Apple M3
vs
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
vs
CPU Comparison Result
Below are the results of a comparison of
Apple M3
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 (8 vs 18)
- Newer Launch Date: March 2026 (October 2023 vs March 2026)
Basic
Apple
Label Name
Apple
October 2023
Launch Date
March 2026
Laptop
Platform
Laptop
Apple M3 performance cores + efficiency cores
CPU Architecture
Apple custom ARM architecture
Apple M3
CPU Name
Apple M5 Max
Apple M3
Model Name
Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU
TSMC
Foundry
TSMC N3P
Apple M3 series
Generation
M5 Max
CPU Specifications
-
Interconnect Technology
Apple Fusion Architecture
-
Performance-core Multi-Core Max Frequency
4.38 GHz
-
Super-core Max Frequency
4.61 GHz
8
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
8
Total Threads
18
4
Performance-cores
12
4
Efficient-cores
-
-
Super-cores
6
-
Max Turbo Frequency
4.61 GHz
2.75 GHz
Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency
-
NEON
Instruction Set Extensions
-
4.06 GHz
Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency
-
ARMv8.6-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: 16 MB; E-core cluster: 4 MB
L2 Cache
-
3 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
ARMv8.6-A
Instruction Set
An instruction set architecture (ISA) defines the instructions a processor can execute. Common architectures include x86-64, ARM and RISC-V. The ISA determines software compatibility, while optional instruction extensions add specialized capabilities.
-
25 billion
Transistor Count
-
Memory Specifications
128-bit
Memory Bus Width
-
Unified LPDDR5-6400
Memory Type
LPDDR5X unified memory
LPDDR5-6400
LPDDR5 Speed
-
24 GB
Max Memory Size
Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.
128 GB
100 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 3 / USB4 with DisplayPort, HDMI
External Display Standard
Thunderbolt / DisplayPort 2.1 over USB-C; HDMI
Apple M3 GPU
GPU Name
Apple M5 Max 40-core GPU
-
Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
Supported
Up to 6K 60Hz external display; up to 5K 60Hz second external display with lid closed; HDMI up to 4K 120Hz
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
Hardware-accelerated video encode/decode; AV1 decode
Video Concurrency
-
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1 decode
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 and AV1 decode
Video Processing Unit
-
1400 MHz
GPU Max Dynamic Frequency
-
8/9/10
Graphics Core Count
40
-
Max Resolution
Up to 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz
Up to 2 external displays with lid closed
Number of Displays Supported
-
Metal, OpenCL
GPU APIs
Metal
Up to 3.55 TFLOPS FP32
Graphics Performance
-
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, and AV1 decode
Media Engine
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode
1
Video Decode Engines
1
1
Video Encode Engines
2
1
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
18 TOPS
NPU Performance
-
Connectivity
Yes
Bluetooth Support
Supported
-
Bluetooth Version
6
-
Wi-Fi Standard
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
-
Wireless System
Apple N1 wireless networking chip
Interfaces and Ports
Yes, Thunderbolt 3 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
-
Kernel Integrity Protection, Pointer Authentication Codes, Fast Permission Restrictions
Runtime Anti-Exploitation
Memory Integrity Enforcement
Benchmarks
Cinebench R23 Single Core
Apple M3
1965
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
2532
+29%
Cinebench R23 Multi Core
Apple M3
10437
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
32197
+208%
Geekbench 6 Single Core
Apple M3
3075
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
4281
+39%
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
Apple M3
11525
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
29226
+154%
Geekbench 7 Single Core
Apple M3
2729
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
3702
+36%
Geekbench 7 Multi Core
Apple M3
11704
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
34935
+198%
Passmark CPU Single Core
Apple M3
4712
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
5947
+26%
Passmark CPU Multi Core
Apple M3
19087
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
57701
+202%
Cinebench 2024 Single Core
Apple M3
137
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
201
+47%
Cinebench 2024 Multi Core
Apple M3
659
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
2255
+242%
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Apple M3
3340
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
22575
+576%
Blender
Apple M3
132
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
149
+13%
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