If you have a MacBook from at least 2013, you can be certain you’ll be able to run Civ 5 without a problem.īut what if you have an even older machine? Based on the official system requirements, Civ 5 supports MacBooks with Intel HD 4000 graphics. Even the 2013 model did fine, running the game at a comfortable 62.8 Frames per second. You can read all about it in our official Civ 6 Performance Review.Ĭan you play Civilization 5 on a MacBook Pro?īoth of our test machines were MacBook Pros and both easily ran Civ 5. Granted, it’s a good looking game, but for a turn-based game, it’s extremely demanding.Īnd unless you have a brand-new Mac (or one with a dedicated graphics card), you should stay away from it. But just take a look at the newer Civilization 6. I know some of you may be thinking “duh, turn-based strategy games can even run on a potato”. Can your Mac run it? Unless you have a Mac from 2010 or older, you should be fine running Civilization 5 on Mac. Of all of our Mac Performance Reviews, this is one of the most straightforward.

60+ FPS: Very Smooth: For hardcore and professional players, a luxury for most.įor the sake of clarity, we always aim for at least 30 FPS, which is more than enough for most gamers.

45-60 FPS: Smooth: Fluid gameplay, with no perceivable stutters.

30-45 FPS: Playable: Acceptable for most (most gaming consoles do this).

20-30 FPS: Borderline: Can be OK in slow-paced games.

Below 20 FPS: Unplayable: Laggy gameplay, full of stutters and slowdowns.

The Results: Finally, a Civilization everyone can enjoy!Īs was to be expected from an almost 10-year old strategy game, Civ 5 runs great on Mac:Īs a reminder, this is how we describe the different levels of performance: Using our in-house benchmarking tool, we ran the game on every Mac using the same settings.

Quality settings: Medium (except Texture Quality set to High).

These are the settings we used to run Civilization 5’s internal benchmark : This time we decided to focus on older models with integrated graphics. We know this is a relatively easy game to run, so why bother testing it on a top of the line 27-inch iMac.

In this case, though, we decided to focus on lower-end machines. That’s how we ensure these Mac Performance Reviews help as many as possible.

And the more different they are the one from one another, the better. We always strive to test games on as many machines as possible.

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2013): 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 4 GB RAM, Intel Iris 5100 (1.5GB).

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016): 2.0 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, Intel Iris Graphics 540 (1.5GB).

The Test: Can you play Civilization 5 on Mac?Ĭiv 5 is, generally-speaking, a safe bet but can your Mac run it? To give you a proper answer, we did what we do best and tested the game on a couple of machines:

Civilization 5 or 6