Apple M2 Pro
Apple M2 Pro vs Apple M3 Pro
CPU Comparison Result
Below are the results of a comparison of the characteristics and performance of the Apple M2 Pro and Apple M3 Pro processors. This comparison will help you determine which one best suits your needs.
Basic
Label Name
Apple
Apple
Launch Date
January 2023
October 2023
Platform
Laptop
Laptop
CPU Name
Apple M2 Pro
Apple M3 Pro
Model Name
?
The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.
Apple M2 Pro
Apple M3 Pro
Foundry
TSMC
TSMC
Generation
Apple M2 series
Apple M3 series
CPU Specifications
Performance Cores
8
6
Efficient-cores
4
6
Total Cores
?
Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).
12
12
Total Threads
?
Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.
12
12
CPU Architecture
Apple Avalanche + Apple Blizzard
Apple M3 performance cores + efficiency cores
Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency
?
Maximum E-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.
2.424 GHz
2.75 GHz
Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency
?
Maximum P-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.
3.504 GHz
4.06 GHz
L1 Cache
P-cores: 192 KB instruction + 128 KB data per core; E-cores: 128 KB instruction + 64 KB data per core
3 MB total L1 cache
L2 Cache
P-core cluster: 36 MB; E-core cluster: 4 MB
20 MB L2 cache
L3 Cache
24 MB system level cache
12 MB system level cache
Technology
?
Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.
5 nm
3 nm
Instruction Set
?
The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.
ARMv8-A
ARMv8-A
Extended Instruction Set
ARMv8-A, NEON
ARMv8-A, NEON
Instruction Set Extensions
NEON
NEON
Transistor Count
40 billion
37 billion
Memory Specifications
Memory Type
?
Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.
Unified LPDDR5-6400
Unified LPDDR5-6400
LPDDR5 Speed
LPDDR5-6400
LPDDR5-6400
Max Memory Size
?
Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.
32 GB
36 GB
Max Memory Bandwidth
?
Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).
200 GB/s
150 GB/s
Maximum Memory Speed
6400 MT/s
6400 MT/s
Memory Bus Width
256-bit
192-bit
GPU Specifications
External Display Standard
Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1
Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1
GPU Name
Apple M2 Pro GPU
Apple M3 Pro GPU
Max External Display Resolution
Up to two 6K 60Hz displays over Thunderbolt, or one 8K 60Hz display over HDMI
Up to two 6K 60Hz displays over Thunderbolt; or one 6K 60Hz display plus one 4K 144Hz display over HDMI; HDMI up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz
Video Concurrency
Multiple streams of 4K and 8K ProRes video
Multiple streams of 4K and 8K ProRes video; AV1 decode
Video Decode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1 decode
Video Encode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
Video Processing Unit
Apple media engine with ProRes acceleration
Apple media engine with ProRes acceleration and AV1 decode
GPU Base Frequency
444 MHz
-
GPU Max Dynamic Frequency
1398 MHz
1296 MHz
Graphics Core Count
19
18
Number of Displays Supported
Up to 2 external displays
Up to 2 external displays
GPU APIs
Metal, OpenCL
Metal, OpenCL
Graphics Performance
Up to 6.8 TFLOPS FP32
Up to 4.6 TFLOPS FP32
Media Engine
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, and AV1 decode
Video Decode Engines
1
1
Video Encode Engines
1
1
ProRes Encode/Decode Engines
1
1
OpenCL Support
?
OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for heterogeneous parallel programming.
Yes
Yes
AI Specifications
NPU Name
Apple Neural Engine
Apple Neural Engine
NPU Performance
15.8 TOPS
18 TOPS
AI Engine
16-core Apple Neural Engine
16-core Apple Neural Engine
Neural Engine Core Count
16
16
Connectivity
Bluetooth Support
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth Version
Bluetooth 5.3
Bluetooth 5.3
Wi-Fi Standard
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Interfaces and Ports
Thunderbolt Support
Yes, Thunderbolt 4 up to 40 Gb/s
Yes, Thunderbolt 4 up to 40 Gb/s
USB Version
USB4
USB4
USB4 Support
Yes, USB4 up to 40 Gb/s
Yes, USB4 up to 40 Gb/s
Miscellaneous
Hardware-Verified Secure Boot
Yes, Apple silicon secure boot chain of trust
Yes, Apple silicon secure boot chain of trust
Image Signal Processor
Apple image signal processor
-
Runtime Anti-Exploitation
Kernel Integrity Protection, Fast Permission Restrictions, System Coprocessor Integrity Protection, Pointer Authentication Codes, Secure Page Table Monitor
Kernel Integrity Protection, Pointer Authentication Codes, Fast Permission Restrictions
Advantages
Apple M2 Pro
- Larger L3 Cache: 24 MB system level cache (24 MB system level cache vs 12 MB system level cache)
Apple M3 Pro
- Higher Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency: 4.06 GHz (3.504 GHz vs 4.06 GHz)
- Higher Technology: 3 nm (5 nm vs 3 nm)
- Newer Launch Date: October 2023 (January 2023 vs October 2023)
Geekbench 6
Single Core
Apple M2 Pro
2693
Apple M3 Pro
+15%
3106
Multi Core
Apple M2 Pro
14502
Apple M3 Pro
+0%
14507
Performance
Apple M3 Pro
Single Core
Multi Core
Passmark CPU
Single Core
Apple M2 Pro
4107
Apple M3 Pro
+10%
4513
Multi Core
Apple M2 Pro
+3%
26596
Apple M3 Pro
25889
Performance
Integer Math
Multi Core
58.1 GOps/Sec
59 GOps/Sec
Floating Point Math
Multi Core
73.9 GOps/Sec
68.3 GOps/Sec
Find Prime Numbers
Multi Core
359 M Primes/Sec
254 M Primes/Sec
Random String Sorting
Multi Core
41.2 M Strings/Sec
38.3 M Strings/Sec
Data Encryption
Multi Core
15.8 GB/Sec
15.8 GB/Sec
Data Compression
Multi Core
338 MB/Sec
315.5 MB/Sec
Physics
Multi Core
3622 Frames/Sec
2188 Frames/Sec
Extended Instructions
Multi Core
13.6 B Matrices/Sec
15 B Matrices/Sec
Single Thread
Multi Core
4.1 GOps/Sec
4.5 GOps/Sec
Show more
Cinebench R23
Single Core
Apple M2 Pro
1695
Apple M3 Pro
+14%
1928
Multi Core
Apple M2 Pro
14855
Apple M3 Pro
+1%
15061
Geekbench 5
Single Core
Apple M2 Pro
1874
Apple M3 Pro
+23%
2314
Multi Core
Apple M2 Pro
+2%
15506
Apple M3 Pro
15235
Cinebench 2024
Single Core
Apple M2 Pro
122
Apple M3 Pro
+16%
142
Multi Core
Apple M2 Pro
1025
Apple M3 Pro
+3%
1059
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Apple M2 Pro
2804
Apple M3 Pro
+113%
5961
Blender
Apple M2 Pro
195
Apple M3 Pro
+16%
226
SiliconCat Rating
48
Ranks 48 among Laptop CPU on our website
218
Ranks 218 among all CPU on our website
47
Ranks 47 among Laptop CPU on our website
217
Ranks 217 among all CPU on our website
Apple M2 Pro
Apple M3 Pro
