Apple M3 Max 16-Core vs Intel Core i5-14600K vs Apple M3 Max 14-Core
Apple M3 Max 16-Core
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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.
Intel Core i5-14600K
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The Intel Core i5-14600K is a modern desktop processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, which inherits the 13th generation of Intel Core processors with minor improvements. The processor offers a base clock of 3.5 GHz and reaches up to 5.3 GHz in Turbo. The basic CPU structure remains unchanged. This means that the Intel Core i5-14600K also has 6 P-cores and 8 E-cores, which means that up to 20 threads can be processed in parallel. The Intel Core i5-14600K still offers a freely selectable multiplier, which makes overclocking much easier. The LGA 1700 socket, which was already introduced with Alder-Lake, is also used as the basis.
Performance
Compared to the Intel Core i5-13600K , the IPC of the new Core i5-14600K has only been increased slightly. This means that the difference in performance is also only slight. The hybrid architecture relies on the Intel Thread Director, which is responsible for the correct allocation of tasks. As a further innovation, the manufacturer is increasingly relying on AI, which is also used for overclocking. With one click in the Intel Extreme Utility, the tool checks the entire system and makes the necessary settings.
Graphics unit
Like the Intel Core i5-13600K, the Intel Core i5-14600K also has an integrated graphics unit. The Intel Iris Xe architecture continues to serve as the basis. In terms of performance, however, nothing has changed with the Intel UHD Graphics 770.
Power consumption
The TDP of the Intel Core i5-14600K is 125 watts, with the option of consuming up to 181 watts in Turbo mode. If all limits are removed, the energy requirement rises to up to 240 watts. For cooling, we recommend a powerful air cooler or a 240 AiO.
Apple M3 Max 14-Core
► remove from comparisonThe Apple M3 Max 14 core CPU is a system on a chip (SoC) from Apple for notebooks that was introduced towards the end of 2023. It integrates a new 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores with up to 4.06 GHz and 4 efficiency cores with 2.8 GHz. There is also a more powerful 16-core variant with 40 GPU cores.
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.
The M3 also integrates a new graphics card with dynamic caching, mesh shading and ray tracing acceleration via hardware. In the cheaper model, 30 of the chip's 40 cores 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 36 and 96 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).
| Model | Apple M3 Max 16-Core | Intel Core i5-14600K | Apple M3 Max 14-Core | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series | Apple M3 | Intel Raptor Lake-R | Apple M3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series: M3 |
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| Clock | 2748 - 4056 MHz | 3500 - 5300 MHz | 2748 - 4056 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cores / Threads | 16 / 16 12 x 4.1 GHz Apple M3 P-Core 4 x 2.7 GHz Apple M3 E-Core | 14 / 20 6 x 5.3 GHz Intel Raptor Cove P-Core 8 x 3.5 GHz Intel Gracemont E-Core | 14 / 14 10 x 4.1 GHz Apple M3 P-Core 4 x 2.7 GHz Apple M3 E-Core | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TDP | 78 Watt | 125 Watt | 78 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transistors | 92000 Million | 92000 Million | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technology | 3 nm | 10 nm | 3 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Features | ARMv8 Instruction Set | Intel UHD Graphics 770, DDR5 5600 MT/s, DDR4 3200 MT/s | ARMv8 Instruction Set | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| iGPU | Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 770 (300 - 1550 MHz) | Apple M3 Max 30-Core GPU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architecture | ARM | x86 | ARM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announced | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | www.apple.com | www.intel.com | www.apple.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Codename | Raptor Lake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L2 Cache | 20 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L3 Cache | 24 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| max. Temp. | 100 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Socket | LGA 1700 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $319 U.S. |
Benchmarks
Average Benchmarks Apple M3 Max 16-Core → 100% n=4
Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-14600K → 84% n=4
Average Benchmarks Apple M3 Max 14-Core → 90% n=4
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation
