Apple's silicon is making waves once again. This time the M3 Ultra is taking all the limelight. Whispers of incredible power efficiency and astronomical performance are being realized in the form of actual numbers. The M3 Ultra is extraordinary as everyone's claiming. Benchmarks reveal the details.
Power Efficiency That Leaves x86 in the Dust
Power usage has been among the most heated discussions about Apple Silicon. Benchmarks with HandBrake, a video encoding application that places intense loads on the system, are revealing just how power-efficient the M3 Ultra really is. It uses approximately 55% less power than even the most power-efficient x86 desktop CPUs available. That's enormous. While it does use slightly more power than its sibling, the M4 Max, the M3 Ultra is in its own category compared to traditional desktop processors. We're talking about using in the area of 77 watts under load. Similar x86 processors typically gobble up more than twice that.
CPU Performance: Fast, But Not a Giant Leap Over M4 Max
When it comes to raw CPU muscle, then the M3 Ultra is undoubtedly beefy. Geekbench 6 scores see it comfortably out in front of the last-gen M2 Ultra, with a clear generational jump. But the upgrade from the already powerful M4 Max isn't quite so significant. It surpasses the M4 Max, but the lead is relatively small – in the ballpark of 7%. So for CPU-bound tasks, you're getting an uplift. The real story with the M3 Ultra is elsewhere.
GPU Prowess: Trading Blows with Desktop Heavyweights
Now, on the graphics side – here's where the M3 Ultra truly starts to flex. Early benchmarks, namely GFXBench results, are painting the picture of a mobile processor that can realistically trade blows with high-end desktop GPUs. In the demanding 4K Aztec Ruins benchmark, the M3 Ultra nearly doubled the performance of the M3 Max. That puts it in the same class as NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 and ahead of the RTX 5070 Ti and even AMD's Radeon RX 7900 XTX in some benchmarks like Cinebench's GPU test. Real-world performance will always vary depending on the software and workload. These initial results are seriously impressive for integrated graphics.
The Verdict: High Performance Meets Efficiency
The Apple M3 Ultra is shaping up to be an intriguing chip, particularly if power efficiency is high on your list. It's not just about saving energy. It's about delivering incredible performance using significantly less power than traditional desktop setups. While the lead in some CPU benchmarks over the M4 Max is modest, the GPU performance is nothing short of stunning. Apple is bridging the gap with desktop graphics cards. The M3 Ultra-powered Mac Studio is at least deserving of a serious look. Consider it if you're in the market for a workstation that can match top-tier performance with incredible power efficiency.
