Results from testing the new flagship Apple M5 Ultra processor have appeared in the public database of the Geekbench 7 benchmark. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the figures recorded in the system. The testing was carried out on a professional Mac Studio desktop workstation equipped with the new M5 Ultra chip and 256 GB of unified memory. The appearance of fresh results in the open benchmark registry traditionally foreshadows an imminent official unveiling of the platform, although Apple itself has not confirmed the chip's launch as of the time of publication.
What the tests showed
In the dedicated Geekbench 7 Metal graphics test, the newcomer scored 360,019 points. For comparison: the previous flagship Mac Studio based on the M3 Ultra chip showed a result of 255,009 points under similar conditions. Thus, according to the leaked data, the graphics performance gain is over 40% compared to the predecessor, which is a rather notable leap for a single chip generation.
Context and comparison with competitors
Beyond the graphics subsystem, the new M5 Ultra data in Geekbench 7 also allows an assessment of the compute side: according to specialized publications, the chip delivers results that even outperform the 96-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX processor in certain tests. Taken together with previously leaked data on the central processor, this points to a massive performance gain in complex computational tasks and 3D graphics work, which is especially important for professional scenarios — rendering, neural network computations, and working with large data volumes.
Benchmark limitations
It is important to note that the Metal test is developed specifically for the Apple ecosystem, so the figures obtained do not allow a direct comparison of the M5 Ultra graphics system with discrete graphics cards from Nvidia or AMD. For a correct comparison with competitors, it is necessary to wait for results in cross-platform OpenCL and Vulkan tests, which are not yet present in the leak.
Contradictory data
When comparing the results, there is a significant caveat that sources do not always emphasize: the M5 Ultra test was run on a configuration with 256 GB of unified memory, whereas the recorded result for the M3 Ultra predecessor corresponds to a workstation with 512 GB of memory. In other words, the "360,019 versus 255,009" comparison is not fully equivalent in terms of memory capacity, and part of the difference may be related not only to the chip's architecture. Moreover, since Metal is Apple's proprietary test, the claimed gain cannot be considered independent confirmation of superiority over other vendors' solutions until data in OpenCL and Vulkan becomes available. Finally, all the figures so far relate to leaks from the benchmark database and have not been confirmed by an official Apple press release.
What this means for users
If the leak is confirmed, the M5 Ultra will become the most powerful chip in Apple's lineup for desktop workstations and will open a new level of performance for professional tasks. The expected Mac Studio configuration with this chip is aimed at content creators, developers, and engineers for whom rendering speed and work with 3D and neural network models are critical. Apple typically discloses official specifications, prices, and release dates at its own events, so final conclusions should be drawn after the announcement.
