MacBook with M5: Active Cooling Makes the Difference and Guarantees Up to 42% More FPS in Gaming

The active cooling of the MacBook Pro with M5 makes a difference compared to the passive cooling used by the MacBook Air with M5. Clearly, this isn’t a surprise but rather an evident fact that doesn’t require extensive testing to notice.

To quantify the difference, a YouTuber put both Apple notebooks to the test in a gaming session with Cyberpunk 2077 (and the results are confirmed in other games as well). The presence of an active cooling system ensures performance superiority of 40-42% compared to passive cooling.

The Difference is Noticeable

The performance difference, in the initial phase of the game, is negligible but as temperatures rise, the active cooling starts to “make a difference,” allowing the chip to continue delivering high performance throughout the gaming session.

Cyberpunk 2077 (low preset, 1920 x 1200, upscaling disabled)

• M5 with active cooling
  • Average of 51 FPS, 1% lows of 41 FPS
• M5 with passive cooling
  • Average of 36 FPS, 1% lows of 30 FPS

Cyberpunk 2077 (low preset, 1920 x 1200, MetalFX upscaling set to quality)

• M5 with active cooling
  • Average of 76 FPS, 1% lows of 62 FPS
• M5 with passive cooling
  • Average of 54 FPS, 1% lows of 44 FPS

This performance gap is also valid for other types of applications, where under prolonged workloads, active cooling has a significant impact on performance. For users undecided on which MacBook to choose between Air and Pro, this aspect should be taken into consideration.