[DigitalToday intern reporter Kyungmin Hong] Apple's budget laptop MacBook Neo showed more stable performance than expected in various game-running tests.

On March 12, IT outlet 9to5Mac reported the MacBook Neo's real-world gaming performance, citing detailed test results by IT-focused YouTuber Andrew Tsai (앤드루 차이).

The tests included native macOS games, Windows games run through a compatibility layer, and console emulation games. The verification focused on checking the MacBook Neo's real gaming capability across different running environments.

The MacBook Neo is a model based on Apple's A18 Pro chip with a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU and 8GB unified memory. It runs with a fanless design and offers two USB ports. This structure has advantages in portability and low noise, but has raised the possibility of performance limits during prolonged high-load work. Interest has also grown over how much performance it would show in real gaming conditions.

The test used 10 games: Cyberpunk 2077, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Control, Resident Evil Requiem, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Counter-Strike 2, Elden Ring, Dark Souls Remastered and Musynx. A Nintendo Switch emulation running test was also conducted.

Results showed the MacBook Neo could run a wider range of games than expected overall, but the 8GB memory limit had the biggest impact on performance. The more memory-intensive the game, the more pronounced the performance drop. This differed depending on how each game was run.

Native games developed for macOS showed relatively stable performance. For example, Cyberpunk 2077 ran at a playable level when graphics options were lowered to the minimum and the resolution was set to 720p.

Minecraft Java Edition recorded about 200 to 300 fps depending on settings at 1080p resolution, and showed about 50 to 60 fps even with shaders applied.

World of Warcraft recorded relatively stable performance at 1080p resolution with graphics preset 7. In areas with many users, it could be played by lowering the resolution scale and graphics settings.

Control, a game optimised for Apple silicon, maintained about 40 to 50 fps with MetalFX upscaling applied. In this way, native games showed relatively stable results.

When Windows games were run through a compatibility layer, performance differences were large. Resident Evil Requiem could run, but memory pressure occurred due to the 8GB memory limit. By contrast, Resident Evil 2 Remake, released for macOS, ran relatively stably.

Counter-Strike 2 showed performance that made it effectively hard to play. Elden Ring also struggled to secure enough frames even at low resolutions. By comparison, Dark Souls Remastered ran at about 60 fps at 1080p with lowered graphics settings.

The 2D-based game Musynx ran without major issues even when the Windows version was run via a compatibility layer. Performance varied widely depending on genre and system requirements.

The test also included Nintendo Switch game emulation. Some games ran at about 30 fps, but intermittent stuttering occurred during shader compilation.

Through the test video, Tsai explained that it shows what performance various games actually deliver on the MacBook Neo. He added that the test also confirmed performance differences clearly appear depending on a game's optimisation level and the running environment.