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Four days before the Mac mini and Mac Studio hit the market, the first graphics benchmark results for their new chips are available. The M5 Ultra clearly takes the lead, while the M6 shows more improvement than one would expect from its two additional graphics cores. However, the actual magnitude of the Ultra's performance increase depends on which benchmark results are compared side-by-side.
The first Metal benchmark results for the M5 Ultra and M6 have appeared in the Geekbench 7 database. CPU scores for both chips were published earlier this week; the M6's scores were significantly higher than the M5's before the Mac mini's launch. The graph follows.
Both chips will go on sale on Tuesday, September 22nd: the M6 in the Mac mini starting at €1,049, and the M5 Ultra in the Mac Studio starting at €6,599. These figures are based on individual, unconfirmed listings, not on retail devices.
Key Facts at a Glance
- The M5 Ultra achieves 366,744 points in the Geekbench 7 metal test in its best known entry to date.
- Compared to the average of the M3 Ultra, that's about 59 percent more; a direct comparison of individual entries yields about 41 percent.
- The M6 scores 93,217 points, which is 34 percent above the average of the M5, with only two additional graphics cores.
- Apple itself claims that the M5 Ultra offers up to 40 percent faster graphics compared to the M3 Ultra, and elsewhere up to 1.8 times faster.
The M5 Ultra at the top
With 366,744 points, the M5 Ultra clearly outperforms all previous Apple chips. The M3 Ultra averages 230,420 points, and the M5 Max 225,606. Compared to the M5 Max, of which the Ultra uses two chips combined, the advantage is around 63 percent – so the test doesn't show a doubling of performance.
The CPU scores for the M5 Ultra are now available: 3,774 points in the single-core test and 52,516 points in the multi-core test. The M3 Ultra achieves an average of 39,059 points in the multi-core test, meaning the lead is around 34 percent.
Why the percentage fluctuates
The 59 percent figure is derived from a comparison of two unequal values: the best known individual result for the M5 Ultra and the average of all entries for the M3 Ultra. A peak value is naturally higher than an average, making the difference appear larger.
However, if you compare two individual entries side by side, the difference shrinks. Notebookcheck analyzed another entry for the M5 Ultra with 360,019 points and compared it to a current entry for an M3 Ultra with 255,009 points. This results in approximately 41 percent – almost exactly the value that Apple itself states.
The comparison only becomes reliable with an average from many entries, and this is generated using devices from the market.
M6: More than two additional cores
The M6 achieves 93,217 points, while the M5 averages 69,563. That's 34 percent more. According to Apple, the GPU only grows from 10 to 12 cores, an increase of one-fifth. Apple also cites improvements to the shader architecture and dynamic caching for the M6.
Apple doesn't specify a separate percentage figure for pure graphics performance for the M6. The press release for the M6 and M5 Ultra mentions almost 30 percent more peak GPU computing power for AI and 50 percent higher geometry rates – both different metrics than Geekbench's Metal test.
Within the Mac lineup, the M6 thus ranks above the M2 Pro and the M3 Pro, but below the M4 Pro. The M5 Pro, which is also found in the new Mac mini, achieves an average score of 130,896 points. Besides the graphics performance, the differences between the M6 and M5 range from the 2-nanometer manufacturing process to the dual Neural Engine.
| Chip | Metal points (Geekbench 7) | Available at |
|---|---|---|
| M5 Ultra | 366.744 | Mac Studio, from €6,599 |
| M3 Ultra | 230.420 | – |
| M5 Max | 225.606 | Mac Studio, from €2,999 |
| M5 Pro | 130.896 | Mac mini, from €1,999 |
| M4 Pro | 107.354 | – |
| M6 | 93.217 | Mac mini, from €1,049 |
| M5 | 69.563 | – |
| M4 | 51.818 | – |
The scores for the M5 Ultra and M6 are taken from individual entries; all others are averages from the Geekbench database. These averages encompass all configurations of a chip: The M5 Pro, for example, is available in the Mac mini with either 16 or 20 graphics cores, but the average score doesn't differentiate between them.
What Apple itself promises
Apple cites two different figures for the graphics performance of the M5 Ultra. The chip announcement mentions up to 40 percent faster graphics compared to the M3 Ultra, measured on prototypes with 80 graphics cores each. The announcement for the new Mac Studio, however, states up to 1.8 times faster graphics performance compared to the previous generation.
Both figures are displayed side-by-side, without Apple explaining the difference. The Geekbench entries are significantly closer to 40 percent than to a factor of 1.8.
For graphics work, the M5 Pro remains the limiting factor in the Mac mini
For most Mac mini buyers, the M6 is the more appealing of the two options. The entry-level Mac's graphics performance rivals that was previously reserved for Pro-class models and surpasses the M3 Pro. For everyday tasks, photo editing, and occasional gaming, this is more than sufficient. At €1,049, it's also the most affordable desktop Mac in Apple's current Mac lineup.
Those who regularly work in 3D or with complex video effects should still take a close look: The M5 Pro in the same enclosure still offers significantly better graphics performance. The Mac mini with the M6 starts at €1,049, while the one with the M5 Pro starts at €1,999. The real dividing line between the Mac mini and Mac Studio, however, lies in the RAM: The Mac mini tops out at 64 GB.
The situation is different with the M5 Ultra. Those who own a Mac Studio with an M3 Ultra will, according to current figures, receive approximately 40 percent more graphics performance. According to Apple, the bigger leap from the M3 Ultra to the M5 Ultra lies in AI computing power and memory bandwidth, which now reaches 1.2 TB/s.
Mac mini and Mac Studio: Graphics performance significantly improved
With the sales launch on Tuesday, the first retail units will be added to the database, and individual values will be averaged. Then it will become clear whether the M5 Ultra ends up with a 40 or a 60 percent lead.
Are the graphics performance of the M6 sufficient for your everyday needs, or is the extra cost of the M5 Pro in the Mac mini a must for you? Let us know in the comments what you need the graphics performance for.
