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M4 Max Chip Up to 25% Faster Than M2 Ultra in First Benchmark Results

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The first Geekbench 6 benchmark results for the high-end M4 Max chip with a 16-core CPU surfaced today, and they show that the chip is up to 25% faster than the high-end M2 Ultra chip with a 24-core CPU in terms of peak multi-core CPU performance.

M4-M4-Pro-vs-M4-Max-Feature.jpg

M4 Pro chip benchmark results already surfaced in the Geekbench 6 database on Thursday. Based on the results available so far, the M4 Max appears to be up to 20% faster than the M4 Pro in terms of peak multi-core CPU performance.

Here is a comparison of the results (averaged):

  • MacBook Pro with M4 Max (16-core CPU): 26,675 multi-core score (highest result), 26,445 multi-core score (3 results)
  • Mac mini with M4 Pro (14-core CPU): 22,094 multi-core score (11 results)
  • Mac Studio with M2 Ultra (24-core CPU): 21,351 (More than 600 results)
M4 Max is now the fastest-ever Apple silicon chip in the Geekbench 6 database, surpassing the M2 Ultra that Apple released in the Mac Studio and Mac Pro in June 2023.

As we mentioned in our previous reporting, you can now purchase a Mac mini with a 14-core M4 Pro for $1,599 in the U.S. and get similar to faster peak performance than a Mac Studio with the 24-core M2 Ultra, a configuration that starts at $3,999. And if you want up to 25% faster performance than the M2 Ultra, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the 16-core M4 Max starts at the same $3,999 price as the Mac Studio.

Article Link: M4 Max Chip Up to 25% Faster Than M2 Ultra in First Benchmark Results
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/11/01/m4-max-chip-geekbench-benchmark-results/
nick9191 said:
M5 will probably have a big focus on graphics. They won’t be going to 2nm next year so the CPU speed increases won’t be as impressive, I think graphics will be the focus.
Click to expand...

I am happy with this plan. The raster performance on the GPU hasn't really gained a lot since M1. M2 did fix a bunch of things like scaling better with more cores, but not much improvement between M2, M3 and M4 from what I see, other than boosts from clock speed and core count. Ray tracing etc notwithstanding.
 
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undeniably a huge achievement - KUDOS Apple !!

With all the clever people running around in the different companies and the strive for perfection Apple shows the rest of the world how it's done and it's called:

vertical integration​

( software and hardware perfectly integrated in the right form factor )

Apple has done close to perfection with the M1 MAX there years ago but the M4 is now even rivaling workstations and that's incorporated in a consumer grade laptop - well only from the size of the machine :cool:

This is with all necessary crosschecking and wait for further proof points nothing less than a huge achievement and we should all applaud Apple for bringing such a huge computational power and clever setup to the masses in a portable form factor.

Can't wait for further information and real world tests. This is a tremendous milestone.

For all the would like to understand a bit more how Apple does it in detail - here is a an in depth analyses of the nowadays ancient M1 - this elaborates on the extra mile Apple is going.
 
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scottrichardson said:
I am happy with this plan. The raster performance on the GPU hasn't really gained a lot since M1. M2 did fix a bunch of things like scaling better with more cores, but not much improvement between M2, M3 and M4 from what I see, other than boosts from clock speed and core count. Ray tracing etc notwithstanding.
Click to expand...
I will wait for M5 because of this but M4 is bonkers for CPU
 
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Unless Apple flips the schedule of releases with ULTRA (& MAX) first, then PRO (& MAX) and then BASE (which can leave the all important MBpro updates in the very same month), this ULTRA owner probably never buys another ULTRA-based Mac again. Why? Because the premium for ULTRA is high and yet the people who buy it on release might have up to 6 months at most before the next generation MAX is released with about as much power. Being King of the Hill for only up to 6 months doesn't seem worth the premium (to me anyway).

I've seen some rumors of the "flip" enough to make it not so difficult to imagine that Studio & Pro gets M5 Ultra FIRST, perhaps around WWDC time... which would then let those who pay the super-premium prices be "king of the power hill" until at least the NEXT years M6 MAX releases... perhaps about 15 months later vs. only up to about 6 months later.

Else, I just don't see the point except for those who can absolutely exploit the added power during that approx. 6 months enough to justify the extra premium.

