Apple has already shown what the M5 chip can do. If you have read about it here, you will know it is no slouch. Now Apple is taking things several steps further with the M5 Pro and M5 Max, the new heavy hitters powering the latest MacBook Pro.
Both chips are built on Apple’s new Fusion Architecture, which links two third-generation 3-nanometer dies into a single system-on-a-chip. Inside sits a new 18-core CPU with six super cores and twelve performance cores designed for power-efficient multithreaded workloads. Apple says this setup delivers up to 30 percent better performance in pro workflows.
Graphics also get a serious lift. The next-generation GPU scales up to 40 cores and includes a Neural Accelerator in every GPU core. Combined with higher unified memory bandwidth, the chips deliver more than four times the peak GPU compute for AI compared to the previous generation. Ray-traced graphics also see up to a 35 percent boost.
M5 Pro is aimed at creators, engineers, and developers who need strong CPU and GPU power with unified memory up to 64 GB and bandwidth up to 307 GB/s. M5 Max takes things further with an up-to-40-core GPU and support for up to 128 GB unified memory with bandwidth up to 614 GB/s.
Both chips also include a faster 16-core Neural Engine, Apple’s latest Media Engine, and Thunderbolt 5 support.
Spec highlights:
M5 Pro
18-core CPU (six super cores + twelve performance cores), up to 20-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, 16-core Neural Engine, up to 64 GB unified memory, up to 307 GB/s unified memory bandwidth, third-generation 3 nm process, hardware ray tracing, Thunderbolt 5 support.
M5 Max
18-core CPU (six super cores + twelve performance cores), up to 40-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, 16-core Neural Engine, up to 128 GB unified memory, up to 614 GB/s unified memory bandwidth, third-generation 3 nm process, hardware ray tracing, Thunderbolt 5 support.
Images: Apple.