Cronos: The New Dawn, Mac Mini M4 16GB: Performance test

Описание: Cronos: The New Dawn
Mac Native Version

TIMELINE:
00:00 Test setup
00:15 Graphics settings
00:39 Gameplay (Frame Gen Off)
03:13 Gameplay (Frame Gen On)
04:53 Results Summary


PERFORMANCE TEST:

Setup: Mac Mini M4 16GB 10CPU/10GPU, macOS 26.3 Tahoe.

Settings: 1080p resolution, "Very Low" graphics preset, MetalFX upscaling set to "Performance", Frame Generation Off at start (on later).

Performance (estimated averages):
55 FPS with Frame Generation Off.
85 FPS with Frame Generation On.

Memory usage at the end of the test: 13.6 GB.

Despite decent FPS numbers on the Metal HUD, gameplay has some stutters.


FINDINGS:

1. The game is only playable on the M4 by using the "very low" graphics preset. Using the "Low" preset tanks the performance.

2. Frame Generation can be enabled with MetalFX, but it looks like it does not improve gameplay on M4.

3. TSR "High" or "Low" upscaling can be used instead of MetalFX (without frame generation).

4. The game, by design, requires a lot of "die-continue" and "die-load game" cycles. Each cycle eats some additional memory, and eventually this may cause slowdowns on the 16GB M4. When this happens, a "save and restart" is required.

5. The game is tested in demanding Abbey section. This is the first macOS release of the game, and things may change by future updates.