Apple M5 (8-core GPU) vs Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU)
[ VERDICT ]
Winner: Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) (97/100)
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) leads overall with a score of 97/100 compared to Apple M5 (8-core GPU) (81/100), offering superior measured performance and technical specifications.
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Normalized Lab Scores| Benchmark | Apple M5 (8-core GPU) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency | 97.0 Excellent WINNER | 92.0 Excellent |
| Performance | 100.0 Excellent | 100.0 Excellent |
Detailed Technical Specifications
CPU
| Specification | Apple M5 (8-core GPU) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Base Frequency (E) | 3.0 GHz | 4.38 GHz |
| Base Frequency (P) | 4.61 GHz | 4.61 GHz |
| E-Cores | 6 | 12 |
| E-Threads | 6 | 12 |
| L1 Cache | 192K (per core) | 192K (per core) |
| L2 Cache | 16MB (shared) | — |
| Multiplier | 46x | 46x |
| P-Cores | 4 | 6 |
| P-Threads | 4 | 6 |
| Total Cores | 10 | 18 |
| Total Threads | 10 | 18 |
| Unlocked Multiplier | No | No |
General
| Specification | Apple M5 (8-core GPU) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Codename | Apple M5 | Apple M5 |
| Instruction Set | ARMv9 | ARMv9 |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M5 GPU (8-core) | Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) |
| Released | March 3, 2026 | March 3, 2026 |
| Type | Laptop | Laptop |
| Vendor | Apple | Apple |
Memory Support
| Specification | Apple M5 (8-core GPU) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| ECC Support | No | No |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 153 GB/s | 614 GB/s |
| Max. Memory Size | 32 GB | 128 GB |
| Memory Channels | 8 | 32 |
| Memory Types | - LPDDR5X-9600 | - LPDDR5X-9600 |
Package
| Specification | Apple M5 (8-core GPU) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrication Process | 3 nm | 3 nm |
| Peak Temperature | 100°C | 100°C |
| Socket | Apple M-Socket | Apple M-Socket |
| TDP (PL1) | 27 W | 72 W |
| Transistors | 28 billions | 28 billions |
Performance Per Watt
| Specification | Apple M5 (8-core GPU) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Cinebench 2024 / Watt | 43.3 PPW | 28.8 PPW |
| Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt | 634.1 PPW | 419.7 PPW |
| Blender / Watt | — | 8.1 PPW |
| Passmark CPU Mark / Watt | — | 798.1 PPW |
Recent User Tests
| Specification | Apple M5 (8-core GPU) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Benchmark | Benchmark |
| 📘 2026-05-02->fedwim | GeekBench | — |
| 📘 2026-07-03(Mahesh Kondraju) | GeekBench | — |
| 📘 2026-07-03->Apple lover | — | GeekBench |
iGPU
| Specification | Apple M5 (8-core GPU) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Execution Units | 128 | 640 |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1620 MHz | 1620 MHz |
| Integrated Graphics | Apple M5 GPU (8-core) | Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) |
| ROPs | 32 | 160 |
| Shading Units | 1024 | 5120 |
| TMUs | 64 | 320 |
Cinebench
| Specification | Apple M5 (8-core GPU) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Cinebench 2026 (Multi) | — | 9428 |
| Cinebench 2026 (Single) | — | 734 |
GeekBench v6
| Specification | Apple M5 (8-core GPU) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Background blur | — | 106.1 images/sec |
| Clang compilation | — | 271.1 Klines/sec |
| File compression | — | 2990 MB/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | — | 811.7 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | — | 764 Mpixels/sec |
| Photo processing | — | 303.8 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | — | 47.8 Mpixels/sec |
| Text processing | — | 457.1 pages/sec |
PassMark
| Specification | Apple M5 (8-core GPU) | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Data compression | — | 689.6 MBytes/sec |
| Data encryption | — | 40.8 GBytes/sec |
| Extended instructions | — | 33.4B Matrices/sec |
| Find prime numbers | — | 553M Primes/sec |
| Floating point math | — | 186.1 GOps/sec |
| Integer math | — | 132.6 GOps/sec |
| Physics | — | 6847 Frames/sec |
| Random string sorting | — | 84.9M Strings/sec |
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