Apple has done it again. Geekbench 6 results for the upcoming M5 Max system have been released online, and they must cause a huge stir in the industry.
The Macbook marked “Mac17.7” achieved numbers in the Geekbench 6 test that make us redefine the concept of performance in personal computers. With the result 4,268 points in the single-core test and a staggering 29,233 points in multi-core operationsApple’s new unit becomes the fastest processor ever to leave Cupertino. What’s particularly impressive is that the M5 Max easily outperforms the previously top M3 Ultra chip (by over 5% in the multi-core test), which puts it at the very top of Apple’s hierarchy.
A ruthless fight against the x86 giants
As a reminder, the Apple M5 Max system consists of 18 cores, 6 of which belong to the efficient cluster clocked at 4.6 GHz, and 12 are in the economical cluster, which operates at a lower load. Therefore, this is not a number of cores that would significantly differ from what the x86 competition offers. However, if someone was counting on Intel or AMD to prepare an effective response this year, these results may be a cold shower for them. The M5 Max shows a brutal advantage when compared to the latest x86 units. System The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX lags by about 34% in multi-core testsand the newest one AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 “Strix Halo” loses as much as 25% to the giant with the bitten apple logo. The biggest surprise, however, is the fact that the Apple M5 Max takes no prisoners even when compared to typical desktop processors. The data indicates that this unit is even ahead of the flagship Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X models.
The real icing on the cake, and where the competition might start to feel real concern, is when compared to professional multi-core systems. It turns out that the 18-core M5 Max can outperform the 64-core monster Threadripper 9980X by over 6%. Of course, it is worth using common sense – a single synthetic test does not always fully reflect how the equipment will cope with specific, professional everyday tasks. Especially since Geekbench 6 is not the best optimized test in terms of using as many cores as in the Threadripper system.
Nevertheless, the performance jump of the Apple M5 Max over its immediate predecessor, the M4 Max, by 9% in the single-core and 14% in the multi-core test, clearly shows that the upcoming line of Apple computers will have nothing to be ashamed of. If this is followed by GPU performance, Apple can make a lot of noise on the portable computer market. In addition, thanks to computers such as Macbook Neo, it will significantly expand its audience, which will no longer be ignored by the gaming industry. The year 2026 promises to be extremely exciting for macOS fans.
