Apple's M1 processor often surpasses the graphics performance of desktop GPUs, including the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti and AMD Radeon RX 560, according to a new benchmark submission spotted by Tom's Hardware.
According to Apple, the M1's octa-core GPU can simultaneously handle close to 25,000 threads and deliver up to 2.6 TFLOPS of throughput. This is the same TFLOPS achieved by the Radeon RX 560, and just below the GeForce GTX 1650's 2.9 TFLOPS.
The GFXBench 5.0 benchmarks were tested under Apple's Metal API, and show that the M1 often performs better than the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti and AMD Radeon RX 560 by a fair margin. There is not yet a Metal benchmark for the GeForce GTX 1650 for the sake of comparison.
In the Aztec Ruins Normal Tier test, the Radeon RX 560 achieves 146.2 FPS, the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti achieves 159 FPS, and the M1 achieves 203.6 FPS. Similar results are seen across the board, with the M1 almost consistently surpassing the performance of the two desktop GPUs.
It is worth noting that GFXBench 5.0 benchmarks are primarily used to test mobile devices, and the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti and Radeon RX 560 are older GPUs. Nonetheless, the M1 contains integrated graphics and the fact that it can surpass 75W desktop graphics cards is impressive. More detailed GPU comparisons will likely be coming soon as the first Macs equipped with the M1 arrive to customers this week.
Tuesday January 13, 2026 6:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today introduced a new Apple Creator Studio bundle that offers access to six creative apps, as well as exclusive AI features and content, as part of a single subscription. In the U.S., pricing is set at $12.99 per month or $129 per year.
Here are the six apps included with an Apple Creator Studio subscription:Final Cut Pro on the Mac and iPad
Logic Pro on the Mac and iPad
Pixelmator...
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Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
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Below,...
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No other AirPods models received firmware updates today.
How to install AirPods Pro...
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Musk serves as CEO of xAI, the company behind Gemini competitor Grok.
It is unlikely...
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Apple and Google this week announced that Gemini will help power a more personalized Siri, and The Information has provided more details.
As soon as this spring, the report said the revamped version of Siri will be able to…
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That means you dont know the diff between an gpu that is build on the chip vs that nvdidia dedicated gpu.... Tell us what integrated gpu build into the chip can come close to M1
I'm reminded of this classic quote, when Apple was building the iPhone “We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.” -- Palm CEO Ed Colligan
I get the feeling Nvidia aren't expecting Apple to 'just walk in' and make competitive graphics processors, and I get the feeling they might be surprised.
The M1 is beating the snot out of the Intel CPUs and now some GPUs. Now don't get me wrong. I recognize that these values may not be sustained and only win in the short term. I don't care because, before now, the Intel equivalents (and I mean equivalent in terms of low power chips) were simply pitiful and didn't even pretend to compete.
This is just the beginning. The M1 is the low end chip. Remember that!
Alright, so the graphics is now plenty fast on an ordinary MacBook Air. The only thing left to see is sustained performance of M1 with passive cooling and whether there's thermal throttling involved and when it kicks in specifically and I might be able to switch from a Pro to an Air in due time.
For integrated GPU's on low power high efficiency platforms (MacBook etc.), this is great to see. Nice. That said a nVidia 1050 is 2 generations old and then a lowish mid range GPU - just for reference. For integrated GPU's that's still great.
The real test will be the GPU's on the higher end iMac Apple Silicon when it comes out. How far up the GPU performance chain will they go is the question (or will they offer a discreet GPU for that platform)?
