Early GPU benchmark results for Apple’s M5 Ultra and M6 chips show substantial graphics improvements over the previous generations. The results appeared ahead of new Mac Studio and Mac mini models scheduled to launch Tuesday, although the available scores remain limited and may change as more tests are submitted.

On Geekbench 7’s Metal benchmark, the M5 Ultra has reached a score of 366,744. That is up to 59% higher than the M3 Ultra’s average score of 230,420. The M5 Ultra’s OpenCL result is also described as roughly comparable to Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4080.

M5 Ultra leads Apple’s Metal benchmark results

The current M5 Ultra result places it well ahead of the other Apple chips listed in the benchmark data. The M5 Max recorded 225,606, while the M2 Ultra reached 201,144. The M4 Max posted 189,301, followed by the M1 Ultra at 150,098 and the M3 Max at 146,550.

Other results include 130,896 for the M5 Pro, 130,091 for the M2 Max, and 107,711 for the M1 Max. The M4 Pro recorded 107,354. These results indicate that the M5 Ultra currently occupies a separate tier in Apple’s Metal performance rankings, though benchmark comparisons do not directly predict performance in every application.

M6 shows a smaller but notable graphics increase

The M6 chip has reached a Metal score of 93,217 in the available Geekbench results. That is up to 34% higher than the M5’s average score of 69,563.

The M6 result is above the M2 Pro’s 77,176 and the M3 Pro’s 72,637, but below the M5 Pro’s 130,896. Earlier Apple silicon results listed in the same comparison include 63,531 for the M1 Pro, 51,818 for the M4, 46,033 for the M3, 40,529 for the M2, and 27,277 for the M1.

What the early results mean

Metal is Apple’s graphics API, so the scores provide an indication of how the chips handle workloads built for Apple’s graphics platform. OpenCL offers a separate comparison point, including the M5 Ultra’s result against Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4080.

These are preliminary results rather than a complete performance review. The available submissions represent the highest scores reported so far for the M5 Ultra and M6, while the comparison figures for several earlier chips are averages. Real-world performance will vary depending on the software, workload, and system configuration.