 6-8 years ago. base model is the only option imo.
Excellent video Andrew! thanks for this
my real concern as a sim racing fan boy is that we can't have force feedback on steering wheels... and this is a pity because on m3 max performances seem good on these games
thanks, Andy, this comparison is exactly what i want to know.
For thermals on the m1MBA, I added some thermal pads over the SOC so that the pads connect the SOC to the bottom aluminum plate. This way the heat comes right off the cpu straight to the outside of the case. Then I added a cheap laptop cooling fan pad and now I get m1 MacBook pro levels of performance
good way to kill your battery
@@schizofennec how so?
@@ShanerTheGreydon't worry, it'll only benefit your battery since batteries hate heat. Their capacity get decreased much quicker when operated on higher temperatures
@@schizofennec How so when the added fan is taking most of the load and pushing the heat out. Just curious as their is no overclocking being done?
@@d5dd you cannot forget the heat that will be dissipated to the whole plate, the fan will just provide air cooling, your cpu will run less hot but your backplate will still be on mid to high temps
So an air with 16 fb is the way to go. Starting from m2 and up. Got it. As some one who light games and mainly plays on the switch or phone airs are enough
Glad I picked up the Air 15 with 16GB and 10GPU cores….
Pls make a video on how to install crossover and play using it
I need MacBook for the kind of softwares I use my productivity work.
But some steam games caught my eyes, so I maxed out my MacBook Air M3 15” with 24GB memory & 1TB SSD so I can try those games on it
For serious gaming I have PS5, so I just will try those steam exclusives
i really wish you'd compare the 16GB models.............
if you look at ram usage none of them exceed 4.53 gb.........................
that means even with more ram they wouldnt change.....................
@@schizofennec because the remaining RAM is spent on the system or crossover won't allow more RAM usage (which actually is a game changer)
i have an m1 pro 16gb and it uses 100% of it. Debating on buying after the trial is over
For the Pro/Max chips
Could you test native or Rosetta games with Low Power mode for performance and how much battery you would get (note brightness)?
You can use sudo powermetrics to kinda see power usage
Alternatively, you could run games at maybe Medium ~800p with a frame cap of 60 (or Vsync, but it would go to 120Hz on non 13" MBPs unless you adjust it down)?]
Or preferably both at the same time
And then maybe battery life tests at varying brightness, maybe also using Vivid/Lunar...
Please compare the MacBook Air’s when connected to an external monitor
First of all, thank you for the informative video. I think the price difference between a MacBook Air 15 M2 and a 15 M3 is too small for me, because when I consider the performance of a 15 M3 with a 10-core GPU, I am on the right side for my games WOW and No Man’s Sky.
Was the M2 driving a monitor at 120Hz while M3 at 60 and m1 at 60? First game play in the video looks that way.
No Air can run 120hz inbuild Display ;)
Can you do a video with the 16gb RAM versions please
You should either compare the binned versions: M1 7c GPU, M2 8c GPU and M3 8c GPU or unbinned: 8c vs 10c vs 10c.
Your comparison does not make any sense on that point.
I think a great and extremely helpful video would be any tips or tricks to get the most out of a MacBook Air Base M2/M3.
Personally I have a large thermal pad conducting heat to the bottom shell and then also a dual GPU fan hooked up to a heatsink and mine sits on that.
With that setup I've NEVER had any thermal throttling at all, even with Cinebench after 10+ runs
Es literal el futuro del gaming, siempre me gusto ver el potencial de los procesadores ARM, desde hace unos meses me emociona ver como fueron mejorando estos "emuladores" tanto en android como en las MacBooks, es increíble
You should have compared the m2 with 8 core gpu because the other have the same cores but you did it with the m2 with 10 core gpu so that might make it a bit of an unfair test
I wonder when we'll get a game that uses Metal RayTracing so we can see that on M3
Thanks for posting, this is interesting. I'd so though that average FPS really is becoming an outmoded way of measuring gaming performance, and frame-time is more of a focus now. I noticed that the M3 was often getting higher average FPS than the M2 but the frame times were worse. 100fps average is no good if you get frame time spike of 50, 100 or 200 msecs between frame, which you see in the stuttering and your frame time graph in the HUD. Death Stranding is probably a better experience on the M2 than M3, as it has fewer stutters for example.
Is there something different about the M2 configuration? In both Grid Legends & Death Stranding, the HUD shows as "Direct" rather than "Composited" & appears to stutter less. I understand CAMetalLayer can't be forced 'Direct' but fullscreen/game mode may be Apple's way of doing this.
