Apple M3 Max (16-core) vs Intel Core i7-6500U
71.2Single-core—
71Multi-core20.4
93.3Efficiencyspec-based66.4
—iGPU20
60Platformspec-based28.9
7 spec wins — Apple M3 Max (16-core)0 spec wins — Intel Core i7-6500U
InnoReviews verdict
No overall winner yet: Intel Core i7-6500U lacks the published benchmark results an Inno Score requires, so there is no Inno Score to compare — we don't rank chips on their spec sheet alone. The spec table below still shows every difference we track.
Which would you pick?
Key differences
Reasons to pick the Apple M3 Max (16-core)
- Stronger multi-core score: 71 vs 20
- 1157% higher PassMark: 41,192 vs 3,276
- 700% higher cores: 16 vs 2
- 300% higher threads: 16 vs 4
- 300% higher Max memory: 128 GB vs 32 GB
Reasons to pick the Intel Core i7-6500U
No decisive spec advantages — this side competes on price and preference.
General
| Spec | Apple M3 Max (16-core) | Intel Core i7-6500U |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2023 | 2015 |
| Process | 3 nm+79% | 14 nm |
| Base TDP | — | 15 W |
| Max TDP | — | 25 W |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | Apple M3 Max (16-core) | Intel Core i7-6500U |
|---|---|---|
| Cores | 16+700% | 2 |
| Performance cores | 12 | — |
| Efficiency cores | 4 | — |
| Threads | 16+300% | 4 |
| Base clock | — | 2.5 GHz |
| Boost clock | 4.1 GHz+31% | 3.1 GHz |
| L3 cache | — | 4 MB |
Integrated GPU
| Spec | Apple M3 Max (16-core) | Intel Core i7-6500U |
|---|---|---|
| iGPU | Apple 40-core GPU | Intel HD Graphics 520 |
| iGPU clock | — | 1,050 MHz |
Memory
| Spec | Apple M3 Max (16-core) | Intel Core i7-6500U |
|---|---|---|
| Memory support | LPDDR5-6400 | DDR4-2133 / LPDDR3-1866 / DDR3L-1600 |
| Max memory | 128 GB+300% | 32 GB |
Benchmarks
| Spec | Apple M3 Max (16-core) | Intel Core i7-6500U |
|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (single) | 3,130Top 13% | — |
| Geekbench 6 (multi) | 21,200Top 10% | — |
| Cinebench R23 (single) | 1,950Top 25% | — |
| Cinebench R23 (multi) | 24,200Top 13% | — |
| PassMark | 41,192+1157%Top 13% | 3,276Bottom 4% |
| 3DMark Time Spy Graphics (iGPU) | — | 263Bottom 4% |
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