Home > CPU Comparison > M5 Max (40-сore GPU) or M3 Max: what's better?

Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU) vs M3 Max

98 out of 100
Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU)
VS
83 out of 100
Apple M3 Max
Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU)
Apple M3 Max

We compared two laptop CPUs: the 4.61 GHz Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU) with 18-cores against the 4.05 GHz M3 Max with 16-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

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.
🔌 Usage Scenario:

Key Differences

What are the key differences between Max and GPU)
Advantages of Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU)
  • Newer - released 2 years and 5 months later
  • Around 204.8 GB/s (50%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
  • 35% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 4358 vs 3227 points
  • More powerful Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) integrated graphics: 16.6 vs 14.1 TFLOPS
  • Has 2 more physical cores

Test in Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasks
CPU:
M5 Max (40-сore GPU)
vs
M3 Max

Cinebench

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
M5 Max (40-сore GPU) +45%
2456
M3 Max
1698
Cinebench 2026 (Multi) 8487 5133
Cinebench Scores (5th 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)
M5 Max (40-сore GPU) +35%
4358
M3 Max
3227
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
M5 Max (40-сore GPU) +43%
30197
M3 Max
21167
File compression 2990 MB/sec 2190 MB/sec
Clang compilation 271.1 Klines/sec 198.5 Klines/sec
HTML 5 Browser 811.7 pages/sec 557.3 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 764 Mpixels/sec 648.9 Mpixels/sec
Text processing 457.1 pages/sec 309.1 pages/sec
Background blur 106.1 images/sec 68.9 images/sec
Photo processing 303.8 images/sec 183.5 images/sec
Ray tracing 47.8 Mpixels/sec 30.6 Mpixels/sec
Sources: GeekBench [1], [2] – 678 samples

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
M5 Max (40-сore GPU) +24%
5928
M3 Max
4780
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
M5 Max (40-сore GPU) +39%
57465
M3 Max
41211
Integer math 132.6 GOps/sec 91.2 GOps/sec
Floating point math 186.1 GOps/sec 131.5 GOps/sec
Find prime numbers 553M Primes/sec 573M Primes/sec
Random string sorting 84.9M Strings/sec 61.7M Strings/sec
Data encryption 40.8 GBytes/sec 24.7 GBytes/sec
Data compression 689.6 MBytes/sec 530.4 MBytes/sec
Physics 6847 Frames/sec 4332 Frames/sec
Extended instructions 33.4B Matrices/sec 24.2B Matrices/sec
Sources: PassMark [3], [4] – 125 & 409 samples

Blender

3D rendering test that measures CPU performance in 3D modeling tasks (uses all cores)
Blender CPU
M5 Max (40-сore GPU) +43%
576.42
M3 Max
403.83

Performance Per Watt

Shows the score you get per each watt of PL1 TDP
Cinebench 2024 / Watt 24.6 PPW 30.3 PPW
Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt 302 PPW 378 PPW
Passmark CPU Mark / Watt 574.7 PPW 735.9 PPW
Blender / Watt 5.76 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 M5 Max (40-сore GPU)
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-07-03 -> Apple loverGeekbench 6 CPU4365 / 30166
📘 2026-07-03 -> Apple loverCinebench 2026734 / 9428
Add View all (2)
Apple M3 Max
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2024-09-27 (JayZeppelin)Cinebench 2024142 / 1698
📘 2024-04-27 (Guest #1)Cinebench 2024141 / 1459
Add View all (2)

Specifications

Full technical specification of Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU) and M3 Max

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Released March 3, 2026 October 30, 2023
Type Laptop Laptop
Instruction Set ARMv9 ARMv8
Codename Apple M5 Apple M3
Model number T6051 -
Integrated GPU Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core)
Successor - - Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU)

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 18 12
P-Threads 18 12
Base Frequency (P) 4.61 GHz 4.05 GHz
Efficient Cores
E-Cores - 4
E-Threads - 4
Base Frequency (E) - 2.75 GHz
Total
Total Cores 18 16
Total Threads 18 16
Bus Frequency 100 MHz -
Multiplier 46x 40x
L1 Cache 192K (per core) 192K (per core)
L2 Cache 32MB (shared) 32MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier No No

Package

Transistors 28 billions 92 billions
Fabrication Process 3 nm 3 nm
TDP (PL1) 100 W 56 W
Socket Apple M-Socket Apple M-Socket
Peak Temperature 100°C 100°C
Die Size 166.85 mm² -
Laptop processors ranking (2nd and 15th place)

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core)
GPU Base Clock - 500 MHz
GPU Boost Clock 1620 MHz 1380 MHz
Shading Units 5120 5120
TMUs 320 320
ROPs 160 160
Execution Units 640 640
TGP - 60 W
iGPU FLOPS
M5 Max (40-сore GPU) +18%
16.6 TFLOPS
M3 Max
14.1 TFLOPS
More info: Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) compared to M5 Max GPU (40-core)

Memory Support

Memory Types - LPDDR5X-9600 - LPDDR5-6400
Max. Memory Size 128 GB 128 GB
Memory Channels 32 32
Max. Memory Bandwidth 614.4 GB/s 409.6 GB/s
ECC Support No No

Misc

PCI Express Version - 4.0

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
15 (50%)
15 (50%)
Total votes: 30

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Comments

So which CPU will you choose: Apple M3 Max or M5 Max (40-сore GPU)?
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