Apple M4 Max GPU (40-core) vs Max GPU (32-core)

We compared two integrated laptop professional GPUs: the Apple M4 Max GPU (40-core) with 640 pipelines and 5120 shaders against the Max GPU (32-core) that utilizes 512 pipelines and 4096 shaders. Here you will find complete details about specs, efficiency, performance tests, and more.

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 M4 Max GPU (32-core) over M4 Max GPU (40-core)
Reasons to consider the Apple M4 Max GPU (40-core)
  • Performs slightly better (up to 17%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • 26% higher maximum theoretical performance (16.2 vs 12.9 TFLOPS)
  • Has 33% higher memory bandwidth: 546 vs 409.6 GB/s
  • Has 25% more shading units (5120 vs 4096)

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
Solar Bay 61312 50957
Wild Life Extreme 36641 30044
Sources: 3DMark [1], [2]

GeekBench 6 OpenCL

GPU test for computational tasks (image processing, photography, computer vision, and ML)
GB6 Compute Score
Background Blur 195 img/sec 174.8 img/sec
Face Detection 125.9 img/sec 112 img/sec
Horizon Detection 4.82 Gpixels/sec 4.19 Gpixels/sec
Edge Detection 7.47 Gpixels/sec 6.3 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian Blur 5.8 Gpixels/sec 4.69 Gpixels/sec
Feature Matching 1.06 Gpixels/sec 0.98 Gpixels/sec
Stereo Matching 417.4 Gpixels/sec 352.1 Gpixels/sec
Particle Physics 17079.9 FPS 14254.6 FPS
API OpenCL OpenCL
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]

Cinebench 2024 GPU

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

Blender

Rendering performance test for 3D modeling
Blender GPU
Sources: Blender [9], [10] – 460 & 206 samples

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple M4 Max GPU (40-core)
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2025-07-10 (thomas)Geekbench 6 OpenCL116478
Apple M4 Max GPU (32-core)
No benchmark results yet

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) 10302 8624
Image Segmentation (HP) 23763 20392
Image Super Resolution (Q) 29314 21752
Face Detection (HP) 42016 34099
Pose Estimation (Q) 105972 77846
Text Classification (SP) 2963 2993
Machine Translation (HP) 6594 5658
Object Detection (SP) 8935 7933
Depth Estimation (Q) 43143 37622
Style Transfer (SP) 221563 173882
Framework Core ML Core ML
Backend GPU GPU
Sources: Geekbench [9], [10]

Specifications

Technical specifications of Apple M4 Max GPU (40-core) and Max GPU (32-core)

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Build Integrated Integrated
Released October 30, 2024 October 30, 2024
Case Laptop Laptop
Purpose Professional Professional
Segment Mid-range Mid-range
Architecture Apple M GPU Apple M GPU
GPU Codename Custom Custom
Rival Equivalent - GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop - GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop
Successor - Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) - Apple M5 Max GPU (32-core)
Recommended CPU - Apple M4 Max (16-Core) or above - Apple M4 Max (14-Core) or above
Used in CPUs - Apple M4 Max (16-Core) - Apple M4 Max (14-Core)
Laptop GPU ranking (14th and 19th place)

Graphics Processing Unit

Base Clock 500 MHz 500 MHz
Boost Clock 1578 MHz 1578 MHz
Shading Units 5120 4096
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) 320 256
Render Output Units (ROPs) 160 128
Compute Units (Pipelines) 640 512
Instructions Per Cycle 2 IPC 2 IPC

Raw Performance

Pixel Fill Rate 252 GPixel/s 202 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate 505 GTexel/s 404 GTexel/s
FLOPS (FP32)
16.2 TFLOPS
12.9 TFLOPS

Physical

Interface Custom Custom
TGP 50 W 51 W
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Fabrication Process 3 nm 3 nm
Max. Temperature 100°C 100°C

Memory

Memory Type System Shared System Shared
Memory Clock 8533 MHz 8533 MHz
Bus 512-bit 384-bit
ECC No No
Memory Bandwidth
546 GB/s

API

Ray Tracing Yes Yes
DLSS No No

Cast your vote

Choose between two graphics cards
36 (52.9%)
32 (47.1%)
Total votes: 68

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