Apple has delivered another performance boost with the M5 Max. The first Geekbench 6 results for a 16-inch MacBook Pro with this chip have surfaced, showing scores that stand out even in direct comparison with Apple's most powerful Silicon models. What's particularly striking is not just the raw performance, but also its ranking: a new notebook chip surpasses a significantly larger desktop chip from Apple itself in key areas.
This makes the M5 Max one of the most exciting Apple chips in recent memory. Initial figures suggest that Apple has once again made significant gains in CPU and GPU performance. While the results are not yet officially confirmed, this initial data set is already sufficient to paint a fairly clear picture. The first Geekbench 6 result for a 16-inch MacBook Pro with the Apple M5 Max has been published, and the chip has immediately set a new record. In the multi-core test, the M5 Max, with its 18-core CPU, achieves 29,233 points. This surpasses the M3 Ultra in Mac Studio, which, with its 32-core CPU, averages 27,726 points.
This makes the M5 Max currently the fastest Apple Silicon chip ever, at least based on the benchmark data available so far. It also outperforms all other consumer PC processors currently listed in the Geekbench database.
The single-core performance and graphics also show very strong results. In summary, according to initial findings, the M5 Max delivers up to 15 percent more CPU performance and up to 20 percent more GPU performance than the M4 Max. This corresponds to the performance figures provided by Apple itself.
The first benchmark shows: Apple is outdoing itself
The focus is on the first known Geekbench 6 score for the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Max. The chip achieves 29,233 points in the multi-core benchmark. This is remarkable because it not only clearly surpasses its direct predecessor but also the most powerful chip in Apple's Silicon family to date.
Multi-core CPU results at a glance
For comparison:
- 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max (18-core CPU): 29,233 points
- Mac Studio with M3 Ultra (32-core CPU): 27,726 points on average across all results
- Mac Studio with M4 Max (16-core CPU): 26,166 points on average across all results
- 16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Max (16-core CPU): 25,702 points on average across all results
These figures reveal a clear difference. The M5 Max is up to 5 percent faster than the M3 Ultra in multi-core CPU performance. Compared to the M4 Max, the lead is even as high as 14 to 15 percent.
The comparison with the M3 Ultra is particularly striking, as that chip uses a 32-core CPU, while the M5 Max manages with 18 cores. The fact that Apple achieves a higher multi-core score with fewer CPU cores suggests significant improvements in architecture, efficiency, and clock speed.
Record-breaking single-core performance
The M5 Max also delivers an exceptionally strong result in the single-core test. In the same Geekbench entry, the chip achieves 4,268 points. This value matches that of the standard M5 chip, which is used in the base 14-inch MacBook Pro and was introduced in October.
According to this data, Apple has achieved the highest single-core score ever recorded by a consumer PC processor. It even surpasses the AMD Ryzen 9 series in this area.
This isn't just a minor point. High single-core performance remains crucial for many applications, especially where not every task is perfectly distributed across multiple cores. Accordingly, the M5 Max performs strongly not only on paper, but also under typical professional workloads.
Apple has also made significant improvements in graphics
It's not just the CPU performance that's impressive in the M5 Max. The GPU also shows a noticeable improvement. The chip features a 40-core GPU and, in initial Metal benchmark results, achieved 218,772 points in one test and 232,718 points in another. These scores place it between two well-known Apple graphics classes:
- They are between 5 and 10 percent below the average Metal score of the high-end M3 Ultra, which is 245,053 points.
- At the same time, they are slightly more than 20 percent above the average metal score of the high-end M4 Max, which achieves 191,600 points.
That's a strong result. While the M5 Max falls slightly short of the M3 Ultra in graphics performance, it comes surprisingly close. At the same time, it clearly outperforms the M4 Max. For a notebook, that's a remarkable level of performance.
CPU and GPU compared to the M4 Max
Overall, there is a clear performance increase compared to its predecessor. According to initial benchmark data, the M5 Max offers:
- Up to 15 percent faster CPU performance
- Up to 20 percent faster GPU performance
each in comparison to the M4 Max.
These results align with the specifications provided by Apple itself. The benchmarks thus reinforce the impression that Apple is not delivering a minor step forward with the M5 Max, but rather a significant generational leap.
Why the M5 Max stands out so much
The real point isn't just that the chip is fast. What's particularly striking is how Apple distributes the performance. The M5 Max is housed in a 16-inch MacBook Pro, a mobile device. Nevertheless, it outperforms the M3 Ultra in the Mac Studio in multi-core performance—a chip clearly designed for desktop use.
Add to that the record-breaking single-core performance and a GPU that performs closer to an ultra-high-performance chip than one would typically expect in this device class. This is precisely what makes the M5 Max so compelling: Apple has packed very high performance into a notebook without the results feeling like a minor improvement.
It's important to note that the Geekbench 6 result reported so far is not yet confirmed. It's an initial data set. Nevertheless, this value is relevant because it already allows for a fairly concrete assessment.
Pre-order and market launch
The new MacBook Pro models, including the M5 Pro and M5 Max, are available for pre-order now. Customer deliveries and retail launches begin on March 11th.
This also makes it clear that independent tests and further benchmark results should be available soon. Then it will become clear how stable the previously known values are across a broader range of tests.
Apple M5 Max sets new standards in CPU and GPU
The first known benchmark of the Apple M5 Max paints a very clear picture. 29,233 points in the multi-core test, 4,268 points in the single-core test, and Metal scores of 218,772 and 232,718 points respectively indicate a chip that comes to the top in several disciplines.
According to these initial results, the M5 Max is the fastest Apple Silicon chip ever. It surpasses the M3 Ultra in multi-core CPU performance, significantly outperforms the M4 Max, and achieves graphics performance that is clearly superior to its predecessor and only falls short of the high-end M3 Ultra.
In short, with the M5 Max, Apple has unveiled a chip that once again raises the bar for its own performance. If these initial figures are confirmed in further tests, then the new 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Max will be among the most powerful mobile systems Apple has ever built. (Image: Apple)
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