Xeon E-2478 vs Apple M2 Max
Aggregate performance score
Xeon E-2478 outperforms Apple M2 Max by a moderate 12% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Apple M2 Max and Xeon E-2478 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 385 | 312 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 82.50 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Server |
| Series | Apple M-Series | no data |
| Power efficiency | 20.10 | 22.22 |
| Architecture codename | no data | Raptor Lake-S (2023−2024) |
| Release date | 17 January 2023 (1 year ago) | 14 December 2023 (less than a year ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $568 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Apple M2 Max and Xeon E-2478 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.
| Physical cores | 12 (Dodeca-Core) | 8 (Octa-Core) |
| Threads | 12 | 16 |
| Base clock speed | 2.424 GHz | 2.8 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.7 GHz | 5.2 GHz |
| Bus rate | no data | 16 GT/s |
| L1 cache | 3.3 MB | 80 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 36 MB | 2 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 48 MB | 24 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 5 nm | Intel 7 nm |
| Die size | no data | 257 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 100 °C |
| Number of transistors | 67000 Million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
Compatibility
Information on Apple M2 Max and Xeon E-2478 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.
| Number of CPUs in a configuration | no data | 1 |
| Socket | no data | FCLGA1700 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 79 Watt | 80 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Apple M2 Max and Xeon E-2478. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | - | + |
| AVX | - | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | + |
Security technologies
Apple M2 Max and Xeon E-2478 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Apple M2 Max and Xeon E-2478 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Apple M2 Max and Xeon E-2478. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR5-4800 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU | N/A |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Apple M2 Max and Xeon E-2478.
| PCIe version | no data | 5 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 16 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
Passmark
Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 17.41 | 19.49 |
| Recency | 17 January 2023 | 14 December 2023 |
| Physical cores | 12 | 8 |
| Threads | 12 | 16 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 79 Watt | 80 Watt |
Apple M2 Max has 50% more physical cores, and 1.3% lower power consumption.
Xeon E-2478, on the other hand, has a 11.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 10 months, and 33.3% more threads.
The Xeon E-2478 is our recommended choice as it beats the Apple M2 Max in performance tests.
Be aware that Apple M2 Max is a notebook processor while Xeon E-2478 is a server/workstation one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Apple M2 Max and Xeon E-2478, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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