Apple’s latest M5 Pro chip delivers notable performance improvements over its predecessor, the M4 Pro, but falls behind Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU in certain benchmarks, specifically those utilizing the OpenCL API. Recent Geekbench scores reveal a complex picture of Apple’s silicon advancements, highlighting strengths in its proprietary Metal framework while demonstrating a continued gap in performance when compared to competing Nvidia offerings in older, less-supported APIs.
The M5 Pro’s arrival has sparked interest in its capabilities, particularly after the M5 Max demonstrated strong CPU performance and near-parity with the RTX 5070 Laptop in OpenCL – despite OpenCL being deprecated on macOS for over six years. While the M5 Max showcased impressive graphics prowess, the M5 Pro, with half the GPU cores, presents a different story. This performance difference underscores the scaling benefits of Apple’s GPU core design.
In Geekbench 6 testing, the M5 Pro achieved a Metal score of 141,000 points, a significant leap from the M4 Pro. However, its OpenCL score of roughly 87,155 points places it behind the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, which boasts a roughly 13% lead in that specific test. This discrepancy is particularly noteworthy given Nvidia’s RTX 5060 is a mid-range GeForce card. The vanilla Apple M5, found in the entry-level MacBook Pro (currently priced at $1,449 on Amazon), scores around 48,000 points in the OpenCL test, making the M5 Pro’s performance approximately 81% faster.
The 24.3% improvement in OpenCL and 26% improvement in Metal performance compared to the M4 Pro are substantial generational gains for Apple. However, the reliance on OpenCL as a benchmark is increasingly problematic, as the API has been deprecated on macOS since 2019. This makes direct comparisons to Nvidia GPUs, which continue to leverage OpenCL, less meaningful in a real-world macOS environment. As Notebookcheck points out, comparing Metal scores to Nvidia’s performance is similarly limited due to Metal being exclusive to Apple’s ecosystem.
M5 Max Shows Stronger OpenCL Performance
The higher-end M5 Max chip, featuring 40 GPU cores, fares better in OpenCL benchmarks. It nearly matches the RTX 5070 Laptop in OpenCL and achieves 88% of the M3 Ultra’s performance in the Metal test, demonstrating the scalability of Apple’s GPU architecture. The M5 Max scored 232,718 points on Geekbench, nearly matching the M3 Ultra despite having half the GPU cores, according to GizNewsDaily. In OpenCL, it scored 145,412, comparable to the GeForce RTX 5070 laptop edition.
The OpenCL Caveat and Future Benchmarks
It’s crucial to understand the limitations of OpenCL as a comparative metric. Apple has largely moved away from OpenCL in favor of its Metal framework, optimized for Apple hardware. While the RTX 5060 Laptop outperforms the M5 Pro in OpenCL, this doesn’t necessarily translate to a similar advantage in real-world macOS applications that utilize Metal. The article from LetsDataScience emphasizes this point, noting the API differences limit direct cross-platform comparisons.
Currently, 3DMark and GFXBench results are unavailable, which would provide a more comprehensive view of the M5 Pro’s graphics capabilities. These benchmarks are expected to be released soon, offering a more balanced assessment of performance across different APIs and workloads.
Despite the OpenCL results, Apple’s M5 Pro clearly represents a step forward in performance compared to the previous generation. The gains in Metal performance are particularly significant, suggesting a smoother and faster experience for users of Apple’s creative and professional applications. The M5 Pro is poised to deliver impressive performance gains compared to the previous generation, even if it doesn’t immediately surpass Nvidia’s offerings in all benchmarks.
As Apple continues to refine its silicon and optimize Metal for its hardware, the gap between Apple’s GPUs and those from Nvidia may narrow. The release of 3DMark and GFXBench results will be crucial in providing a more complete picture of the M5 Pro’s capabilities and its position in the broader landscape of laptop GPUs.
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