Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) vs Intel Xeon Gold 6434H

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Intel Xeon Gold 6434H

CPU comparison

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) or Intel Xeon Gold 6434H - 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 Max (38-GPU) has 12 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.50 GHz. Up to 96 GB of memory is supported in 4 memory channels. The Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) was released in Q1/2023.

The Intel Xeon Gold 6434H has 8 cores with 16 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.10 GHz. The CPU supports up to 4096 GB of memory in 8 memory channels. The Intel Xeon Gold 6434H was released in Q1/2023.
Apple M series (25) Family Intel Xeon Gold (163)
Apple M2 (8) CPU group Intel Xeon Gold 5400/6400 (25)
2 Generation 4
M2 Architecture Sapphire Rapids
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) is a 12 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz). The Intel Xeon Gold 6434H has 8 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 3.70 GHz (4.10 GHz).

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Characteristic Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
12 Cores 8
12 Threads 16
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz)
8x Avalanche
A-Core 3.70 GHz (4.10 GHz)
0.60 GHz (2.42 GHz)
4x Blizzard
B-Core --

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 Max (38-GPU) Characteristic Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Apple M2 Max (38 Core) GPU no iGPU
0.45 GHz GPU frequency --
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
2 GPU Generation --
5 nm Technology
5 Max. displays
608 Compute units --
4864 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
96 GB Max. GPU Memory --
-- 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 Max (38 Core) GPU no iGPU
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 No
Decode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) supports a maximum of 96 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Intel Xeon Gold 6434H can connect up to 4096 GB of memory in 8 memory channels.

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Characteristic Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
LPDDR5-6400 Memory DDR5-4400, DDR5-4800
96 GB Max. Memory 4096 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 8 (Octa Channel)
409.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 307.2 GB/s
No ECC Yes
36.00 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 22.50 MB
4.0 PCIe version 5.0
32 PCIe lanes 80
63.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 315.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) has a TDP of 40 W, that of the Intel Xeon Gold 6434H is 195 W.

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Characteristic Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
40 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 195 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) has a 36.00 MB cache, while the Intel Xeon Gold 6434H cache has a total of 22.50 MB.

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Characteristic Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
5 nm Technology 10 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8.5-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512
-- Socket LGA 4677
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
macOS, iPadOS Operating systems Windows, Linux
Q1/2023 Release date Q1/2023
-- Release price 3070 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.9 stars (56 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Xeon Gold 6434H to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:


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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
121 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
8C 16T @ 4.10 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
1025 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
8C 16T @ 4.10 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
1695 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
8C 16T @ 4.10 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
14855 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
8C 16T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
1874 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
8C 16T @ 4.10 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
15506 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
8C 16T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
2689 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
8C 16T @ 4.10 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
14207 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
8C 16T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
Apple M2 Max (38 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
13490 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
26310 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
8C 16T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
14,855 CB R23 MC @ 40 W
371 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
3.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Max (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.66 GHz
15.8 (100%)
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
8C 16T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) Unknown

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) vs Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
2. Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)Intel Core i9-13900HX Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) vs Intel Core i9-13900HX
3. Apple M3Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Apple M3 vs Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
4. Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) vs Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
5. Intel Core i9-13900KApple M2 Max (38-GPU) Intel Core i9-13900K vs Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
6. Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)Apple M2 Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) vs Apple M2
7. Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) vs Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
8. Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) vs Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
9. AMD Ryzen 9 7940HSApple M2 Max (38-GPU) AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS vs Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
10. Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)Intel Core i7-13700K Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) vs Intel Core i7-13700K


back to index