Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU vs Apple M3 9-Core GPU vs Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU
Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU
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The Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU is a self-designed graphics card in the Apple M3 Pro (with 12 CPU cores) and offers all eighteen cores available on the chip. The graphics card uses a new architecture and now offers dynamic caching, mesh shading and ray tracing acceleration.
The GPU can access up to 36 GB LPDDR5-6400 unified memory via a 192-bit memory bus (max 150 GBit/s). Thanks to dynamic caching, the GPU only reserves as much memory as is required.
The entire chip is manufactured in the current 3nm process (probably N3B) at TSMC.
Apple M3 9-Core GPU
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The Apple M3 9-Core GPU is a self-designed graphics card in the Apple M3 SoC and according to Apple with nine of the ten cores. It was first used in the iPad Air 2025. According to Apple, the GPU uses a new architecture and now offers dynamic caching, mesh shading and ray tracing acceleration.
The GPU can access 8 GB LPDDR5-6400 unified memory via a 128-bit memory bus (max 100 GBit/s). Thanks to dynamic caching, the graphics card only reserves as much memory as is required.
The SoC is manufactured in the current 3nm process (probably N3B) at TSMC and is therefore very energy-efficient. The graphics unit can use around 15 watts of the TDP.
Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU
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The Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU is a self-designed graphics card in the Apple M3 SoC and according to Apple with forty cores. According to Apple, the GPU uses a new architecture and now offers dynamic caching, mesh shading and ray tracing acceleration.
The GPU can access up to 128 GB LPDDR5-6400 unified memory via a 512 bit memory bus (max 400 GBit/s). Thanks to dynamic caching, the GPU should only reserve as much memory as is required.
Since the SoC is manufactured in the current 3nm (probably N3B) at TSMC. According to powermetrics, the GPU requires up to 60 watts (chip incl. CPU total 78 watts).
| Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU | Apple M3 9-Core GPU | Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pipelines | 18 - unified | 9 - unified | 40 - unified | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memory Type | LPDDR5-6400 | LPDDR5-6400 | LPDDR5-6400 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shared Memory | no | no | no | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| technology | 5 nm | 5 nm | 5 nm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notebook Size | medium sized | medium sized | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of Announcement | 31.10.2023 | 31.10.2023 | 31.10.2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power Consumption | 15 Watt | 53 Watt |
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Benchmarks
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit + Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU
GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 + Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU
Average Benchmarks Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU → 100% n=8
Average Benchmarks Apple M3 9-Core GPU → 36% n=8
Average Benchmarks Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU → 179% n=8
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation
Game Benchmarks
The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.
Total War Pharaoh
2023
Baldur's Gate 3
2023
Far Cry 5
2018
The Witcher 3
2015
GTA V
2015Average Gaming Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU → 100%
Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 100%
Average Gaming Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU → 169%
Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 135%
| Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU | Apple M3 9-Core GPU | Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU | |||||||||||||||||||
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| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | ||||
| Total War Pharaoh | 212 | 140 | 77 | 58 | 42 | 242 | 210 | 139 | 109 | 82 | |||||||||||
| Cyberpunk 2077 2.2 Phantom Liberty | 53 | 42.6 | 35 | 30.8 | 45 | 44 | 44 | 42 | 36 | ||||||||||||
| Baldur's Gate 3 | 53 | 43 | 96 | 90 | 60 | ||||||||||||||||
| Star Wars Jedi Survivor | 30 | 26 | 17 | 51 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total War: Three Kingdoms | 87 | 56 | 41 | 25 | 170 | 111 | 82 | 56 | |||||||||||||
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 71 | 65 | 57 | 37 | 148 | 139 | 120 | 87 | |||||||||||||
| The Witcher 3 | 43 | 87 | 81 | ||||||||||||||||||
| GTA V | 90 | 79 | 52 | 49 | 78 | 54 | 52 | ||||||||||||||
| Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU | Apple M3 9-Core GPU | Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU | |||||||||||||||||||
| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | < 30 fps < 60 fps < 120 fps ≥ 120 fps | 1 1 | 1 3 1 | 4 3 | 1 7 | 2 3 | | < 30 fps < 60 fps < 120 fps ≥ 120 fps | | | | | | | < 30 fps < 60 fps < 120 fps ≥ 120 fps | 1 1 | 1 3 | 1 4 2 | 3 4 1 | 3 3 | |
For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List
