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Apple M2 8-Core GPU vs Apple M2 10-Core GPU vs Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU

Apple M2 8-Core GPU

► remove from comparison Apple M2 8-Core GPU

The Apple M2 8-core GPU is an integrated graphics card offering 8 of the 10 cores designed by Apple and integrated in the Apple M2 SoC. It uses the unified memory architecture of the M2 SoC (up to 24 GB LPDDR5-6400 with 100 GB/s bandwidth) and should offer 128 execution units.

The performance is positioned right between the old 8-core model in the M1 GPU and the higher end 10-core model in the M2. The theoretical performance should be around 2.9 Teraflops, as the 8-core version offers the same 1,398 MHz maximum clock rate as the 10-core version. Compared to other iGPUs from AMD and Intel, the M2 benefits greatly from the unified memory architecture and the high bandwidth.

The M2 chip is manufactured in the second generation 5nm process at TSMC (most likely N5P). The power consumption is around 10 Watt (in our tests under load of the MBP13) compared to the 13.5W of the 10-core version.

Apple M2 10-Core GPU

► remove from comparison Apple M2 10-Core GPU

The Apple M2 GPU is an integrated graphics card offering 10 cores designed by Apple and integrated in the Apple M2 SoC. It uses the unified memory architecture of the M2 SoC (up to 24 GB LPDDR5-6400 with 100 GB/s bandwidth) and should offer 160 execution units.

According to Apple it offers a 25% higher performance at slightly higher power consumption. The theoretical performance is rated at 3.6 Teraflops and therefore 1 TFLOP higher than the M1 8-core GPU. In our benchmarks, the GPU was able to top the M1 with up to 40%, but still stays behind the 14-core GPU in the M1 Pro. Compared to other iGPUs from AMD and Intel, the M2 benefits greatly from the unified memory architecture and the high bandwidth.

The M2 chip is manufactured in the second generation 5nm process at TSMC (most likely N5P). The power consumption is around 13.5 Watt (in our tests under load of the MBP13) and up to 15W according to Apple.

Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU

► remove from comparison Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU

The Apple M2 Max 38-Core-GPU is an integrated graphics card by Apple offering all 38 cores in the M2 Max Chip.

The graphics card has no dedicated graphics memory but can use the fast LPDDR5-6400 unified memory with a 512 bit bus (up to 400 GBit/s).

Thanks to the additional cores and architectural improvements, the M2 Max GPU should clearly best the old M1 Max GPU with 32 cores and therefore be the fastest iGPU currently available.

The GPU is intended to use Apple Metal 2 API and could still be based on the older PowerVR architectures (last used in the Apple A10). A new feature in the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 of 2023 is the support for HDMI 2.1 and 8k output.

The Apple M2 Max is manufactured in the second generation 5nm process at TSMC. According to the internal powermetrics tool, the GPU uses up to 53.6 Watt (performance mode) and the whole chip (including the CPU) up to 89 Watt.

Apple M2 8-Core GPUApple M2 10-Core GPUApple M2 Max 38-Core GPU
Apple M2 Series
M2 Max 38-Core GPU 38
M2 Max 30-Core GPU 30
M2 Pro 19-Core GPU 19 @ 0.44 - 1.4 GHz
M2 Pro 16-Core GPU 16
M2 10-Core GPU 10 @ 1.4 GHz
M2 8-Core GPU 8 @ 1.4 GHz
M2 Max 38-Core GPU 38
M2 Max 30-Core GPU 30
M2 Pro 19-Core GPU 19 @ 0.44 - 1.4 GHz
M2 Pro 16-Core GPU 16
M2 10-Core GPU 10 @ 1.4 GHz
M2 8-Core GPU 8 @ 1.4 GHz
M2 Max 38-Core GPU 38
M2 Max 30-Core GPU 30
M2 Pro 19-Core GPU 19 @ 0.44 - 1.4 GHz
M2 Pro 16-Core GPU 16
M2 10-Core GPU 10 @ 1.4 GHz
M2 8-Core GPU 8 @ 1.4 GHz
Pipelines8 - unified10 - unified38 - unified
Core Speed1398 (Boost) MHz1398 (Boost) MHz
Memory TypeLPDDR5-6400LPDDR5-6400LPDDR5-6400
Shared Memorynonono
Power Consumption10 Watt15 Watt53 Watt
technology5 nm5 nm5 nm
Date of Announcement06.06.2022 06.06.2022 17.01.2023
PredecessorM1 8-Core GPUM1 8-Core GPU
Notebook Sizemedium sized
CPU in M2 10-Core GPUGPU Base SpeedGPU Boost / Turbo
Apple M28 x 2424 MHz, 20 W? MHz1398 MHz
CPU in M2 Max 38-Core GPUGPU Base SpeedGPU Boost / Turbo
Apple M2 Max12 x 2424 MHz, 79 W? MHz? MHz

