Apple M2 Max vs Apple M2

Processor comparisons   22-10-2022
   If there are difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the full tests Apple M2 Max vs Apple M2 and decide which is better for games or simple use for rendering, streaming, machine learning, programming, video editing. Here you can find all information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special test applications like Blender, Prime95, SuperPi, Handbrake, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, AIDA64, Blender, PCMark 10, MATLAB, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Gears 5, 3DMark, Furmark, RealBench, PassMark, VeraCrypt, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), WPrime, Dolphin Emulator, UserBenchmark, 7zip.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which processor is better to buy for gaming Apple M2 or Apple M2 Max.

Summary benchmark results

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

M2 Max

62%

59%

The number of this parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M2 Max is 4% better than M2. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M2 Max

60%

55%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	106.0	97.4
Valorant	120.4	110.7
Cyberpunk 2077	67.4	62.0
Apex Legends	113.2	104.1
Call of Duty Warzone	90.3	83.0
Overwatch	97.5	89.7
Red Dead Redemption 2	83.1	76.4
DOOM Eternal	60.2	55.4
Warzone	93.9	86.4
Assassin's Creed	101.2	93.0
Valheim	99.9	91.9

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 computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K 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

M2 Max

465%

535%

To make a final decision 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 M2 is more energy efficient than the M2 Max as it consumes less power: 15W vs. 12W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful 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 plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, video rendering or video editing, machine learning, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor uses all threads and cores that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account 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 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 M2 Max	Apple M2
Cinbench 15 Single-core	389	298
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2220	1586
Cinbench 20 Single-core	761	558
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3801	2699
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2204	2057
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	17142	10520

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

	Apple M2 Max	Apple M2
Single-Core	6536	4095
Multi-Core	42246	29665

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

	Apple M2 Max	Apple M2
Single-Core	2096	1929
Multi-Core	17617	9243

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. The economy are obvious! It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M2 Max	Apple M2
Announcement date	October 20, 2022	October 18, 2022
Type	Desktop;Laptop	Laptop
Socket	M2	M2
Core name	8x Avalanche and 4x Blizzard	4 x Avalanche and 4 x Blizzard
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Generation	2	2
Turbo Frequency
Frequency	3.49 MHz	3.49 MHz
Cores	12	8
Threads	12	8
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	4 nm	5 nm
Transistors count	68000 millions	20000 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	15 W	12 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz
Max. Memory	64 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	2400
Memory bandwidth	412 GByte/s
L1 cache	4MB	2MB
L2 cache	24MB	12MB
L3 cache	48MB	16MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Another difference is that M2 Max has 4 more core than M2. 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 M2 Max is better: 32
The number of parameters for which Apple M2 is better: 1
Although it should be understood that all the data in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple comparison of these figures. Be sure to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of of people who bought Apple M2 Max and Apple M2 before making a decision which of the CPUs to buy for gaming.

Apple M2 Max - all data

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

• Apple M2 Max specs and review.

Apple M2 - all data

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

• Apple M2 specs and review.