Apple M1 Max vs Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M

Processor comparisons 21-10-2022

   Let's say there are difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Apple M1 Max vs Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M and see which is better for games or simple use for streaming, programming, machine learning, rendering, video editing. Here you can find all information from many benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough review of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests like WPrime, UserBenchmark, SuperPi, RealBench, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Prime95, Gears 5, Blender, Handbrake, PassMark, Dolphin Emulator, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PCMark 10, VeraCrypt, 3DMark, MATLAB, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Blender, 7zip, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Furmark, AIDA64.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

Borderlands 3
Red Dead Redemption 2
DOOM: Eternal
Last Man Standing
Overwatch
Fortnite
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Valheim
Grand Theft Auto V
Death Stranding
Rainbow Six Siege
Apex Legends
Halo Infinite
Fallout 76
Cyberpunk 2077
Watch Dogs Legion
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Valorant

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M or Apple M1 Max.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

M1 Max

60%

Xeon Platinum 8260M

60%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Max

57%

Xeon Platinum 8260M

69%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. And it is clear that this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a low game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: Battlefield V, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), DOTA 2A, Hitman 3, Forza Horizon 4, NBA 2K20, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Metro Exodus, Control, Horizon Zero Dawn, League of Legends (LOL), Ghostrunner, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Monster Hunter World, Half-Life: Alyx, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	101.3	121.9
Valorant	115.1	138.5
Cyberpunk 2077	64.5	77.6
Apex Legends	108.2	130.2
Call of Duty Warzone	86.3	103.9
Overwatch	93.2	112.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.4	95.6
DOOM Eternal	57.6	69.3
Warzone	89.8	108.1
Assassin's Creed	96.7	116.4
Valheim	95.5	115.0

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The tested computers not only did they have different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, 4K or FullHD. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

M1 Max

332%

Xeon Platinum 8260M

21%

To make a final resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the M1 Max is more energy efficient than the Xeon Platinum 8260M as it consumes less power: 18W vs. 165W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need to know its TDP. It is necessary to count so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, programming, video rendering or video editing, machine learning, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the CPU includes all threads and cores that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can use only one core to run, and all the benefit of multi-core mode are unused.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Apple M1 Max	Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M
Cinbench 15 Single-core	313	211
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1811	5808
Cinbench 20 Single-core	617	366
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3106	14048
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2360	1239
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	12204	35899

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Apple M1 Max	Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M
Single-Core	5344	2291
Multi-Core	34572	34071

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Apple M1 Max	Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M
Single-Core	1793	1071
Multi-Core	13028	33238

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M1 Max	Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M
Announcement date	October 07, 2021	October 01, 2020
Type	Laptop;Desktop	Server
Socket	M1	LGA3647
Core name	8x Firestorm and 2x Icestorm	Cascade Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	2
Turbo Frequency		3.9 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	2.3 MHz
Cores	10	24
Threads	10	48
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	57000 millions	7510 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	18 W	165 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR4-2933
Max. Memory	64 Gb	1 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400
Memory bandwidth	409 GByte/s
L1 cache	4MB
L2 cache	24MB
L3 cache	48MB	35.75 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	Yes
Part number	APL1105

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M1 Max is 28% better than Xeon Platinum 8260M in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Xeon Platinum 8260M has 14 more core than M1 Max. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Apple M1 Max is better: 17
The number of parameters for which Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M is better: 21
However, it should be realized that all the figures that you have looked at here do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of real owners of Apple M1 Max and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M before making a choice which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Apple M1 Max - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Apple M1 Max specs and review.

• Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M specs and review.