How to Prepare your Mac for Playing AAA Titles?

Since 2023, Apple has made big strides in expanding the Mac’s gaming capabilities, and the most notable change in this regard has been the transition to Apple Silicon. Now, every Mac that ships with Apple Silicon can play AAA games pretty fantastically, and it has gotten a tremendous boost in graphics with M1, M2, and M3. 

In the quest to make Macs a powerful gaming machine, Apple introduced Game Mode with macOS Sonoma. This mode maximizes the performance of the system to allow AAA games to run smoothly. It has also enabled console games like Capcom’s Resident Evil and Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding games to be played on Macs. 

There’s more reason for Mac users to get excited because there are amazing releases lined up, such as No Man’s Sky, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Resident Evil Village. These and more AAA games are making their way to macOS, making it possible for gaming enthusiasts to delve into the world of high-fidelity gaming. 

However, before you dive headfirst into these epic adventures, it is critical to make sure your Mac is properly equipped to handle the demanding nature of AAA titles. Continue reading to prepare your Mac for the latest games because a slow Mac doesn’t make for an immersive gaming experience. 

• Check the hardware specifications 

Understanding your Mac’s capabilities is the first step. Go to About This Mac and click on the System Report section. Here, you will get a detailed breakdown of your hardware, including graphics card (GPU), RAM, CPU, and storage space. 

Modern AAA games require a powerful CPU with multiple cores and threads. Typically, you will want an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor with a minimum of four cores and eight threads. As for RAM, it would be best if your system has at least 16GB of RAM for a comfortable and smooth gaming experience. 

It would be best if there were a dedicated graphics card, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX/RTX series or AMD Radeon Pro, for optimal performance. 

Don’t forget to pay attention to the storage space because AAA titles can take up a lot of space, often exceeding 50 GB per title. Free enough space on your internal storage drive, or get an external drive for additional storage. 

• Upgrade (if required)

If your Mac does not meet the recommended hardware specifications, consider upgrading your RAM or adding an external GPU enclosure with a compatible graphics card. 

Please note that not all Macs allow internal component upgrades. Check before you proceed. 

• Update macOS 

The most recent release of macOS is macOS Sequoia. Check whether your Mac is compatible with this update by clicking System Settings > Software Update. Follow the instructions on your screen to complete the installation process. 

Keeping your Mac updated ensures you have the latest security patches and optimizations for games. 

• Optimize your Mac 

To squeeze the most performance out of your Mac, here are some additional tweaks:

1. Close the redundant applications running in the background, as they can hinder your gaming performance. Before launching a game, remember to close any app or program you are no longer using. You can also go to Activity Monitor to go through the list of all the active programs and then quit or pause the ones you no longer need. This will free up resources for your game. 

2. Disable automatic app updates, as this might interrupt gameplay and trigger background downloads. 

3. If the game offers in-game graphics settings, you can adjust it to fine-tune performance. Experiment with these settings to find the right balance between frame rate and visual fidelity. 

Hopefully, these tweaks will free up sufficient system resources for your games and ensure there are no interruptions. You can also create a custom Focus mode for your gaming sessions so that notifications and alerts from your browser or apps don't distract you. 

• Consider Boot Camp 

Boot Camp lets you create a dual-boot system on your Mac, allowing you to run Windows and macOS on your system. Since the majority of AAA games are created for Windows, this is an excellent option to play all your favorite games on your Mac. 

However, this is optional. If you have not yet upgraded to Apple Silicon, you have limited access to AAA titles for macOS, so you can consider Boot Camp. However, if you are already using M1, M2, or M3, Boot Camp might not be useful. 

The Bottom Line 

MacBook users who are gaming enthusiasts have a lot to celebrate in 2024 and beyond because some amazing AAA titles are about to drop. Assassin’s Creed Shadow, RoboCop Rogue City, Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, and many more are set to release. If you want to play these exciting AAA games, you must ensure your Mac is compatible with their demanding specifications. Follow the steps mentioned above to prepare your Mac for a smooth and immersive gaming experience.