Benchmarks

3DMark - 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited
21009 Points (11%)
min: 21302     avg: 24095     median: 24880 (13%)     max: 25317 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited
5689 Points (7%)
min: 5328     avg: 6623     median: 6846.5 (8%)     max: 6987 Points
25103 Points (29%)
Blender - Blender 3.3 Classroom METAL *
min: 205     avg: 221     median: 221 (23%)     max: 237 Seconds
51.2 Seconds (5%)
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit + Apple M2 8-Core GPU
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
128.6 fps (8%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit + Apple M2 10-Core GPU
min: 128.65     avg: 132.8     median: 131 (8%)     max: 140.5 fps
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit + Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU
147.5 fps (9%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL Ref. Match 64 Bit + Apple M2 8-Core GPU
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 OpenGL Ref. Match 64 Bit
99.5 % (100%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL Ref. Match 64 Bit + Apple M2 10-Core GPU
99.5 % (100%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL Ref. Match 64 Bit + Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU
99.5 % (100%)
GFXBench - GFXBench 5.0 4K Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen
39.8 fps (16%)
min: 35.6     avg: 45.6     median: 48 (20%)     max: 48.6 fps
179.9 fps (73%)
GFXBench - GFXBench 5.0 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen
91 fps (17%)
min: 77     avg: 100.4     median: 107.8 (20%)     max: 110 fps
397.6 fps (72%)
GFXBench - GFXBench 5.0 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen
247 fps (18%)
min: 241     avg: 281.5     median: 289.3 (21%)     max: 296 fps
950 fps (70%)
GFXBench - GFXBench Car Chase Offscreen
199.9 fps (23%)
min: 136     avg: 201.6     median: 220 (25%)     max: 232 fps
585 fps (66%)
GFXBench 3.1 - GFXBench Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen
306.9 fps (6%)
min: 247     avg: 324     median: 339.5 (7%)     max: 374.6 fps
1294 fps (27%)
GFXBench 3.0 - GFXBench 3.0 Manhattan Offscreen
483.7 fps (28%)
min: 449.5     avg: 520     median: 535 (31%)     max: 557.2 fps
1708 fps (100%)
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 + Apple M2 8-Core GPU
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 - GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16
839 fps (7%)
GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 + Apple M2 10-Core GPU
min: 697.9     avg: 876     median: 911.5 (7%)     max: 931.9 fps
GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 + Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU
3185 fps (25%)
Antutu v9 - AnTuTu v9 GPU
min: 654168     avg: 728087     median: 728086 (91%)     max: 802005 Points
Geekbench 6.2 - Geekbench 6.2 GPU OpenCL
min: 27880     avg: 27900     median: 27900 (8%)     max: 27920 Points
Geekbench 6.2 - Geekbench 6.2 GPU Metal
min: 45460     avg: 45703     median: 45703 (29%)     max: 45946 Points
Power Consumption - The Witcher 3 Power Consumption - external Monitor *
24.4 Watt (3%)
min: 22.8     avg: 27.8     median: 26.9 (4%)     max: 34.4 Watt
80.7 Watt (11%)
Power Consumption - Witcher 3 Power Consumption *
27.4 Watt (6%)
min: 27.8     avg: 32.5     median: 30.8 (7%)     max: 38.9 Watt
92 Watt (20%)
Power Consumption - GFXBench Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen Power Consumption 150cd *
16.7 Watt (6%)
Power Consumption - Witcher 3 ultra Power Efficiency
1 fps per Watt (100%)
Power Consumption - Witcher 3 ultra Power Efficiency - external Monitor
min: 1.116     avg: 1.1     median: 1.1 (92%)     max: 1.207 fps per Watt
0.9 fps per Watt (78%)
Emissions Witcher 3 Fan Noise + Apple M2 10-Core GPU
Emissions - Witcher 3 Fan Noise
34.6 dB(A) (55%)
Witcher 3 Fan Noise + Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU
35.1 dB(A) (56%)

