Home / CPU Comparison / Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) or Intel Core Ultra 9 288V: What's better?

Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)

vs

Intel Core Ultra 9 288V

CPU Comparison Result

Below are the results of a comparison of Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) and Intel Core Ultra 9 288V processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.

Advantages

Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)

More Total Cores: 18 (18 vs 8)
Newer Launch Date: March 2026 (March 2026 vs October 2024)

Basic

Apple

Label Name

Intel

March 2026

Launch Date

October 2024

Laptop

Platform

Laptop

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.

288V

Apple M5

Code Name

Lunar Lake

Foundry

Intel

Generation

Ultra 9 (Lunar Lake)

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Performance-cores

Efficient-cores

4.61 GHz

Performance-core Base Frequency

1.6 GHz

4.38 GHz

Efficient-core Base Frequency

1.1 GHz

Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency

Maximum E-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.

3.7 GHz

Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency

Maximum P-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.

5.1 GHz

192 K per core

L1 Cache

K per core

L2 Cache

14 MB

L3 Cache

12 MB

Unlocked Multiplier

Multiplier

16x

Bus Frequency

100 MHz

Apple M-Socket

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

BGA 2833

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.

72 W

TDP

17-30 W

100 °C

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

110°C

PCIe Version

PCI Express is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard used for connecting high-speed components, replacing older standards such as AGP, PCI, and PCI-X. It has gone through multiple revisions and improvements since its initial release. PCIe 1.0 was first introduced in 2002, and in order to meet the growing demand for higher bandwidth, subsequent versions have been released over time.

5.0

ARMv9

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.

x86-64

28 billions

Transistor Count

Memory Specifications

LPDDR5X-9600

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-8533

128 GB

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

32 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

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).

136 GB/s

ECC Memory Support

GPU Specifications

true

Integrated Graphics Model

An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.

true

2005 MHz

GPU Max Dynamic Frequency

2050 MHz

GPU Base Frequency

600 MHz

640

Execution Units

The Execution Unit is the foundational building block of Intel’s graphics architecture. Execution Units are compute processors optimized for simultaneous Multi-Threading for high throughput compute power.

Graphics Performance

6.6 TFLOPS