Apple M2
VS
Apple M1 Max
Apple M2
VS
Apple M1 Max

Which to select

It is time to pick the winner. What is the difference between Apple M2 vs Apple M1 Max? What CPU is more powerful? It is quite easy to determine – look at comparison table. The processor with more cores/ threads and also with higher frequency is the absolute winner!

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

Who will win between Apple M2 vs  Apple M1 Max. The general performance of a CPU can easily be determined based on the number of its cores and the thread count, as well as the base frequency and Turbo frequency. The more GHz and cores a CPU has, the better. Please note that high technical specs require using a powerful cooling system.

3.50 GHz
Frequency
3.20 GHz
8
CPU Cores
10
No turbo
Turbo (1 Core)
No turbo
No
Hyperthreading
No
No
Overclocking
No
No turbo
Turbo (8 Cores)
no data
no data
Turbo (10 Cores)
No turbo
hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Core architecture
hybrid (big.LITTLE)
4x Unknown
A core
8x Firestorm
4x Unknown
B core
2x Icestorm
--
C core
--

CPU generation and family

Apple M2
Name
Apple M1 Max
Mobile
Segment
Mobile
Apple M2
CPU group
Apple M1
Apple M series
Family
Apple M series
2
Generation
1
--
Predecessor
--
--
Successor
--

Internal Graphics

Some manufacturers complement their CPUs with graphic chips, such a solution being especially popular in laptops. The higher the clock frequency of a GPU is and the bigger its memory, the better. Find a winner - Apple M2 vs Apple M1 Max. 

Apple M2 (8 Core)
GPU name
Apple M1 Max (32 Core)
3.50 GHz
GPU frequency
1.30 GHz
No turbo
GPU (Turbo)
No turbo
2
Generation
1
128
Execution units
4096
3
Max. displays
3
5 nm
Technology
5 nm
Q1/2022
Release date
Q3/2021
16 GB
Max. GPU Memory
32 GB

Hardware codec support

Here we deal with specs that are used by some CPU manufacturers. These numbers are mainly technical and can be neglected for the purpose of the comparison analysis.

Decode / Encode
h264
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
JPEG
Decode / Encode
Decode
VP8
Decode
Decode / Encode
VP9
Decode / Encode
Decode
VC-1
Decode
Decode
AVC
Decode
Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
Decode / Encode
Decode
AV1
No

Memory & PCIe

These are memory standards supported by CPUs. The higher such standards, the better a CPU’s performance is.

LPDDR5-5500
Memory type
no data
16 GB
Max. Memory
no data
2
Memory channels
no data
No
ECC
no data
4.0
PCIe version
no data

Encryption

Data encryption support

Yes
AES-NI
Yes

Memory & AMP; PCIe

no data
Memory type
LPDDR5-6400
no data
Max. Memory
64 GB
no data
ECC
No
no data
Memory channels
12
no data
PCIe version
4.0

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP), sometimes called thermal design point, is the maximum amount of heat generated by a computer chip or component (often a CPU, GPU or system on a chip) that the cooling system in a computer is designed to dissipate under any workload.

--
Tjunction max.
--
20 W
TDP up
60 W
10 W
TDP down
--
15 W
TDP (PL1)
30 W
--
TDP (PL2)
--

Technical details

8
CPU Threads
10
--
L3-Cache
--
5 nm
Technology
5 nm
M2
Architecture
M1
None
Virtualization
None
N/A
Socket
N/A
Q1/2022
Release date
Q3/2021
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
Instruction set (ISA)
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
16.00 MB
L2-Cache
28.00 MB
--
Part Number
--
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
ISA extensions
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation

Devices using this processor

You probably know already what devices use CPUs. These can be a desktop or a laptop.

Apple MacBook Air 14 (2022)
Used in
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)

Compatibility

Technologies and extensions

Virtualization technologies

Memory specs

Peripherals

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the newest instalment of the most popular CPU Rendering Benchmark Single-Core Cinebench. We have the Score Results for all modern Processors

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 benchmark is the newest software suit. Completely new algorithms provide the quite accurate benchmark testing results of the single-core CPU.

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 software suite shows benchmark testing results of the memory performance and speed of the multi-core processor. Here the hyperthreading ability is counted.

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

This test serves for determining the performance of integrated graphics in Intel and AMD processors. The result is the estimated computing power in the Single-Precision FP32 mode