The most powerful among them, the M3 Max, boasts a 16-core CPU (including 12 performance and four efficiency cores), a 40-core GPU, and support for up to a remarkable 128GB of RAM. Apple claims it’s a substantial 80 percent faster than the M1 Max. Additionally, it incorporates two ProRes engines, catering to even the most demanding video professionals.
An important distinction is that the M3 chips mark a significant shift as the first PC chips built on a 3-nanometer process, moving beyond the M1 and M2’s 5nm process. This increased transistor density translates to improved power efficiency and overall performance. Apple highlights that the M3’s performance cores are 15 percent faster than the M2’s, while the efficiency cores exhibit a 30 percent boost.
Apple’s introduction of the 3nm A17 Pro for the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro recently aligns with this strategy, emphasizing their dedication to smaller, more efficient chipsets. Meanwhile, competitors like AMD introduced their 4nm Ryzen 7040 chip, and Intel plans to launch its Core Ultra Meteor Lake laptop chips in December, built on the “Intel 4” platform (using a 7nm process). The variations in architectures and technologies make direct processing node size comparisons challenging, but Apple’s 3nm process places it ahead of the PC world for now.
