Apple M4 Pro GPU (20-core) vs Max GPU (32-core)

We compared two integrated laptop professional GPUs: the Apple M4 Pro GPU (20-core) with 320 pipelines and 2560 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 Pro GPU (20-core)
Reasons to consider the Apple M4 Max GPU (32-core)
  • Performs significantly better (up to 54%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • 59% higher maximum theoretical performance (12.9 vs 8.1 TFLOPS)
  • Has 50% higher memory bandwidth: 409.6 vs 273 GB/s
  • Achieves 44% more points in the GeekBench 6 Compute test (100K vs 70K)
  • Has 60% more shading units (4096 vs 2560)

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 33418 50957
Wild Life Extreme 19535 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 125.1 img/sec 174.8 img/sec
Face Detection 80 img/sec 112 img/sec
Horizon Detection 2.88 Gpixels/sec 4.19 Gpixels/sec
Edge Detection 4.22 Gpixels/sec 6.3 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian Blur 2.98 Gpixels/sec 4.69 Gpixels/sec
Feature Matching 0.8 Gpixels/sec 0.98 Gpixels/sec
Stereo Matching 235 Gpixels/sec 352.1 Gpixels/sec
Particle Physics 9516.1 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] – 399 & 183 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) 8046 8624
Image Segmentation (HP) 15443 20392
Image Super Resolution (Q) 20807 21752
Face Detection (HP) 30860 34099
Pose Estimation (Q) 56783 77846
Text Classification (SP) 2888 2993
Machine Translation (HP) 6167 5658
Object Detection (SP) 7592 7933
Depth Estimation (Q) 33607 37622
Style Transfer (SP) 126726 173882
Framework Core ML Core ML
Backend GPU GPU
Sources: Geekbench [9], [10]

Specifications

Technical specifications of Apple M4 Pro GPU (20-core) and Max GPU (32-core)

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Build Integrated Integrated
Released October 29, 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 4060 Laptop - GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop
Successor - Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) - Apple M5 Max GPU (32-core)
Recommended CPU - Apple M4 Pro (14-Core) or above - Apple M4 Max (14-Core) or above
Used in CPUs - Apple M4 Pro (14-Core) - Apple M4 Max (14-Core)
Laptop GPU ranking (37th and 19th place)

Graphics Processing Unit

Base Clock 500 MHz 500 MHz
Boost Clock 1578 MHz 1578 MHz
Shading Units 2560 4096
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) 160 256
Render Output Units (ROPs) 80 128
Compute Units (Pipelines) 320 512
Instructions Per Cycle 2 IPC 2 IPC

Raw Performance

Pixel Fill Rate 126 GPixel/s 202 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate 252 GTexel/s 404 GTexel/s
FLOPS (FP32)
12.9 TFLOPS

Physical

Interface Custom Custom
TGP 26 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
Effective Memory Speed 15000 Mbps -
Bus 192-bit 384-bit
ECC No No
Memory Bandwidth
409.6 GB/s

API

Ray Tracing Yes Yes
DLSS No No

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19 (39.6%)
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Total votes: 48

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