Why would Apple do this? Apparently Apple likes 💰💰💰and Studio & Pro should be most profitable Mac per unit sold. So if they were slotted FIRST in a new generation, it might "pull up" those who squirm for "latest & greatest" and "most powerful" enough to pay up the extra... vs. trying to control themselves for only about 6 months to achieve much of the same for much less cost. Apple would still harvest every MBpro volume sale because that part of the schedule wouldn't change. And- presumably- the least profit per unit sold BASE models would drag in last and be against the psychological issue of knowing the next generation is right on its heels.

Again, I bought ULTRA myself so this is not any kind of bash- just a simple observation that it demotivates me from considering replacing this Mac with another ULTRA-based one since it now seems "regular" that if one can simply wait up to 6 months, one can save substantial money to buy just about as much power if not more.
 
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This is some amazing work by the chip designers at Apple. Bravo! I have no idea what I would do with all this power, but I still want it.

My M1 Pro from 2021 still crushes my daily workflow, so I don’t need to upgrade it this cycle but for the fact my 1tb SSD is feeling a little tight. I’m guessing the introduction on increasing levels of on device AI is going to finally start taxing these ‘older’ Apple silicon chips, because they barely break a sweat with standard productivity stuff that most of us non-creatives do.
 
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EU-Regulations said:
Speed is nothing without control.

What I am trying to say here is that these 3 icons of Apples Brand Core are way more important:

security, reliability and privacy. Mostly a software issue nowadays. We are all busy bugging out...

But. You can't tell the fanboys. 👀
Click to expand...
Well, then tell us which platform has more “security, reliability, and privacy” than Apple. Maybe I’d consider switching.
 
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iOwn the M1 13" MacBook Pro. It has 16GB ram and 1tb of storage. It's as fast as I can imagine anything to be for the work I do. I'm looking for a reason to get the M4 model but I just can't find one. Yes the higher refresh rate, better camera and increased brightness are 3 very welcome upgrades. However, iGot myself the Studio. Display earlier this year and so I rarely look at my MacBook Pro screen anymore.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
Unless Apple flips the schedule of releases with ULTRA (& MAX) first, then PRO (& MAX) and then BASE (which can leave the all important MBpro updates in the very same month), this ULTRA owner probably never buys another ULTRA-based Mac again. Why? Because the premium for ULTRA is high and yet the people who buy it on release might have up to 6 months at most before the next generation MAX is released with about as much power. Being King of the Hill for only up to 6 months doesn't seem worth the premium (to me anyway).

I've seen some rumors of the "flip" enough to make it not so difficult to imagine that Studio & Pro gets M5 Ultra FIRST, perhaps around WWDC time... which would then let those who pay the super-premium prices be "king of the power hill" until at least the NEXT years M6 MAX releases... perhaps about 15 months later vs. only up to about 6 months later.

Else, I just don't see the point except for those who can absolutely exploit the added power during that approx. 6 months enough to justify the extra premium.

Why would Apple do this? Apparently Apple likes 💰💰💰and Studio & Pro should be most profitable Mac per unit sold. So if they were slotted FIRST in a new generation, it might "pull up" those who squirm for "latest & greatest" and "most powerful" enough to pay up the extra... vs. trying to control themselves for only about 6 months to achieve much of the same for much less cost. Apple would still harvest every MBpro volume sale because that part of the schedule wouldn't change. And- presumably- the least profit per unit sold BASE models would drag in last and be against the psychological issue of knowing the next generation is right on its heels.

Again, I bought ULTRA myself so this is not any kind of bash- just a simple observation that it demotivates me from considering replacing this Mac with another ULTRA-based one since it now seems "regular" that if one can simply wait up to 6 months, one can save substantial money to buy just about as much power if not more.
Click to expand...
Same here. If it wasn’t for needing every port on my Mac Studio, I would never buy another one.
 
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Not huge multi-core gains vs. the M4 Pro. Biggest reason for the upgrade (other than for those who need every drop of multicore performance) is likely to be the GPU.

Still, overall, extremely impressive. Makes me want to upgrade my 6-month old M3 machine even though I am never even close to maxing out its capabilities. Gear lust is incurable.
 
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