An M2 Max chip with a 30-core GPU and 96GB of memory is now available.
The introduction of the next generation of M2 processors in the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro continues Apple’s chip rollout. Six months after Apple introduced the M2 chip in the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, the M2 Pro and M2 Max are now available.
“Only Apple manufactures M2 Pro and M2 Max SoCs. Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, Johny Srouji, stated in a press release that the new processors offer “industry-leading power efficiency” and “incredible pro performance.” “With an even more potent CPU and GPU, support for a larger unified memory system, and a sophisticated media engine, M2 Pro and M2 Max represent astounding advances in Apple silicon.”
The M2 Pro and M2 Max feature an increase in CPU cores, GPU cores, and memory bandwidth compared to their predecessors. Let’s examine the particulars of the new chips.
M2 Pro: 12-core CPU, 19-core GPU
The M2 Pro utilizes a second-generation 5nm process and offers more CPU and GPU cores, memory bandwidth, and other enhancements compared to the M2 and M1 Pro chips. The M2 Pro has 40 billion transitions, 20% more than the M1 Pro and twice as many as the M2. Apple claims that the M2 Pro has a larger L2 cache than the M1 Pro’s 24MB, but provides no details.
| M1 Pro | M2 | M2 Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU cores | 8 or 10 (6/8 performance, 2 efficiencies) | 8 (4 performance, 4 efficiencies) | 10 or 12 (6/8 performance, 4 efficiencies) |
| GPU cores | 14 or 16 | 8 or 10 | 16 or 19 |
| Unified memory | 16GB, 32GB | 8GB, 16GB, 24GB | 16GB, 32GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 200GBps | 100GBps | 200GBps |
| Neural Engine | 16-core | 16-core | 16-core |
Similar to the M1 Pro, the M2 Pro’s built-in media engine accelerates H.264, HEVC, and ProRes video encoding and decoding for video editors. It also offers improved power efficiency during the playback of multiple 4K and 8K ProRes video streams. In addition, a custom image signal processor collaborates with the Neural Engine to improve the image quality of the MacBook Pro’s 1080p FaceTime camera.
Apple’s benchmarks indicate that the M2 Pro is 40% faster in Adobe Photoshop image processing and 25% faster in Xcode code compilation compared to the M1 Pro. Apple also provides comparisons to the 16-inch Core i9 MacBook Pro, the last Intel-based laptop; Apple claims the M2 Pro is 2.5 times faster in Photoshop and 80 percent faster in Xcode.
M2 Max: 12-core CPU, 38-core GPU
The M2 Max is an upgrade to the M2 Pro, featuring 67 billion transistors (10 billion more than the M1 Max), additional CPU and GPU cores, and increased memory bandwidth.
| M1 Max | M2 Max | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU cores | 10 (8 performance, 2 efficiencies) | 12 (8 performance, 4 efficiencies) |
| GPU cores | 24 or 32 | 30 or 38 |
| Unified memory | 32GB, 64GB | 32GB, 64GB, 96GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 400GBps | 400GBps |
| Neural Engine | 16-core | 16-core |
Apple claims that the M2 Max is “the most powerful and efficient chip for a professional laptop in the world.” Notably, it features the same media engine as the M2 Pro, but only one video-encode engine and ProRes engine, whereas the M1 Max featured two of each. To upgrade to 96GB of memory, you must purchase a MacBook with a 38-core GPU, which costs $3,099 (14-inch) or $3,499 (16-inch), plus an additional $800 for memory over 32GB.
In Apple’s benchmarks, the M2 Max is 30 percent faster than the M1 Max at color grading in DaVinci Resolve, and it is twice as fast as the Intel Core i9 MacBook Pro. The M2 Max is 30% faster than the M1 Max and 6 times faster than the Core i9 MacBook Pro when rendering Cinema 4D effects.
