MacGameFPS

How many FPS does Resident Evil 3 get on the MacBook Air M4? 1080p, 1440p and 4K performance

40FPS

1080p High

Estimate

25

1440p

13

4K

Playable

About 40 FPS at 1080p on High: Resident Evil 3 runs natively on the MacBook Air M4 (Apple M4, 8-core GPU, 16 GB). It is playable, with little headroom. For 60 FPS, use 1080p Medium + MetalFX Quality (about 60 FPS).

Data reviewed October 1, 2026 · how we calculate it

Resident Evil 3 FPS on MacBook Air M4 by resolution and quality

Estimate
ResolutionLowMediumHighUltra
1080p56FPS48FPS40FPS33FPS
1440p35FPS30FPS25FPS21FPS
4K18FPS16FPS13FPS11FPS

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

1080p · Medium

+ MetalFX Quality

≈ 60 FPS

For 30 FPS

1440p · Medium

≈ 30 FPS

Moving to 1440p High puts the MacBook Air M4 at about 25 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 Resident Evil 3 at a lower internal resolution and reconstructs the image: you gain FPS for a little sharpness. Figures on High with 16 GB.

ResolutionNativeQualityBalancedPerformance
1080p40FPS50FPS60FPS67FPS
1440p25FPS31FPS37FPS42FPS
4K13FPS16FPS19FPS22FPS

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 M4 enough for Resident Evil 3?

Just about: 40 FPS at 1080p High is playable but has no headroom. Dropping to Medium or turning on MetalFX steadies it.

Playable · 1440p 25 FPS · 4K 13 FPS

MacBook Air M4 or MacBook Pro M4 for Resident Evil 3?

In Resident Evil 3 at 1080p High, the MacBook Air M4 gets 40 FPS and the MacBook Pro M4 54 FPS: 35% more.

Resident Evil 3 on MacBook Pro M4 →MacBook Air M4 vs MacBook Pro M4 →

MacBook Air M4 specs

MacBook Air M4
Chip
Apple M4
GPU cores
8 / 10
Unified memory
16 / 24 / 32 GB
Cooling
Fanless
Geekbench Metal
49,002
Tier
Entry level · 13/100

See the MacBook Air M4’s FPS in every game →

Other Macs with the M4 chip

The Apple M4 also powers the MacBook Pro M4, the Mac mini M4, and the iMac M4. In Resident Evil 3, the Mac mini M4 gets 55 FPS at 1080p High, 38% more than the MacBook Air M4, mainly because its fan keeps clocks up under load.

MacBook Pro M4Mac mini M4iMac M4

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. Resident Evil 3 asks for 8 GB minimum.

Memory1080p High1440p High
16 GB40FPS25FPS
24 GB40FPS25FPS
32 GB40FPS25FPS

Other Macs for Resident Evil 3

1080p · High

Resident Evil 3 on every Mac →

Shopping for an all-round gaming Mac? Mac ranking by real FPS →

Other games on the MacBook Air M4

Every game on the MacBook Air M4 →

Official Mac requirements

Minimum
Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later)

Source: apps.apple.com

FAQ

Can the 16 GB MacBook Air M4 run Resident Evil 3?

Yes. With 16 GB we estimate 40 FPS at 1080p High.

Can Resident Evil 3 hit 60 FPS on the MacBook Air M4?

Yes: at 1080p Medium + MetalFX Quality it runs around 60 FPS.

Does the MacBook Air M4 throttle in Resident Evil 3?

The MacBook Air M4 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 M4 gets about 25 FPS at 1440p and about 13 FPS at 4K in Resident Evil 3. 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 Resident Evil 3 native on Apple Silicon?

Yes, it has a native Apple Silicon version, available on Mac App Store. No CrossOver, Parallels or Game Porting Toolkit needed.