18 Cores Crush 96-Core CPU! Apple M5 Max Scores

According to Tom's Hardware, Apple's latest powerhouse processor, the M5 Max, has delivered impressive Geekbench 6 benchmark results, surpassing many competitors in both CPU and GPU performance. The M5 Max's 18-core CPU achieved a single-core score of 4,353 and a multi-core score of 29,644, outperforming the previous M4 Max and even the 32-core M3 Ultra. Notably, it edged past the 96-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9995WX, which typically scores around 26,000 in multi-threaded workloads—though one benchmark run showed Threadripper slightly ahead at 30,170 points.

It's important to note that Geekbench 6 is a short, burst-style test designed to simulate common consumer tasks like file compression, PDF handling, and image editing. Its brief runtime and burst nature make it less suited for extremely high-core-count CPUs like the Threadripper, where many cores may remain underutilized. This scenario creates an ideal environment for processors like the M5 Max, whose per-core performance has evolved significantly over previous generations. Geekbench 6 is a synthetic benchmark, reflecting hardware potential but not necessarily real-world application performance.

The M5 Max features a maximum configuration with six "Super Corres" performance cores running at 4.61 GHz, boasting higher front-end bandwidth, enhanced branch prediction, and a new cache hierarchy for unmatched single-core performance. It also includes 12 additional performance cores for high-efficiency multi-threaded workloads. While microarchitecture details of the Super Corres cores remain undisclosed, the M5 Max shows a clear 12% single-core performance improvement over the M4 Max.

On the memory side, the M5 Max supports up to 128 GB of LPDDR5X-9600 memory over a 512-bit interface, achieving 614 GB/s bandwidth—12% faster than the M4 Max's 546 GB/s. This level of memory throughput remains unmatched by any workstation CPU and plays a key role in boosting single-core and multi-core performance.

The GPU has also been significantly upgraded. The M5 Max integrates a new 40-core GPU based on Apple's PowerVR-derived architecture, scoring 232,718 points in Geekbench 6 Metal GPU tests, compared to the M4 Max's 204,453 points. This new GPU outperforms the integrated GPU in the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (133,447 points) and even exceeds the performance of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (207,061 points, Vulkan), though it falls short of the RTX 5070 Ti (253,890 points, Vulkan).

Overall, the M5 Max sets a new benchmark for high-performance Apple processors, combining leading-edge single-thread and multi-thread performance with industry-leading memory bandwidth and a powerful integrated GPU, making it a standout choice for demanding professional workloads.