Difference Between M1 Pro And M1 Max Chip

For the MacBook computing lineup, Apple tripled the figures of its Silicon chip choices by introducing the very new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips in fall 2021. With the launch of M1 Pro & M1 Max, you can see considerable improvements as compared to the genuine M1. These silicon chips definitely increased the worth of Macs in the creative market and attracts professional consumers.

M1 Pro Available Model

M1 Max Available Model

Product	Name	Detail	Price
	M1 Max Chip Apple MacBook Pro 2021	10-core CPU, 8 performance cores, 2 efficiency cores 32-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine 400GB/s memory bandwidth	Buy Now

M1 Pro vs M1 Max

The system-on-chips (SoC) are manufactured by a long-term partner of Apple TSMC, which are the manufacturers of Apple’s A-series chips as well. Both these chips are manufactured on a 5-nanometer process that has a lot more benefits.

So here we will discuss the major aspects by which we can differentiate both the Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max Chips very easily. Let us move towards the most amazing comparison or chip guide without any kind of delay.

Here we will differentiate both these chips on the basis of their construction so that you will have a better sense of understanding on a brief note as well.

M1 Pro

As mentioned earlier, these chips are manufactured by Apple,s old partner TSMC. In the latest M1 Pro chip they have taken great care of the die size which in turn gave many plus points a swell. The die size was 5-nanometer which was half as compared to the older 10-nanometer Intel processor.
Because of the smaller size, there was an abrupt increase in the performance and the battery life of the machine as well. Besides the size, the number of transistors in M1 Pro is 33.7 billion which is double as compared to the first and the original M1 chip.

M1 Max

The die size for M1 Max was the same as well but the length is a little bit more than the M1 Pro chip. In the M1 Max, there are 57 billion transistors that mean it is 70% improved than the M1 Pro and the number of transistors is 3.5 times that of the original M1 chip. CPU elements of both these M1 Pro and M1 Max chips are the same almost but the major difference is in the core count of GPU.

As CPU is considered as the brain of any of the devices. With the CPU having more numbers of cores will give you a higher performance rate without any kind of lag or hassle as well.

M1 Pro

In the M1 Pro chip, you can have two configurations for the core count that are as follows:

• 8 cores configuration; comes up with two Icestorm “high-efficiency” cores and six Firestorm “high-performance” cores.
• The other version is 10 core; which comes up with two added high-performance cores which combined makes the number as 8 Firestorm cores and 2 Icestorm cores at the same time.

M1 Max

The M1 Max is available in only a single configuration which has 10 cores. This 10 core variant is just like the M1 Pro’s ten-core variant that has 2 high-efficiency “Icestorm” cores and 8 high-performance “Firestorm cores”.
Although according to the Apple M1 benchmarks, the performance of both these chips is the same the other factors like memory bandwidth, etc influence the overall performance as well. But the core count matters too because the Geekbench test of these two chips says that M1 Max is the highest performer in this unbiased battle.

A neural engine is used to perform all the tasks more efficiently by lowering down the power usage. You can perform your tasks without bothering the main CPU or GPU in a more energy-efficient way. The efficiency of the neural engine depends upon its number of cores.

M1 Pro

There is a 16-core Neural engine in the M1 Pro chip that aids in performing different tasks with greater efficiency and precision as well. It is actually a learning-based chip element by Apple which helps the CPU or GPU in performing computational tasks.

M1 Max

Just same as the M1 Pro, there are 16 cores present in the neural engine of the M1 MAx chip as well. The ML accelerators of the Central Processing Units grants permission to the neural engine to help in performing computational tasks that are not necessarily specified for CPUs.

The cores of the CPU and the Neural Engine are the basic things that measure the performance of any of the chips. The chip having more cores will perform better as compared to the one that has less number of core. So let us have a look at the cores’ performance of both these chips.

M1 Pro

The benchmark score of M1 Pro on the basis of the number of cores in our test was 1760 which is undoubtedly the best figure by this chip. This score was a little bit less as compared to the M1 Max’s score which shows the same high-end performance and efficiency on the basis of the cores of the CPU. But this chip performed better in the multi-core test than the M1 Max chip.

M1 Max

On the other hand, the benchmark test score of the M1 Max chip was 1769 and these figures are a little higher than the figures of the previously tested M1 Pro chip. These figures are on the basis of the CPU core test. But in the multicore test, the tables are turned the M1 Pro and the M1 Max managed to score 12437 and 12308 scores respectively. These figures indicate that the performance of the M1 Pro is better than the M1 Max. But MacBook Pro M1 vs Air M1 has great variance among performance as well.

