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Apple M2 Max vs Apple M4: Comparison

Apple M2 Max and Apple M4 separate most on memory channels: Apple M2 Max at 8, Apple M4 at 2, 75% in favour of Apple M2 Max. They match on 6 other specifications, including product line, form factor and market segment. In Blender Cycles (CPU) the Apple M2 Max scores 261 against 224 for the Apple M4, a lead of 14%.

Specs

Specification
Apple M2 Max
Apple M2 Max
Apple M4
Apple M4
BrandAppleApple
Product LineOtherOther
Form FactorLaptopLaptop
Model NumberM2 MaxM4
Core/Thread Count12 Core / 12 Thread (8 Performance + 4 Efficiency)10 Core / 10 Thread (4 Performance + 6 Efficiency)
Release Year20232024
TDP30 W22 W
Market SegmentLaptopLaptop
Cache36MB L2 + 4MB L116MB L2 + 4MB L1
Socket StatusMatureCurrent
Process Node5 nm3 nm
Performance Cores84
Efficiency Cores46
SMT EnabledfalseNo
P-Core Base Clock2.422.85
P-Core Boost Clock3.494.4
Base Power30 W22 W
Memory TypeLPDDR5XLPDDR5X
Memory Channels82-75%
Max Memory Capacity9632
ECC SupportfalseNo
Integrated GraphicsYesYes
Retail AvailabilitySoldered OnlySoldered Only
SeriesApple SiliconApple Silicon
CPU Process Node5 Nanometers3 Nanometers
ArchitectureApple Silicon, Second GenerationApple Silicon, Fourth Generation
Cores1210
Threads1210

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.

Apple M2 Max261n=37Best
Apple M4224n=258-14%

More comparisons in Processors (CPUs)