How many FPS does No Man's Sky get on the MacBook Air M5? 1080p, 1440p and 4K performance
71FPS
1080p High
Estimate
45
1440p
23
4K
About 71 FPS at 1080p on High: No Man's Sky runs natively on the MacBook Air M5 (Apple M5, 8-core GPU, 16 GB). It has headroom to spare, so you can raise resolution or quality.
Data reviewed October 1, 2026 · how we calculate it
Affiliate linkDon't have No Man's Sky yet?
Official Steam key that also activates on Mac. Cheaper on Eneba.
Play in your browser — no downloads, no sign-up.
Coin Crest
Play free →
Kaboom Blocks
Play free →
Balcony Splash
Play free →
Nara and the Forest Roots
Play free →
Hexalia
Play free →
Héroes de Éter
Play free →
King's Towers
Play free →
Snake Odyssey
Play free →
Chess
Play free →
Trivia Party
Play free →
No Man's Sky FPS on MacBook Air M5 by resolution and quality
Estimate| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 98FPS | 86FPS | 71FPS | 60FPS |
| 1440p | 63FPS | 54FPS | 45FPS | 37FPS |
| 4K | 33FPS | 28FPS | 23FPS | 19FPS |
Estimated average in normal gameplay with the game and macOS up to date. Green: 60+ · lime: 45+ · amber: 30+ · orange: 20+ · red: under 20.
Recommended settings
For 60 FPS
1440p · Low
≈ 63 FPS
For 30 FPS
1440p · Ultra
≈ 37 FPS
Moving to 1440p High puts the MacBook Air M5 at about 45 FPS. MetalFX renders at a lower resolution and upscales, so it is the cheapest way to play at the display’s native resolution.
Performance with MetalFX
MetalFX renders No Man's Sky at a lower internal resolution and reconstructs the image: you gain FPS for a little sharpness. Figures on High with 16 GB.
| Resolution | Native | Quality | Balanced | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 71FPS | 87FPS | 103FPS | 114FPS |
| 1440p | 45FPS | 56FPS | 67FPS | 76FPS |
| 4K | 23FPS | 29FPS | 35FPS | 39FPS |
All figures are without ray tracing. The real MetalFX gain varies by game and version.
The MacGameFPS verdict
Calibrated on real Mac benchmarks, not spec sheets
Is the MacBook Air M5 enough for No Man's Sky?
Yes, comfortably: 71 FPS at 1080p High. You can move to 1440p (45 FPS) or your display’s native resolution.
Excellent · 1440p 45 FPS · 4K 23 FPS
MacBook Air M5 or MacBook Pro M5 for No Man's Sky?
In No Man's Sky at 1080p High, the MacBook Air M5 gets 71 FPS and the MacBook Pro M5 95 FPS: 34% more.
MacBook Air M5 specs
- Chip
- Apple M5
- GPU cores
- 8 / 10
- Unified memory
- 16 / 24 / 32 GB
- Cooling
- Fanless
- Geekbench Metal
- 65,377
- Tier
- Mid range · 18/100
Other Macs with the M5 chip
The Apple M5 also powers the MacBook Pro M5. In No Man's Sky, the MacBook Pro M5 gets 95 FPS at 1080p High, 34% more than the MacBook Air M5, mainly because its fan keeps clocks up under load.
How much memory do you need?
On Apple Silicon the GPU shares memory with the system, so the RAM you picked when buying the Mac is also your video memory. No Man's Sky asks for 8 GB minimum.
| Memory | 1080p High | 1440p High |
|---|---|---|
| 16 GB | 71FPS | 45FPS |
| 24 GB | 71FPS | 45FPS |
| 32 GB | 71FPS | 45FPS |
Other Macs for No Man's Sky
1080p · High
MacBook Pro M5
M5 · 10 GPU
95FPSView analysisMacBook Pro M5 Pro
M5 Pro · 16/20 GPU
130FPSView analysis
Mac mini M5 Pro
M5 Pro · 16/20 GPU
131FPSView analysisMacBook Pro M5 Max
M5 Max · 32/40 GPU
155FPSView analysis
Mac Studio M5 Max
M5 Max · 32/40 GPU
155FPSView analysisMac mini M6
M6 · 12 GPU
111FPSView analysis
MacBook Neo
A18 Pro · 5 GPU
30FPSView analysisMacBook Air M4
M4 · 8/10 GPU
52FPSView analysis
Shopping for an all-round gaming Mac? Mac ranking by real FPS →
Other games on the MacBook Air M5
- Baldur's Gate 335FPS
- Control Ultimate Edition34FPS
- Death Stranding Director's Cut65FPS
- Hitman World of Assassination71FPS
- Lies of P93FPS
- Metro Exodus54FPS
- Resident Evil 449FPS
- Resident Evil Village49FPS
- Total War: PHARAOH31FPS
- Frostpunk 271FPS
Official Mac requirements
- Minimum
- Any Mac with Apple silicon, including MacBook Air · macOS Ventura or later (Metal 3)
Source: www.nomanssky.com
FAQ
Can the 16 GB MacBook Air M5 run No Man's Sky?
Yes. With 16 GB we estimate 71 FPS at 1080p High.
Can No Man's Sky hit 60 FPS on the MacBook Air M5?
Yes: at 1440p Low it runs around 63 FPS.
Does the MacBook Air M5 throttle in No Man's Sky?
The MacBook Air M5 has no fan. In long sessions it lowers clocks to manage heat, and our figures already account for that sustained loss, around 10% in a game this demanding.
What about 1440p and 4K?
On High, the MacBook Air M5 gets about 45 FPS at 1440p and about 23 FPS at 4K in No Man's Sky. These are native figures: MetalFX raises both noticeably.
Do these figures include MetalFX or ray tracing?
No. The headline figure is native resolution, no MetalFX and no ray tracing. The table below shows MetalFX turned on. Ray tracing, where a game offers it, costs a lot of FPS on any Mac.
Is No Man's Sky native on Apple Silicon?
Yes, it has a native Apple Silicon version, available on Steam. No CrossOver, Parallels or Game Porting Toolkit needed.