The new year has just begun, which only means that we should prepare ourselves for the M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra launch to happen in the first half. Given that the M5 impressed thoroughly in a gaming test where the chipset obtained a 190 percent higher framerate in Cyberpunk 2077 compared to the M4 with ray tracing enabled, we can only guess what the M5 Max is capable of. Thankfully, an estimated benchmark comparison involving this title and one more shows the kind of performance to expect, and based on the numbers you’re about to see, the M5 Max runs circles around the M4 Max and is faster than NVIDIA’s laptop version of the RTX 5070 Ti.
Apple could retain the same number of cores on the M5 Max as the M4 Max, but a slightly improved architecture could mean that users can incorporate more GPU cores to maximize graphics performance
A Reddit user with the handle Cheap-Ability9453 took the time to provide a performance comparison of various NVIDIA desktop and laptop GPUs, comparing those chips with the M4 Max and Apple’s upcoming M5 Max. Two games, Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin’s Creed Shadows, were tested, with the resolution set at 1080p and the ultra settings preset. The Redditor states that the data has been taken from Notebookcheck, with the M5 Max’s estimated performance likely accumulated with past Apple Silicon releases and the performance uplifts obtained per generation.
Based on the gaming results, the M5 Max is an absolute unit compared to the M4 Max, securing a 47 percent faster framerate than the M4 Max with 125FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, while obtaining 51FPS in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, registering an impressive 54.5 percent difference compared. Compared to the laptop RTX 5070 Ti, the M5 Max is marginally faster while only being a hairline slower than the desktop RTX 4070 in Cyberpunk 2077. As for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the laptop RTX 5070 Ti gains a slight lead against the M5 Max. The detailed comparison is given below:
Cyberpunk 2077 1080p Ultra settings preset
- M5 Max - 125FPS
- M4 Max - 85FPS (M5 Max is 47 percent faster)
- Laptop RTX 5070 Ti - 120FPS (M5 Max is 4 percent faster)
- Desktop RTX 5060 - 111FPS (M5 Max is 12.6 percent faster)
- Desktop RTX 4070 - 126FPS (M5 Max is 0.79 percent slower)
Assassin’s Creed Shadows 1080p Ultra settings preset
- M5 Max - 51FPS
- M4 Max - 33FPS (M5 Max is 54.5 percent faster)
- Laptop RTX 5070 Ti - 53FPS (M5 Max is 3.77 percent slower)
- Desktop RTX 5060 - 43FPS (M5 Max is 18.6 percent faster)
- Desktop RTX 4070 - 55FPS (M5 Max is 7.27 percent slower)
While we are impressed with what the M5 Max can supposedly bring to the table in terms of gaming, the cynic in us will always have some unanswered questions, as not everything can be taken at face value. Of course, readers will likely have similar questions and concerns, which we have discussed below.
Potential concerns about the M5 Max's estimated performance results
Despite the M5 Max's potential to be an impressive performer, we cannot confirm its capabilities without knowing its GPU core count, which wasn’t mentioned in the estimated benchmark comparison. Sure, the M4 Max’s 40-core GPU was likely used for the two games, but there are other details missing. For instance, we don’t know if Apple’s MetalFX upscaling and frame generation were enabled, or if ray tracing was toggled in both titles to achieve the aforementioned framerates.
We have talked at length about how Apple’s demo of running Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on an M4 Max at 120FPS would not have been possible with path tracing enabled, and there would need to be some form of upscaling and frame generation technology used to reach this performance level. Unfortunately, none of these additions are mentioned in the post, so while we have high hopes for the M5 Max, we don’t want to mislead readers and recommend that they treat this information with a pinch of salt and wait for future updates.
News Source: Reddit
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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