Apple M1 Max
vs
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)

vs

CPU Comparison Result

Below are the results of a comparison of Apple M1 Max and Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.

Advantages

  • More Total Cores: 18 (10 vs 18)
  • Higher Technology: Third-generation 3 nm (5 nm vs Third-generation 3 nm)
  • Newer Launch Date: March 2026 (October 2021 vs March 2026)

Basic

Apple
Label Name
Apple
October 2021
Launch Date
March 2026
Laptop
Platform
Laptop
Apple Firestorm + Apple Icestorm
CPU Architecture
Apple custom ARM architecture
Apple M1 Max
CPU Name
Apple M5 Max
Apple M1 Max
Model Name
?
The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.
Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU
TSMC
Foundry
TSMC N3P
Apple M1 series
Generation
M5 Max

CPU Specifications

-
Interconnect Technology
Apple Fusion Architecture
8
Performance Cores
12
-
Performance-core Multi-Core Max Frequency
4.38 GHz
-
Prime Cores
6
-
Prime-core Multi-Core Max Frequency
4.61 GHz
10
Total Cores
?
Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).
18
10
Total Threads
?
Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.
18
2
Efficient-cores
-
-
Max Turbo Frequency
?
Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.
4.61 GHz
2.064 GHz
Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency
?
Maximum E-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.
-
NEON
Instruction Set Extensions
-
3.228 GHz
Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency
?
Maximum P-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.
-
ARMv8-A, NEON
Extended Instruction Set
-
P-cores: 192 KB instruction + 128 KB data per core; E-cores: 128 KB instruction + 64 KB data per core
L1 Cache
-
P-core cluster: 24 MB; E-core cluster: 4 MB
L2 Cache
-
48 MB system level cache
L3 Cache
-
5 nm
Technology
?
Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.
Third-generation 3 nm
ARMv8-A
Instruction Set
?
The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.
-
57 billion
Transistor Count
-

Memory Specifications

512-bit
Memory Bus Width
-
Unified LPDDR5-6400
Memory Type
?
Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.
LPDDR5X unified memory
LPDDR5-6400
LPDDR5 Speed
-
64 GB
Max Memory Size
?
Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.
128 GB
400 GB/s
Max Memory Bandwidth
?
Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).
614 GB/s
6400 MT/s
Maximum Memory Speed
9600 MT/s

GPU Specifications

Thunderbolt 4, HDMI
External Display Standard
Thunderbolt / DisplayPort 2.1 over USB-C; HDMI
Apple M1 Max GPU
GPU Name
Apple M5 Max 40-core GPU
-
Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
Supported
Up to three 6K 60Hz displays plus one 4K 60Hz display
Max External Display Resolution
Up to four external displays: four displays up to 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz; or two displays up to 8K at 60Hz, 5K at 120Hz or 4K at 240Hz
Multiple streams of 4K and 8K ProRes video
Video Concurrency
-
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
Video Decode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1; hardware-accelerated; frame rate not disclosed
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
Video Encode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW; hardware-accelerated; frame rate not disclosed
Apple media engine with ProRes acceleration
Video Processing Unit
-
389 MHz
GPU Base Frequency
-
1296 MHz
GPU Max Dynamic Frequency
-
32
Graphics Core Count
40
-
Max Resolution
Up to 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz
Up to 4 external displays
Number of Displays Supported
-
Metal, OpenCL
GPU APIs
Metal
Up to 10.4 TFLOPS FP32
Graphics Performance
-
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
Media Engine
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode
1
Video Decode Engines
1
2
Video Encode Engines
2
2
ProRes Encode/Decode Engines
2
Yes
OpenCL Support
?
OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for heterogeneous parallel programming.
-

AI Specifications

16-core Apple Neural Engine
AI Engine
Apple Neural Engine with Neural Accelerators in GPU cores
16
Neural Engine Core Count
16
Apple Neural Engine
NPU Name
16-core Neural Engine
11 TOPS INT8
NPU Performance
-

Connectivity

Yes
Bluetooth Support
Supported
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth Version
6
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi Standard
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
-
Wireless System
Apple N1 wireless networking chip

Interfaces and Ports

Yes, Thunderbolt 4 up to 40 Gb/s
Thunderbolt Support
Thunderbolt 5
USB4
USB Version
USB 4 up to 120Gb/s
Yes, USB4 up to 40 Gb/s
USB4 Support
Supported

Miscellaneous

Yes, Apple silicon secure boot chain of trust
Hardware-Verified Secure Boot
-
Apple image signal processor
Image Signal Processor
-
Kernel Integrity Protection, Pointer Authentication Codes, Fast Permission Restrictions
Runtime Anti-Exploitation
Memory Integrity Enforcement
Secure Enclave
Security Processor
-

Benchmarks

Cinebench R23 Single Core
Apple M1 Max
1534
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
2532 +65%
Cinebench R23 Multi Core
Apple M1 Max
12402
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
32197 +160%
Geekbench 6 Single Core
Apple M1 Max
2376
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
4281 +80%
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
Apple M1 Max
12280
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
29226 +138%
Passmark CPU Single Core
Apple M1 Max
3831
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
5947 +55%
Passmark CPU Multi Core
Apple M1 Max
22160
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
57701 +160%
Cinebench 2024 Single Core
Apple M1 Max
112
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
201 +79%
Cinebench 2024 Multi Core
Apple M1 Max
796
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
2255 +183%
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Apple M1 Max
4514
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
22575 +400%
Blender
Apple M1 Max
192 +29%
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
149