Apple M3 Benchmark, Test and specs

Last updated: 2024-03-22

The Apple M3 has 8 cores with 8 threads and is based on the 3. gen of the Apple M series series. The processor was released in Q4/2023. The Apple M3 scores 2,150 points in the Geekbench 5 single-core benchmark. In the Geekbench 5 multi-core benchmark, the result is 10,450 points.

CPU lineage
The segment in which we have classified the Apple M3. Here you can see if it is a desktop processor or a mobile processor or which processor may be the successor of the Apple M3.
Name:	Apple M3
Family:	Apple M series (23)
CPU group:	Apple M3 (6)
Architecture:	M3
Segment:	Mobile
Generation:	3
Predecessor:	Apple M2
Successor:	--

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M3 has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple M3 is 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz). The number of CPU cores greatly affects the speed of the processor and is an important performance indicator.

CPU Cores / Threads:	8 / 8
Core architecture:	hybrid (big.LITTLE)
A-Core:	4x P-Core
B-Core:	4x E-Core

Hyperthreading / SMT:	No
Overclocking:	No
A-Core Frequency:	0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz)
B-Core Frequency:	0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz)

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

AI hardware:	Apple Neural Engine
AI specifications:	16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS

Internal Graphics

The Apple M3 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. Specifically, the Apple M3 uses the Apple M3 (10 Core), which has 1280 texture shaders and 160 execution units. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

GPU name:	Apple M3 (10 Core)
GPU frequency:	0.39 GHz
GPU (Turbo):	1.40 GHz
Compute units:	160
Shader:	1280
Hardware Raytracing:	Yes
Release date:	Q4/2023

Max. displays:	2
Generation:	3
Direct X:	--
Technology:	3 nm
Max. GPU Memory:	24 GB
Frame Generation:	No

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

h265 / HEVC (8 bit):	Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (10 bit):	Decode / Encode
h264:	Decode / Encode
VP8:	Decode
VP9:	Decode / Encode

AV1:	Decode
AVC:	Decode
VC-1:	Decode
JPEG:	Decode / Encode

Memory type:	Memory bandwidth:
Memory & PCIe The processor can use up to 24 GB memory in 2 (Dual Channel) memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 102.4 GB/s. The memory type as well as the amount of memory can greatly affect the speed of the system.

LPDDR5-6400	102.4 GB/s
Max. Memory:	24 GB
Memory channels:	2 (Dual Channel)
ECC:	No
PCIe:	4.0
PCIe Bandwidth:	--

Thermal Management The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the processor is 22 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently. The TDP usually gives a rough idea of the actual power consumption of the CPU.

TDP (PL1 / PBP):	22 W
TDP (PL2):	--
TDP up:	--
TDP down:	15 W
Tjunction max.:	100 °C

Technical details

The Apple M3 is made in 3 nm. The smaller the manufacturing process of a CPU, the more modern and energy-efficient it is. Overall, the processor has 20.00 MB cache. A large cache can greatly speed up the processor's speed in some cases such as games.

Technology:	3 nm
Chip design:	Chiplet
Socket:	--
L2-Cache:	20.00 MB
L3-Cache:	--
AES-NI:	Yes
Operating systems:	macOS, iPadOS

Virtualization:	Apple Virtualization Framework
Instruction set (ISA):	Armv8-A (64 bit)
ISA extensions:	Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
Release date:	Q4/2023
Release price:	--
Part Number:	--
Documents:	--

Apple M3
8C 8T @ 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz)

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Benchmark results

The benchmark results for the Apple M3 have been carefully checked by us. We only publish benchmark results that have been created by us or that have been submitted by a visitor and then checked by a team member. All results are based on and fullfill our benchmark guidelines.

Screenshots:

Geekbench 6.2.1 on Apple MacBook Pro 14 (16 GB RAM), macOS 14.1

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.


	Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) 11C 11T @ 4.06 GHz	139
	Intel Core i9-14900K 24C 32T @ 6.00 GHz	139
	Intel Core i9-14900KF 24C 32T @ 6.00 GHz	139
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	137
	Apple M3 (8-GPU) 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	137
	Intel Core i9-13900KS 24C 32T @ 6.00 GHz	137
	Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-84-100) 12C 12T @ 4.20 GHzNot verified	132

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.


	Intel Xeon E5-2680 v4 14C 28T @ 3.30 GHz	695
	Intel Core i9-9900KS 8C 16T @ 5.00 GHz	687
	AMD Ryzen 7 5800H 8C 16T @ 4.40 GHz	665
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	659
	Apple M3 (8-GPU) 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	659
	Intel Core i5-12500 6C 12T @ 4.60 GHz	659
	AMD Ryzen 5 5600 6C 12T @ 4.40 GHz	657

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.


	AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 6C 12T @ 5.30 GHz	1976
	Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) 14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz	1968
	Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) 16C 16T @ 4.06 GHz	1968
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	1965
	Apple M3 (8-GPU) 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	1965
	AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7945 12C 24T @ 5.40 GHz	1964
	AMD Ryzen 9 7900 12C 24T @ 5.40 GHz	1964

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.


	Intel Core i5-10600K 6C 12T @ 4.50 GHz	10489
	Intel Core i5-10600KF 6C 12T @ 4.50 GHz	10489
	AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS 8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz	10472
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	10437
	Apple M3 (8-GPU) 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	10437
	Intel Core i7-1360P 12C 16T @ 2.20 GHz	10422
	AMD Ryzen 7 6800U 8C 16T @ 3.40 GHz	10412

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.


