Apple M2 Pro 16-Core GPU vs Apple M4 Max 32-Core GPU vs Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU
Apple M2 Pro 16-Core GPU
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The Apple M2 Pro 16-Core-GPU is an integrated graphics card by Apple offering all 16 of the 19 cores in the M2 Pro 10-Core Chip.
The graphics card has no dedicated graphics memory but can use the fast LPDDR5-6400 unified memory with a 256 bit bus (up to 200 GBit/s).
According to Apple, the performance of the 19-core-GPU should be 30% higher than the old 16-core-GPU in the M1 Pro. Therefore, the cut down 16-core version should still beat the old full-featured 16-core M1 Pro slightly and the old 14-core more clearly.
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 of 2023 is the support for HDMI 2.1 and 8k output.
The Apple M2 Pro is manufactured in the second generation 5nm process at TSMC.
Apple M4 Max 32-Core GPU
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The Apple M4 Max GPU (32 cores) is an integrated graphics adapter that's built into the 14-core Apple M4 Max SoC. It features 32 "cores" and has access to at least 36 GB of fast 410 GB/s LPDDR5x on-package RAM depending on the configuration. As is typical for graphics adapters released in 2024, it has hardware support for ray tracing as well as mesh shading and other modern technologies. It also supports external displays with resolutions as high as "8K" and can HW-decode a few popular video codecs such as h.264, h.265 and AV1.
Performance
Its gaming performance is set to be approximately as good as that of the GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop. Please keep in mind that very few games have been compiled specifically for Apple silicon Macs meaning most titles have to be run via emulation layers. Some of them are displayed with visual artefacts as a result, or don't start at all.
Power consumption
Given the power on offer, we expect the iGPU to consume over 40 W when under heavy loads.
Just like the rest of the Apple M4 Max chip, the integrated graphics adapter is manufactured on a "second generation 3 nm" TSMC process which is still cutting-edge as of late 2024.
Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU
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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 Pro 16-Core GPU | Apple M4 Max 32-Core GPU | Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apple M2 Series |
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| Pipelines | 16 - unified | 32 - unified | 38 - unified | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memory Type | LPDDR5-6400 | LPDDR5x-8533 | LPDDR5-6400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shared Memory | no | yes | no | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| technology | 5 nm | 3 nm | 5 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notebook Size | medium sized | large | medium sized | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of Announcement | 17.01.2023 | 30.10.2024 | 17.01.2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Raytracing Cores | 32 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memory Speed | 8533 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memory Bandwidth | 410 GB/s | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power Consumption | 45 Watt | 53 Watt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Displays | 3 Displays (max.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | M3 Max 30-Core GPU |
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Benchmarks
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit + Apple M2 Pro 16-Core GPU
GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 + Apple M2 Pro 16-Core GPU
Average Benchmarks Apple M2 Pro 16-Core GPU → 0% n=0
Average Benchmarks Apple M4 Max 32-Core GPU → 0% n=0
Average Benchmarks Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU → 0% n=0
- 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.
Borderlands 3
2019
The Witcher 3
2015
GTA V
2015Average Gaming Apple M2 Pro 16-Core GPU → 100%
Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 100%
Average Gaming Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU → 165%
Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 166%
| Apple M2 Pro 16-Core GPU | Apple M4 Max 32-Core GPU | Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | ||||
| Borderlands 3 | 80.8 | 52 | 38 | 28.9 | 72 | 60.2 | 48.6 | ||||||||||||||
| Total War: Three Kingdoms | 258 | 75 | 48 | 36 | 22 | 330 | 147 | 96 | 71 | 47 | |||||||||||
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 159 | 72 | 65 | 57 | 36 | 182 | 131 | 122 | 109 | 78 | |||||||||||
| The Witcher 3 | 51 | 45 | 83 | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| GTA V | 76 | 73 | 46 | 84 | 81 | 57 | |||||||||||||||
| Apple M2 Pro 16-Core GPU | Apple M4 Max 32-Core GPU | Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU | |||||||||||||||||||
| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | < 30 fps < 60 fps < 120 fps ≥ 120 fps | 2 2 | 1 3 | 4 1 | 1 3 | 1 1 | | < 30 fps < 60 fps < 120 fps ≥ 120 fps | | | | | | | < 30 fps < 60 fps < 120 fps ≥ 120 fps | 1 2 | 2 2 | 1 3 1 | 1 3 | 1 1 | |
For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List
