Apple M2 Max vs Intel Core i9-13900

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 Intel Core i9-13900 and decide which is better for games or simple use for rendering, video editing, streaming, machine learning, programming. Here is all information from real streaming and video editing tests or several benchmarks. A careful analysis 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 synthetic type tests such as Gears 5, PCMark 10, UserBenchmark, 7zip, RealBench, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, SuperPi, VeraCrypt, Furmark, Dolphin Emulator, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), MATLAB, Prime95, WPrime, Blender, PassMark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Handbrake, Blender, 3DMark, AIDA64, DaVinci Resolve Studio.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-13900 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%

Core i9-13900

67%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i9-13900 is 7% better than M2 Max. 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%

Core i9-13900

62%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And it is clear that 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 low game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of less popular games in which CPU comparisons were performed: Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, DOTA 2A, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Battlefield V, Ghostrunner, Hitman 3, NBA 2K20, Half-Life: Alyx, Forza Horizon 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, League of Legends (LOL), Metro Exodus, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Monster Hunter World, Control, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	106.0	110.5
Valorant	120.4	125.6
Cyberpunk 2077	67.4	70.3
Apex Legends	113.2	118.1
Call of Duty Warzone	90.3	94.2
Overwatch	97.5	101.7
Red Dead Redemption 2	83.1	86.7
DOOM Eternal	60.2	62.8
Warzone	93.9	98.0
Assassin's Creed	101.2	105.5
Valheim	99.9	104.2

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 comparing not only were the equipped with different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. So 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 compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

M2 Max

465%

Core i9-13900

56%

To make a finishing choice 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 Max is more energy efficient than the Core i9-13900 since it has less power consumption: 15W vs. 115W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. It is necessary to calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, video editing or video rendering, programming, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the processor uses 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 check whether the program you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can use only one core to work, and all the advantages 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	Intel Core i9-13900
Cinbench 15 Single-core	389	521
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2220	5424
Cinbench 20 Single-core	761	865
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3801	12052
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2204	3054
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	17142	34668

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

	Apple M2 Max	Intel Core i9-13900
Single-Core	6536	2791
Multi-Core	42246	59086

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

	Apple M2 Max	Intel Core i9-13900
Single-Core	2096	1965
Multi-Core	17617	22085

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most helpful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in the newest games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M2 Max	Intel Core i9-13900
Announcement date	October 20, 2022	December 13, 2022
Type	Desktop;Laptop	Desktop
Socket	M2	FCLGA1700
Core name	8x Avalanche and 4x Blizzard	Raptor Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	2	13
Turbo Frequency		5.6 MHz
Frequency	3.49 MHz	3 MHz
Cores	12	24
Threads	12	32
Bus rate		16 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	4 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	68000 millions	14200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	15 W	115 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	Up to DDR5 5600 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s
Max. Memory	64 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	6500
Memory bandwidth	412 GByte/s	89.6 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB	2 MB
L2 cache	24MB	8 MB
L3 cache	48MB	36 MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	Yes
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M2 Max is 14% better than Core i9-13900 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-13900 has 12 more core than M2 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 M2 Max is better: 8
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-13900 is better: 30
Although it should be realized that the summary data that you have looked at here do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the testing video and read the reviews of of people who bought Apple M2 Max and Intel Core i9-13900 before deciding which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

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.

Intel Core i9-13900 - all data

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

• Intel Core i9-13900 specs and review.