How to Optimize Your Mac for Gaming: 10 Best Ways

Written by

Ojash

Reviewed by

Hashir Ibrahim

Last updated: October 2, 2024

Expert verified

Gaming on a Mac can be frustrating with lag and slowdowns, but the good news is, there are ways to boost performance. In this post, I’ll walk you through some simple solutions that can help make your gaming experience much smoother and more enjoyable.

10 Ways to Optimize Your Mac for Gaming

Here are 10 ways to optimize your Mac for gaming:

1. Update macOS

Updating your macOS is crucial to ensure your system is running at its best. Regular updates improve overall system performance, fix bugs, and can lead to better gaming experiences.

Here’s how to update macOS on your Mac:

1. Before you update macOS, back up your important files and data on Mac. This ensures you won’t lose valuable information even if something unexpected happens during the update process.
2. After backing up your data, connect your Mac to a stable internet connection. This ensures your Mac can download the macOS update files without interruption.
3. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen and select System Settings.

4. In the System Settings window, click General in the left sidebar and select Software Update in the right pane.

5. The Software Update settings will display the available updates, including the latest macOS version.
6. If an update is available, you’ll see an option to download and install it. Click the Update Now button to initiate the download process. The macOS update files will start downloading to your Mac.

7. Once the download is complete, the macOS installer will automatically launch. 
8. Your Mac may restart multiple times during the installation.
9. Once the installation is complete, your Mac will restart with the latest macOS version.

2. Turn Off Visual Effects

Fancy visuals like transparency and animations make your Mac look good but drain resources that could be used for gaming. Turning them off frees up system power and can lead to noticeable improvements in gameplay.

• Disable Transparency and Animations: Go to System Settings > Accessibility > Display and turn off Reduce transparency and Reduce motion.
• Turn Off Extra Dock Animations: In System Settings > Dock & Menu Bar, turn off Animate opening applications for extra performance gains.

3. Manage Startup Programs

When too many apps launch at startup, they slow down your system and consume resources that games need. Managing these startup programs will make your Mac faster and more responsive for gaming.

a) Disable Unnecessary Startup Apps

Go to System Settings > Users & Groups > Login Items and remove apps you don’t need at startup.
Reducing startup programs can free up to 20% of CPU resources, making games run more smoothly.

• Step 2: Restart Your Mac Regularly
  Regular restarts clear out processes that might be running in the background, freeing up system memory and CPU power for games.

4. Upgrade RAM

Upgrading your RAM gives your Mac the ability to handle more demanding games and multitasking, leading to smoother gameplay. Ideally, gaming requires at least 16GB for optimal performance.

Here’s how to check if your Mac RAM needs an upgrade:

1. Open Activity Monitor by going to Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor.

2. Click the Memory tab to view the memory usage data.

3. To assess your Mac’s memory usage, check the  Memory Used graph at the bottom. If the graph is nearing or reaching the top of the bar, it suggests your Mac’s available memory may be running low.
4. Another metric to consider is the Swap Used section, which indicates the space used to store data that ideally belongs in the memory. A high value in the Swap Used section indicates your Mac is nearing its memory limit and relying heavily on virtual memory, potentially impacting performance.

After assessing that your Mac’s RAM needs an upgrade, you can perform the upgrade. Here is my dedicated guide on how to upgrade your Mac’s RAM that you can check out.

5. Use an External GPU (eGPU)

An eGPU connects to your Mac and provides extra power for running games with high graphics demands. It’s an excellent solution if your Mac’s internal graphics card isn’t strong enough.

1. Choose an eGPU that’s compatible with macOS and your Mac model. Common brands include Razer and Sonnet.
2. Simply plug in your eGPU and follow the on-screen instructions to install any necessary drivers.

6. Switch to an SSD

Using an SSD instead of a traditional hard drive (HDD) reduces game loading times and makes in-game assets load quicker, leading to smoother gameplay. Here’s how to switch:

Go to About This Mac > Storage to check if you have an SSD or HDD. If you’re still on an HDD, consider upgrading.

• Internal SSD Upgrade: If your Mac allows it, replace the HDD with an SSD. Back up your data first and either install it yourself or get a technician to help.
• External SSD: Buy an external SSD (like Samsung T7), plug it in, and move your games or large files to the SSD. Running games from an external SSD will also speed up performance.

7. Lower Graphics Settings

High-end graphics settings can look great but cause significant performance drops on lower-spec Macs. Lowering these settings can improve your frames per second (FPS) and make games run smoother.

1. Adjust In-Game Resolution: Lower the resolution from 4K or 1080p to something more manageable like 720p to see an FPS improvement.
2. Reduce Texture Quality and Shadows: Turn down the texture quality and shadow details in the game settings.

8. Optimize Power Settings

MacBooks have power settings that can be adjusted to prioritize performance, especially during gaming sessions. Switching to performance mode ensures your system uses its full potential. Here is how to enable high performance mode:

1. Click the Apple logo and open System Settings.

2. Select Battery from the sidebar.

3. Go to dropdown menu in Low Power Mode settings.

3. Choose Never to always keep the system in high performance state.

3. Close the settings.

9. Free Up Disk Space

Keeping a good portion of your disk space free is essential for system efficiency. A full disk can slow down your Mac and lead to lag during gameplay.

1. 🗑️ Unused apps: Uninstall apps you no longer use.
2. 📂 Old downloads: Clear out the Downloads folder.
3. 🧹 Temporary files and caches: Use a cleanup tool to remove these.
4. 🎥 Large files: Delete or move large media files (movies, videos, etc.).
5. 🚮 Empty the Trash: Regularly empty the Trash to free up space.

Consider using apps like MacKeeper to quickly find and remove junk files. These tools often recover 10-20GB of space, which helps your games load faster and reduces lag.

10. Use Game Optimization Tools

Game optimization tools clean up system junk, manage background apps, and free up memory, improving gaming performance on your Mac. Tools like iBoostUp or MacBooster can boost FPS by 5-10%, leading to faster load times and smoother gameplay. Simply download and run these tools to optimize your Mac for better gaming.

Game Like a Pro on Your Mac

Optimizing your Mac for gaming is essential to unlock its full potential and enjoy a seamless gaming experience. Here are a few more tips to game like a professional on your Mac:

• Monitor your Mac’s memory usage while gaming to keep its performance in check.
• Keep your Mac ventilated to avoid overheating during gaming.
• If your Mac’s battery drains quickly while gaming, address MacBook battery issues.

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