With the launch of the M1 chip, Apple also changed the entire concept of memory. Minimizing the gap between the chip and the memory, Apple’s unified memory took over the SoC. The unified memory most importantly helps the machine to access data more quickly than diving into the GPU or CPU pools.

M1 Pro

In the original M1 chip, the unified memory capacity was 16 GB. But in the M1 Pro chip, Apple gave a range that starts from 16 GB, and the last variant has a capacity of 32 GB. You can get the model just according to your budget, requirements, and needs as well. Always try to choose a machine that fulfills your work requirements.

M1 Max

While on the other hand, the M1 Max chip has only two unified memory options that include the 32 GB variant and 64 GB variant as well. It is conditional and blurred as well that what would be the memory limit for the Apple M1 Chips but at the present moment the figure is 64 GB.

Graphics is another tangible relative area on the basis of which we can easily differentiate the performance of both these chips very easily. As in the new Apple MacBook with M1 chips, there is no separate GPU. Although Apple opted for relying upon the GPU with more core count that is integrated into the SoC.

M1 Pro

On the M1 Pro chip, Apple spends a budget on transistors as well o increase performance. In the M1 Pro model, you can get two GPU options that are 14 core GPU and 16 core GPU. The M1 Pro’s 16 core GPU is twice as faster as the previous M1 model that is a claim by Apple.

M1 Max

In the M1 Max chip, there are 24 core GPU and 32 core GPU options that will produce more sharp and vibrant gra[hics as compared to any of the previous models. Again in this version, Apple claims that this chip is again two times faster as compared to the M1 Pro model. And in its 32 core configuration, it is four times faster than the original M1.

For providing better performance to video-centric customers, Apple introduced an entirely new thing that the original M1 chip doesn’t even have. They added a media engine in the SoC of these chips. This section is devoted only to processing the videos that also saves battery life. There are encoding and decoding engines that have the capability to handle the videos more efficiently than the rest of the SoC.

M1 Pro

In the media engine of the M1 Pro chip, there is only a single video encode engine that will serve not more as compared as the M1 Max chip. So it is a clear win for the M1 Max in this round without any real struggle. But always try to buy such a machine that fits your budget and has the ability to fulfill all of your requirements as well.

M1 Max

In this media engine factor, Apple’s M1 Max is a step ahead of the M1 Pro because of its two videos encode engines that aid in processing the video more efficiently and in the nick of the time as well. The M1 Max chip with all these features is a bit expensive and can shake your budget completely.

In these M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, you can have different video out options because a large number of ports are now present in the latest MacBook having Mac Max. You can connect many screens with your M1 Max and M1 Pro chip just according to their compatibility and their serving ports as well.

M1 Pro

If you got an M1 Pro chip in your device then you can handle two 6K displays that are being driven by Apple MacBook Pro. Besides the number of displays, you can also see a difference in the quality of the video as compared to the previous and original M1 models.

M1 Max

The laptops having M1 Max chips can handle more displays and are a step forward than the M1 Pro chip. You can handle three 6K displays and the fourth 4K display monitor by using this highly performing M1 Max chip at a single time. So having a device with what M1 Max chip will serve more efficiently and precisely than the M1 Pro chip and it is no less than a blessing if you are a video editor.

Comparison Table M1 Pro vs M1 Max

FAQS

• Why are M1 Max and M1 Pro faster than the M1?
  When we talk about the processing speed and performance of the M1 Max and M1 Pro in comparison with the M1 chip then it is quite obvious that the newer models will have a better performance rate as well.

  In this regard, the first question that arises in the minds of the consumers is, “Is M1 Max Overkill?” So the easy answer to this question is, both the M1 Pro and M1 Max Chips are decently overkilled in terms of speed and performance. So if you want to get a MacBook for simple video or photo editing or web browsing then the simple M1 MacBook will serve you sufficiently as well.

• Does the M1 Chip make a difference?
  If we consider the speed in terms of numerics then this entirely new launched M1 Max chip is 3 times faster as compared to the previously present M1 chip. As it has a new component known as a video engine that will serve as a separate entity in performing and processing different videos as well. The speed of your laptop obviously depends upon the number of cores of CPU and GPU also, so the M1 Pro with 10 cores CPU is faster than the M1 and the M1 Max with 32 cores GPU is even more responsive than both the earlier described chips.

  An increased number of cores, Graphics with more cores, increased base memory, and quick unified memory as well. In addition to all these, there is a Media Engine, that will really aid you in different video editing tasks. By looking at these simple differences you will definitely understand the critical difference among these chips. But as a matter of fact, you can only say that M1 Max is faster than the M1 Pro which is more efficient and quick than the simple M1 chip.