Apple M3 vs Apple M3 Max

The M3 Max delivers 4.6x the FP32 throughput of the M3 (16 vs 3.5 TFLOPS dense). The M3 Max also carries 104 GB more memory (128 GB vs 24 GB).

M3: Apple M3, 2023 M3 Max: Apple M3, 2023

FP32 dense lead

4.6x

M3 Max: 16 vs 3.5 TFLOPS

Memory

24 vs 128 GB

104 GB more for the M3 Max

Bandwidth

100 GB/s vs 400 GB/s

M3 Max moves data faster

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Apple M3

Full specs →

What is the Apple M3?

The M3 is an APU from Apple on the Apple M3 architecture, an processor that pairs CPU and GPU on one chip. It is a system-on-chip, so it is built into edge and embedded devices rather than sold as a card. M3 full specifications →

Can I rent the M3 in the cloud?

Flopper is not tracking any live rental listings for the M3 yet. The provider directory lists the clouds that rent comparable accelerators on demand. GPU cloud providers →

How does the M3 compare with other accelerators?

This page sets the M3 against the M3 Max. Both parts launched in the same year. Both are Apple parts, and both ship as a system-on-chip, so they fit the same class of system. The compare tool builds the same comparison for any two parts in the catalogue. All GPU comparisons →

Where do the M3 figures come from?

Apple published the M3 figures in marketing material rather than a datasheet, and Flopper has no independent confirmation of them. How Flopper verifies specifications →

Apple M3 Max

Leads on FP32 Full specs →

What is the Apple M3 Max?

The M3 Max is an APU from Apple on the Apple M3 architecture, an processor that pairs CPU and GPU on one chip. It is a system-on-chip, so it is built into edge and embedded devices rather than sold as a card. M3 Max full specifications →

Can I rent the M3 Max in the cloud?

Flopper is not tracking any live rental listings for the M3 Max yet. The provider directory lists the clouds that rent comparable accelerators on demand. GPU cloud providers →

How does the M3 Max compare with other accelerators?

This page sets the M3 Max against the M3. Both parts launched in the same year. Both are Apple parts, and both ship as a system-on-chip, so they fit the same class of system. The compare tool builds the same comparison for any two parts in the catalogue. All GPU comparisons →

Where do the M3 Max figures come from?

Apple published the M3 Max figures in marketing material rather than a datasheet, and Flopper has no independent confirmation of them. How Flopper verifies specifications →

Specifications

M3 Max

Architecture

Apple M3Apple M3

Launch Year

20232023

Form Factor

SoCSoC

Memory

24 GB128 GB

Memory Bandwidth

100 GB/s400 GB/s

TDP

——

Process Node

3nm3nm

Spec

M3 Max

Architecture Apple M3Apple M3

Launch Year 20232023

Form Factor SoCSoC

Memory 24 GB128 GB

Memory Bandwidth 100 GB/s400 GB/s

TDP ——

Process Node 3nm3nm

Performance (TFLOPS)

M3 Max

3.5 TFLOPS 16 TFLOPS

FP6

Precision

M3 Max

3.5 TFLOPS 16 TFLOPS

FP6

Figures are dense. Where a vendor publishes a figure it sits under the dense one and never decides a winner. Hover any precision for its definition, or read the GPU glossary.

FLOPS by Precision

What actually differs

Both launched in 2023, the M3 on Apple M3 and the M3 Max on Apple M3.

The M3 Max carries 104 GB more memory (128 GB against 24 GB), so larger models fit on one GPU before you shard. Bandwidth is 100 GB/s against 400 GB/s, which sets the ceiling on decode speed.

Weight the FP8 and FP16 rows for LLM work and the FP64 row for HPC.

New to the terms? The glossary explains FP32, Sparsity and TFLOPS.

Frequently asked questions

Is the M3 faster than the M3 Max?

At FP32 precision the M3 Max reaches 16 TFLOPS dense against 3.5 TFLOPS for the M3. The performance table on this page lists every published precision for both GPUs.

Which should you choose, the M3 or the M3 Max?

Choose the M3 Max for training and high-throughput inference: it has 4.6x the FP32 throughput of the M3. It also carries 104 GB more memory, so larger models fit on one GPU before you shard.

Which has more memory, the M3 or the M3 Max?

The M3 Max carries 128 GB of memory versus 24 GB for the M3. Memory bandwidth is 100 GB/s for the M3 and 400 GB/s for the M3 Max.

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Apple M3 vs Apple M3 Max

Apple M3

What is the Apple M3?

Can I rent the M3 in the cloud?

How does the M3 compare with other accelerators?

Where do the M3 figures come from?

Apple M3 Max

What is the Apple M3 Max?

Can I rent the M3 Max in the cloud?

How does the M3 Max compare with other accelerators?

Where do the M3 Max figures come from?

Specifications

Performance (TFLOPS)

FLOPS by Precision

What actually differs

Frequently asked questions

Is the M3 faster than the M3 Max?

Which should you choose, the M3 or the M3 Max?

Which has more memory, the M3 or the M3 Max?

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