Home > CPU Comparison > M5 Pro (18-Core) or M5 Max (40-сore GPU): what's better?

Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) vs Max (40-сore GPU)

96 out of 100
Apple M5 Pro (18-Core)
VS
98 out of 100
Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU)
Apple M5 Pro (18-Core)
Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU)

We compared two 18-core laptop CPUs: the 4.61 GHz Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) against the 4.61 GHz Max (40-сore GPU). 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 GPU) and (18-Core)
Advantages of Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU)
  • Supports up to 128 GB LPDDR5X-9600 RAM
  • Around 307.2 GB/s (100%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
  • More powerful Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) integrated graphics: 16.6 vs 8.3 TFLOPS

Test in Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasks
CPU:
M5 Pro (18-Core)
vs
M5 Max (40-сore GPU)

Cinebench

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
Cinebench 2026 (Multi) 9144 8487
Cinebench Scores (29th and 5th 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)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
File compression 2530 MB/sec 2990 MB/sec
Clang compilation 262.5 Klines/sec 271.1 Klines/sec
HTML 5 Browser 738.1 pages/sec 811.7 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 744.9 Mpixels/sec 764 Mpixels/sec
Text processing 450.7 pages/sec 457.1 pages/sec
Background blur 100.3 images/sec 106.1 images/sec
Photo processing 250.8 images/sec 303.8 images/sec
Ray tracing 46.5 Mpixels/sec 47.8 Mpixels/sec
Sources: GeekBench [1], [2]

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
Integer math 132.7 GOps/sec 132.6 GOps/sec
Floating point math 186.8 GOps/sec 186.1 GOps/sec
Find prime numbers 486M Primes/sec 553M Primes/sec
Random string sorting 85.6M Strings/sec 84.9M Strings/sec
Data encryption 40.8 GBytes/sec 40.8 GBytes/sec
Data compression 697.9 MBytes/sec 689.6 MBytes/sec
Physics 5687 Frames/sec 6847 Frames/sec
Extended instructions 33.3B Matrices/sec 33.4B Matrices/sec
Sources: PassMark [3], [4] – 138 & 125 samples

Blender

3D rendering test that measures CPU performance in 3D modeling tasks (uses all cores)
Blender CPU

Performance Per Watt

Shows the score you get per each watt of PL1 TDP
Cinebench 2024 / Watt 27.1 PPW 24.6 PPW
Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt 395.4 PPW 302 PPW
Passmark CPU Mark / Watt 792.3 PPW 574.7 PPW
Blender / Watt 7.41 PPW 5.76 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 Pro (18-Core)
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-22 (CBass2288)Cinebench 20260 / 9289
Add View all (1)
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)

Specifications

Full technical specification of Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) and Max (40-сore GPU)

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Released March 3, 2026 March 3, 2026
Type Laptop Laptop
Instruction Set ARMv9 ARMv9
Codename Apple M5 Apple M5
Model number T6050 T6051
Integrated GPU Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core)
Rival Equivalent - Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-96-100) -

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 18 18
P-Threads 18 18
Base Frequency (P) 4.61 GHz 4.61 GHz
Total
Total Cores 18 18
Total Threads 18 18
Bus Frequency 100 MHz 100 MHz
Multiplier 46x 46x
L1 Cache 192K (per core) 192K (per core)
L2 Cache 32MB (shared) 32MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier No No

Package

Transistors 28 billions 28 billions
Fabrication Process 3 nm 3 nm
TDP (PL1) 72 W 100 W
Socket Apple M-Socket Apple M-Socket
Peak Temperature 100°C 100°C
Die Size 166.85 mm² 166.85 mm²
Laptop processors ranking (3rd and 2nd place)

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core)
GPU Boost Clock 1620 MHz 1620 MHz
Shading Units 2560 5120
TMUs 160 320
ROPs 80 160
Execution Units 320 640
TGP 28 W -
iGPU FLOPS
M5 Pro (18-Core)
8.3 TFLOPS
M5 Max (40-сore GPU) +100%
16.6 TFLOPS
More info: Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) compared to Pro GPU (20-core)

Memory Support

Memory Types - LPDDR5X-9600 - LPDDR5X-9600
Max. Memory Size 64 GB 128 GB
Memory Channels 16 32
Max. Memory Bandwidth 307.2 GB/s 614.4 GB/s
ECC Support No No

Misc

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
30 (37.5%)
50 (62.5%)
Total votes: 80

Competitors

1. Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU) vs Apple M1 Max
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5. Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU) vs Apple M4 Max (16-Core)
6. Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) vs Apple M1 Pro
7. Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) vs Apple M1 Max
8. Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) vs Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (1)
9. Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) vs Apple M4 Max (14-Core)
10. Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) vs Apple M2 Pro
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Comments

So which CPU will you choose: Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU) or Pro (18-Core)?
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