Can you make a video regarding running games from epic games launcher on mac and fixing errors..? There are lots of people got hundreds of paid games but can’t play cause of errors
Great work on the video!
Can you test to see how Manor Lords plays? Early Access comes out this week and it looks very interesting!
I’m getting insane memory leaks from remnant 2, anyone have any idea on what I can do to minimize it?
I really don't know what to do, please help me out ! I really enjoy playing games, and I know all the macs are not for gamers context. But even than I really don't want a windows PC gamer. Anyway I plan to play mostly world of warcraft, apple arcade games and some steam games such as civilization 6 some total war games and I plan to play assassins creed shadows just announced as native for mac. I have two options in my country....A macbook pro 13" 8gb ram 2022 (the one with the touchbar) for U$ 1100 or a macbook air m3 13" but with 16gb ram for U$ 1500, both with 512hd. I know the m3 is much better but for my kind of gaming do you think 8gb would be enough ?
How does someone get a copy of Mac version of GRID Legends today?
They said they delisted the game out of Steam now??
@andytizer bro plz try GTA 4 in macbook air m3 🙏
How much RAM did each of these have in this video?
All of them 8GB
Can you please create a video for gta 5 using crossover and epic store. I tried your old video but game is lagging so much on mackbook pro m2 pro
What is the performance of the M1 Air with 16gb compared to the base M1 and base M2?
Please make similar comparison video for lies of p game
Yo can play video games for hours without consequences on the base model Mac ? like metro exodus Skyrim or grand theft auto ?
can you make tutorial how to stream on tiktok using MacBook with out parallel?
Guys, do you play with a keyboard and mouse on a mac, or with a controller, which one? Thanks!
Hey man can u please test the same fames on an intel ultra 7 155h or galaxy book pro series?
Hey Andrew, wondering if Manor Lords would work via Crossover?
So World of Warships Legends should run pretty smooth on M3.
How is GTA working for you tho? Since they removed windows 7 support crossover has kinda broken down for me
M3 8c keeping up with a 10c M2 is impressive
M2 air with 8 core GPU was better than 10 core for almost every situation except for in some editing situations because the 10 core got too hot too soon and throttled performance more often. Thermal pad between cpu and bottom panel was a good mod
How much performance does the 10 gpu m3 have over the m2?
how did you get gtaV on the base m1 in crossover 24 - it doesnt want to load in mine :(
What mouse do you use for gaming? The apple mouse?
I find the M1 and M2 are just fine for low complexity games like Minecraft. Absolutely acceptable performance.
If Steam integrates CrossOver into the app, it would support Apple for all games by default.
Steam would need to buy CrossOver
It seems like you're suggesting that if Steam were to integrate CrossOver into their platform, it would potentially enable support for Apple devices for all games by default. CrossOver is a software that allows users to run Windows applications on macOS and Linux without needing a Windows license. However, it's important to clarify a few points:
Steam Integration with CrossOver: If Steam were to integrate CrossOver into its platform, it could simplify the process for users to run Windows games on macOS or possibly iOS devices, assuming CrossOver could be adapted for iOS. This could potentially broaden the range of games available to Apple users.
Compatibility: While CrossOver is a useful tool, not all Windows games are guaranteed to work flawlessly on macOS or iOS through CrossOver. Compatibility issues can arise due to differences in operating systems and hardware configurations.
Apple's Policies: Integrating CrossOver into Steam to support games on Apple devices may still be subject to Apple's App Store policies and guidelines. Apple has strict rules regarding app content and functionality, and any integration would need to comply with these guidelines.
Business Considerations: Valve, the company behind Steam, would need to consider the financial implications of such integration. They would likely need to acquire or license CrossOver technology, which could involve significant costs.
Overall, while integrating CrossOver into Steam could potentially improve gaming options for Apple users, there are technical, policy, and financial considerations that need to be addressed before such integration could happen
Excellent vid. We need an emulation version.
no just play normaly stop mod
The M1 is the goat overall when it comes to performance based on price , i have it for some time and i regret nothing gonna keep it .
is it still worth it to buy the m1 in 2024?
@@attitudeadjustment8843 deppends for what you wanna use it,i use it for scvhool and movies and i also got a 25% discount for it
Those hiccups look fun
Hey out of curiosity how come you went for 8 GPU cores with the M3?
you can choose ?
