Apple M3 Pro 11-Core vs Apple M2 Max

Place in the ranking	377	429
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Apple M-Series	Apple M3
Power efficiency	20.05	54.67
Release date	17 January 2023 (1 year ago)	30 October 2023 (less than a year ago)

Detailed specifications

Apple M2 Max and Apple M3 Pro 11-Core basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores	12 (Dodeca-Core)	11 (Undeca-Core)
Threads	12	11
Base clock speed	2.424 GHz	2.748 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.7 GHz	4.06 GHz
L1 cache	3.3 MB	no data
L2 cache	36 MB	no data
L3 cache	48 MB	no data
Chip lithography	5 nm	3 nm
Number of transistors	67000 Million	37000 Million
64 bit support	+	+

Compatibility

Information on Apple M2 Max and Apple M3 Pro 11-Core compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Power consumption (TDP)

79 Watt

27 Watt

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare

Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU

Apple M3 Pro 14-Core GPU

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

Apple M2 Max 17.41
+7.3%

Apple M3 Pro 11-Core 16.22

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Apple M2 Max 26592
+7.3%

Apple M3 Pro 11-Core 24777

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

Apple M2 Max 2084
+8.9%

Apple M3 Pro 11-Core 1913

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

Apple M2 Max 236

Apple M3 Pro 11-Core 281
+19.1%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	17.41	16.22
Recency	17 January 2023	30 October 2023
Physical cores	12	11
Threads	12	11
Chip lithography	5 nm	3 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	79 Watt	27 Watt

Apple M2 Max has a 7.3% higher aggregate performance score, and 9.1% more physical cores and 9.1% more threads.

Apple M3 Pro 11-Core, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 9 months, a 66.7% more advanced lithography process, and 192.6% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Apple M2 Max and Apple M3 Pro 11-Core.

Should you still have questions on choice between Apple M2 Max and Apple M3 Pro 11-Core, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.