Apple M5 Pro GPU (16-core) vs GPU (10-Core)

We compared two integrated laptop professional GPUs: the Apple M5 Pro GPU (16-core) with 256 pipelines and 2048 shaders against the 5 months older 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 M5 GPU (10-Core) over M5 Pro GPU (16-core)
Reasons to consider the Apple M5 Pro GPU (16-core)
  • Performs significantly better (up to 61%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • 61% higher maximum theoretical performance (6.6 vs 4.1 TFLOPS)
  • Has 2x higher memory bandwidth: 307 vs 153 GB/s
  • Has 60% more shading units (2048 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 39369 24536
Wild Life Extreme 19874 12278
Sources: 3DMark [1], [2]

GeekBench 6 GPU Compute

GPU test for computational tasks (image processing, photography, computer vision, and ML)
GB6 Compute Score
Background Blur 153.3 img/sec 155.7 img/sec
Face Detection 101 img/sec 178.1 img/sec
Horizon Detection 2.82 Gpixels/sec 2.22 Gpixels/sec
Edge Detection 4.09 Gpixels/sec 2.87 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian Blur 3.69 Gpixels/sec 5.8 Gpixels/sec
Feature Matching 0.84 Gpixels/sec 0.95 Gpixels/sec
Stereo Matching 212.6 Gpixels/sec 190.7 Gpixels/sec
Particle Physics 9757.6 FPS 6579.1 FPS
API OpenCL Metal
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
3750.22
Sources: Blender [9], [10] – 46 & 135 samples

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple M5 Pro GPU (16-core)
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-07-18 (JSK)Steel Nomad Light8894
📘 2026-03-30 (JSK)Geekbench 6 OpenCL76085
Apple M5 GPU (10-Core)
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-01-03 -> RennsportGeekbench 6 OpenCL48688

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) 8260 6348
Image Segmentation (HP) 25244 16813
Image Super Resolution (Q) 33177 30322
Face Detection (HP) 51773 34387
Pose Estimation (Q) 190718 111591
Text Classification (SP) 2913 2319
Machine Translation (HP) 8985 5555
Object Detection (SP) 7777 6450
Depth Estimation (Q) 63837 53195
Style Transfer (SP) 128419 82314
Framework Core ML Core ML
Backend GPU GPU
Sources: Geekbench [9], [10]

Specifications

Technical specifications of Apple M5 Pro GPU (16-core) and GPU (10-Core)

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Build Integrated Integrated
Released March 3, 2026 October 15, 2025
Case Laptop Laptop
Purpose Professional Professional
Segment Mid-range Mid-range
Architecture Apple M GPU Apple M GPU
GPU Codename Custom Custom
Rival Equivalent - - Adreno X2-90
Recommended CPU - Apple M5 Pro (15-Core) or above - Apple M5 (10-Core) or above
Used in CPUs - Apple M5 Pro (15-Core) - Apple M5 (10-Core)
Laptop GPU ranking (24th and 44th place)

Graphics Processing Unit

Boost Clock 1620 MHz 1620 MHz
Shading Units 2048 1280
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) 128 80
Render Output Units (ROPs) 64 40
Compute Units (Pipelines) 256 160
Instructions Per Cycle 2 IPC 2 IPC

Raw Performance

Pixel Fill Rate 104 GPixel/s 65 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate 207 GTexel/s 130 GTexel/s
FLOPS (FP32)
6.6 TFLOPS
4.1 TFLOPS

Physical

Interface Custom Custom
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Fabrication Process 3 nm 3 nm
Transistor Count 28 billion 28 billion
Max. Temperature 100°C 100°C

Memory

Memory Type System Shared System Shared
Memory Clock 9600 MHz 9600 MHz
Bus 256-bit 128-bit
ECC No No
Memory Bandwidth
307 GB/s
153 GB/s

API

Ray Tracing Yes Yes
DLSS No No

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Total votes: 11

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