Ian Lee
By

Last updated on May 7, 2024
  0

Apple’s new M3 chip family available on Macbook Pros, Airs, and iMacs — see what this means for Parallels Desktop users

With Parallels Desktop for Mac, users will benefit from Apple’s M3 chip performance advancements and experience applications that run faster and more efficiently.   

Users can rest assured that Parallels Desktop is authorized by Microsoft to run Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise in a virtual machine on an M3 chip Mac. 

If you already own or plan to purchase a new Macbook Pro, iMac, or an Air with the M3 chip, know that you don’t have to give up your favorite Windows applications or any of their functionality.  

You can still play many popular PC games as well.  

Here are the Macs that have an M3 chip (as of this publication date): 

Performance improvements will affect CPU and Graphics intensive workloads, especially if users switch from Intel Macs (note that you will need to reinstall Windows and apps).   

Also, even though it has been reported that users are having a great experience with 8GB RAM configurations, I recommend users get more RAM, especially if they plan to multi-task work with videos or multiple virtual machines. 

Do you have an Apple M3 chip but need to run Windows? Sign up for a free 14-day trial of Parallels Desktop to run Windows on your M3 chip. 

What is unique about the Apple M3 Macs? 

Apple’s M3 chip represents major strides in personal computing.  

Apple’s M3 Macbook Pros, Airs, and iMacs are built on a 3-nanometer process, which enhances the speed and power efficiency of the chip by fitting more transistors into a smaller space.  

The M3 machines boast the first 3-nanometer chips in a personal computer and marking the debut of a next-generation GPU architecture.  

They offer dramatic improvements in performance with a faster CPU and Neural Engine and support for even more unified memory.  

The latest line-up of Macs also includes ray tracing, mesh shading, and dynamic caching.  

These M3 Macs are the most sustainable yet, meeting Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency.  

M3 Macs offer up to 22 hours of battery life (the longest ever for a Mac), meaning they need to be plugged in for less time, resulting in less energy consumed over their lifetimes. 

M series chip comparison charts: See how Apple M3 chips compare to M1 and M2  

Curious about how the M3 chip stacks up against the M1 and M2 chips? I’ve put together Apple M3, M2, and M1 comparison charts.   

Environment for Apple M2Max vs. M3 Chips 

Hardware: 

Software: 

Results for Apple M2 Max vs. M3 chips  

Single-core score: 

Test M2Max M3 Δ 
Horizon Detection 1800 ± 40 2100 ± 150 +16% 
SQLite 1470 ± 30 1720 ± 30 +17% 
HDR 1950 ± 20 2400 ± 100 +24% 
Speech Recognition 1570 ± 60 1800 ± 200 +17% 
Face Detection 2230 ± 120 2400 ± 200 +10% 
Image Compression 1350 ± 13 1650 ± 30 +22% 
N-Body Physics 1880 ± 40 2400 ± 300 +27% 
Rigid Body Physics 1680 ± 30 2000 ± 100 +20% 
Clang 1670 ± 40 1840 ± 130 +10% 
Text Rendering 1660 ± 40 1970 ± 60 +18% 
Machine Learning 1290 ± 60 1500 ± 200 +13% 
AES-XTS 3040 ± 50 3870 ± 50 +27% 
Camera 1400 ± 20 1760 ± 140 +25% 
Structure from Motion 1270 ± 20 1550 ± 60 +22% 
HTML5 1470 ± 40 1700 ± 140 +16% 
Text Compression 1530 ± 20 1670 ± 20 +9% 
Image Inpainting 2700 ± 40 3200 ± 400 +19% 
Ray Tracing 2730 ± 400 3600 ± 100 +30% 
PDF Rendering 1600 ± 100 2000 ± 100 +23% 
Navigation 1500 ± 100 1670 ± 140 +11% 
Gaussian Blur 1520 ± 20 1880 ± 150 +23% 

These (computationally intensive) workloads consistently yield 10-30% better score on M3 than on M2. 

Testing environment for Apple M1Max versus M3 chips  

Hardware: 

Software: 

Results for Apple M1Max versus M3 Chips  

Single-core score: 

Test M1Max M3 Δ 
AES-XTS 2850 ± 20 3870 ± 50 +35% 
Text Compression 1320 ± 80 1670 ± 20 +26% 
Image Compression 1230 ± 10 1650 ± 30 +34% 
Navigation 1440 ± 50 1670 ± 140 +16% 
HTML5 1380 ± 40 1700 ± 140 +23% 
SQLite 1390 ± 16 1720 ± 30 +24% 
PDF Rendering 1550 ± 60 2000 ± 100 +26% 
Text Rendering 1600 ± 17 1970 ± 60 +23% 
Clang 1530 ± 40 1840 ± 130 +20% 
Camera 1281 ± 40 1760 ± 140 +37% 
N-Body Physics 1670 ± 30 2400 ± 300 +42% 
Rigid Body Physics 1600 ± 30 2000 ± 100 +26% 
Gaussian Blur 1430 ± 12 1880 ± 150 +31% 
Face Detection 2080 ± 10 2400 ± 200 +18% 
Horizon Detection 1720 ± 40 2100 ± 150 +22% 
Image Inpainting 2550 ± 50 3200 ± 400 +26% 
HDR 1880 ± 15 2400 ± 100 +29% 
Ray Tracing 2500 ± 300 3600 ± 100 +44% 
Structure from Motion 1190 ± 10 1550 ± 60 +30% 
Speech Recognition 1400 ± 50 1800 ± 200 +32% 
Machine Learning 1240 ± 30 1500 ± 200 +19% 

These (computationally intensive) workloads consistently yield 20.40% better scores on M3 than on M1. 

How to assess if a faster processor will improve performance using Task Manager  

The Apple M3 chip family shows significant single-core and multi-core speed improvements over the previous M1 and M2 processors.   

If you want to determine whether upgrading to a Mac with a faster processor will enhance your computing experience, the Task Manager on Windows can provide valuable insights.   

Here’s how to evaluate your current performance and understand the potential benefits of a faster processor using a Microsoft Windows virtual machine running under Parallels Desktop for Mac.  

1. Run a workload that you want to improve 

2. Access Task Manager from Windows Start Menu or using the processor icon in the VM title bar   

3. Monitor Current CPU usage:  

Leverage the performance and efficiency of Apple’s M3 chip for Windows and Linux  

Windows and Linux users can now leverage the exceptional performance and energy efficiency of the M3 chip while seamlessly accessing their beloved operating systems through Parallels Desktop.  

There’s no need to use multiple computers to access the applications you need — everything is accessible from your M3 Mac.  

Parallels Desktop expands the capabilities of your M3 Mac even further; you only need to carry one laptop to get the best of both Mac and Windows.  

It’s less hassle for you and more sustainable in the long run.  

The synergy between Apple’s M3 chip and Parallels Desktop promises a winning combination that will likely surpass your expectations.  

The Parallels team strongly emphasizes the quality of our software products and the user experience.   

With the recent launch of Mac computers equipped with Apple M3 chips, I am committed to thorough testing and assessment involving our internal testing facilities and your valuable input.   

If I find any issues, I will report the issues in the Knowledge Base.  

If you happen to come across an issue with Parallels Desktop that can be reproduced on a Mac with an Apple M3 chip, kindly share your M3 experience on the forum.   

If you are not a current user, find out how Parallels Desktop lets you maximize performance and unlock the full power of your M3-powered Mac.   

Do you have an Apple M3 chip but need to run Windows? Sign up for a free 14-day trial of Parallels Desktop to run Windows on your M3 chip.