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Apple M3 vs M1 Max

67 out of 100
Apple M3
VS
61 out of 100
Apple M1 Max
Apple M3
Apple M1 Max

We compared two laptop CPUs: the 4.05 GHz Apple M3 with 8-cores against the 3.2 GHz M1 Max with 10-cores. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Performance
  4. Specs
  5. Comments (4)

Review

General overview and comparison of the processors
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of power consumption
Integrated Graphics
iGPU capabilities for gaming and 3D-intensive tasks
NanoReview Final Score
Choose your main usage scenario to recalculate the Final Score and see which CPU suits your needs.
๐Ÿ”Œ Usage Scenario:

Key Differences

What are the key differences between Max and M3
Advantages of Apple M3
  • Newer - released 2 years later
  • More modern manufacturing process โ€“ 3 versus 5 nanometers
  • 24% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 3009 vs 2431 points
Advantages of Apple M1 Max
  • Around 307.2 GB/s (300%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
  • More powerful Apple M1 Max GPU (32-core) integrated graphics: 10.6 vs 3.5 TFLOPS
  • Supports up to 64 GB LPDDR5-6400 RAM
  • Has 2 more physical cores

Test in Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasks
CPU:
Apple M3
vs
M1 Max

Cinebench

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Apple M3 +26%
140
M1 Max
111
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
Apple M3
712
M1 Max +11%
789
Cinebench 2026 (Multi) 2341 -
Submit your benchmark results

GeekBench v6

The new version of this benchmark emulates common operations often used in real-world apps
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple M3 +24%
3009
M1 Max
2431
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple M3
11815
M1 Max +7%
12673
File compression 1260 MB/sec 1450 MB/sec
Clang compilation 94.7 Klines/sec 105.1 Klines/sec
HTML 5 Browser 264.5 pages/sec 329.2 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 313.9 Mpixels/sec 317 Mpixels/sec
Text processing 297 pages/sec 249.6 pages/sec
Background blur 50.2 images/sec 42.2 images/sec
Photo processing 114.8 images/sec 122.8 images/sec
Ray tracing 12.9 Mpixels/sec 14.9 Mpixels/sec
Sources: GeekBench [1], [2] โ€“ 438 & 447 samples

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Apple M3 +23%
4707
M1 Max
3831
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
Apple M3
19065
M1 Max +16%
22162
Integer math 42.6 GOps/sec 46.1 GOps/sec
Floating point math 48.3 GOps/sec 64.5 GOps/sec
Find prime numbers 231M Primes/sec 278M Primes/sec
Random string sorting 27.3M Strings/sec 32.7M Strings/sec
Data encryption 11.5 GBytes/sec 12.2 GBytes/sec
Data compression 225 MBytes/sec 274.4 MBytes/sec
Physics 1867 Frames/sec 2833 Frames/sec
Extended instructions 10B Matrices/sec 12.8B Matrices/sec
Sources: PassMark [3], [4] โ€“ 1563 & 2398 samples

Blender

3D rendering test that measures CPU performance in 3D modeling tasks (uses all cores)
Blender CPU
Apple M3
160.35
M1 Max +24%
199.2

Performance Per Watt

Shows the score you get per each watt of PL1 TDP
Cinebench 2024 / Watt 35.6 PPW 15.8 PPW
Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt 590.8 PPW 253.5 PPW
Passmark CPU Mark / Watt 953.3 PPW 443.2 PPW
Blender / Watt 8.02 PPW 3.98 PPW
These are rough calculations, as most CPUs surpass PL1 TDP wattage even in multicore workloads.

