Apple M2 Max
Apple M2 Max vs Apple M3 Max
CPU Comparison Result
Below are the results of a comparison of the characteristics and performance of the Apple M2 Max and Apple M3 Max processors. This comparison will help you determine which one best suits your needs.
Basic
Label Name
Apple
Apple
Launch Date
January 2023
October 2023
Platform
Laptop
Laptop
CPU Name
Apple M2 Max
Apple M3 Max
Model Name
?
The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.
Apple M2 Max
Apple M3 Max
Foundry
TSMC
TSMC
Generation
Apple M2 series
Apple M3 series
CPU Specifications
Performance Cores
8
12
Efficient-cores
4
4
Total Cores
?
Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).
12
16
Total Threads
?
Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.
12
16
CPU Architecture
Apple Avalanche + Apple Blizzard
Apple M3 performance cores + efficiency cores
Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency
?
Maximum E-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.
2.424 GHz
2.75 GHz
Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency
?
Maximum P-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.
3.696 GHz
4.06 GHz
L1 Cache
P-cores: 192 KB instruction + 128 KB data per core; E-cores: 128 KB instruction + 64 KB data per core
P-cores: 192 KB instruction + 128 KB data per core; E-cores: 128 KB instruction + 64 KB data per core
L2 Cache
P-core cluster: 36 MB; E-core cluster: 4 MB
P-core cluster: 36 MB; E-core cluster: 4 MB
L3 Cache
48 MB system level cache
48 MB system level cache
Technology
?
Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.
5 nm
3 nm
Instruction Set
?
The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.
ARMv8-A
ARMv8-A
Extended Instruction Set
ARMv8-A, NEON
ARMv8-A, NEON
Instruction Set Extensions
NEON
NEON
Transistor Count
67 billion
92 billion
Memory Specifications
Memory Type
?
Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.
Unified LPDDR5-6400
Unified LPDDR5-6400
LPDDR5 Speed
LPDDR5-6400
LPDDR5-6400
Max Memory Size
?
Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.
96 GB
128 GB
Max Memory Bandwidth
?
Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).
400 GB/s
400 GB/s
Maximum Memory Speed
6400 MT/s
6400 MT/s
Memory Bus Width
512-bit
512-bit
GPU Specifications
External Display Standard
Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1
Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1
GPU Name
Apple M2 Max GPU
Apple M3 Max GPU
Max External Display Resolution
Up to three 6K 60Hz displays plus one 4K 144Hz display; or up to two 6K 60Hz displays plus one 8K 60Hz / 4K 240Hz display
Up to three 6K 60Hz displays plus one 4K 144Hz display; or up to two 6K 60Hz displays plus one 8K 60Hz / 4K 240Hz display
Video Concurrency
Multiple streams of 4K and 8K ProRes video
Multiple streams of 4K and 8K ProRes video; AV1 decode
Video Decode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1 decode
Video Encode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
Video Processing Unit
Apple media engine with ProRes acceleration
Apple media engine with ProRes acceleration and AV1 decode
GPU Base Frequency
-
390 MHz
GPU Max Dynamic Frequency
1400 MHz
1400 MHz
Graphics Core Count
38
40
Number of Displays Supported
Up to 4 external displays
Up to 4 external displays
GPU APIs
Metal, OpenCL
Metal, OpenCL
Graphics Performance
Up to 13.6 TFLOPS FP32
Up to 14.2 TFLOPS FP32
Media Engine
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, and AV1 decode
Video Decode Engines
1
1
Video Encode Engines
2
2
ProRes Encode/Decode Engines
2
2
OpenCL Support
?
OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for heterogeneous parallel programming.
Yes
Yes
AI Specifications
NPU Name
Apple Neural Engine
Apple Neural Engine
NPU Performance
15.8 TOPS
18 TOPS
AI Engine
16-core Apple Neural Engine
16-core Apple Neural Engine
Neural Engine Core Count
16
16
Connectivity
Bluetooth Support
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth Version
Bluetooth 5.3
Bluetooth 5.3
Wi-Fi Standard
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Interfaces and Ports
Thunderbolt Support
Yes, Thunderbolt 4 up to 40 Gb/s
Yes, Thunderbolt 4 up to 40 Gb/s
USB Version
USB4
USB4
USB4 Support
Yes, USB4 up to 40 Gb/s
Yes, USB4 up to 40 Gb/s
Miscellaneous
Hardware-Verified Secure Boot
Yes, Apple silicon secure boot chain of trust
Yes, Apple silicon secure boot chain of trust
Image Signal Processor
Apple image signal processor
-
Runtime Anti-Exploitation
Kernel Integrity Protection, Pointer Authentication Codes, Fast Permission Restrictions
Kernel Integrity Protection, Pointer Authentication Codes, Fast Permission Restrictions
Advantages
Apple M3 Max
- More Total Cores: 16 (12 vs 16)
- Higher Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency: 4.06 GHz (3.696 GHz vs 4.06 GHz)
- Higher Technology: 3 nm (5 nm vs 3 nm)
- Newer Launch Date: October 2023 (January 2023 vs October 2023)
Geekbench 6
Single Core
Apple M2 Max
2755
Apple M3 Max
+16%
3191
Multi Core
Apple M2 Max
14404
Apple M3 Max
+34%
19279
Performance
Apple M3 Max
Single Core
Multi Core
Passmark CPU
Single Core
Apple M2 Max
4144
Apple M3 Max
+15%
4784
Multi Core
Apple M2 Max
26645
Apple M3 Max
+54%
40984
Performance
Integer Math
Multi Core
58 GOps/Sec
91.4 GOps/Sec
Floating Point Math
Multi Core
73.7 GOps/Sec
131.8 GOps/Sec
Find Prime Numbers
Multi Core
361 M Primes/Sec
575 M Primes/Sec
Random String Sorting
Multi Core
41.3 M Strings/Sec
61.8 M Strings/Sec
Data Encryption
Multi Core
15.8 GB/Sec
24.8 GB/Sec
Data Compression
Multi Core
337.1 MB/Sec
531.7 MB/Sec
Physics
Multi Core
3828 Frames/Sec
4273 Frames/Sec
Extended Instructions
Multi Core
13.7 B Matrices/Sec
23.3 B Matrices/Sec
Single Thread
Multi Core
4.1 GOps/Sec
4.8 GOps/Sec
Show more
Blender
Apple M2 Max
247
Apple M3 Max
+72%
424
SiliconCat Rating
49
Ranks 49 among Laptop CPU on our website
222
Ranks 222 among all CPU on our website
15
Ranks 15 among Laptop CPU on our website
79
Ranks 79 among all CPU on our website
Apple M2 Max
Apple M3 Max
