Consumercarts is reader-supported. Learn more
Apple M2 Max vs Apple M3 Pro: Comparison
Apple M2 Max and Apple M3 Pro differ on cache: Apple M2 Max at 36MB L2 + 4MB L1, Apple M3 Pro at 18MB L2 + 4MB L1, which puts Apple M2 Max ahead on that measure. They match on 12 other specifications, including product line, form factor and release year. In Blender Cycles (CPU) the Apple M2 Max scores 261 against 226 for the Apple M3 Pro, a lead of 13%.
Specs
| Specification |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Apple | Apple |
| Product Line | Other | Other |
| Form Factor | Laptop | Laptop |
| Model Number | M2 Max | M3 Pro |
| Core/Thread Count | 12 Core / 12 Thread (8 Performance + 4 Efficiency) | 12 Core / 12 Thread (6 Performance + 6 Efficiency) |
| Release Year | 2023 | 2023 |
| TDP | 30 W | 30 W |
| Market Segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Cache | 36MB L2 + 4MB L1 | 18MB L2 + 4MB L1 |
| Socket Status | Mature | End of Life |
| Process Node | 5 nm | 3 nm |
| Performance Cores | 8 | 6 |
| Efficiency Cores | 4 | 6 |
| SMT Enabled | false | false |
| P-Core Boost Clock | 3.49 | 4.05 |
| Base Power | 30 W | 30 W |
| Memory Type | LPDDR5X | On-Package LPDDR5X |
| Max Memory Capacity | 96 | 36 |
| ECC Support | false | false |
| Integrated Graphics | Yes | Yes |
| Retail Availability | Soldered Only | Soldered Only |
| Series | Apple Silicon | Apple Silicon |
| CPU Process Node | 5 Nanometers | 3 Nanometers |
| Architecture | Apple Silicon, Second Generation | Apple Silicon, Third Generation |
| Cores | 12 | 12 |
| Threads | 12 | 12 |
Benchmarks
Measured results, not specifications. Percentages are the gap to the leading product in each test.
Blender Cycles (CPU)
Blender 4.5, Blender Open Data (CC0). Median of monster + junkshop + classroom, combined samples/min.
Blender renders 3D scenes by tracing light through them, which loads every core at once. The score measures sustained multi-core throughput, so a chip that wins here can still lose at gaming, where one or two fast cores matter more. Figures come from Blender's Open Data project, which places no restriction on reuse, and we publish the median of every submission for that chip on the same Blender version.