Average Benchmarks Apple M2 8-Core GPU → 100% n=10

Average Benchmarks Apple M2 10-Core GPU → 112% n=10

Average Benchmarks Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU → 338% n=10

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Diablo Immortal

Diablo Immortal

2022
ultra Ultra
M2 10-Core GPU:
59.3  fps
Call of Duty Mobile

Call of Duty Mobile

2020
low
M2 10-Core GPU:
118.8  fps
ultra
M2 10-Core GPU:
58.5  fps
Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact

2020
ultra
M2 10-Core GPU:
65  fps
Armajet

Armajet

2020
high
M2 10-Core GPU:
118.4  fps
low 1280x720
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
43  fps
149%
M2 10-Core GPU:
53.1 66.8 73 ~ 64 fps
med. 1920x1080
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
29.7  fps
118%
M2 10-Core GPU:
34 34.2 36 ~ 35 fps
242%
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
72  fps
high 1920x1080
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
16.6  fps
151%
M2 10-Core GPU:
22 23.8 28 ~ 25 fps
363%
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
60.2  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
13.4  fps
119%
M2 10-Core GPU:
15 16.4 17.6 ~ 16 fps
363%
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
48.6  fps
low 1280x720
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
77  fps
147%
M2 10-Core GPU:
88.6 89 136 138 ~ 113 fps
429%
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
330  fps
med. 1920x1080
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
39  fps
113%
M2 10-Core GPU:
39 45.3 46.3 47 ~ 44 fps
377%
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
147  fps
high 1920x1080
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
18  fps
150%
M2 10-Core GPU:
22 26.3 29 29.5 ~ 27 fps
533%
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
96  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
14  fps
136%
M2 10-Core GPU:
15.9 16 21 21.3 ~ 19 fps
507%
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
71  fps
QHD 2560x1440
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
47  fps
low 1280x720
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
62  fps
127%
M2 10-Core GPU:
60 76 102 ~ 79 fps
294%
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
182  fps
med. 1920x1080
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
28  fps
125%
M2 10-Core GPU:
28 31 39 40 ~ 35 fps
468%
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
131  fps
high 1920x1080
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
24  fps
129%
M2 10-Core GPU:
25 27 36 36 ~ 31 fps
508%
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
122  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
M2 8-Core GPU:
20  fps
135%
M2 10-Core GPU:
21 23 31 32 ~ 27 fps
545%
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
109  fps
QHD 2560x1440
M2 10-Core GPU:
20  fps
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
78  fps
PUBG Mobile

PUBG Mobile

2018
high
M2 10-Core GPU:
39.8  fps
high 1920x1080
M2 10-Core GPU:
34  fps
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
83  fps
ultra 1920x1080
M2 10-Core GPU:
28  fps
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
76  fps
GTA V

GTA V

2015
low 1024x768
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
84  fps
med. 1366x768
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
81  fps
high 1920x1080
M2 Max 38-Core GPU:
57  fps
Asphalt 8: Airborne

Asphalt 8: Airborne

2013
high
M2 10-Core GPU:
67.7  fps
Asphalt 9: Legends

Asphalt 9: Legends

2013
high
M2 10-Core GPU:
44.2  fps

Average Gaming Apple M2 8-Core GPU → 100%

Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 100%

Average Gaming Apple M2 10-Core GPU → 133%

Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 127%

Average Gaming Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU → 421%

Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 363%

Apple M2 10-Core GPUlowmed.highultraQHD4K
Diablo Immortal59.3
Call of Duty Mobile118.858.5
Genshin Impact65
Armajet118.4
Borderlands 364352516
Total War: Three Kingdoms113442719
Shadow of the Tomb Raider7935312720
PUBG Mobile39.8
The Witcher 33428
Asphalt 8: Airborne67.7
Asphalt 9: Legends44.2
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps


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Apple M2 8-Core GPUlowmed.highultraQHD4K
Borderlands 34329.716.613.4
Total War: Three Kingdoms77391814
Shadow of the Tomb Raider62282420
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps

1
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2
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Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPUlowmed.highultraQHD4K
Borderlands 37260.248.6
Total War: Three Kingdoms330147967147
Shadow of the Tomb Raider18213112210978
The Witcher 38376
GTA V848157
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps


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For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List

v1.26
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Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)