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The first benchmark results for Apple's M3 Max chip surfaced in the Geekbench 6 database today, providing a look at CPU performance. Based on the "Mac15,9" model identifier shown, the results appear to be for the new 16-inch MacBook Pro.

M3-Max-Chip.jpg

The highest multi-core score for the M3 Max with a 16-core CPU is currently 21,084 as of writing. If this early result is accurate, this means the M3 Max is around as fast as the M2 Ultra chip, which has an average multi-core score of 21,182 in the Mac Pro and 21,316 in the Mac Studio, according to a chart on the Geekbench website.

The M3 Max in the new 16-inch MacBook Pro is around 45% faster than the M2 Max chip in the previous-generation 16-inch MacBook Pro, according to the Geekbench website. This is within the ballpark of Apple's claim that the M3 Max is up to 50% faster than the M2 Max, especially given variance in early Geekbench results.

Geekbench 6 multi-core scores for CPU performance:
  • M2 Ultra: 21,182 (Mac Pro, averaged)
  • M3 Max: 21,084 (16-inch MacBook Pro, highest score listed so far)
  • M2 Max: 14,495 (16-inch MacBook Pro, averaged)
  • M1 Max: 12,185 (16-inch MacBook Pro, averaged)
  • M3: 11,836 (14-inch MacBook Pro, highest score listed so far)
Manufactured with TSMC's 3nm process, the M3 Max has up to a 16-core CPU with 12 performance cores and four efficiency cores. It also has up to a 40-core GPU and can be configured with up to 128GB of unified memory.

M3-Max-Specs.jpg

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro starts at $3,499 in the U.S. when configured with the M3 Max chip, while the Mac Studio with the M2 Ultra chip starts at $3,999, so you can effectively get the same performance for $500 less with the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, and do not need to supply your own display, keyboard, and mouse.

The first Geekbench 6 results for the standard M3 chip surfaced earlier today, revealing that it is up to 20% faster than the standard M2 chip. Benchmarks provide a useful reference point, but real-world performance can vary.

The new MacBook Pro models are now available to order, and most configurations will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Tuesday, November 7. M3 Max configurations will be available later in November.

Article Link: M3 Max Chip Around as Fast as M2 Ultra in Early Benchmark Results
 
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"The new 16-inch MacBook Pro starts at $3,499 in the U.S. when configured with the M3 Max chip, while the Mac Studio with the M2 Ultra chip starts at $3,999, so you can effectively get the same performance for $500 less ..."

Which points to a pretty quick upgrade timetable for the Studio? Which was already looking overpriced compared to the higher end Mac Minis.
 
Once they announced the iPhone 15 Pro had raytracing baked in, I knew I should wait to get a Mac Studio as I figured the M3 would support raytracing as well.

Now I’m extra excited seeing the jump in performance that we’re getting! Looking forward to the M3 Max studio. I finally am ready to jump from my hackintosh to a real Mac - my first real Mac since a 2015 MacBook Pro!
 
Once they announced the iPhone 15 Pro had raytracing baked in, I knew I should wait to get a Mac Studio as I figured the M3 would support raytracing as well.

Now I’m extra excited seeing the jump in performance that we’re getting! Looking forward to the M3 Max studio. I finally am ready to jump from my hackintosh to a real Mac - my first real Mac since a 2015 MacBook Pro!
A lot of people are thinking the same thing. I have the feeling they will sell a whole lot of Mac Studios next year. The Ultra will be bonkers if they can get it to scale properly.
 
How so? Apple itself says the M3 Max chip (which has a ~21,000 score on Geekbench) is up to 50% (aka 1.5x) faster than the M2 Max chip (which has a ~14,000 score on Geekbench 6).

14,000 * 1.5 = 21,000.

Apple's claim means nothing especially when they said "UP TO". It's just an advertisement so dont be fooled. They even said M1 Ultra is as powerful as RTX 3090 which turns out to be false. Also, CPU performance doesn't really multiply so easily.

The single core performance improved by almost 17% compared to M2 series based on Geekbench 6 but that seems to be possible by increasing the clock speed from 3.5 to 4ghz. Also, the CPU core difference is huge: 24 cores vs 16 cores. Beside Apple said that M3 Pro is 20% faster than "M1 Pro" in terms of multi core. How does it even improved by 50% when the single core performance gained only 16%?

The CPU performance improvement wasn't really dramatic compared to M2 and therefore, it's fishy. At this point, I would wait for actual results especially since M3 Max won't be available till late November.
 
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