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Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) vs M1 Ultra GPU (64-core)

Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
VS
Apple M1 Ultra GPU (64-core)
Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
Custom
Apple M1 Ultra GPU (64-core)
Custom

We compared two integrated laptop professional GPUs: the Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) with 288 pipelines and 2304 shaders against the 1 year and 8 months older M1 Ultra GPU (64-core) that utilizes 1024 pipelines and 8192 shaders. Here you will find complete details about specs, efficiency, performance tests, and more.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Benchmarks
  4. AI
  5. Specs
  6. Comments

Review

General comparison of performance in games, applications, power efficiency, and other metrics
Gaming
Performance in DirectX, OpenCL, and Vulkan games
Workstation
Perf. in 3D modeling, video editing and rendering apps
AI/ML
Capabilities for machine learning and AI-related tasks
Energy Efficiency
Power consumption efficiency in different scenarios
NanoReview Final Score
Overall video card score

Key differences

Key distinctions and advantages of M1 Ultra GPU (64-core) over M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
Reasons to consider the Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
  • Manufactured using a more efficient 3 nm process technology
Reasons to consider the Apple M1 Ultra GPU (64-core)
  • Performs significantly better (up to 75%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • 3.3x higher maximum theoretical performance (21.2 vs 6.4 TFLOPS)
  • Has 5.3x higher memory bandwidth: 819.2 vs 153.6 GB/s
  • Achieves 2.5x more points in the GeekBench 6 Compute test (106K vs 43K)
  • Has 3.6x more shading units (8192 vs 2304)
GPU
M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
vs
M1 Ultra GPU (64-core)

Benchmarks

Graphics cards’ performance in recent benchmarking apps

3D Mark

Multiplatform graphics benchmark suite that directly correlates with performance in modern games
Steel Nomad Lite Score
Solar Bay 22637 36712
Wild Life Extreme 14021 29343
Sources: 3DMark [1], [2]

GeekBench 6 OpenCL

GPU test for computational tasks (image processing, photography, computer vision, and ML)
GB6 Compute Score
Background Blur 82.1 img/sec 157.3 img/sec
Face Detection 53.6 img/sec 108.7 img/sec
Horizon Detection 1.82 Gpixels/sec 5.07 Gpixels/sec
Edge Detection 2.59 Gpixels/sec 10.7 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian Blur 1.84 Gpixels/sec 6.59 Gpixels/sec
Feature Matching 0.48 Gpixels/sec 0.73 Gpixels/sec
Stereo Matching 148.6 Gpixels/sec 293.4 Gpixels/sec
Particle Physics 4893.9 FPS 14154.4 FPS
API OpenCL OpenCL
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]

Cinebench 2024 GPU

Hardware benchmark using Maxon's Cinema 4D rendering engine
Cinebench 2024 GPU

Blender

Rendering performance test for 3D modeling
Blender GPU
Sources: Blender [9], [10] – 237 & 68 samples
Add your GPU benchmark result

Artificial Intelligence Tests

Performance in machine learning and artificial intelligence tasks

GeekBench 6 ML

Tests throughput of AI operations in single, half, and quantized precision
GB6 ML Single Precision
GB6 ML Half Precision
GB6 ML Quantized
Image Classification (SP) 5578 4834
Image Segmentation (HP) 9924 14458
Image Super Resolution (Q) 13323 13757
Face Detection (HP) 19900 23618
Pose Estimation (Q) 35730 80481
Text Classification (SP) 2904 2265
Machine Translation (HP) 4985 1798
Object Detection (SP) 5496 4975
Depth Estimation (Q) 23344 25755
Style Transfer (SP) 78342 135609
Framework Core ML Core ML
Backend GPU GPU
Sources: Geekbench [9], [10]

Specifications

Technical specifications of Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) and M1 Ultra GPU (64-core)

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Build Integrated Integrated
Released October 31, 2023 March 8, 2022
Case Laptop Laptop
Purpose Professional Professional
Segment Mid-range High-end
Architecture Apple M GPU Apple M GPU
GPU Codename Custom Custom
Rival Equivalent - GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop - GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop
Successor - Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) -
Recommended CPU - Apple M3 Pro or above - Apple M1 Ultra or above
Used in CPUs - Apple M3 Pro - Apple M1 Ultra
Laptop GPU ranking (60th and 30th place)

Graphics Processing Unit

Base Clock 500 MHz 450 MHz
Boost Clock 1380 MHz 1296 MHz
Shading Units 2304 8192
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) 144 512
Render Output Units (ROPs) 72 256
Compute Units (Pipelines) 288 1024
Instructions Per Cycle 2 IPC 2 IPC

Raw Performance

Pixel Fill Rate 99 GPixel/s 332 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate 199 GTexel/s 664 GTexel/s
FLOPS (FP32)
M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
6.4 TFLOPS
M1 Ultra GPU (64-core) +231%
21.2 TFLOPS

Physical

Interface Custom Custom
TGP 30 W 120 W
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Fabrication Process 3 nm 5 nm
Transistor Count 25.2 billion 92.8 billion
Max. Temperature 100°C 94°C

Memory

Memory Type System Shared System Shared
Memory Clock 6400 MHz 6400 MHz
Effective Memory Speed 12800 Mbps 12800 Mbps
Bus 192-bit 1024-bit
ECC No No
Memory Bandwidth
M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
153.6 GB/s
M1 Ultra GPU (64-core) +433%
819.2 GB/s

API

Ray Tracing Yes No
DLSS No No

Cast your vote

Choose between two graphics cards
2 (40%)
3 (60%)
Total votes: 5

Related comparisons

1. Apple M1 Ultra GPU (64-core) vs Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core)
2. Apple M1 Ultra GPU (64-core) vs Apple M4 Max GPU (40-core) (2)
3. Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) vs GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop
4. Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) vs GeForce RTX 3060
5. Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) vs Apple M4 Pro GPU (20-core)
6. Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) vs Apple M3 GPU (10-core)

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