Where do the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core benchmark numbers come from?

Synthetic benchmarks are aggregated from TechPowerUp, PassMark, Geekbench Browser, and Cinebench leaderboards. AI inference tokens-per-second results come from the LocalLLaMA community (Reddit threads, llama.cpp / Ollama discussion logs). Every benchmark row carries an inline source citation; click through to verify the original number.

How many cores does the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core have, and how does it benchmark?

Core / thread counts for Apple M3 Pro 12 Core aren't on file. 9 synthetic benchmark results on file — PassMark CPU Mark, Cinebench, and Geekbench scores in the Synthetic Benchmarks section.

Apple M3 Pro 12 Core Benchmarks & Specs

Q: What is the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core best used for?

Apple M3 Pro 12 Core is a processor. Mainstream desktops and gaming builds are the typical workloads.

Q: When was the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core released, and what was its launch MSRP?

Release year and launch MSRP for Apple M3 Pro 12 Core aren't on file. Current Amazon pricing is linked from the Products Featuring This Hardware section.

Q: Where can I buy the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core?

Active Amazon listings are linked at the top of this page and in the Products Featuring This Hardware section below. SpecPicks earns a small affiliate commission on qualifying purchases (no extra cost to the buyer).

Bottom line: how fast is the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core?

For local LLM inference it generates 88.0 tokens/sec running gemma3:4b at q4_K_M under ollama, per LLMCheck. In PassMark CPU Mark it scores 24,014 points, per PassMark.

Every figure above is a row in the tables below, and each row links out to the review or public benchmark database the number was taken from. SpecPicks aggregates published measurements; it does not report first-party benchmark runs.

The Apple M3 Pro 12 Core is a processor from Apple. Data on this page draws on 9 synthetic benchmark results, 4 community AI inference reports, aggregated from public benchmark databases (TechPowerUp, PassMark, Geekbench, Cinebench) and the LocalLLaMA community. Read this page when shopping the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core, comparing it against other processors in your build, or sizing it for a specific workload (gaming at 1080p/1440p/4K, productivity benchmarks, or local LLM inference).

AI Inference Performance

Tokens per second under each model + quantization. Higher = faster generation. Bars compare runs across the same model.

Local LLM inference throughput on the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core, in generated tokens per second. Higher is better; each row links to the community report or benchmark database it came from.
Model	Quantization	Tokens/sec	VRAM used	Source
gemma3:4b	q4_K_M ollama	88.0 tok/s	—	LLMCheck 2026-01-01
llama3.1:8b	q4_K_M ollama	62.0 tok/s	—	LLMCheck 2026-01-01
llama-2:7b	q4_0 llama.cpp	30.6 tok/s	—	llama.cpp GitHub Discussion #4167 2023-11-25
llama-2:7b	q8_0 llama.cpp	17.4 tok/s	—	llama.cpp GitHub Discussion #4167 2023-11-25

Synthetic Benchmarks

Higher is better. Bars are scaled within each benchmark family (multi-thread, single-thread, etc.) so you can compare like-with-like at a glance.

Synthetic benchmark scores for the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core — higher is better. Each row links to the public database the number was taken from.
Benchmark	Score	Source
PassMark CPU Mark	24,014 points	PassMark 2026-06-30
PassMark CPU Mark	23,984 points	PassMark Software 2026-06-02
Geekbench 6 multi	15,480 points	Notebookcheck 2023-12-01
Geekbench 6 multi	15,254 points	Geekbench Browser 2023-11-07
Cinebench R23 multi	15,106 points	Notebookcheck 2023-11-24
PassMark Single Thread	4,246 points	PassMark Software 2026-09-04
Geekbench 6 single	3,138 points	Notebookcheck 2023-12-01
Geekbench 6 single	3,105 points	Geekbench Browser 2023-11-07
Cinebench R23 single	1,977 points	Notebookcheck 2023-11-24

Apple M3 Pro 12 Core — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core best used for?

Apple M3 Pro 12 Core is a processor. Use it for mainstream desktops and gaming-focused builds. Check the synthetic benchmark scores below for at-a-glance comparison.

When was the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core released, and what was its launch MSRP?

Release year and launch MSRP aren't on file for Apple M3 Pro 12 Core. Current pricing is visible on the linked Amazon product cards below.

Where do the benchmark numbers on this page come from?

Synthetic benchmarks are scraped from public databases (TechPowerUp, PassMark, Geekbench Browser, Cinebench leaderboards). AI inference numbers come from the LocalLLaMA community (Reddit threads, llama.cpp / Ollama discussion logs, and Phoronix when available). Every benchmark row carries an inline source citation — click through to verify the original number.

How does the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core compare to its predecessor?

Compare Apple M3 Pro 12 Core side-by-side against other processors on the Compare tool below. Synthetic benchmark scores let you place this SKU within its generation; the spec table shows the architectural and process-node differences from one generation to the next.

Where can I buy the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core?

Active Amazon listings aren't on file for this exact SKU yet. See the linked benchmark sources and the Compare tool for adjacent parts that may be in stock — and check the /benchmarks index for the latest curated picks in this category.

Buying guides that rank the Apple M3 Pro 12 Core's class

This page is the raw performance data. The guides below turn it into a ranked pick for a specific build.

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Apple M3 Pro 12 Core — Benchmarks & Specs