Apple’s latest M3 Ultra chip, which powers the new Mac Studio, has made its first appearance on Geekbench 6, revealing mixed performance results when compared to both the M4 Max and its predecessor, the M2 Ultra. While Apple claimed significant performance improvements with the M3 Ultra, the early benchmark results suggest only modest gains, especially in CPU performance.
M3 Ultra Geekbench 6 Scores
According to the benchmark listing, the Mac Studio (Mac15,14) with the M3 Ultra features:
✔ 32-core CPU
✔ 256GB unified memory
📊 Benchmark results:
- Single-core score: 3,221
- Multi-core score: 27,749
While these numbers indicate a slight improvement over previous generations, they fall short of expectations, particularly when comparing the M3 Ultra to the M4 Max.
M3 Ultra vs. M4 Max: A Surprising Comparison
When stacked against the M4 Max (16-core CPU) in the MacBook Pro 16″, the M3 Ultra actually underperforms in single-core tasks, showing a 20% slower score than the M4 Max. However, thanks to its higher core count, the M3 Ultra does hold an 8% advantage in multi-core performance.
🔹 M3 Ultra vs. M4 Max (MacBook Pro 16″)
| Chip | Single-Core Score | Multi-Core Score |
|---|---|---|
| M3 Ultra | 3,221 | 27,749 |
| M4 Max | 4,010 | 25,637 |
The difference in single-core performance is likely due to the M4 series using TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process, which offers better efficiency and higher clock speeds than the first-generation 3nm process used in the M3 Ultra.
M3 Ultra vs. M2 Ultra: How Much Better Is It?
Compared to its predecessor, the M2 Ultra, the M3 Ultra does show notable gains, but not as much as Apple’s 50% CPU improvement claim.
🔹 M3 Ultra vs. M2 Ultra (Mac Studio)
| Chip | Single-Core Improvement | Multi-Core Improvement |
|---|---|---|
| M3 Ultra | +13% | +25% |
| M2 Ultra | Baseline | Baseline |
While a 13% boost in single-core performance and a 25% jump in multi-core are respectable, it is far from the 50% improvement Apple’s marketing suggested.
What This Means for the M3 Ultra’s Real-World Performance
💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ The M3 Ultra struggles in single-core tasks, falling behind the M4 Max.
✔ Multi-core performance is better than the M4 Max but only marginally.
✔ Compared to the M2 Ultra, the M3 Ultra sees modest gains, but not 50% as Apple claimed.
✔ The M3 Ultra still needs further testing, especially in GPU-intensive benchmarks, where it may excel.
Apple enthusiasts and professional users will likely have to wait for more comprehensive benchmarks to see if the M3 Ultra justifies its premium—especially for tasks like video editing, 3D rendering, and AI workloads.
For now, the M3 Ultra is a solid step forward but not the revolutionary leap Apple initially suggested.
