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Apple M2 Max (12-core)
A creator chip built around bandwidth: the same 8P+4E CPU as the M2 Pro fed by 400GB/s and up to a 38-core GPU. For video and 3D work it justified itself; for pure CPU tasks the Pro did the same job for less.
Pros
- 38-core GPU roughly doubles M2 Pro graphics
- 400GB/s bandwidth with up to 96GB memory
- Dedicated ProRes engines for video pipelines
- Strong sustained efficiency for a creator chip
Cons
- CPU barely faster than the cheaper M2 Pro
- 5nm efficiency clearly behind the 3nm M3 family
- Big premium for GPU-bound gains only
Average
Computed from specs & benchmarks via our public methodology.
Full specifications
Everything we track for the Apple M2 Max (12-core)
General
- Announced
- 2023
- Process
- 5 nm
Cores & Clocks
- Cores
- 12
- Performance cores
- 8
- Efficiency cores
- 4
- Threads
- 12
- Boost clock
- 3.7 GHz
Integrated GPU
- iGPU
- Apple 38-core GPU
Memory
- Memory support
- LPDDR5-6400
- Max memory
- 96 GB
Benchmarks
- Geekbench 6 (single)
- 2,760Top 34%
- Geekbench 6 (multi)
- 14,500Top 29%
- Cinebench R23 (single)
- 1,600Bottom 41%
- Cinebench R23 (multi)
- 14,600Top 38%
- PassMark
- 26,834Top 28%
Quick answers
Is the Apple M2 Max (12-core) good in 2026?
The Apple M2 Max (12-core) earns an Inno Score of 59.1/100 (“Average”) based on its specs and benchmark results. A creator chip built around bandwidth: the same 8P+4E CPU as the M2 Pro fed by 400GB/s and up to a 38-core GPU. For video and 3D work it justified itself; for pure CPU tasks the Pro did the same job for less.
Does the Apple M2 Max (12-core) count as "Core i7 or equivalent"?
Its PassMark CPU Mark average is 26,834 (cpubenchmark.net, retrieved Sep 26, 2026), which puts it in Tier A of our CPU tier checker: current Core i7 H / Core Ultra 7 / Ryzen 7 class and above. It is an Arm-based chip, so a requirement that asks specifically for an Intel or AMD (x86-64) processor excludes it. Requirement pages word this differently, so check the exact wording with your department.
What are the key specs of the Apple M2 Max (12-core)?
Cores: 12 · Threads: 12 · Boost clock: 3.7 GHz
What are the closest alternatives to the Apple M2 Max (12-core)?
Its closest rivals on InnoReviews are AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS, AMD Ryzen 7 7840U, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 — open the comparison pages for a spec-by-spec breakdown.
