Apple M4 (8 cores) vs Apple M2 Max
Aggregate performance score
Apple M2 Max outperforms Apple M4 (8 cores) by a significant 29% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 461 | 672 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Series | Apple M-Series | Apple M4 |
| Power efficiency | 8.15 | 100.00 |
| Designer | Apple | Apple |
| Release date | 17 January 2023 (2 years ago) | 28 October 2024 (less than a year ago) |
Detailed specifications
M2 Max and M4 (8 cores) 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) | 8 (Octa-Core) |
| Threads | 12 | 8 |
| Base clock speed | 2.424 GHz | no data |
| Boost clock speed | 3.7 GHz | 4 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 | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
Compatibility
Information on M2 Max and M4 (8 cores) 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 | 5 Watt |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU | Apple M4 8-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.
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. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 16.66 | 12.93 |
| Recency | 17 January 2023 | 28 October 2024 |
| Physical cores | 12 | 8 |
| Threads | 12 | 8 |
| Chip lithography | 5 nm | 3 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 79 Watt | 5 Watt |
Apple M2 Max has a 28.8% higher aggregate performance score, and 50% more physical cores and 50% more threads.
Apple M4 (8 cores), on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year, a 66.7% more advanced lithography process, and 1480% lower power consumption.
The Apple M2 Max is our recommended choice as it beats the Apple M4 (8 cores) in performance tests.
Other comparisons
We've compiled a selection of CPU comparisons, ranging from closely matched processors to other comparisons that may be of interest.
