Apple M2 vs Apple M3 Max 16-Core

Place in the ranking	189	806
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Apple M3	Apple Apple M-Series
Power efficiency	31.33	44.48
Release date	30 October 2023 (1 year ago)	10 June 2022 (2 years ago)

Detailed specifications

Apple M3 Max 16-Core and Apple M2 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	16 (Hexadeca-Core)	8 (Octa-Core)
Threads	16	8
Base clock speed	2.748 GHz	2.424 GHz
Boost clock speed	4.06 GHz	3.48 GHz
L1 cache	no data	2 MB
L2 cache	no data	20 MB
Chip lithography	3 nm	5 nm
Number of transistors	92000 Million	20000 Million
64 bit support	+	+

Compatibility

Information on Apple M3 Max 16-Core and Apple M2 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)

78 Watt

20 Watt

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU

Apple M2 10-Core GPU ( - 1398 MHz)

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 M3 Max 16-Core 25.82
+175%

Apple M2 9.40

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 M3 Max 16-Core 41010
+175%

Apple M2 14933

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

Apple M3 Max 16-Core 3264
+169%

Apple M2 1215

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 M3 Max 16-Core 271
+21.5%

Apple M2 223

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	25.82	9.40
Recency	30 October 2023	10 June 2022
Physical cores	16	8
Threads	16	8
Chip lithography	3 nm	5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	78 Watt	20 Watt

Apple M3 Max 16-Core has a 174.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads, and a 66.7% more advanced lithography process.

Apple M2, on the other hand, has 290% lower power consumption.

The Apple M3 Max 16-Core is our recommended choice as it beats the Apple M2 in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Apple M3 Max 16-Core and Apple M2, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.