Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) vs M2 Pro GPU (19-core)

We compared two integrated laptop professional GPUs: the Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) with 288 pipelines and 2304 shaders against the 10 months older M2 Pro GPU (19-core) that utilizes 304 pipelines and 2432 shaders. Here you will find complete details about specs, efficiency, performance tests, and more.

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 M2 Pro GPU (19-core) over M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
Reasons to consider the Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
  • Performs better (up to 20%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • Manufactured using a more efficient 3 nm process technology
Reasons to consider the Apple M2 Pro GPU (19-core)
  • Has 33% higher memory bandwidth: 204.8 vs 153.6 GB/s

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 16218
Wild Life Extreme 14021 12726
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 89.7 img/sec
Face Detection 53.6 img/sec 58 img/sec
Horizon Detection 1.82 Gpixels/sec 1.94 Gpixels/sec
Edge Detection 2.59 Gpixels/sec 3.26 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian Blur 1.84 Gpixels/sec 2.19 Gpixels/sec
Feature Matching 0.48 Gpixels/sec 0.55 Gpixels/sec
Stereo Matching 148.6 Gpixels/sec 163 Gpixels/sec
Particle Physics 4893.9 FPS 6139.2 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 & 206 samples

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 5279
Image Segmentation (HP) 9924 8089
Image Super Resolution (Q) 13323 15007
Face Detection (HP) 19900 19212
Pose Estimation (Q) 35730 44046
Text Classification (SP) 2904 2280
Machine Translation (HP) 4985 1972
Object Detection (SP) 5496 4941
Depth Estimation (Q) 23344 22209
Style Transfer (SP) 78342 79898
Framework Core ML Core ML
Backend GPU GPU
Sources: Geekbench [9], [10]

Specifications

Technical specifications of Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) and M2 Pro GPU (19-core)

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Build Integrated Integrated
Released October 31, 2023 January 17, 2023
Case Laptop Laptop
Purpose Professional Professional
Segment Mid-range High-end
Architecture Apple M GPU Apple M GPU
GPU Codename Custom -
Rival Equivalent - GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop - GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop
Successor - Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) - Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core)
Recommended CPU - Apple M3 Pro or above - Apple M2 Pro or above
Used in CPUs - Apple M3 Pro - Apple M2 Pro
Laptop GPU ranking (61st and 69th place)

Graphics Processing Unit

Base Clock 500 MHz 450 MHz
Boost Clock 1380 MHz 1398 MHz
Shading Units 2304 2432
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) 144 152
Render Output Units (ROPs) 72 76
Compute Units (Pipelines) 288 304
Instructions Per Cycle 2 IPC 2 IPC

Raw Performance

Pixel Fill Rate 99 GPixel/s 106 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate 199 GTexel/s 212 GTexel/s
FLOPS (FP32)
6.8 TFLOPS

Physical

Interface Custom Custom
TGP 30 W 35 W
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Fabrication Process 3 nm 5 nm
Transistor Count 25.2 billion 26 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 256-bit
ECC No No
Memory Bandwidth
204.8 GB/s

API

Ray Tracing Yes No
DLSS No No

Cast your vote

Choose between two graphics cards
4 (36.4%)
7 (63.6%)
Total votes: 11

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