The M3 provided an impressive performance spectacle in Geekbench 6 when it beat the 10-core CPU belonging to the M2 Pro in single-core performance while matching the chipset in the multi-core test. Unfortunately, the same capability was not displayed in a GFXBench, where the new Apple Silicon does not even manage a 10 percent performance uplift over the M2 while sporting the same number of GPU cores as the latter.

M3 only manages to beat the M2 by 7.4 percent in GFXBench’s ‘4K Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen’ benchmark

Apple’s cutting-edge 3nm architecture might have allowed the company to incorporate performance cores running at higher clock speeds on the M3, but on the GPU side of things, it is a whole different tale, but there might be a reason for that. In GFXBench’s 4K Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen benchmark, the chipset only obtains 52.2FPS, whereas the M2 featuring the same number of GPU cores is only marginally slower at 48.6FPS. This difference does not even mount to 10 percent, and both chipsets are said to sport varying architectures.

However, James Atkinsonnotes that while the GPU score achieved by the M3 is poor, he mentions that this low performance is a trend seen in GFXBench, as the benchmarking suite has not been updated in over a year. The lack of optimizations or refinement in the application can mean that the 10-core GPU is showing a lower score than its actual capabilities, so there is a possibility that GFXBench might not be a reliable source for measuring GPU performance.

M3 gfxbench 4K Aztec off screen. 52.2fps. Poor tbh. Seems to be a trend with gfxbench. Hasn’t been updated in a year. https://t.co/LdC1uxOr9P

— James Atkinson (@jimmyjamesuk123) November 1, 2023

Atkinson also mentions that in some tests, Apple’s A16 Bionic performed better than the latest A17 Pro powering the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, so there is additional evidence that the benchmarking app’s results might be skewed toward displaying lower scores. Also, keep in mind that this is just one GFXBench result, so it is highly possible that a larger performance difference will be spotted when more tests are conducted, and we will be sure to provide updates then.

News Source: GFXBench