Apple M2 vs Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
[ VERDICT ]
Winner: Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) (97/100)
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) leads overall with a score of 97/100 compared to Apple M2 (57/100), offering superior measured performance and technical specifications.
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Normalized Lab Scores| Benchmark | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency | 77.0 Good | 92.0 Excellent WINNER |
| Performance | 74.0 Good | 100.0 Excellent WINNER |
Detailed Technical Specifications
CPU
| Specification | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Base Frequency (E) | 2.4 GHz | 4.38 GHz |
| Base Frequency (P) | 3.5 GHz | 4.61 GHz |
| E-Cores | 4 | 12 |
| E-Threads | 4 | 12 |
| L1 Cache | 192K (per core) | 192K (per core) |
| L2 Cache | 16MB (shared) | — |
| P-Cores | 4 | 6 |
| P-Threads | 4 | 6 |
| Total Cores | 8 | 18 |
| Total Threads | 8 | 18 |
| Unlocked Multiplier | No | No |
| Multiplier | — | 46x |
GeekBench v6
| Specification | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Background blur | 42.1 images/sec | 106.1 images/sec |
| Clang compilation | 80.4 Klines/sec | 271.1 Klines/sec |
| File compression | 1130 MB/sec | 2990 MB/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 235.3 pages/sec | 811.7 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 266.1 Mpixels/sec | 764 Mpixels/sec |
| Photo processing | 107 images/sec | 303.8 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 10.5 Mpixels/sec | 47.8 Mpixels/sec |
| Text processing | 257.4 pages/sec | 457.1 pages/sec |
General
| Specification | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Codename | Apple M2 | Apple M5 |
| Instruction Set | ARMv8 | ARMv9 |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M2 GPU | Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) |
| Released | June 6, 2022 | March 3, 2026 |
| Successor | -Apple M5 (10-Core) | — |
| Type | Laptop | Laptop |
| Vendor | Apple | Apple |
Memory Support
| Specification | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| ECC Support | No | No |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 102.4 GB/s | 614 GB/s |
| Max. Memory Size | 24 GB | 128 GB |
| Memory Channels | 8 | 32 |
| Memory Types | - LPDDR5-6400 | - LPDDR5X-9600 |
Misc
| Specification | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| PCI Express Version | 4.0 | — |
Package
| Specification | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrication Process | 5 nm | 3 nm |
| Socket | Apple M-Socket | Apple M-Socket |
| TDP (PL1) | 18 W | 72 W |
| Transistors | 20 billions | 28 billions |
| Peak Temperature | — | 100°C |
PassMark
| Specification | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Data compression | 185.8 MBytes/sec | 689.6 MBytes/sec |
| Data encryption | 9.5 GBytes/sec | 40.8 GBytes/sec |
| Extended instructions | 7.8B Matrices/sec | 33.4B Matrices/sec |
| Find prime numbers | 174M Primes/sec | 553M Primes/sec |
| Floating point math | 37.5 GOps/sec | 186.1 GOps/sec |
| Integer math | 37 GOps/sec | 132.6 GOps/sec |
| Physics | 1667 Frames/sec | 6847 Frames/sec |
| Random string sorting | 23.7M Strings/sec | 84.9M Strings/sec |
Performance Per Watt
| Specification | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Blender / Watt | 6.07 PPW | 8.1 PPW |
| Cinebench 2024 / Watt | 32.3 PPW | 28.8 PPW |
| Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt | 562.3 PPW | 419.7 PPW |
| Passmark CPU Mark / Watt | 869.5 PPW | 798.1 PPW |
Recent User Tests
| Specification | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Benchmark | Benchmark |
| 📘 2025-10-24(Shivam) | GeekBench | — |
| 📘 2026-01-05(AR) | GeekBench | — |
| 📘 2026-03-14(T) | GeekBench | — |
| 📘 2026-07-03->Apple lover | — | GeekBench |
iGPU
| Specification | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Execution Units | 128 | 640 |
| GPU Base Clock | 500 MHz | — |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1398 MHz | 1620 MHz |
| Integrated Graphics | Apple M2 GPU | Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) |
| ROPs | 32 | 160 |
| Shading Units | 1024 | 5120 |
| TGP | 15 W | — |
| TMUs | 64 | 320 |
Cinebench
| Specification | Apple M2 | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Cinebench 2026 (Multi) | — | 9428 |
| Cinebench 2026 (Single) | — | 734 |
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