Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) vs GPU (10-core)

We compared two integrated laptop professional GPUs: the Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) with 288 pipelines and 2304 shaders against the GPU (10-core) that utilizes 160 pipelines and 1280 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 M3 GPU (10-core) over M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
Reasons to consider the Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
  • Performs significantly better (up to 76%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • 83% higher maximum theoretical performance (6.4 vs 3.5 TFLOPS)
  • Has 50% higher memory bandwidth: 153.6 vs 102.4 GB/s
  • Achieves 44% more points in the GeekBench 6 Compute test (43K vs 30K)
  • Has 80% more shading units (2304 vs 1280)

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 13531
Wild Life Extreme 14021 8237
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 60.3 img/sec
Face Detection 53.6 img/sec 40.8 img/sec
Horizon Detection 1.82 Gpixels/sec 1.21 Gpixels/sec
Edge Detection 2.59 Gpixels/sec 1.64 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian Blur 1.84 Gpixels/sec 1.2 Gpixels/sec
Feature Matching 0.48 Gpixels/sec 0.37 Gpixels/sec
Stereo Matching 148.6 Gpixels/sec 102.6 Gpixels/sec
Particle Physics 4893.9 FPS 3293.3 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
1692.54
Sources: Blender [9], [10] – 240 & 309 samples

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
No benchmark results yet
Apple M3 GPU (10-core)
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2025-04-24 (Alex)Geekbench 6 OpenCL31004

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 1579
Image Segmentation (HP) 9924 2944
Image Super Resolution (Q) 13323 4425
Face Detection (HP) 19900 6661
Pose Estimation (Q) 35730 15020
Text Classification (SP) 2904 2984
Machine Translation (HP) 4985 5876
Object Detection (SP) 5496 1826
Depth Estimation (Q) 23344 9339
Style Transfer (SP) 78342 22291
Framework Core ML Core ML
Backend GPU CPU
Sources: Geekbench [9], [10]

Specifications

Technical specifications of Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) and GPU (10-core)

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Build Integrated Integrated
Released October 31, 2023 October 31, 2023
Case Laptop Laptop
Purpose Professional Professional
Segment Mid-range Mid-range
Architecture Apple M GPU Apple M GPU
GPU Codename Custom -
Rival Equivalent - GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop - GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop
Successor - Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) - Apple M5 GPU (10-Core)
Recommended CPU - Apple M3 Pro or above - Apple M3 or above
Used in CPUs - Apple M3 Pro - Apple M3
Laptop GPU ranking (61st and 81st place)

Graphics Processing Unit

Base Clock 500 MHz 500 MHz
Boost Clock 1380 MHz 1380 MHz
Shading Units 2304 1280
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) 144 80
Render Output Units (ROPs) 72 40
Compute Units (Pipelines) 288 160
Instructions Per Cycle 2 IPC 2 IPC

Raw Performance

Pixel Fill Rate 99 GPixel/s 55 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate 199 GTexel/s 110 GTexel/s
FLOPS (FP32)
6.4 TFLOPS
3.5 TFLOPS

Physical

Interface Custom Custom
TGP 30 W 15 W
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Fabrication Process 3 nm 3 nm
Transistor Count 25.2 billion 13.8 billion
Max. Temperature 100°C 100°C

Memory

Memory Type System Shared System Shared
Memory Clock 6400 MHz 6400 MHz
Effective Memory Speed 12800 Mbps 12800 Mbps
Bus 192-bit 128-bit
ECC No No
Memory Bandwidth
153.6 GB/s
102.4 GB/s

API

Ray Tracing Yes Yes
DLSS No No

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