@@IZAN_OFF yeah 8 or 10
@@rhoderzau thats nice
so much stutter and that's with low graphics without anti aliasing. one would think that being fanless is a huge design oversight, but what do i know about fashion statements, right? i wonder if a cheap cooling pad would partially fix this
For productivity fanless is amazing. I have a M1 Pro and one M1 Max device (32gb and 64gb of RAM) and it does make some noise sometimes, but most of the time it's completely silent and I love this.
Had a couple of Windows laptops before that - namely the Dell Inspiron 7391 14" and it was a nightmare in terms of battery life and fan noise.
i own the 8gb M3 and is pretty good for me.
Hey man I got Fortnite running on my MacBook air M2 with crossover 24 and heroic, everything works fine until I go into a game. I get kicked out back into the lobby after a few seconds and the error "failed to reach backend services" comes up
google
Even 100fps looks stuttering. Is this normal with gaming on macs?
frametime huge, because its emulating and emulating.
Bro anyone suggest me m3 air vs m2 pro
So... CZcams has been awkwardly quiet since Apple didn't release the M3 iPad Pro on March 26th 2024 ;)
Is this 13 or 15 inch?
I use my mac mini m1 8gb with emulators like Riujnx and works great.
Sounds good, how do you get your games?
@@kieran9882dump from a jailbroken switch
I suspect that the 8GB devices heat up more because of the extra on-chip activity of caching to the hard drive. A 16GB device caches less or maybe not at all and perhaps this will allow it to run cooler.
can you test forza horizon 4 and 5 on crossover or parallels?
There doesn’t seem that much of a jump in performance and the m1 is still holding its own.
can you test some older games? i really want to see how gta san andreas, need for speed underground/mostwanted and some other titles would run playing with gptk/whisky app
Plotwist - poorly
The 32bit translation just sucks.
San Andreas should definitely run well if you're using the iOS/iPad version, but if you're like me you'd ideally want to play it with a mouse rather than a controller.
NFS MW runs at stable 60 fps on M2 air 10 core. Maxed out, native resolution (2560*1600), Parallels.
How did you play gta on MacBook ??
Any plans on testing the new MuMu android emulator? Currently it's the only way to play supercell games on Mac
Cool what other games work well using this method?
@@Andytizer Fortnite works! Requires a workaround (disabling adbd) in the current beta but I think it’s also now the only way to play the latest version of Fortnite on an Apple device
So, realistically, after throttling, m1 is actually not that much different than m3.
Commenting for the algo, great work, as always
please compare with game console
any $1000 gaming laptop will beat these overpriced tablest with keyboardas
Indeed
Buy Windows Desktop if you want to game or buy steam deck if you like handheld 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
Gaming on MacBook Air will definitely kill its processor or battery due to constant heat.
For gaming MacBooks are not there yet, you are gonna spend a lot.
For the price of Max/Pro MacBook - you can buy Windows gaming PC + MacBook Air 😂
Just bought my first Mac today (M3 Air base spec) and I think as a dedicated gaming PC owner ima just try to completely avoid using the Mac for gaming. I bought mine for work productivity… if you’re buying a Mac for gaming you’re a fkn ret*rd, honestly. I’ll NEVER understand people who buy a $1100+ Mac with the performance of a $350 Acer laptop to game on. That’s NOT what it’s built for. Yes, that goes for you Mac Pro owners too.
If you have enough money to waste on an iPad Air with a built in keyboard (MacBook) then you have enough money to buy a laptop with a RTX 4070/intel i7-14700hx with 32gb of DDR5 RAM with 1440p 165hz IPS screens that can run AAA titles like MW3 at ultra settings with 120+ fps.
STOP BUYING APPLE LAPTOPS EXPECTING TO GAME! You guys in these comments are getting excited that the 2024 M3 Air has the performance of a 2012 windows gaming laptop you can buy today for $100 on Facebook marketplace.
the performance is extremely bad, I have a Macbook Pro 14 m2 and its 16 cores do not surpass an RTX 2060. On the RTX2060 on a Ryzen 7 3700x processor the game Death Stranding runs at ultra 90 to 100 fps. gaming performance is still a long way from being real.
To be real, you can get acceptable to great graphics performance on Apple Silicon. Not fantastic or mind blowing.
Context: for decades Mac gaming was in the pits. Now we are finally seeing some light. Comment again in 3-5 years.
Asus G14... thank me later
Already got one :)
Definitely not for gaming 😢at the same price as m3 macbook air you can get dell g15
Nobody is saying that you should get a Mac if your primary interest is gaming, but you clearly can do some gaming on the Mac