Apple M2 Max vs Xeon X6550

Place in the ranking	2323	385
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Server	Laptop
Series	no data	Apple M-Series
Power efficiency	0.89	20.10
Release date	1 January 2010 (14 years ago)	17 January 2023 (1 year ago)

Detailed specifications

Xeon X6550 and Apple 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	8 (Octa-Core)	12 (Dodeca-Core)
Threads	16	12
Base clock speed	2 GHz	2.424 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.4 GHz	3.7 GHz
L1 cache	no data	3.3 MB
L2 cache	no data	36 MB
L3 cache	18 MB L3 Cache	48 MB
Chip lithography	45 nm	5 nm
Maximum core temperature	69 °C	no data
Number of transistors	no data	67000 Million
64 bit support	-	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	no data

Compatibility

Information on Xeon X6550 and Apple 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.

Socket	FCLGA1567	no data
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	79 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon X6550 and Apple M2 Max. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data

Security technologies

Xeon X6550 and Apple M2 Max technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

EDB

no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon X6550 and Apple M2 Max are enumerated here.

VT-x	+	no data
EPT	+	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

no data

Apple M2 Max 38-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.

Xeon X6550 1.22

Apple M2 Max 16.78
+1275%

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 X6550 1936

Apple M2 Max 26658
+1277%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.22	16.78
Recency	1 January 2010	17 January 2023
Physical cores	8	12
Threads	16	12
Chip lithography	45 nm	5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	79 Watt

Xeon X6550 has 33.3% more threads.

Apple M2 Max, on the other hand, has a 1275.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 13 years, 50% more physical cores, a 800% more advanced lithography process, and 64.6% lower power consumption.

The Apple M2 Max is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon X6550 in performance tests.

Be aware that Xeon X6550 is a server/workstation processor while Apple M2 Max is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon X6550 and Apple M2 Max, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.