Notebookcheck Logo

Apple M2 Pro vs Apple M2 Max vs Apple M2 Pro 10-Core

Apple M2 Pro

► remove from comparison Apple M2 Pro

The Apple M2 Pro 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 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 24 MB SLC (System Level Cache). 

The unified memory (16 or 32 GB LPDDR5-6400) next to the chip is connected by a 256 Bit memory controller (200 GB/s bandwidth) and can be used by the GPU and CPU.

Apple states that the M2 Pro has a 25% higher performance than the M1 Pro in Xcode compiling.

The integrated graphics card in the M1 Pro offers all 19 cores.

Furthermore, the SoC integrates a fast 16 core neural engine (faster than M1 Pro), 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 Pro is manufactured in 5 nm at TSMC (second generation) and integrates 40 billion transistors. 

Apple M2 Max

► remove from comparison 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.

Apple M2 Pro 10-Core

► remove from comparison Apple M2 Pro 10-Core

The Apple M2 Pro 10-Core is a System on a Chip (SoC) from Apple that is found in the early 2023 MacBook Pro 14 and Mac Mini entry level models. It offers 10 of the 12 cores available in the chip divided in six 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 24 MB SLC (System Level Cache). 

The unified memory (16 or 32 GB LPDDR5-6400) next to the chip is connected by a 256 Bit memory controller (200 GB/s bandwidth) and can be used by the GPU and CPU.

The performance of the M2 Pro 10-Core should be similar to the old M1 Pro with all 10 cores. The multi-threaded performance should be slower, as the M2 10-core has two p-cores less (and 2 e-cores more) but the single-threaded performance should be better due to the faster clock speed and architectural improvements. The old M1 Pro 8-core should be noticeably slower.

The integrated graphics card in the M1 Pro 10-core offers all 16 of the 19 cores.

Furthermore, the SoC integrates a fast 16 core neural engine (faster than M1 Pro), 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 Pro is manufactured in 5 nm at TSMC (second generation) and integrates 40 billion transistors. 

ModelApple M2 ProApple M2 MaxApple M2 Pro 10-Core
SeriesApple Apple M2Apple Apple M2Apple Apple M2
Series: Apple M2
Apple M2 Max2.42 - 3.7 GHz12 / 12 cores48 MB L3
Apple M2 Pro « 2.42 - 3.5 GHz12 / 12 cores24 MB L3
Apple M2 Pro 10-Core2.42 - 3.7 GHz10 / 10 cores24 MB L3
Apple M22.42 - 3.48 GHz8 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Apple M2 Max « 2.42 - 3.7 GHz12 / 12 cores48 MB L3
Apple M2 Pro2.42 - 3.5 GHz12 / 12 cores24 MB L3
Apple M2 Pro 10-Core2.42 - 3.7 GHz10 / 10 cores24 MB L3
Apple M22.42 - 3.48 GHz8 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Apple M2 Max2.42 - 3.7 GHz12 / 12 cores48 MB L3
Apple M2 Pro2.42 - 3.5 GHz12 / 12 cores24 MB L3
Apple M2 Pro 10-Core « 2.42 - 3.7 GHz10 / 10 cores24 MB L3
Apple M22.42 - 3.48 GHz8 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Clock2424 - 3504 MHz2424 - 3696 MHz2424 - 3696 MHz
L1 Cache3.3 MB3.3 MB7.3 MB
L2 Cache36 MB36 MB36 MB
L3 Cache24 MB48 MB24 MB
Cores / Threads12 / 1212 / 1210 / 10
Transistors40000 Million67000 Million40000 Million
Technology5 nm5 nm5 nm
FeaturesARMv8 Instruction SetARMv8 Instruction SetARMv8 Instruction Set
iGPUApple M2 Pro 19-Core GPUApple M2 Max 38-Core GPUApple M2 Pro 16-Core GPU
ArchitectureARMARMARM
Announced
TDP79 Watt

