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Apple M2 Max vs Apple M4 Max: Comparison
Apple M2 Max and Apple M4 Max differ on cache: Apple M2 Max at 36MB L2 + 4MB L1, Apple M4 Max at 40MB L2 + 4MB L1, which puts Apple M4 Max ahead on that measure. They match on 8 other specifications, including product line, form factor and market segment. In Blender Cycles (CPU) the Apple M4 Max scores 470 against 261 for the Apple M2 Max, a lead of 44%.
Specs
| Specification |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Apple | Apple |
| Product Line | Other | Other |
| Form Factor | Laptop | Laptop |
| Model Number | M2 Max | M4 Max |
| Core/Thread Count | 12 Core / 12 Thread (8 Performance + 4 Efficiency) | 16 Core / 16 Thread (12 Performance + 4 Efficiency) |
| Release Year | 2023 | 2024 |
| TDP | 30 W | 50 W |
| Market Segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Cache | 36MB L2 + 4MB L1 | 40MB L2 + 4MB L1 |
| Socket Status | Mature | Current |
| Process Node | 5 nm | 3 nm |
| Performance Cores | 8 | 12 |
| Efficiency Cores | 4 | 4 |
| SMT Enabled | false | No |
| P-Core Base Clock | 2.42 | 2.9 |
| P-Core Boost Clock | 3.49 | 4.5 |
| Base Power | 30 W | 50 W |
| Memory Type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory Channels | 8 | 8 |
| Max Memory Capacity | 96 | 128 |
| ECC Support | false | No |
| 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, Fourth Generation |
| Cores | 12 | 16 |
| Threads | 12 | 16 |
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.