Optimisation guide · Updated October 1, 2026
How to boost No Man's Sky FPS on Mac
No Man's Sky runs natively on Apple Silicon Macs and includes MetalFX, Apple’s upscaler. These are the settings that cost the most FPS and the preset that holds 60 FPS on each Mac.
What you would gain on a MacBook Air M4
Ultra, unoptimised
43FPS
With the guide’s settings
52FPS
+ MetalFX Quality
65FPS
1080p, 16 GB. Applying the guide and MetalFX gains 51% FPS on this Mac. See every figure →
The settings that cost the most FPS
- Volumetric Quality and Planet Quality: the two settings that decide performance on planet surfaces.
- Terrain Tessellation and Reflection Quality: lower them before touching texture quality.
- Base complexity: large player bases cost CPU and GPU; FPS near a big base is not representative.
Which preset to use on each Mac
The highest setting that holds 60 FPS (or 30 when 60 is out of reach), with and without MetalFX Quality.
| Mac | Native | MetalFX | 1080p High |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacBook Air M1 | 1080p Medium · 35 FPS | 1440p Low · 32 FPS | 29FPS |
| MacBook Pro M1 | 1440p Low · 31 FPS | 1080p Low · 62 FPS | 36FPS |
| MacBook Pro M1 Pro | 1440p Low · 61 FPS | 1440p Medium · 65 FPS | 69FPS |
| MacBook Air M2 | 1440p Medium · 30 FPS | 1080p Medium · 60 FPS | 40FPS |
| MacBook Air M3 | 1080p Low · 60 FPS | 1080p Medium · 63 FPS | 42FPS |
| MacBook Pro M3 Pro | 1440p Medium · 60 FPS | 1440p High · 61 FPS | 78FPS |
| MacBook Air M4 | 1080p Medium · 63 FPS | 1080p High · 65 FPS | 52FPS |
| MacBook Pro M4 | 1440p Low · 62 FPS | 1440p Medium · 66 FPS | 70FPS |
| Mac mini M4 | 1440p Low · 64 FPS | 1440p Medium · 68 FPS | 72FPS |
| iMac M4 | 1080p Medium · 70 FPS | 1440p Low · 63 FPS | 58FPS |
| MacBook Pro M4 Pro | 1440p Ultra · 61 FPS | 1440p Ultra · 75 FPS | 111FPS |
| MacBook Pro M4 Max | 1440p Ultra · 105 FPS | 1440p Ultra · 123 FPS | 149FPS |
| MacBook Pro M5 | 1440p High · 61 FPS | 1440p Ultra · 62 FPS | 95FPS |
| MacBook Air M5 | 1440p Low · 63 FPS | 1440p Medium · 67 FPS | 71FPS |
| MacBook Pro M5 Pro | 1440p Ultra · 76 FPS | 1440p Ultra · 93 FPS | 130FPS |
| MacBook Pro M5 Max | 1440p Ultra · 123 FPS | 1440p Ultra · 138 FPS | 155FPS |
| Mac mini M6 | 1440p Ultra · 61 FPS | 1440p Ultra · 75 FPS | 111FPS |
| Mac mini M5 Pro | 1440p Ultra · 78 FPS | 1440p Ultra · 95 FPS | 131FPS |
| Mac Studio M5 Max | 1440p Ultra · 125 FPS | 1440p Ultra · 140 FPS | 155FPS |
| MacBook Neo | 1080p High · 30 FPS | 1440p Low · 33 FPS | 30FPS |
No Man's Sky-specific tips
- MetalFX is supported: combine Quality mode with High settings rather than Medium without upscaling.
- Space and stations run much faster than planet surfaces; judge settings on a planet with dense vegetation.
- Play in full screen so macOS turns on Game Mode, and close your browser: memory is shared with the GPU.
FAQ
Which setting gains the most FPS in No Man's Sky?
Volumetric Quality and Planet Quality: the two settings that decide performance on planet surfaces.
Does No Man's Sky support MetalFX?
Yes. MetalFX Quality usually adds around 24% FPS with little visible loss.
How many FPS does this guide gain?
On a MacBook Air M4, going from Ultra to the recommended settings and MetalFX Quality takes the game from 43 to about 65 FPS at 1080p (+51%).
Want to know exactly how many FPS YOUR Mac gets in No Man's Sky?
No Man's Sky FPS on every Mac →Estimates from our calibrated formula. Methodology