Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU vs GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking205not rated
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency12.30no data
ArchitecturePascal (2016−2021)no data
GPU code nameGP104no data
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date27 June 2017 (7 years ago)17 January 2023 (1 year ago)

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores256038
Core clock speed1290 MHzno data
Boost clock speed1468 MHzno data
Number of transistors7,200 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology16 nm5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)150 Watt53 Watt
Texture fill rate234.9no data
Floating-point processing power7.516 TFLOPSno data
ROPs64no data
TMUs160no data

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop sizelargemedium sized
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16no data
Supplementary power connectorsNoneno data

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5XLPDDR5-6400
Maximum RAM amount8 GBno data
Memory bus width256 Bitno data
Memory clock speed1251 MHzno data
Memory bandwidth320.3 GB/sno data
Shared memory-+

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display ConnectorsNo outputsno data
G-SYNC support+-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

VR Ready+no data

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 (12_1)no data
Shader Model6.4no data
OpenGL4.6no data
OpenCL1.2no data
Vulkan1.2.131-
CUDA6.1-

Pros & cons summary


Recency 27 June 2017 17 January 2023
Chip lithography 16 nm 5 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 150 Watt 53 Watt

Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU has an age advantage of 5 years, a 220% more advanced lithography process, and 183% lower power consumption.

We couldn't decide between GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q and Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU. We've got no test results to judge.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q
GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q
Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU
M2 Max 38-Core GPU

Comparisons with similar GPUs

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Community ratings

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4.2 35 votes

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3.3 198 votes

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Questions & comments

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