Benchmarks

Cinebench 2024 - CB24 CPU Single Core
100%
1 M2 Pro +
122 Points (85%)
Cinebench 2024 - CB24 CPU Multi Core
100%
1 M2 Pro +
1028 Points (19%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Multi Core
min: 14787     avg: 14795     median: 14794.5 (14%)     max: 14802 Points
min: 14738     avg: 14753     median: 14752.5 (14%)     max: 14767 Points
11811 Points (11%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Single Core
min: 1647     avg: 1648     median: 1647.5 (70%)     max: 1648 Points
min: 1625     avg: 1644     median: 1643.5 (70%)     max: 1662 Points
1643 Points (70%)
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Single Core)
min: 446     avg: 446.5     median: 446.5 (50%)     max: 447 Points
min: 451     avg: 455.5     median: 455.5 (51%)     max: 460 Points
449 Points (50%)
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Multi Core)
min: 4018     avg: 4031     median: 4031 (10%)     max: 4044 Points
min: 4044     avg: 4065     median: 4064.5 (10%)     max: 4085 Points
3235 Points (8%)
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
2069 Points (13%)
min: 2074     avg: 2084     median: 2084 (13%)     max: 2094 Points
1664 Points (11%)
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64 Bit
230 Points (69%)
min: 233     avg: 236     median: 236 (71%)     max: 239 Points
231 Points (70%)
Blender - Blender 3.3 Classroom CPU *
331 Seconds (4%)
326 Seconds (4%)
435 Seconds (6%)
Blender - Blender 2.79 BMW27 CPU *
100%
1 M2 Max +
333 Seconds (2%)
415 Seconds (3%)
R Benchmark 2.5 - R Benchmark 2.5 *
100%
1 M2 Pro +
0.4 sec (9%)
Geekbench 6.2 - Geekbench 6.2 Single-Core
100%
1 M2 Pro +
2663 Points (81%)
101%
1 M2 Max +
2692 Points (82%)
Geekbench 6.2 - Geekbench 6.2 Multi-Core
100%
1 M2 Pro +
14568 Points (57%)
102%
1 M2 Max +
14863 Points (59%)
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 1952     avg: 1957     median: 1957 (83%)     max: 1961 Points
min: 1965     avg: 1970     median: 1967 (83%)     max: 1978 Points
min: 1926     avg: 1937     median: 1936.5 (82%)     max: 1947 Points
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 14859     avg: 14961     median: 15010 (27%)     max: 15013 Points
min: 15348     avg: 15388     median: 15373 (28%)     max: 15444 Points
min: 12074     avg: 12132     median: 12131.5 (22%)     max: 12189 Points
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
443.8 ms (1%)
min: 430.2     avg: 437.2     median: 437.2 (1%)     max: 444.2 ms
447.4 ms (1%)
Octane V2 - Octane V2 Total Score
76205 Points (69%)
min: 76610     avg: 77676     median: 77676 (70%)     max: 78742 Points
75471 Points (68%)
WebXPRT 4 - WebXPRT 4 Score
253 Points (73%)
min: 258     avg: 259     median: 259 (74%)     max: 260 Points
250 Points (72%)
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
386 Points (80%)
min: 402     avg: 404.5     median: 404.5 (84%)     max: 407 Points
391 Points (81%)
CrossMark - CrossMark Overall
min: 1797     avg: 1805     median: 1804.5 (69%)     max: 1812 Points
min: 1759     avg: 1835     median: 1834.5 (70%)     max: 1910 Points
1772 Points (68%)
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Consumption - external Monitor *
100%
1 M2 Max +
72.8 Watt (13%)
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption - external Monitor *
100%
1 M2 Max +
9.2 Watt (6%)
2.2 Watt (1%)
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption 150cd 1min *
5.2 Watt (6%)
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Efficiency - external Monitor
100%
1 M2 Max +
28.5 Points per Watt (21%)

Average Benchmarks Apple M2 Pro → 100% n=14

Average Benchmarks Apple M2 Max → 101% n=14

Average Benchmarks Apple M2 Pro 10-Core → 94% n=14

- 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

v1.26
log 30. 03:19:22

#0 checking url part for id 14973 +0s ... 0s

#1 checking url part for id 14975 +0s ... 0s

#2 checking url part for id 14977 +0s ... 0s

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

#4 did not recreate cache, as it is less than 5 days old! Created at Sun, 28 Apr 2024 05:39:51 +0200 +0.001s ... 0.001s

#5 composed specs +0.03s ... 0.031s

#6 did output specs +0s ... 0.031s

#7 getting avg benchmarks for device 14973 +0.004s ... 0.035s

#8 got single benchmarks 14973 +0.012s ... 0.047s

#9 getting avg benchmarks for device 14975 +0.003s ... 0.05s

#10 got single benchmarks 14975 +0.012s ... 0.062s

#11 getting avg benchmarks for device 14977 +0.003s ... 0.065s

#12 got single benchmarks 14977 +0.012s ... 0.076s

#13 got avg benchmarks for devices +0s ... 0.076s

#14 min, max, avg, median took s +0.158s ... 0.235s

#15 return log +0s ... 0.235s

Please share our article, every link counts!
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Benchmarks / Tech > Processor Comparison - Head 2 Head
Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)