Home > CPU Comparison > M4 Max (16-Core) or M3 Max: what's better?

Apple M4 Max (16-Core) vs M3 Max

93 out of 100
Apple M4 Max (16-Core)
VS
83 out of 100
Apple M3 Max
Apple M4 Max (16-Core)
Apple M3 Max

We compared two 16-core laptop CPUs: the 4.51 GHz Apple M4 Max (16-Core) against the 4.05 GHz M3 Max. 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 (1)

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 (16-Core)
Advantages of Apple M4 Max (16-Core)
  • Newer - released 1 year and 1 month later
  • Around 136.4 GB/s (33%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
  • 24% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 3986 vs 3227 points
  • More powerful Apple M4 Max GPU (40-core) integrated graphics: 16.2 vs 14.1 TFLOPS

Test in Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasks
CPU:
M4 Max (16-Core)
vs
M3 Max

Cinebench

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
M4 Max (16-Core) +32%
187
M3 Max
142
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
M4 Max (16-Core) +20%
2044
M3 Max
1698
Cinebench 2026 (Multi) 6324 5133
Cinebench Scores (23rd and 51st place)
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)
M4 Max (16-Core) +24%
3986
M3 Max
3227
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
M4 Max (16-Core) +24%
26190
M3 Max
21167
File compression 2680 MB/sec 2190 MB/sec
Clang compilation 219.7 Klines/sec 198.5 Klines/sec
HTML 5 Browser 699.3 pages/sec 557.3 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 771.1 Mpixels/sec 648.9 Mpixels/sec
Text processing 381.1 pages/sec 309.1 pages/sec
Background blur 92.2 images/sec 68.9 images/sec
Photo processing 236.2 images/sec 183.5 images/sec
Ray tracing 36.1 Mpixels/sec 30.6 Mpixels/sec
Sources: GeekBench [1], [2] โ€“ 678 samples

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
M4 Max (16-Core)
4588
M3 Max +4%
4780
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
M4 Max (16-Core) +7%
43904
M3 Max
41211
Integer math 98.9 GOps/sec 91.2 GOps/sec
Floating point math 101.4 GOps/sec 131.5 GOps/sec
Find prime numbers 627M Primes/sec 573M Primes/sec
Random string sorting 64.5M Strings/sec 61.7M Strings/sec
Data encryption 27 GBytes/sec 24.7 GBytes/sec
Data compression 572.9 MBytes/sec 530.4 MBytes/sec
Physics 6614 Frames/sec 4332 Frames/sec
Extended instructions 30.3B Matrices/sec 24.2B Matrices/sec
Sources: PassMark [3], [4] โ€“ 566 & 409 samples

Blender

3D rendering test that measures CPU performance in 3D modeling tasks (uses all cores)
Blender CPU
M4 Max (16-Core) +18%
475.2
M3 Max
403.83

Performance Per Watt

Shows the score you get per each watt of PL1 TDP
Cinebench 2024 / Watt 29.2 PPW 30.3 PPW
Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt 374.1 PPW 378 PPW
Passmark CPU Mark / Watt 627.2 PPW 735.9 PPW
Blender / Watt 6.79 PPW 7.21 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 M4 Max (16-Core)
DateBenchmarkResult
๐Ÿ“˜ 2025-07-20 (Rahul)Cinebench 2024177 / 1954
๐Ÿ“˜ 2025-07-10 (thomas)Geekbench 6 CPU4094 / 26275
๐Ÿ“˜ 2025-04-02 (BigJake)Cinebench 2024178 / 2001
๐Ÿ“˜ 2025-02-17 (MM)Cinebench 2024173 / 1928
๐Ÿ“˜ 2024-11-12 (Jason C)Cinebench 2024177 / 2004
Add View all (5)
Apple M3 Max
DateBenchmarkResult
๐Ÿ“˜ 2024-09-27 (JayZeppelin)Cinebench 2024142 / 1698
๐Ÿ“˜ 2024-04-27 (Guest #1)Cinebench 2024141 / 1459
Add View all (2)

Specifications

Full technical specification of Apple M4 Max (16-Core) and M3 Max

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Released October 30, 2024 October 30, 2023
Type Laptop Laptop
Instruction Set ARMv9 ARMv8
Codename Apple M4 Apple M3
Model number T6041 -
Integrated GPU Apple M4 Max GPU (40-core) Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core)
Successor - Apple M5 Max (40-ัore GPU) - Apple M5 Max (40-ัore GPU)

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 12 12
P-Threads 12 12
Base Frequency (P) 4.51 GHz 4.05 GHz
Efficient Cores
E-Cores 4 4
E-Threads 4 4
Base Frequency (E) 2.59 GHz 2.75 GHz
Total
Total Cores 16 16
Total Threads 16 16
Bus Frequency 100 MHz -
Multiplier 45x 40x
L1 Cache 192K (per core) 192K (per core)
L2 Cache 32MB (shared) 32MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier No No

Package

Transistors - 92 billions
Fabrication Process 3 nm 3 nm
TDP (PL1) 70 W 56 W
Socket Apple M-Socket Apple M-Socket
Peak Temperature 100ยฐC 100ยฐC
Laptop processors ranking (6th and 15th place)

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Apple M4 Max GPU (40-core) Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core)
GPU Base Clock 500 MHz 500 MHz
GPU Boost Clock 1578 MHz 1380 MHz
Shading Units 5120 5120
TMUs 320 320
ROPs 160 160
Execution Units 640 640
TGP 50 W 60 W
iGPU FLOPS
M4 Max (16-Core) +15%
16.2 TFLOPS
M3 Max
14.1 TFLOPS
More info: Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) compared to M4 Max GPU (40-core)

Memory Support

Memory Types - LPDDR5X-8533 - LPDDR5-6400
Max. Memory Size 128 GB 128 GB
Memory Channels 32 32
Max. Memory Bandwidth 546 GB/s 409.6 GB/s
ECC Support No No

Misc

PCI Express Version - 4.0

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
165 (62%)
101 (38%)
Total votes: 266

Competitors

1. Apple M4 Max (16-Core) vs Apple M1 Pro
2. Apple M4 Max (16-Core) vs Apple M2 Ultra
3. Apple M4 Max (16-Core) vs Intel Core i9 14900K
4. Apple M4 Max (16-Core) vs Apple M5 Max (40-ัore GPU)
5. Apple M4 Max (16-Core) vs AMD Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 395 (10)
6. Apple M3 Max vs Apple M4 Ultra
7. Apple M3 Max vs Apple M4 (10-Core) (2)
8. Apple M3 Max vs Apple M4 Pro (14-Core)
9. Apple M3 Max vs Apple M2 Ultra
10. Apple M3 Max vs Apple M4 Pro (12-Core)
Compare other CPUs (460+)

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: Apple M3 Max or M4 Max (16-Core)?
๐ŸŒ Register your profile and become part of NanoReview community!
Avatar
LGsโ€™ evil twin March 6, 2025 at 04:31 AM
When will you release the M3 Ultra? Iโ€™m particularly interested in its performance compared to high-end AMD and Intel processors, given its already significantly better efficiency than both. Considering its efficiency, I wonder if it can sacrifice some of that efficiency for substantial CPU/GPU performance gains.
0 Reply
Englishะ ัƒััะบะธะน