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple M3
DateBenchmarkResult
๐Ÿ“˜ 2026-08-22 (doannguyenmfs)Geekbench 6 CPU2991 / 11735
๐Ÿ“˜ 2026-06-16 (darkknightSup)Geekbench 6 CPU2990 / 11498
Add View all (2)
Apple M1 Max
DateBenchmarkResult
๐Ÿ“˜ 2025-07-04 (Daniel)Geekbench 6 CPU2459 / 13052
Add View all (1)

Specifications

Full technical specification of Apple M3 and M1 Max

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Released October 30, 2023 October 18, 2021
Type Laptop Laptop
Instruction Set ARMv8 ARMv8
Codename Apple M3 Apple M1
Integrated GPU Apple M3 GPU Apple M1 Max GPU (32-core)
Successor - Apple M5 (10-Core) - Apple M5 Max (40-ัore GPU)

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 4 8
P-Threads 4 8
Base Frequency (P) 4.05 GHz 3.2 GHz
Efficient Cores
E-Cores 4 2
E-Threads 4 2
Base Frequency (E) 2.75 GHz 2.1 GHz
Total
Total Cores 8 10
Total Threads 8 10
Multiplier 40x -
L1 Cache 192K (per core) 192K (per core)
L2 Cache 16MB (shared) 24MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier No No

Package

Transistors 25 billions 57 billions
Fabrication Process 3 nm 5 nm
TDP (PL1) 20 W 50 W
Socket Apple M-Socket Apple M-Socket
Peak Temperature 100ยฐC -
Laptop processors ranking (69th and 95th place)

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Apple M3 GPU Apple M1 Max GPU (32-core)
GPU Base Clock 500 MHz 450 MHz
GPU Boost Clock 1380 MHz 1296 MHz
Shading Units 1280 4096
TMUs 80 256
ROPs 40 128
Execution Units 160 512
TGP 15 W -
iGPU FLOPS
Apple M3
3.5 TFLOPS
M1 Max +203%
10.6 TFLOPS
More info: Apple M1 Max GPU (32-core) compared to M3 GPU (10-core)

Memory Support

Memory Types - LPDDR5-6400 - LPDDR5-6400
Max. Memory Size 24 GB 64 GB
Memory Channels 8 4
Max. Memory Bandwidth 102.4 GB/s 409.6 GB/s
ECC Support No No

Misc

PCI Express Version 4.0 -

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
100 (24.7%)
305 (75.3%)
Total votes: 405

Competitors

1. Apple M1 Max vs Apple M4 (10-Core) (13)
2. Apple M1 Max vs Apple M4 Pro (12-Core)
3. Apple M1 Max vs Apple M4 Max (14-Core)
4. Apple M1 Max vs Apple M3 Pro
5. Apple M1 Max vs Apple M2 Max (1)
6. Apple M3 vs Apple M4 (10-Core) (4)
7. Apple M3 vs Apple M1 Pro (17)
8. Apple M3 vs Apple M1
9. Apple M3 vs Apple M2 Pro
10. Apple M3 vs Apple M2
Compare other CPUs (460+)

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: Apple M1 Max or Apple M3?
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Avatar
GenXRule November 10, 2024 at 08:15 AM
This is great, thanks. I was considering updating my 2021 macbook pro with the M1 max to a new M3 but now I see there is little or no reason to unless I consider an M3 max which is probably overkill even for this nerd.
0 Reply
Avatar
Diana July 23, 2024 at 01:20 PM
I just got a second-hand M1 Max Mac Studio for โ‚ฌ1,400 to use with Final Cut Pro, add to that a 4K display, keyboard and trackpad and it still cost me โ‚ฌ700 less than a new M3 iMac, which would have had only 24GB of RAM anyway. I'm really happy with my choice, it's a beast.
+11 Reply
Avatar
feri dun May 20, 2024 at 06:30 PM
If I could have found a new M1 Max for under 2000 USD in my country, I would definitely buy it. However, they are still selling it for around 3000 USD. So, I would go for the M3 Pro, same price as the M1 Max in my country, and faster, newer, and will get 2+ years more updates.
+6 Reply
Avatar
Dale Strauss April 21, 2024 at 07:07 PM
Price made the M1 Max a simple decision. Some may consider it an unfair comparison, but I was able to pick up a M1 Max MacBook Pro 14, 10c/24c, 32gb ram, 2tb ssd. AppleCare+ annually renewable for $99, all for $1750. A comparable M3 MacBook Pro would go for $2599, and some obvious limitations. It's clear form this review that the "feature" war of the newer processor goes to M3, but I think Apple has painted itself into a box with he unbelievable performance of the original M1 series to the real advantage of users.
+11 Reply
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