Where do the Apple M3 Ultra 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 Ultra have, and how does it benchmark?

Core / thread counts for Apple M3 Ultra aren't on file. 16 synthetic benchmark results on file — PassMark CPU Mark, Cinebench, and Geekbench scores in the Synthetic Benchmarks section.

Apple · CPU · M3

Apple M3 Ultra — Benchmarks & Specs

Q: What is the Apple M3 Ultra best used for?

Apple M3 Ultra is a M3-family processor. Mainstream desktops and gaming builds are the typical workloads.

Q: When was the Apple M3 Ultra released, and what was its launch MSRP?

Apple M3 Ultra was released in 2025. Launch MSRP isn't on file; current pricing is visible on the linked Amazon product cards.

Q: Where can I buy the Apple M3 Ultra?

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).

2025

The Apple M3 Ultra is a processor from the M3 family released in 2025 from Apple. Data on this page draws on 10 synthetic benchmark results, 10 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 Ultra, 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).

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.

Geekbench 6 Metal (GPU) via MacRumors

259,668 points

PassMark CPU Mark via PassMark Software

72,912 points

PassMark CPU Mark via PassMark

72,769 pts

Cinebench R23 multi via GadgetVersus

46,243 points

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core via Hostbor

28,417 points

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core via Geekbench Browser

27,759 points

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core via GSMArena

27,749 points

Geekbench 6 multi via AppleInsider

27,749 points

PassMark Single Thread via PassMark Software

5,054 points

PassMark CPU Mark Single Thread via PassMark

5,048 points

AI Inference Performance

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

llama3.1:8b q4_0 via Creative Strategies

128.2 tok/s

deepseekr1:32b via LocalLLaMA

100.0 tok/s

llama:7b q4_0 via llama.cpp GitHub Discussion #4167

92.1 tok/s

QwQ:32b q4_0 via Creative Strategies

33.3 tok/s

gemma3:27b q4_K_M via Medium (Google Cloud Community)

33.0 tok/s

qwen3:235b via LocalLLaMA

31.9 tok/s

qwen3:0.6b Q4 via LocalLLaMA

31.0 tok/s

gemma3:27b q4_K_M via Medium (Google Cloud Community)

24.0 tok/s

qwen3:235b-a22b q4_K_M via MacStories

24.0 tok/s

DeepSeek V3-0324 4-bit (MLX) via Hardware Corner

21.0 tok/s

Full Specifications

cpu cores	32
gpu cores	80
neural engine tops	36
memory bandwidth gbps	819
unified memory max gb	512

Apple M3 Ultra — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Apple M3 Ultra best used for?

Apple M3 Ultra is a M3-family 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 Ultra released, and what was its launch MSRP?

Apple M3 Ultra was released in 2025. MSRP isn't on file; current street prices are visible in the Amazon listings linked 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 Ultra compare to its predecessor?

Compare Apple M3 Ultra 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 Ultra?

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.