How many FPS does Stellaris get on the iMac M4? 1080p, 1440p and 4K performance
81FPS
1080p High
Estimate
51
1440p
26
4K
About 81 FPS at 1080p on High: Stellaris runs through Rosetta 2 on the iMac M4 (Apple M4, 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
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Stellaris FPS on iMac M4 by resolution and quality
Estimate| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 110FPS | 97FPS | 81FPS | 67FPS |
| 1440p | 71FPS | 61FPS | 51FPS | 42FPS |
| 4K | 37FPS | 32FPS | 26FPS | 22FPS |
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 · Medium
≈ 61 FPS
For 30 FPS
1440p · Ultra
≈ 42 FPS
Moving to 1440p High puts the iMac M4 at about 51 FPS. This game has no MetalFX, so resolution is the setting that matters most.
The MacGameFPS verdict
Calibrated on real Mac benchmarks, not spec sheets
Is the iMac M4 enough for Stellaris?
Yes, comfortably: 81 FPS at 1080p High. You can move to 1440p (51 FPS) or your display’s native resolution.
Excellent · 1440p 51 FPS · 4K 26 FPS
iMac M4 or MacBook Pro M4 for Stellaris?
In Stellaris at 1080p High, the iMac M4 gets 81 FPS and the MacBook Pro M4 98 FPS: 21% more.
iMac M4 specs
- Chip
- Apple M4
- GPU cores
- 8 / 10
- Unified memory
- 16 / 24 / 32 GB
- Cooling
- Fan
- Geekbench Metal
- 49,002
- Tier
- Entry level · 13/100
Other Macs with the M4 chip
The Apple M4 also powers the MacBook Air M4, the MacBook Pro M4, and the Mac mini M4. In Stellaris, the Mac mini M4 gets 99 FPS at 1080p High, 22% more than the iMac 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. Stellaris asks for 8 GB minimum.
| Memory | 1080p High | 1440p High |
|---|---|---|
| 16 GB | 81FPS | 51FPS |
| 24 GB | 81FPS | 51FPS |
| 32 GB | 81FPS | 51FPS |
Other Macs for Stellaris
1080p · High
MacBook Neo
A18 Pro · 5 GPU
46FPSView analysis
MacBook Air M4
M4 · 8/10 GPU
77FPSView analysis
MacBook Pro M4
M4 · 10 GPU
98FPSView analysis
Mac mini M4
M4 · 10 GPU
99FPSView analysisMacBook Pro M4 Pro
M4 Pro · 16/20 GPU
146FPSView analysisMac mini M4 Pro
M4 Pro · 16/20 GPU
147FPSView analysisMacBook Air M5
M5 · 8/10 GPU
104FPSView analysisMacBook Pro M5
M5 · 10 GPU
128FPSView analysis
Shopping for an all-round gaming Mac? Mac ranking by real FPS →
Other games on the iMac M4
- Baldur's Gate 330FPS
- Death Stranding Director's Cut56FPS
- Hitman World of Assassination61FPS
- Lies of P82FPS
- Metro Exodus46FPS
- Resident Evil 442FPS
- Resident Evil Village42FPS
- Frostpunk 258FPS
- GRID Legends74FPS
- No Man's Sky58FPS
Official Mac requirements
- Minimum
- macOS 13 Ventura · Intel Core i5-4570S · 8 GB memory · 1 GB GPU · 10 GB storage · Intel build, runs on Apple silicon through Rosetta 2
- Recommended
- macOS 13 Ventura · Intel Core i5-4670 · 8 GB memory · 2 GB GPU
Source: store.steampowered.com
FAQ
Can the 16 GB iMac M4 run Stellaris?
Yes. With 16 GB we estimate 81 FPS at 1080p High.
Can Stellaris hit 60 FPS on the iMac M4?
Yes: at 1440p Medium it runs around 61 FPS.
What about 1440p and 4K?
On High, the iMac M4 gets about 51 FPS at 1440p and about 26 FPS at 4K in Stellaris. These are native figures.
Do these figures include MetalFX or ray tracing?
No. The headline figure is native resolution, no MetalFX and no ray tracing. Stellaris has no MetalFX on Mac. Ray tracing, where a game offers it, costs a lot of FPS on any Mac.
Is Stellaris native on Apple Silicon?
Not quite: it has an official macOS version, but built for Intel. On Apple Silicon it runs through Rosetta 2, built into macOS, with nothing else to install. Our figures already include that overhead.