Notebookcheck Logo

Apple M2 Max

Apple M2 Max

The Apple M2 Max is a System on a Chip (SoC) from Apple that is found in the early 2023 MacBook Pro 14 and 16-inch models. It offers all 12 CPU cores available in the chip divided in eight performance cores (P-cores) and four power-efficiency cores (E-cores). The E-cores clock with up to 3.4 GHz, the P-Cores up to 3.7 GHz (mostly 3.3 GHz in multi-threaded workloads and 3.4 GHz in single threaded).

The big cores (codename Avalanche) offer 192 KB instruction cache, 128 KB data cache, and 36 MB shared L2 cache (up from 24 MB in the M1 Pro). The four efficiency cores (codename Blizzard) are a lot smaller and offer only 128 KB instruction cache, 64 KB data cache, and 4 MB shared cache. CPU and GPU can both use the 49 MB SLC (System Level Cache). 

The unified memory (32, 64, or 96 GB LPDDR5-6400) next to the chip is connected by a 512 Bit memory controller (400 GB/s bandwidth) and can be used by the GPU and CPU.

The CPU performance should be quite similar to the M2 Pro as only the higher memory bandwidth and bigger L3 cache could make a difference for some workloads.

The integrated graphics card in the M1 Max offers a 30-core GPU or a GPU with all 38 cores.

Furthermore, the SoC integrates a fast 16 core neural engine (faster than M1 Max), a secure enclave (e.g., for encryption), a unified memory architecture, Thunderbolt 4 controller, an ISP, and media de- and encoders (including ProRes).

The M2 Max is manufactured in 5 nm at TSMC (second generation) and integrates 40 billion transistors. The power consumption of the CPU part is up to 36 Watt according to powermetrics. When fully loading the CPU and GPU cores, the chip uses up to 89 Watt and the CPU part is limited to 25 Watt.

SeriesApple Apple M-Series

Series: Apple M-Series

Apple M2 Max « 2.42 - 3.7 GHz12 / 12 cores48 MB L3
Apple M2 Pro compare2.42 - 3.5 GHz12 / 12 cores24 MB L3
Apple M1 Max compare2.06 - 3.22 GHz10 / 10 cores48 MB L3
Apple M2 Pro 10-Core compare2.42 - 3.7 GHz10 / 10 cores24 MB L3
Apple M1 Pro compare2.06 - 3.22 GHz10 / 10 cores24 MB L3
Apple M1 Pro 8-Core compare2.06 - 3.22 GHz8 / 8 cores16 MB L3
Apple M2 compare2.42 - 3.48 GHz8 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Apple M1 compare2.06 - 3.22 GHz8 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Clock Rate2424 - 3696 MHz
Level 1 Cache3.3 MB
Level 2 Cache36 MB
Level 3 Cache48 MB
Number of Cores / Threads12 / 12
Power Consumption (TDP = Thermal Design Power)79 Watt
Transistor Count67000 Million
Manufacturing Technology5 nm
FeaturesARMv8 Instruction Set
GPUApple M2 Max 38-Core GPU
64 Bit64 Bit support
ArchitectureARM
Announcement Date01/17/2023

Benchmarks

Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
2074 Points (21%)
01052103154205256307358409451050115512601365147015751680178518901995Tooltip
Geekbench 5.4 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 1965     avg: 1972     median: 1971.5 (85%)     max: 1978 points
Geekbench 5.4 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 15348     avg: 15361     median: 15360.5 (53%)     max: 15373 points
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
430.2 ms (1%)
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
407 Points (100%)
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Consumption - external Monitor *
72.8 Watt (15%)
0510152025303540455055606570Tooltip
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

Add one or more devices and compare

In the following list you can select (and also search for) devices that should be added to the comparison. You can select more than one device.

restrict list:

show all (including archived), 2023, 2022
v1.22
log 30. 20:39:55

#0 no ids found in url (should be separated by "_") +0s ... 0s

#1 not redirecting to Ajax server +0s ... 0s

#2 did not recreate cache, as it is less than 5 days old! Created at Thu, 30 Mar 2023 15:08:37 +0200 +0.001s ... 0.001s

#3 composed specs +0.014s ... 0.016s

#4 did output specs +0s ... 0.016s

#5 getting avg benchmarks for device 14975 +0.002s ... 0.018s

#6 got single benchmarks 14975 +0.008s ... 0.026s

#7 got avg benchmarks for devices +0s ... 0.026s

#8 min, max, avg, median took s +0.161s ... 0.188s

#9 return log +0.023s ... 0.21s

Please share our article, every link counts!
.170

» Mobile CPU Comparison
Comparison of all mobile CPU series

» Mobile Processors - Benchmarklist
Benchmarklist of all known CPUs that are used in laptops (desktop and laptop CPUs)

Other CPUs of the series Apple M-Series

» Apple M2 Max
   12x 2.42 GHz - 3.7 GHz
» Apple M2 Pro
   12x 2.42 GHz - 3.5 GHz
» Apple M1 Max
   10x 2.06 GHz - 3.22 GHz
» Apple M2 Pro 10-Core
   10x 2.42 GHz - 3.7 GHz
» Apple M1 Pro
   10x 2.06 GHz - 3.22 GHz
» Apple M1 Pro 8-Core
   8x 2.06 GHz - 3.22 GHz
» Apple M2
   8x 2.42 GHz - 3.48 GHz
» Apple M1
   8x 2.06 GHz - 3.22 GHz

Surrounding CPUs

+ AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX
   8x 3.3 GHz - 5 GHz
+ Intel Core i7-12800H
   14x 1.8 GHz - 4.8 GHz
+ Intel Core i7-12650HX
   14x 1.5 GHz - 4.8 GHz
+ Intel Core i5-13600HX
   14x 1.9 GHz - 4.8 GHz
+ Intel Core i5-13500HX
   14x 1.8 GHz - 4.7 GHz
» Apple M2 Max
   12x 2.42 GHz - 3.7 GHz
- Apple M2 Pro
   12x 2.42 GHz - 3.5 GHz
- Intel Core i7-12700H
   14x 1.7 GHz - 4.7 GHz
- Intel Core i7-13620H
   10x 1.8 GHz - 4.9 GHz
- AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 6950H
   8x 3.3 GHz - 4.9 GHz
- AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX
   8x 3.3 GHz - 4.9 GHz
> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > Benchmarks / Tech > Notebook Processors > Apple M2 Max Processor - Benchmarks and Specs
Klaus Hinum (Update: 2023-01-18)