Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) vs Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) and the Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) 14 core processor released in Q4/2024 with the Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) which has 14 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2023.
Apple M series (32) Family Apple M series (32)
Apple M4 (7) CPU group Apple M3 (6)
4 Generation 3
M4 Architecture M3
Notebook Segment Notebook
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Predecessor Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
-- Successor Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) is a 14 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.70 GHz (4.50 GHz). The processor can compute 14 threads at the same time. The Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) clocks with 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz), has 14 CPU cores and can calculate 14 threads in parallel.

Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Characteristic Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14 Cores 14
14 Threads 14
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
0.70 GHz (4.50 GHz)
10x Donan P-Core
A-Core 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz)
10x Palma P-Core
0.74 GHz (2.85 GHz)
4x Donan E-Core
B-Core 0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz)
4x Palma E-Core

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Characteristic Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
16 Neural cores @ 38 TOPS AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

Apple M4 Max (32 Core) GPU Apple M3 Max (30 Core)
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
1.68 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.40 GHz
-- GPU Generation --
3 nm Technology 3 nm
3 Max. displays 5
512 Compute units 480
4096 Shader 3840
Yes Hardware Raytracing Yes
No Frame Generation No
32 GB Max. GPU Memory 96 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 M4 Max (32 Core) GPU Apple M3 Max (30 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
Decode Codec AV1 Decode
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 128 GB of memory in a maximum of 6 memory channels is supported by the Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU), while the Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) supports a maximum of 96 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 307.2 GB/s enabled.

Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Characteristic Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
LPDDR5X-8533 Memory LPDDR5-6400
128 GB Max. Memory 96 GB
6 (Hexa Channel) Memory channels 3
410.0 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 307.2 GB/s
No ECC No
44.00 MB L2 Cache 36.00 MB
-- L3 Cache --
4.0 PCIe version 4.0
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) has a TDP of --. The TDP of the Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) is 50 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Characteristic Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 50 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) has 44.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 3 nm. The cache of Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) is at 36.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 3 nm.

Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Characteristic Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
3 nm Technology 3 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
Armv9-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation, AVX2, SME ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
-- Socket --
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes AES-NI Yes
macOS, iPadOS Operating systems macOS, iPadOS
Q4/2024 Release date Q4/2023
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.8 stars (120 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.7 stars (199 ratings). Rate now:

Average performance in benchmarks

Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) (82%)
Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) (88%)

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 M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.50 GHz
177 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
141 (80%)

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 M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.50 GHz
1756 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
1373 (78%)

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 M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.50 GHz
2288 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
1968 (86%)

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 M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)
14C 14T @ 0.70 GHz
23511 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 3.60 GHz
20983 (89%)

Geekbench 6 Single-Core

Geekbench 6 is a partial load benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. In the single-core test, only the fastest CPU core is measured. The test run simulates the performance in practice.
Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.50 GHz
3940 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
3125 (79%)

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core

The practical Geekbench 6 multi-core benchmark tests the system's performance under partial load. The processor's maximum power consumption is far from being used up.
Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)
14C 14T @ 0.70 GHz
20311 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 3.60 GHz
19404 (96%)

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 M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.50 GHz
2552 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
2150 (84%)

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 M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)
Apple M4 Max (32 Core) @ 1.68 GHz
13640 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
Apple M3 Max (30 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
10650 (78%)

AI performance (NPU)

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.

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 M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)
14C 14T @ 0.70 GHz
38 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 0.70 GHz
35 (92%)

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 M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)
14C 14T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 3.60 GHz
20961 (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 M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU)
14C 14T @ 0.70 GHz
38400 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 3.60 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M4 Max (14-CPU 32-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
Unknown Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)

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