Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
vs
Apple M3 Ultra
vs
CPU Comparison Result
Below are the results of a comparison of
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
and
Apple M3 Ultra
processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.
Advantages
- Newer Launch Date: March 2026 (March 2026 vs March 2025)
- More Total Cores: 32 (18 vs 32)
Basic
Apple
Label Name
Apple
March 2026
Launch Date
March 2025
Laptop
Platform
Desktop
Apple custom ARM architecture
CPU Architecture
Apple M3 performance cores + efficiency cores
Apple M5 Max
CPU Name
Apple M3 Ultra
Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU
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 M3 Ultra
TSMC N3P
Foundry
TSMC
M5 Max
Generation
Apple M3 series
CPU Specifications
-
Interconnect Bandwidth
Over 2.5 TB/s
Apple Fusion Architecture
Interconnect Technology
UltraFusion
4.38 GHz
Performance-core Multi-Core Max Frequency
-
6
Prime Cores
-
4.61 GHz
Prime-core Multi-Core Max Frequency
-
18
Total Cores
?
Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).
32
18
Total Threads
?
Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.
32
12
Performance-cores
24
-
Efficient-cores
8
4.61 GHz
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.
-
-
Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency
?
Maximum E-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.
2.75 GHz
-
Instruction Set Extensions
NEON
-
Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency
?
Maximum P-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.
4.05 GHz
-
Extended Instruction Set
ARMv8.6-A, NEON
-
L1 Cache
P-cores: 192 KB instruction + 128 KB data per core; E-cores: 128 KB instruction + 64 KB data per core
-
L2 Cache
P-core clusters: 72 MB total; E-core clusters: 8 MB total
-
L3 Cache
96 MB system level cache
Third-generation 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.
3 nm
-
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.
ARMv8.6-A
-
Transistor Count
184 billion
Memory Specifications
-
Memory Bus Width
1024-bit
LPDDR5X unified memory
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.
Unified LPDDR5-6400
-
LPDDR5 Speed
LPDDR5-6400
128 GB
Max Memory Size
?
Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.
512 GB
-
Memory Channels
?
The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.
8
614 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).
819 GB/s
9600 MT/s
Maximum Memory Speed
6400 MT/s
GPU Specifications
Thunderbolt / DisplayPort 2.1 over USB-C; HDMI
External Display Standard
Thunderbolt 5, DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1
Apple M5 Max 40-core GPU
GPU Name
Apple M3 Ultra GPU
Supported
Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
-
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
Max External Display Resolution
Up to eight 6K 60Hz displays or four 8K 60Hz displays; HDMI up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz
-
Video Concurrency
Up to 24 streams of 8K ProRes 422 video
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1; hardware-accelerated; frame rate not disclosed
Video Decode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1 decode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW; hardware-accelerated; frame rate not disclosed
Video Encode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
-
Video Processing Unit
Apple media engine with ProRes acceleration and AV1 decode
-
GPU Max Dynamic Frequency
1400 MHz
-
Graphics Base Frequency
?
Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.
390 MHz
40
Graphics Core Count
80
Up to 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz
Max Resolution
-
-
Number of Displays Supported
Up to 8 displays
Metal
GPU APIs
Metal, OpenCL
-
Graphics Performance
Up to 28.4 TFLOPS FP32
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode
Media Engine
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, and AV1 decode
1
Video Decode Engines
2
2
Video Encode Engines
4
2
ProRes Encode/Decode Engines
4
-
OpenCL Support
?
OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for heterogeneous parallel programming.
Yes
AI Specifications
Apple Neural Engine with Neural Accelerators in GPU cores
AI Engine
32-core Apple Neural Engine
16
Neural Engine Core Count
32
16-core Neural Engine
NPU Name
Apple Neural Engine
-
NPU Performance
36 TOPS
Connectivity
Supported
Bluetooth Support
Yes
6
Bluetooth Version
Bluetooth 5.3
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Wi-Fi Standard
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Apple N1 wireless networking chip
Wireless System
-
Interfaces and Ports
Thunderbolt 5
Thunderbolt Support
Yes, Thunderbolt 5 up to 120 Gb/s
USB 4 up to 120Gb/s
USB Version
USB4
Supported
USB4 Support
Yes, USB4 up to 120 Gb/s via Thunderbolt 5 ports
Miscellaneous
-
Hardware-Verified Secure Boot
Yes, Apple silicon secure boot chain of trust
Memory Integrity Enforcement
Runtime Anti-Exploitation
Hardware-verified secure boot and runtime anti-exploitation technologies
-
Security Processor
Secure Enclave
Benchmarks
Cinebench R23 Single Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
2532
+29%
Apple M3 Ultra
1968
Cinebench R23 Multi Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
32197
Apple M3 Ultra
37200
+16%
Geekbench 6 Single Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
4281
+34%
Apple M3 Ultra
3201
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
29226
+5%
Apple M3 Ultra
27835
Passmark CPU Single Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
5947
+18%
Apple M3 Ultra
5054
Passmark CPU Multi Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
57701
Apple M3 Ultra
72912
+26%
Cinebench 2024 Single Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
201
+42%
Apple M3 Ultra
142
Cinebench 2024 Multi Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
2255
Apple M3 Ultra
2520
+12%
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