Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) vs M2 Pro GPU (19-core)

We compared two integrated laptop professional GPUs: the Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) with 640 pipelines and 5120 shaders against the 10 months older M2 Pro GPU (19-core) that utilizes 304 pipelines and 2432 shaders. Here you will find complete details about specs, efficiency, performance tests, and more.

Review

General comparison of performance in games, applications, power efficiency, and other metrics
Gaming
Performance in DirectX, OpenCL, and Vulkan games
Workstation
Perf. in 3D modeling, video editing and rendering apps
AI/ML
Capabilities for machine learning and AI-related tasks
Energy Efficiency
Power consumption efficiency in different scenarios
DeviceFacts Final Score
Overall video card score

Key differences

Key distinctions and advantages of M2 Pro GPU (19-core) over M3 Max GPU (40-core)
Reasons to consider the Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core)
  • Performs significantly better (up to 2.4x) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • 2.1x higher maximum theoretical performance (14.1 vs 6.8 TFLOPS)
  • Manufactured using a more efficient 3 nm process technology
  • Has 2x higher memory bandwidth: 409.6 vs 204.8 GB/s
  • Achieves 91% more points in the GeekBench 6 Compute test (94K vs 49K)
  • Has 2.1x more shading units (5120 vs 2432)

Benchmarks

Graphics cards’ performance in recent benchmarking apps

3D Mark

Multiplatform graphics benchmark suite that directly correlates with performance in modern games
Steel Nomad Lite Score
Solar Bay 49656 16218
Wild Life Extreme 30893 12726
Sources: 3DMark [1], [2]

GeekBench 6 OpenCL

GPU test for computational tasks (image processing, photography, computer vision, and ML)
GB6 Compute Score
Background Blur 157.6 img/sec 89.7 img/sec
Face Detection 100.9 img/sec 58 img/sec
Horizon Detection 3.99 Gpixels/sec 1.94 Gpixels/sec
Edge Detection 6.04 Gpixels/sec 3.26 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian Blur 5 Gpixels/sec 2.19 Gpixels/sec
Feature Matching 0.84 Gpixels/sec 0.55 Gpixels/sec
Stereo Matching 363.8 Gpixels/sec 163 Gpixels/sec
Particle Physics 12226.9 FPS 6139.2 FPS
API OpenCL OpenCL
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]

Cinebench 2024 GPU

Hardware benchmark using Maxon's Cinema 4D rendering engine
Cinebench 2024 GPU

Blender

Rendering performance test for 3D modeling
Blender GPU
Sources: Blender [9], [10] – 446 & 207 samples

Artificial Intelligence Tests

Performance in machine learning and artificial intelligence tasks

GeekBench 6 ML

Tests throughput of AI operations in single, half, and quantized precision
GB6 ML Single Precision
GB6 ML Half Precision
GB6 ML Quantized
Image Classification (SP) 8685 5279
Image Segmentation (HP) 20739 8089
Image Super Resolution (Q) 22775 15007
Face Detection (HP) 37676 19212
Pose Estimation (Q) 91609 44046
Text Classification (SP) 2909 2280
Machine Translation (HP) 5274 1972
Object Detection (SP) 7480 4941
Depth Estimation (Q) 38212 22209
Style Transfer (SP) 190681 79898
Framework Core ML Core ML
Backend GPU GPU
Sources: Geekbench [9], [10]

Specifications

Technical specifications of Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) and M2 Pro GPU (19-core)

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Build Integrated Integrated
Released October 31, 2023 January 17, 2023
Case Laptop Laptop
Purpose Professional Professional
Segment High-end High-end
Architecture Apple M GPU Apple M GPU
Rival Equivalent - GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop - GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop
Successor - Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) - Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core)
Recommended CPU - Apple M3 Max or above - Apple M2 Pro or above
Used in CPUs - Apple M3 Max - Apple M2 Pro
Laptop GPU ranking (21st and 70th place)

Graphics Processing Unit

Base Clock 500 MHz 450 MHz
Boost Clock 1380 MHz 1398 MHz
Shading Units 5120 2432
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) 320 152
Render Output Units (ROPs) 160 76
Compute Units (Pipelines) 640 304
Instructions Per Cycle 2 IPC 2 IPC

Raw Performance

Pixel Fill Rate 221 GPixel/s 106 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate 442 GTexel/s 212 GTexel/s
FLOPS (FP32)
14.1 TFLOPS

Physical

Interface Custom Custom
TGP 60 W 35 W
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Fabrication Process 3 nm 5 nm
Transistor Count 56 billion 26 billion
Max. Temperature 100°C 94°C

Memory

Memory Type System Shared System Shared
Memory Clock 6400 MHz 6400 MHz
Effective Memory Speed 12800 Mbps 12800 Mbps
Bus 512-bit 256-bit
ECC No No
Memory Bandwidth
409.6 GB/s

API

Ray Tracing Yes No
DLSS No No

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