Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) vs Adreno X1-85

We compared two integrated laptop graphics cards: the Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) with 640 pipelines and 5120 shaders against the Adreno X1-85 that utilizes 6 pipelines and 1536 shaders. Here you will find complete details about specs, efficiency, performance tests, and more.

Some GPUs come in different configurations. For greater precision, pick a specific config below
TGP / Version -

Review

General comparison of performance in games, applications, power efficiency, and other metrics
Gaming
Performance in DirectX, OpenCL, and Vulkan games
Workstation
Perf. in 3D modeling, video editing and rendering apps
AI/ML
Capabilities for machine learning and AI-related tasks
Energy Efficiency
Power consumption efficiency in different scenarios
NanoReview Final Score
Overall video card score

Key differences

Key distinctions and advantages of Adreno X1-85 over M3 Max GPU (40-core)
Reasons to consider the Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core)
  • Performs significantly better (up to 6x) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • 3.1x higher maximum theoretical performance (14.1 vs 4.6 TFLOPS)
  • Manufactured using a more efficient 3 nm process technology
  • Achieves 3.9x more points in the GeekBench 6 Compute test (94K vs 24K)
  • Has 3.3x more shading units (5120 vs 1536)

Benchmarks

Graphics cards’ performance in recent benchmarking apps

3D Mark

Multiplatform graphics benchmark suite that directly correlates with performance in modern games
Steel Nomad Lite Score
Time Spy - 1695
Solar Bay 49656 10596
Fire Strike - 6134
Wild Life Extreme 30893 6152
Night Raid - 28868
Sources: 3DMark [1], [2]

GeekBench 6 OpenCL

GPU test for computational tasks (image processing, photography, computer vision, and ML)
GB6 Compute Score
Background Blur 157.6 img/sec 36.4 img/sec
Face Detection 100.9 img/sec 17.3 img/sec
Horizon Detection 3.99 Gpixels/sec 1.19 Gpixels/sec
Edge Detection 6.04 Gpixels/sec 1.3 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian Blur 5 Gpixels/sec 1.42 Gpixels/sec
Feature Matching 0.84 Gpixels/sec 0.3 Gpixels/sec
Stereo Matching 363.8 Gpixels/sec 72.4 Gpixels/sec
Particle Physics 12226.9 FPS 4692.5 FPS
API OpenCL OpenCL
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]

Cinebench 2024 GPU

Hardware benchmark using Maxon's Cinema 4D rendering engine
Cinebench 2024 GPU

Passmark Graphics

Videocard test that focuses on compute shaders, multi-texturing, tessellation, and other features
G3D Mark Score
G2D Mark - 518
DirectX 11 - 19 FPS
DirectX 12 - 10 FPS
GPU Compute - 1958 Ops/s
Sources: PassMark [5] – 7 samples

Blender

Rendering performance test for 3D modeling
Blender GPU
Sources: Blender [9] – 444 samples

Artificial Intelligence Tests

Performance in machine learning and artificial intelligence tasks

GeekBench 6 ML

Tests throughput of AI operations in single, half, and quantized precision
GB6 ML Single Precision
GB6 ML Half Precision
GB6 ML Quantized
Image Classification (SP) 8685 1347
Image Segmentation (HP) 20739 2661
Image Super Resolution (Q) 22775 3084
Face Detection (HP) 37676 5354
Pose Estimation (Q) 91609 7719
Text Classification (SP) 2909 292
Machine Translation (HP) 5274 1108
Object Detection (SP) 7480 660
Depth Estimation (Q) 38212 3876
Style Transfer (SP) 190681 12048
Framework Core ML ONNX
Backend GPU DirectML
Sources: Geekbench [9], [10]
Results were compared using different ML frameworks

Specifications

Technical specifications of Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) and Adreno X1-85

General

Vendor Apple Qualcomm
Build Integrated Integrated
Released October 31, 2023 October 24, 2023
Case Laptop Laptop
Purpose Professional Generic
Segment High-end Entry-level
Architecture Apple M GPU Adreno X1
GPU Codename - Adreno X1
Rival Equivalent - GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop - Apple M4 GPU (10-Core)
Successor - Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) - Adreno X2-90
Recommended CPU - Apple M3 Max or above - Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (X1P-64-100) or above
Used in CPUs - Apple M3 Max - Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (X1P-66-100)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-78-100)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (X1P-64-100)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-84-100)
Laptop GPU ranking (21st and 112th place)

Graphics Processing Unit

Base Clock 500 MHz 300 MHz
Boost Clock 1380 MHz 1200-1500 MHz (configurable)
Shading Units 5120 1536
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) 320 96
Render Output Units (ROPs) 160 48
Compute Units (Pipelines) 640 6
Ray-tracing Cores - No
L1 Cache - 192KB per cluster
L2 Cache - 1MB shared
Instructions Per Cycle 2 IPC 2 IPC

Raw Performance

Pixel Fill Rate 221 GPixel/s 58-72 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate 442 GTexel/s 115-144 GTexel/s
FLOPS (FP32)
14.1 TFLOPS
3.7-4.6 TFLOPS

Physical

Interface Custom IGP
TGP 60 W 30 W
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Fabrication Process 3 nm 4 nm
Transistor Count 56 billion -
Max. Temperature 100°C -

Memory

Memory Type System Shared System Shared
Memory Clock 6400 MHz -
Effective Memory Speed 12800 Mbps -
Bus 512-bit -
ECC No -
Memory Bandwidth

API

DirectX - 12.1
Vulkan - 1.3
OpenGL - 3.2
OpenCL - 3.0
CUDA - No
Ray Tracing Yes Yes
DLSS No No
DisplayPort - 1.4

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5 (100%)
0 (0%)
Total votes: 5

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