Apple M4 Max (16-Core) 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 M4 Max (16-Core) (93/100), offering superior measured performance and technical specifications.
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Normalized Lab Scores| Benchmark | Apple M4 Max (16-Core) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency | 87.0 Very Good | 92.0 Excellent WINNER |
| Performance | 99.0 Excellent | 100.0 Excellent WINNER |
Detailed Technical Specifications
CPU
| Specification | Apple M4 Max (16-Core) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Base Frequency (E) | 2.59 GHz | 4.38 GHz |
| Base Frequency (P) | 4.51 GHz | 4.61 GHz |
| E-Cores | 4 | 12 |
| E-Threads | 4 | 12 |
| L1 Cache | 192K (per core) | 192K (per core) |
| L2 Cache | 32MB (shared) | — |
| Multiplier | 45x | 46x |
| P-Cores | 12 | 6 |
| P-Threads | 12 | 6 |
| Total Cores | 16 | 18 |
| Total Threads | 16 | 18 |
| Unlocked Multiplier | No | No |
GeekBench v6
| Specification | Apple M4 Max (16-Core) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Background blur | 92.2 images/sec | 106.1 images/sec |
| Clang compilation | 219.7 Klines/sec | 271.1 Klines/sec |
| File compression | 2680 MB/sec | 2990 MB/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 699.3 pages/sec | 811.7 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 771.1 Mpixels/sec | 764 Mpixels/sec |
| Photo processing | 236.2 images/sec | 303.8 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 36.1 Mpixels/sec | 47.8 Mpixels/sec |
| Text processing | 381.1 pages/sec | 457.1 pages/sec |
General
| Specification | Apple M4 Max (16-Core) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Codename | Apple M4 | Apple M5 |
| Instruction Set | ARMv9 | ARMv9 |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M4 Max GPU (40-core) | Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) |
| Released | October 30, 2024 | March 3, 2026 |
| Successor | -Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | — |
| Type | Laptop | Laptop |
| Vendor | Apple | Apple |
Memory Support
| Specification | Apple M4 Max (16-Core) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| ECC Support | No | No |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 546 GB/s | 614 GB/s |
| Max. Memory Size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Memory Channels | 32 | 32 |
| Memory Types | - LPDDR5X-8533 | - LPDDR5X-9600 |
Package
| Specification | Apple M4 Max (16-Core) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrication Process | 3 nm | 3 nm |
| Peak Temperature | 100°C | 100°C |
| Socket | Apple M-Socket | Apple M-Socket |
| TDP (PL1) | 70 W | 72 W |
| Transistors | — | 28 billions |
PassMark
| Specification | Apple M4 Max (16-Core) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Data compression | 572.9 MBytes/sec | 689.6 MBytes/sec |
| Data encryption | 27 GBytes/sec | 40.8 GBytes/sec |
| Extended instructions | 30.3B Matrices/sec | 33.4B Matrices/sec |
| Find prime numbers | 627M Primes/sec | 553M Primes/sec |
| Floating point math | 101.4 GOps/sec | 186.1 GOps/sec |
| Integer math | 98.9 GOps/sec | 132.6 GOps/sec |
| Physics | 6614 Frames/sec | 6847 Frames/sec |
| Random string sorting | 64.5M Strings/sec | 84.9M Strings/sec |
Performance Per Watt
| Specification | Apple M4 Max (16-Core) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Blender / Watt | 6.79 PPW | 8.1 PPW |
| Cinebench 2024 / Watt | 29.2 PPW | 28.8 PPW |
| Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt | 374.1 PPW | 419.7 PPW |
| Passmark CPU Mark / Watt | 627.2 PPW | 798.1 PPW |
Recent User Tests
| Specification | Apple M4 Max (16-Core) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Benchmark | Benchmark |
| 📘 2024-11-12(Jason C) | Cinebench 2024 | — |
| 📘 2025-02-17(MM) | Cinebench 2024 | — |
| 📘 2025-04-02(BigJake) | Cinebench 2024 | — |
| 📘 2025-07-10(thomas) | GeekBench | — |
| 📘 2025-07-20(Rahul) | Cinebench 2024 | — |
| 📘 2026-07-03->Apple lover | — | GeekBench |
iGPU
| Specification | Apple M4 Max (16-Core) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Execution Units | 640 | 640 |
| GPU Base Clock | 500 MHz | — |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1578 MHz | 1620 MHz |
| Integrated Graphics | Apple M4 Max GPU (40-core) | Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) |
| ROPs | 160 | 160 |
| Shading Units | 5120 | 5120 |
| TGP | 50 W | — |
| TMUs | 320 | 320 |
Cinebench
| Specification | Apple M4 Max (16-Core) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Cinebench 2026 (Multi) | — | 9428 |
| Cinebench 2026 (Single) | — | 734 |
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