Apple M2 (8-GPU) vs Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M2 (8-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)

CPU comparison

Apple M2 (8-GPU) or Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Apple M2 (8-GPU) has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.50 GHz. Up to 24 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple M2 (8-GPU) was released in Q2/2022.

The Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) has 10 cores with 10 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 64 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) was released in Q3/2021.
Apple M series (23) Family Apple M series (23)
Apple M2 (8) CPU group Apple M1 (9)
2 Generation 1
M2 Architecture M1
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple M1 Predecessor --
Apple M3 (8-GPU) Successor Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M2 (8-GPU) has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple M2 (8-GPU) is 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz) while the Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) has 10 CPU cores and 10 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) is at 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz).

Apple M2 (8-GPU) Characteristic Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
8 Cores 10
8 Threads 10
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz)
4x Avalanche
A-Core 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
8x Firestorm
0.60 GHz (2.42 GHz)
4x Blizzard
B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
2x Icestorm

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Apple M2 (8-GPU) Characteristic Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS

Internal Graphics

The Apple M2 (8-GPU) or Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Apple M2 (8 Core) GPU Apple M1 Max (32 Core)
0.45 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.30 GHz
2 GPU Generation 1
5 nm Technology 5 nm
2 Max. displays 5
128 Compute units 512
1024 Shader 4096
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
24 GB Max. GPU Memory 32 GB
-- DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Apple M2 (8 Core) GPU Apple M1 Max (32 Core)
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple M2 (8-GPU) can use up to 24 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 102.4 GB/s. The Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) supports up to 64 GB of memory in 4 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 409.6 GB/s.

Apple M2 (8-GPU) Characteristic Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
LPDDR5-6400 Memory LPDDR5-6400
24 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
102.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 409.6 GB/s
No ECC No
20.00 MB L2 Cache 28.00 MB
-- L3 Cache --
4.0 PCIe version 4.0
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple M2 (8-GPU) is 20 W, while the Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) has a TDP of 45 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Apple M2 (8-GPU) Characteristic Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
20 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 45 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
25 W TDP up --
10 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple M2 (8-GPU) is manufactured in 5 nm and has 20.00 MB cache. The Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) is manufactured in 5 nm and has a 28.00 MB cache.

Apple M2 (8-GPU) Characteristic Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
5 nm Technology 5 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8.5-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8.5-A (64 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
-- Socket --
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes AES-NI Yes
macOS, iPadOS Operating systems macOS
Q2/2022 Release date Q3/2021
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M2 (8-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (43 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (30 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
120 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
112 (93%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
555 (70%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
796 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
1592 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
1534 (96%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
8558 (69%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12402 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
1874 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
1783 (95%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
8853 (70%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12693 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
2596 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
2397 (92%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
10062 (81%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12439 (100%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
Apple M2 (8 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
2840 (27%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
Apple M1 Max (32 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
10600 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
15472 (70%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
22255 (100%)

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8,558 CB R23 MC @ 20 W
428 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
12,402 CB R23 MC @ 45 W
275 (64%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 0.66 GHz
15.8 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (70%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
192 (100%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
277 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
Apple MacBook Air 14 (2022)
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022)
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)

News and articles for the Apple M2 (8-GPU) and the Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)

Most popular processors in the first half of 2022
Most popular processors in the first half of 2022
Posted by Stefan on 2022-07-05
In the past we had repeatedly written about our most popular processors. Since this format was quiet popular, I would like to continue this today and introduce you the most popular processors in the first half of 2022.

With more than 2 million page views per month, CPU-Monkey is one of the biggest comparison sites for processors and is currently available in 16 languages.
Apple M2 Pro with more CPU cores and production in 3 nm ?
Apple M2 Pro with more CPU cores and production in 3 nm ?
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-28
After Apple surprisingly presented the normal Apple M2 processor as the first successor to the Apple M1 already in June 2022, the Apple M2 Pro and the Apple M2 Max may follow in autumn. The difference in performance compared to the basic version could be even greater this time and range from 25 to 40 percent.

In this article we describe how Apple could realize this and why the price should also go up.
Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?
Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-09
During WWDC 2022 on June 6th, 2022 Apple surprisingly presented its new Apple M2 processor. This will initially be installed in a completely revised Apple MacBook Air with 13.6 inches, a even thinner form factor and new colors. Apple also updated the already known (old) Apple MacBook Pro 13.3 with touch bar.

Many leakers had counted on Apple not presenting its new second-generation M processor until the fall. But things turned out differently. And there is very likely a reason for that: the improvements in the Apple M2 are limited compared to the predecessor.

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. Apple M3Apple M2 (8-GPU) Apple M3 vs Apple M2 (8-GPU)
2. Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)Intel Core i9-12900K Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) vs Intel Core i9-12900K
3. Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)Apple M1 Max (24-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) vs Apple M1 Max (24-GPU)
4. Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)Apple M3 Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) vs Apple M3
5. Intel Core i7-1360PApple M2 (8-GPU) Intel Core i7-1360P vs Apple M2 (8-GPU)
6. Apple M1Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 vs Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
7. Intel Core i7-1260PApple M2 (8-GPU) Intel Core i7-1260P vs Apple M2 (8-GPU)
8. Intel Core i7-12700HApple M1 Max (32-GPU) Intel Core i7-12700H vs Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
9. Apple M2 (8-GPU)Intel Core i5-13600K Apple M2 (8-GPU) vs Intel Core i5-13600K
10. Apple M2 (8-GPU)AMD Ryzen 7 6800U Apple M2 (8-GPU) vs AMD Ryzen 7 6800U


back to index