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Apple M3 Max 16-Core

Apple Apple M3 Max 16-Core

The Apple M3 Max (16 Core) is a system on a chip (SoC) from Apple for notebooks that was launched towards the end of 2023. It integrates a new 16-core CPU with 12 performance cores with up to 4.06 GHz and 4 efficiency cores with 2.8 GHz. There is also a slimmed-down 14-core variant with a 30-core GPU.

Thanks to the higher clock rates and architectural improvements, the processor performance is also significantly better than the M2 Max in benchmarks and can keep up with the fastest mobile CPUs (such as a Core i9-13900HX).

The M3 also integrates a new graphics card with dynamic caching, mesh shading and ray tracing acceleration via hardware. In the top model, all 40 cores of the chip are used and support up to 5 displays simultaneously (internal and 4 external).

GPU and CPU can jointly access the shared memory on the package (unified memory). This is available in 48, 64 and 128 GB variants and offers 400 GB/s maximum bandwidth (512 bit bus).

The integrated 16-core Neural Engine has also been revised and now offers 18 TOPS peak performance (compared to 15.8 TOPS in the M2 but 35 TOPS in the new A17 Pro). The video engine now also supports AV1 decoding in hardware. H.264, HEVC and ProRes (RAW) can still be decoded and encoded. Like its predecessor, the Max chip offers two video engines and can therefore encode and decode two streams simultaneously.

Unfortunately, the integrated WLAN only continues to support WiFi 6E (no WiFi 7), unlike the small M3 SoC thunderbolt 4 is also supported (max 40 Gbit/s).

The chip is manufactured in the current 3nm process (N3B) at TSMC and contains 92 billion transistors (+37% vs. Apple M2 Max). Under load, the CPU part consumes up to 56 watts, the chip can use a total of 78 watts.

SeriesApple Apple M3

Series: Apple M3

Apple M3 Max 16-Core « 2.75 - 4.06 GHz16 / 16 cores
Apple M3 Max 14-Core compare2.75 - 4.06 GHz14 / 14 cores
Apple M3 Pro 12-Core compare2.75 - 4.06 GHz12 / 12 cores
Apple M3 Pro 11-Core compare2.75 - 4.06 GHz11 / 11 cores
Apple M3 compare2.75 - 4.06 GHz8 / 8 cores
Clock Rate2748 - 4056 MHz
Number of Cores / Threads16 / 16
12 x 4.1 GHz Apple M3 P-Core
4 x 2.7 GHz Apple M3 E-Core
Power Consumption (TDP = Thermal Design Power)78 Watt
Transistor Count92000 Million
Manufacturing Technology3 nm
FeaturesARMv8 Instruction Set
GPUApple M3 Max 40-Core GPU
64 Bit64 Bit support
ArchitectureARM
Announcement Date10/30/2023
Product Link (external)www.apple.com

Benchmarks

Cinebench 2024 - CB24 CPU Single Core
min: 139     avg: 139.5     median: 139.5 (97%)     max: 140 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Cinebench 2024 - CB24 CPU Multi Core
min: 1532     avg: 1572     median: 1572 (29%)     max: 1612 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Multi Core
min: 24020     avg: 24022     median: 24022 (22%)     max: 24024 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   - Hide comparison chart
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Single Core
min: 1950     avg: 1959     median: 1959 (83%)     max: 1968 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   - Hide comparison chart
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Single Core)
min: 492     avg: 494.5     median: 494.5 (55%)     max: 497 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Multi Core)
min: 5920     avg: 6124     median: 6123.5 (15%)     max: 6327 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
min: 3225     avg: 3297     median: 3264 (21%)     max: 3401 Points
+ 3 benchmarks and specifications   - Hide comparison chart
017535052570087510501225140015751750192521002275245026252800297531503325Tooltip
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64 Bit
min: 269     avg: 271     median: 271 (82%)     max: 273 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   - Hide comparison chart
Blender - Blender 3.3 Classroom CPU *
min: 194     avg: 195     median: 195 (2%)     max: 196 Seconds
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Blender - Blender 2.79 BMW27 CPU *
min: 215     avg: 216     median: 216 (2%)     max: 217 Seconds
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Geekbench 6.2 - Geekbench 6.2 Single-Core
min: 3096     avg: 3127     median: 3126.5 (95%)     max: 3157 points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Geekbench 6.2 - Geekbench 6.2 Multi-Core
min: 21243     avg: 21254     median: 21253.5 (84%)     max: 21264 points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   - Hide comparison chart
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 2318     avg: 2325     median: 2324.5 (98%)     max: 2331 points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 22816     avg: 22938     median: 22937.5 (41%)     max: 23059 points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
min: 379.2     avg: 385.5     median: 385.5 (0%)     max: 391.7 ms
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Octane V2 - Octane V2 Total Score
min: 94770     avg: 96363     median: 96362.5 (87%)     max: 97955 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
min: 416     avg: 421     median: 421 (88%)     max: 426 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
CrossMark - CrossMark Overall
min: 2032     avg: 2042     median: 2041.5 (78%)     max: 2051 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Consumption - external Monitor *
min: 91.8     avg: 92.3     median: 92.3 (17%)     max: 92.7 Watt
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
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Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption - external Monitor *
min: 3.81     avg: 5.2     median: 5.2 (3%)     max: 6.49 Watt
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
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Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption 150cd 1min *
min: 4.63     avg: 6.3     median: 6.3 (7%)     max: 7.91 Watt
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
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Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Efficiency - external Monitor
min: 35.1     avg: 35.9     median: 35.9 (27%)     max: 36.7 Points per Watt
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

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Benchmarklist of all known CPUs that are used in laptops (desktop and laptop CPUs)

Other CPUs of the series Apple M3

» Apple M3 Max 16-Core
   16x 2.75 GHz - 4.06 GHz
» Apple M3 Max 14-Core
   14x 2.75 GHz - 4.06 GHz
» Apple M3 Pro 12-Core
   12x 2.75 GHz - 4.06 GHz
» Apple M3 Pro 11-Core
   11x 2.75 GHz - 4.06 GHz
» Apple M3
   8x 2.75 GHz - 4.06 GHz

Surrounding CPUs

+ Intel Core i7-14700HX
   20x 3.9 GHz - 5.5 GHz
+ AMD Ryzen 9 7840HX
   12x 2.9 GHz - 5.1 GHz
+ Intel Core i7-13850HX
   20x 1.5 GHz - 5.3 GHz
+ Intel Core i9-12950HX
   16x 1.7 GHz - 5 GHz
+ Intel Core i9-12900HX
   16x 1.7 GHz - 5 GHz
» Apple M3 Max 16-Core
   16x 2.75 GHz - 4.06 GHz
- Intel Core i7-14650HX
   16x 1.6 GHz - 5.2 GHz
- Intel Core i7-13700HX
   16x 1.5 GHz - 5 GHz
- Intel Core i9-13900HK
   14x 1.9 GHz - 5.4 GHz
- Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
   16x 3.8 GHz - 5.1 GHz
- Intel Core i9-13905H
   14x 1.9 GHz - 5.4 GHz
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Benchmarks / Tech > Notebook Processors > Apple M3 Max 16-Core Processor - Benchmarks and Specs
Klaus Hinum (Update: 2023-12-10)