Apple is the leading company, so it’s highly unlikely that its products wouldn’t be good at something. MacBooks, specifically, are quite powerful; M2 Pro comes with a powerful processor and a larger battery, which can be great for gaming.
The M2 Pro can handle moderate gaming at 1080p but isn’t ideal for hardcore gamers or AAA titles at high settings. While it offers good performance, improved game compatibility, and cool thermals, it lacks the power of dedicated gaming laptops and faces a limited game library. Consider your gaming needs and budget before deciding if the M2 Pro is the right choice for you.
M2 Pro has a 12 to 12-core CPU, 16 to 19-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine with up to 200GB/s unified memory bandwidth. So, considering all these features, you can say that M2 Pro will certainly provide exceptional overall performance.
M2 Pro can also be great for other things; keep reading to find out.
Can I Use a Mac For Gaming?
Macs can be used for gaming but with important caveats:
Pros
- Decent performance for some games: M2 Pro and M2 Max chips handle many modern games at moderate settings, especially at 1080p. Older titles and less demanding games run smoothly.
- Improved compatibility: More games are playable thanks to Metal 3 and Rosetta 2 translation.
- Excellent thermals: MacBooks run cool and quiet, even under gaming loads.
- Great displays (on some models): High-resolution, high-refresh-rate displays enhance the experience.
Cons
- Limited power: Not as powerful as dedicated gaming laptops, struggling with AAA titles at high settings.
- Restricted library: Many popular games are unavailable or perform poorly on Mac.
- Costly: M2 Pro MacBooks are generally more expensive than comparable gaming laptops.
Recommendation
- Casual gamers: The M2 Pro/Max could be good, especially for portability and thermals.
- Hardcore gamers: Dedicated gaming laptops offer better performance and wider game compatibility.
Ultimately, consider your gaming needs and budget before deciding if a Mac is the right choice.
What Games Does MacBook Pro Support?
MacBook Pros are quite powerful, and they can provide an immersive gaming experience, nevertheless, these Macs don’t support all the games.
Here’s a list of games that are supported by MacBook Pro:
- Disco Elysium
- Divinity: Original Sin 2
- Counter–Strike: Global Offensive
- Civilization VI
- Dota 2
- Stardew Valley
- Fortnite
- World of Warcraft
- EVE Online
- Cities: Skylines
- Hades
- Cuphead
- Borderlands 2
- Borderlands 3
- Minecraft
- Diablo III
- Path of Exile
- Alien: Isolation
- League of Legends
- Hearthstone
- BioShock
- Crusader Kings 3
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Baldur’s Gate 3
There are so many other amazing games, but unfortunately, those games aren’t supported by Macs, because of this reason gamers don’t prefer Macs, they lean more toward PC.
PC is ideal for gaming, as it has a powerful processor and can support almost all games.
Is M2 Pro Better Than M2 Air?
If MacBook Pros are generally better than MacBook Air, then it’s quite evident that the M2 Pro, which is the latest chip, will be better than the M2 chip for Air.
If we look at the features of each chip, we can see how different they are. While M2 Pro will offer you a 12-core CPU, 19-core GPU, and 16-core, as well as 200GB/s memory bandwidth, M2 Air, on the other hand, will only provide an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 100GB/s memory bandwidth.
You might think that only a few numbers of cores are in M2 Air, so there shouldn’t be a huge difference in the performance.
However, that’s where you could be wrong. Remember that M2 Pro is the latest chip, which is why it has to be exceptional, as it was created by considering all the shortcomings of the previous chips. Apart from that, the M2 Pro also offers more storage and resolution than the M2 Air.
To explain the difference between these two chips, I should tell you that people use M2 Air casually for basic tasks like web browsing, taking notes, or email.
M2 Pro is considered best for intensive tasks requiring a powerful processor. You can run multiple programs on M2 Pro with ease. Such tasks could include coding development, music production, and graphic designing, among other things.
What Is The Difference Between M2 And M2 Pro?
Apple added the “Pro” after M2 in M2 Pro because M2 Pro is the better version of M2. As M2 Pro is better, some differences must make it better than M2.
The prime difference between M2 and M2 Pro is the GPU power, the difference in memory bandwidth, and other aspects like storage.
M2 Pro includes a 12‑core CPU, 19‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine, and 200/GBs Memory Bandwidth, whereas M2 contains 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 100/GBs Memory Bandwidth.
You can see for yourself the difference between GPU and CPU power. Remember that the more CPU and GPU cores, the more speed and power it’ll provide.
Here’s a table that will show you some differences between M2 and M2 Pro:
| Aspects | M2 | M2 Pro |
| Display Size | 13.6-inch (diagonal) | 14.2 in (360 mm) (diagonal) |
| Native Resolution | 2560-by-1664 | 3024 × 1964 |
| CPU Cores | 8 Cores (split between 4 performance and 4 Efficiency cores) | 12 Cores (split between 8 Performance and 4 Efficiency Cores) |
| GPU Cores | 8 Cores | 19 Cores |
| Storage | 256GB SSD You can configure with up to 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB | SSD 512 GB or 1 TB PCIe-based SSD with up to 7.4 GB/s read speed, not upgradeable |
| Dimensions | Height: 0.44 inch or 1.13 cm Width: 11.97 inches or 30.41 cm Depth: 8.46 inches or 21.5 cm | 12.31 in (31.27 cm) x 8.71 in (22.12 cm) x 0.61 in (1.55 cm) |
| Weight | 2.7 pounds or 1.24 kg | 3.6 lb (1.63 kg) |
Don’t forget to check out this video if you want to know why M2 Pro can be a good investment:
Why Is the MacBook Pro M2 More Expensive Than the MacBook Air M2?
Apple has created many Macs; each must come with something different that also makes a difference in the price.
For instance, if we talk about Air M2 and Pro M2, the Air Macs are generally less expensive than the Pro because the Air Macs come with lesser powerful processors and fewer features.
Furthermore, for these reasons, Air Macs are also considered suitable for casual use to perform tasks like web browsing, taking notes, and email.
MacBook Pro M2, on the other hand, should be used for professional tasks like coding development, graphic designing, or any other task that requires a powerful processor.
A study by PCMag found that MacBooks hold their resale value exceptionally well compared to other laptops, making them a potentially smart investment. –PCMag
FAQs
Is M2 Good For Gaming?
MacBook Pro M2 has a powerful processor and high resolution with amazing graphical performance, which is why it can be good for gaming.
Remember that MacBook Air M2 has a less powerful processor, so make sure that you get the M2 chip with MacBook Pro, not with MacBook Air, if you plan on playing games on it.
Does the MacBook Pro M2 Have a GPU?
M2 has an 8-core GPU, which is less if compared to M2 Pro. M2 Pro has a 19-core GPU, producing the most amazing graphical performance.
Conclusion
- MacBook Pro is good for gaming if you think of its features. However, the software doesn’t support all the games; it can only support several games, including Fortnite and Call of Duty.
- In addition, the M2 Pro is the latest chip created for MacBook Pro, which is 14-inch and 16-inch. It has a divine CPU and GPU power, so you can use it for gaming.
- The M2 chip for MacBook Pro has a far more powerful processor than the M2 chip for MacBook Air.
- Air Macs are great for everyday use, but Pro Macs should only be used professionally for demanding tasks.
- M2 and M2 Pro have a huge difference in GPU power. Moreover, M2 Pro comes with more of everything, whether it’s resolution, memory, or storage.
- As the Air Macs come with fewer features and less powerful processors, they will also come with a less expensive price tag as compared to MacBook Pro.