Apple M3
vs
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)

vs

CPU Comparison Result

Below are the results of a comparison of Apple M3 and Apple M5 (8-core GPU) processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.

Advantages

  • More Total Cores: 10 (8 vs 10)
  • Newer Launch Date: March 2026 (October 2023 vs March 2026)

Basic

Apple
Label Name
Apple
October 2023
Launch Date
March 2026
Laptop
Platform
Laptop
Apple M3 performance cores + efficiency cores
CPU Architecture
Apple custom ARM architecture
Apple M3
CPU Name
Apple M5
Apple M3
Model Name
Apple M5 8-Core GPU
TSMC
Foundry
TSMC N3P
Apple M3 series
Generation
M5

CPU Specifications

-
Super-core Max Frequency
4.61 GHz
8
Total Cores
Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).
10
8
Total Threads
10
4
Performance-cores
-
4
Efficient-cores
6
-
Super-cores
4
-
Max Turbo Frequency
4.61 GHz
2.75 GHz
Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency
3.05 GHz
NEON
Instruction Set Extensions
-
4.06 GHz
Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency
-
ARMv8.6-A, NEON
Extended Instruction Set
-
P-cores: 192 KB instruction + 128 KB data per core; E-cores: 128 KB instruction + 64 KB data per core
L1 Cache
-
P-core cluster: 16 MB; E-core cluster: 4 MB
L2 Cache
-
3 nm
Technology
Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.
Third-generation 3 nm
ARMv8.6-A
Instruction Set
An instruction set architecture (ISA) defines the instructions a processor can execute. Common architectures include x86-64, ARM and RISC-V. The ISA determines software compatibility, while optional instruction extensions add specialized capabilities.
-
25 billion
Transistor Count
-

Memory Specifications

128-bit
Memory Bus Width
-
Unified LPDDR5-6400
Memory Type
LPDDR5X unified memory
LPDDR5-6400
LPDDR5 Speed
-
24 GB
Max Memory Size
Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.
32 GB
100 GB/s
Max Memory Bandwidth
Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).
153 GB/s
6400 MT/s
Maximum Memory Speed
9600 MT/s

GPU Specifications

Thunderbolt 3 / USB4 with DisplayPort, HDMI
External Display Standard
Thunderbolt / DisplayPort 1.4 over USB-C
Apple M3 GPU
GPU Name
Apple M5 8-core GPU
-
Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
Supported
Up to 6K 60Hz external display; up to 5K 60Hz second external display with lid closed; HDMI up to 4K 120Hz
Max External Display Resolution
Up to two external displays: two 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz; or one 8K at 60Hz, 5K at 120Hz or 4K at 240Hz
Hardware-accelerated video encode/decode; AV1 decode
Video Concurrency
-
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1 decode
Video Decode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1; hardware-accelerated; frame rate not disclosed
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
Video Encode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW; hardware-accelerated; frame rate not disclosed
Apple media engine with ProRes acceleration and AV1 decode
Video Processing Unit
-
1400 MHz
GPU Max Dynamic Frequency
-
8/9/10
Graphics Core Count
8
-
Max Resolution
Up to 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz
Up to 2 external displays with lid closed
Number of Displays Supported
-
Metal, OpenCL
GPU APIs
Metal
Up to 3.55 TFLOPS FP32
Graphics Performance
-
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, and AV1 decode
Media Engine
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode
1
Video Decode Engines
1
1
Video Encode Engines
1
1
ProRes Encode/Decode Engines
1
Yes
OpenCL Support
OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for heterogeneous parallel programming.
-

AI Specifications

16-core Apple Neural Engine
AI Engine
Apple Neural Engine with Neural Accelerators in GPU cores
16
Neural Engine Core Count
16
Apple Neural Engine
NPU Name
16-core Neural Engine
18 TOPS
NPU Performance
-

Connectivity

Yes
Bluetooth Support
Supported
-
Bluetooth Version
6
-
Wi-Fi Standard
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)

Interfaces and Ports

Yes, Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb/s
Thunderbolt Support
Thunderbolt 4
USB4
USB Version
USB 4 up to 40Gb/s
Yes, USB4 up to 40 Gb/s
USB4 Support
Supported

Miscellaneous

Yes, Apple silicon secure boot chain of trust
Hardware-Verified Secure Boot
-
Kernel Integrity Protection, Pointer Authentication Codes, Fast Permission Restrictions
Runtime Anti-Exploitation
-

Benchmarks

Cinebench R23 Single Core
Apple M3
1965
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
2603 +32%
Cinebench R23 Multi Core
Apple M3
10437
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
16230 +56%
Geekbench 6 Single Core
Apple M3
3075
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
4185 +36%
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
Apple M3
11525
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
17072 +48%
Geekbench 7 Single Core
Apple M3
2729
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
3703 +36%
Geekbench 7 Multi Core
Apple M3
11704
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
18638 +59%
Passmark CPU Single Core
Apple M3
4712
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
5749 +22%
Passmark CPU Multi Core
Apple M3
19087
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
26996 +41%
Cinebench 2024 Single Core
Apple M3
137
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
200 +46%
Cinebench 2024 Multi Core
Apple M3
659
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
957 +45%
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Apple M3
3340
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
5415 +62%
Blender
Apple M3
132
Apple M5 (8-core GPU)
359 +172%