Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
vs
Apple M5 Ultra 36 Cores

vs

CPU Comparison Result

Below are the results of a comparison of Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) and Apple M5 Ultra 36 Cores processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.

Advantages

  • Higher Memory Type: LPDDR5X unified memory (LPDDR5X unified memory vs Unified memory)
  • More Total Cores: 36 (18 vs 36)
  • Newer Launch Date: August 2026 (March 2026 vs August 2026)

Basic

Apple
Label Name
Apple
March 2026
Launch Date
August 2026
Laptop
Platform
Desktop
Apple custom ARM architecture
CPU Architecture
Apple M5
Apple M5 Max
CPU Name
Apple M5 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 M5 Ultra 36 Cores
TSMC N3P
Foundry
-
M5 Max
Generation
M5

CPU Specifications

-
Interconnect Bandwidth
Over 4.4 TB/s
Apple Fusion Architecture
Interconnect Technology
UltraFusion quad-die architecture
4.38 GHz
Performance-core Multi-Core Max Frequency
-
4.61 GHz
Super-core Max Frequency
4.61 GHz
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).
36
18
Total Threads
?
Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.
36
12
Performance-cores
24
6
Super-cores
12
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.
-
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

Memory Specifications

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 memory
128 GB
Max Memory Size
?
Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.
512 GB
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).
1.2 TB/s
9600 MT/s
Maximum Memory Speed
-

GPU Specifications

Thunderbolt / DisplayPort 2.1 over USB-C; HDMI
External Display Standard
DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1
Apple M5 Max 40-core GPU
GPU Name
Apple M5 Ultra 80-core GPU
Supported
Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
Supported
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 8K at 60Hz
-
Video Concurrency
Up to 33 streams of 8K ProRes 422 at 30 fps
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1; hardware-accelerated; frame rate not disclosed
Video Decode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW; hardware-accelerated; frame rate not disclosed
Video Encode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
40
Graphics Core Count
80
Up to 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz
Max Resolution
Up to 8K at 60Hz
-
Number of Displays Supported
8
Metal
GPU APIs
Metal
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode
Media Engine
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode
1
Video Decode Engines
2
2
Video Encode Engines
4
2
ProRes Encode/Decode Engines
4

AI Specifications

Apple Neural Engine with Neural Accelerators in GPU cores
AI Engine
Apple Neural Engine with Neural Accelerators in each GPU core
16
Neural Engine Core Count
32
16-core Neural Engine
NPU Name
32-core Neural Engine

Connectivity

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

Interfaces and Ports

Thunderbolt 5
Thunderbolt Support
Thunderbolt 5
USB 4 up to 120Gb/s
USB Version
-
Supported
USB4 Support
Supported

Miscellaneous

Memory Integrity Enforcement
Runtime Anti-Exploitation
-

Benchmarks

Cinebench R23 Multi Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
32197 +770%
Apple M5 Ultra 36 Cores
3701
Geekbench 6 Single Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
4281
Apple M5 Ultra 36 Cores
4688 +10%
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
29226
Apple M5 Ultra 36 Cores
39193 +34%
Cinebench 2024 Single Core
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
201
Apple M5 Ultra 36 Cores
223 +11%