Apple claims its recently revealed M1 Max silicon chip touts several times the GPU performance of current M1 processors, and that does look to be the case. Geekbench put the new chip’s GPU to the test, and the initial results are in, showing there is, in fact, a marked improvement. Geekbench stresses all of a processor’s cores simultaneously, then calibrates the results against a baseline of 1,000 points (derived from an Intel Core i3-8100). The higher the score, the better the performance, and the M1 Max has so far earned a Metal score of 68,870. For perspective, the M1 used in the 13-inch MacBook Pro has a Metal score of 20,581—roughly one-third of the M1 Max’s. So it’s closer to three times faster (rather than the proclaimed four times faster) compared to the older chip, but this is also just the first GPU benchmark test. As MacRumors points out, the test doesn’t specify if it’s using the 24-core or 32-core version of the M1 Max. According to these initial Geekbench results, the M1 Max still manages to out-pace every other Apple computer (laptop or desktop) in single-core performance. And when it comes to multi-core speeds, only higher-end Mac Pro and iMac Pro systems can beat it. Also, bear in mind it’s attaining this level of performance while, according to Apple, using up to 40% less power. Currently, the M1 Max will be available as an option for the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, which will be available on October 26. The M1 Max version of the laptops will cost $3,099 and $3,499, respectively. Correction - October 21, 2021: This article has been corrected to include the 14-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro in the final paragraph.
