First Benchmark Results Surface for M3 Chip in New Macs - MacRumors
Skip to Content

First Benchmark Results Surface for M3 Chip in New Macs

The first benchmark results for the standard M3 chip surfaced in the Geekbench 6 database today, providing a closer look at the chip's CPU performance improvements.

M3 Chip Apple Event Slide
Based on the results so far, the M3 chip has single-core and multi-core scores of around 3,000 and 11,700, respectively. The standard M2 chip has single-core and multi-core scores of around 2,600 and 9,700, respectively, so the M3 chip is up to 20% faster than the M2 chip, as Apple claimed during its "Scary Fast" event on Monday.

Geekbench 6 multi-core scores:

  • M3 chip: ~11,700 (+20% vs. M2 chip)
  • M2 chip: ~9,700 (+17% vs. M1 chip)
  • M1 chip: ~8,315

It's unclear if the results are for the new 14-inch MacBook Pro or iMac, both of which are available with the standard M3 chip, but performance should be similar for both machines. The results have a "Mac15,3" identifier, which Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported was for a laptop with the same display resolution as a 14-inch MacBook Pro.

The standard M3 chip is equipped with an 8-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, and it supports up to 24GB of unified memory. The chip has improved GPU architecture with support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading, which will make high-end games look more realistic. It also has a 16-core Neural Engine for AI.

M3 Chip Performance
We have yet to see any Geekbench results for the higher-end M3 Pro and M3 Max chips available in most new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.

Popular Stories

Apple TV Thumb 3

Everything Coming in the 2026 Apple TV 4K

Wednesday July 8, 2026 4:51 pm PDT by
The Apple TV 4K hasn't been updated since 2022, and it's due for a refresh. An update is planned for 2026, but Apple is likely going to wait to launch it after Siri AI launches in iOS 27. Design Apple TV design updates don't happen often, and that's not changing. The next Apple TV is going to have the same squircle shape as the current model, and it'll continue to be made from a black...
iphone 16 teal

'Siri AI' Lawsuit Update: Apple to Pay Owners of These iPhone Models

Thursday July 9, 2026 7:08 am PDT by
In May, Apple agreed to pay $250 million to settle a U.S. class action lawsuit over Siri AI's delayed launch, and eligible iPhone users could receive up to a $95 payout. This week, the California court overseeing the case held a hearing regarding preliminary approval of the settlement, but the judge has not yet issued a ruling. It will likely be at least a few more months before eligible...
iphone 16e usb c feature

Apple Begins Selling a $419 iPhone

Monday July 6, 2026 6:29 am PDT by
Apple recently added the iPhone 16e to its refurbished store, with U.S. pricing starting as low as $419 for a model with 128GB of storage. Originally released in February 2025, the iPhone 16e is a lower-end device with a 6.1-inch OLED display, an A18 chip with 8GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence support, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, a 12-megapixel front camera, a USB-C port, an Action...

Top Rated Comments

dugbug Avatar
35 months ago

Kinda pointless comparing performance 13 years apart.
I'm pretty sure that your 2010 Mac Pro has a much larger performance gap compared to a 1997 PowerMac.
you take the joy out of life
Score: 60 Votes (Like | Disagree)
eicca Avatar
35 months ago
So the base M3 is six times faster in single core and four times faster in multi core than my current Mac Pro, while consuming a tenth or less of the electricity.

That’s really amazing.

Drop an M3 Mac Mini and I’m all over it.
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
35 months ago

My iPhone 15 Pro Max does 2900 or something in single core. That is quite interesting.
Its almost like they are the same architecture...
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Fan 2008 Avatar
35 months ago
The feature I'm most excited for on the M3 Chips is Ray-Tracing.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
XboxEvolved Avatar
35 months ago
Just for reference this is only slightly slower in single core performance than the most powerful Intel chip, slightly more powerful than the most speced out intel Mac Pro from late 2019 in both single and multi core, and going by this, the Pro and Max will definitely be more powerful than say, another ARM based chip that is coming out in the middle of next year.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
35 months ago
M1 - 3.2 GHz
M2 - 3.66 GHz
M3 - 4.00 GHz
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)