Apple M2 Max vs Xeon E3-1286 v3

Place in the ranking	1287	394
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Server	Laptop
Series	no data	Apple M-Series
Power efficiency	5.26	20.12
Release date	1 April 2014 (10 years ago)	17 January 2023 (1 year ago)

Detailed specifications

Xeon E3-1286 v3 and M2 Max 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	4 (Quad-Core)	12 (Dodeca-Core)
Threads	8	12
Base clock speed	3.7 GHz	2.424 GHz
Boost clock speed	4.1 GHz	3.7 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	no data	3.3 MB
L2 cache	no data	36 MB
L3 cache	8 MB Intel® Smart Cache	48 MB
Chip lithography	22 nm	5 nm
Number of transistors	no data	67000 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	no data

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E3-1286 v3 and M2 Max 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.

Number of CPUs in a configuration	1	no data
Socket	FCLGA1150	no data
Power consumption (TDP)	84 Watt	79 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E3-1286 v3 and M2 Max. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	no data
AES-NI	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
TSX	+	-
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
SIPP	+	-
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data

Security technologies

Xeon E3-1286 v3 and M2 Max technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	no data
EDB	+	no data
Secure Key	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	-
OS Guard	+	no data
Anti-Theft	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E3-1286 v3 and M2 Max are enumerated here.

VT-d	+	no data
VT-x	+	no data
EPT	+	no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E3-1286 v3 and M2 Max. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3L-1333, DDR3L-1600	no data
Maximum memory size	32 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	+	-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	no data	Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU
Max video memory	1.7 GB	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.3 GHz	no data
Execution Units	20	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Xeon E3-1286 v3 and M2 Max integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	no data
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
VGA	+	no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Xeon E3-1286 v3 and M2 Max integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	3840x2160@60Hz	no data
Max resolution over DisplayPort	3840x2160@60Hz	no data
Max resolution over VGA	2880x1800@60Hz	no data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Xeon E3-1286 v3 and M2 Max integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	11.2	no data
OpenGL	4.3	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E3-1286 v3 and M2 Max.

PCIe version	3.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	16	no data

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.

Xeon E3-1286 v3 4.67

Apple M2 Max 16.81
+260%

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.

Xeon E3-1286 v3 7418

Apple M2 Max 26697
+260%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	4.67	16.81
Recency	1 April 2014	17 January 2023
Physical cores	4	12
Threads	8	12
Chip lithography	22 nm	5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	84 Watt	79 Watt

Apple M2 Max has a 260% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 8 years, 200% more physical cores and 50% more threads, a 340% more advanced lithography process, and 6.3% lower power consumption.

The M2 Max is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E3-1286 v3 in performance tests.

Be aware that Xeon E3-1286 v3 is a server/workstation processor while Apple M2 Max is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E3-1286 v3 and Apple M2 Max, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.