	AMD Ryzen 7 7700 8C 16T @ 5.30 GHz	2177
	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X 32C 64T @ 5.30 GHz	2166
	Intel Core i9-14900HX 24C 32T @ 5.80 GHz	2161
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	2150
	Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) 16C 16T @ 4.06 GHz	2150
	Apple M3 (8-GPU) 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	2150
	Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) 14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz	2150

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.


	Intel Xeon W-1370P 8C 16T @ 4.40 GHz	10467
	Intel Core i9-9820X 10C 20T @ 4.00 GHz	10465
	Intel Xeon E5-2680 v4 14C 28T @ 2.70 GHz	10459
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	10450
	Apple M3 (8-GPU) 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	10450
	Intel Core i5-13500H 12C 16T @ 4.40 GHz	10420
	Intel Core i5-13505H 12C 16T @ 4.40 GHz	10420

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.


	Intel Core i9-14900K 24C 32T @ 6.00 GHz	3289
	Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-84-100) 12C 12T @ 4.20 GHzNot verified	3218
	Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) 12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz	3152
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	3125
	Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) 16C 16T @ 4.06 GHz	3125
	Apple M3 (8-GPU) 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	3125
	Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) 14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz	3125

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.


	Intel Core i9-12900H 14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz	11894
	Intel Core i9-12900HK 14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz	11894
	Intel Core i5-13450HX 10C 16T @ 4.00 GHz	11891
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	11863
	Apple M3 (8-GPU) 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	11863
	Intel Core i9-10980XE 18C 36T @ 4.30 GHz	11836
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz	11830

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.


	AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX AMD Radeon 680M @ 2.40 GHz	3686
	Intel Core i7-8709G AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH @ 1.19 GHz	3656
	Intel Core i7-8809G AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH @ 1.19 GHz	3656
	Apple M3 Apple M3 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz	3550
	Apple M2 Apple M2 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz	3550
	AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS AMD Radeon 680M @ 2.20 GHz	3379
	AMD Ryzen 7 7736U AMD Radeon 680M @ 2.20 GHz	3379

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.


	Intel Core i7-10700K 8C 16T @ 4.90 GHz	19094
	AMD Ryzen 5 6600H 6C 12T @ 3.80 GHz	19080
	Intel Xeon W-1350 6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz	19029
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	18951
	AMD Ryzen 5 5600GE 6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz	18930
	Intel Xeon E5-2697 v3 14C 28T @ 3.10 GHz	18928
	Intel Core i5-12450HX 8C 12T @ 2.40 GHz	18874

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.


	Apple M3 10,437 CB R23 MC @ 22 W	474
	Apple M3 (8-GPU) 10,437 CB R23 MC @ 22 W	474
	AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U 13,450 CB R23 MC @ 30 W	448
	AMD Ryzen 7 8840U 13,450 CB R23 MC @ 30 W	448
	AMD Ryzen 7 7840U 13,450 CB R23 MC @ 30 W	448
	AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8640U 10,675 CB R23 MC @ 24 W	445
	AMD Ryzen 5 8640U 10,675 CB R23 MC @ 24 W	445

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).


	Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) 12C 12T @ 1.00 GHzNot verified	45
	Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-84-100) 12C 12T @ 1.00 GHzNot verified	45
	Samsung Exynos 2400 10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz	44
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 0.70 GHz	35
	Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) 16C 16T @ 0.70 GHz	35
	Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) 12C 12T @ 0.70 GHz	35
	Apple M3 (8-GPU) 8C 8T @ 0.70 GHz	35

Benchmarks

Cinebench 2024 (SC)
272 entries

Cinebench 2024 (MC)
271 entries

Cinebench R23 (SC)
586 entries

Cinebench R23 (MC)
565 entries

Geekbench 5 (SC)
2,488 entries

Geekbench 5 (MC)
2,461 entries

Geekbench 6 (SC)
1,755 entries

Geekbench 6 (MC)
1,703 entries

FP32 SP (iGPU)
2,042 entries

PassMark CPU-Mark
2,392 entries

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)
109 entries

AI / ML Performance
119 entries

Description of the processor

With the Apple M3, the manufacturer has introduced its first third-generation processor. The SoC contains a CPU part that has the same features as the Apple M1 or Apple M2 with 4 P cores and 4 E cores. The cores now clock a little higher at up to 4.06 GHz. This also results in slightly higher CPU performance compared to its predecessors.

The jump in performance compared to the Apple M2 is between 10 and 20 percent and mainly comes from the increased clock frequency. However, minor optimizations have further increased the efficiency of the processor. In our Cinebench R23 efficiency benchmark, which compares the multi-core performance achieved with the energy consumption under full load, the Apple M3 currently takes first place.

The increased efficiency is certainly also due to TSMCs new manufacturing process. TSMC now manufactures the Apple M3 in 3 nm, while the Apple M2 was still manufactured in 5 nm. Due to the increased performance, the TDP of the Apple M3 was increased to 22 watts, while its predecessor still had to make do with 20 watts.

Apple has not touched the memory connection compared to the Apple M2. Up to 24 GB of LPDDR5-6400 memory can still be addressed. The maximum bandwidth is 102.4 GB/s. What is new is the management of shared memory. This is now divided more intelligently between the CPU and the internal graphics (iGPU). Apple calls this “Dynamic Cache”. The new memory management should give the Apple M3 significantly better graphics performance.

And although the pure FP32 raw graphics performance of 3.55 TFLOPS has not changed compared to the Apple M2, the Apple M3 achieves really better frame rates in practice. The AI area of the SoC, which is now twice as large at 35 TOPS, also contributes to this. At the same time, the internal graphics now support hardware decoding of the AV1 code and enable ray tracing in hardware.

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