Apple M6 (12-Core) vs M5 Ultra (36-Core)
86
out of 100
VS
100
out of 100
We compared two CPUs: the 4790 GHz Apple M6 (12-Core) (laptop) with 12-cores against the 4.61 GHz M5 Ultra (36-Core) (desktop) with 36-cores. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.
Review
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of power consumption
Integrated Graphics
iGPU capabilities for gaming and 3D-intensive tasks
The "iGPU" and "Power Efficiency" have a minor impact on the NanoReview Score for desktop CPU.
Choose your main usage scenario to recalculate the Final Score and see which CPU suits your needs.
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of Apple M6 (12-Core)
- More modern manufacturing process – 2 versus 3 nanometers
Advantages of Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core)
- Supports up to 512 GB LPDDR5X-9600 RAM
- Around 1058.8 GB/s (623%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
- More powerful Apple M5 Ultra GPU (80-core) integrated graphics: 33.2 vs 4.9 TFLOPS
- Has 24 more physical cores
Test in Benchmarks
Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasksCinebench
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
Cinebench Scores (91st and 1st place)
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Specifications
Full technical specification of Apple M6 (12-Core) and M5 Ultra (36-Core)General
| Vendor | Apple | Apple |
| Released | August 25, 2026 | August 25, 2026 |
| Type | Laptop | Desktop |
| Instruction Set | ARMv9 | ARMv9 |
| Codename | Apple M6 | Apple M5 |
| Model number | T8152 | - |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M6 GPU (12-core) | Apple M5 Ultra GPU (80-core) |
CPU
| P-Cores | 6 | 24 |
| P-Threads | 6 | 24 |
| Base Frequency (P) | 4790 GHz | 4.61 GHz |
| E-Cores | 6 | 12 |
| E-Threads | 6 | 12 |
| Base Frequency (E) | - | 4.38 GHz |
| Total Cores | 12 | 36 |
| Total Threads | 12 | 36 |
| Bus Frequency | 100 MHz | 100 MHz |
| Multiplier | 47x | 46x |
| L1 Cache | 256K (per core) | 192K (per core) |
| Unlocked Multiplier | No | No |
Package
| Fabrication Process | 2 nm | 3 nm |
| Socket | Apple M-Socket | Apple M-Socket |
| Peak Temperature | - | 100°C |
Laptop processors ranking (#12th place)
Desktop CPU ranking (#1st place)
iGPU
| Integrated Graphics | Apple M6 GPU (12-core) | Apple M5 Ultra GPU (80-core) |
| GPU Base Clock | - | 500 MHz |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1600 MHz | 1620 MHz |
| Shading Units | 1536 | 10240 |
| TMUs | 96 | 640 |
| ROPs | 80 | 320 |
| Execution Units | 192 | 1280 |
iGPU FLOPS
Memory Support
| Memory Types | - LPDDR5X-10667 | - LPDDR5X-9600 |
| Max. Memory Size | 32 GB | 512 GB |
| Memory Channels | 8 | 64 |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 170 GB/s | 1228.8 GB/s |
| ECC Support | No | No |
Misc
Cast your vote
Total votes: 9