Apple M2 Max 30-Core GPU vs GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB GA104

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the rankingnot ratednot rated
Place by popularity51not in top-100
ArchitectureAmpere (2020−2024)no data
GPU code nameGA104no data
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date1 September 2021 (3 years ago)17 January 2023 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$329 no data

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores358430
Core clock speed1320 MHzno data
Boost clock speed1777 MHzno data
Number of transistors17,400 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology8 nm5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)170 Wattno data
Texture fill rate199.0no data
Floating-point processing power12.74 TFLOPSno data
ROPs48no data
TMUs112no data
Tensor Cores112no data
Ray Tracing Cores28no data

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop sizeno datamedium sized
InterfacePCIe 4.0 x16no data
Length242 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 12-pinno data

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR6LPDDR5-6400
Maximum RAM amount12 GBno data
Memory bus width192 Bitno data
Memory clock speed1875 MHzno data
Memory bandwidth360.0 GB/sno data
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4ano data
HDMI+-

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 Ultimate (12_2)no data
Shader Model6.6no data
OpenGL4.6no data
OpenCL3.0no data
Vulkan1.3-
CUDA8.6-

Pros & cons summary


Recency 1 September 2021 17 January 2023
Chip lithography 8 nm 5 nm

Apple M2 Max 30-Core GPU has an age advantage of 1 year, and a 60% more advanced lithography process.

We couldn't decide between GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB GA104 and Apple M2 Max 30-Core GPU. We've got no test results to judge.

Be aware that GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB GA104 is a desktop card while Apple M2 Max 30-Core GPU is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB GA104
GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB GA104
Apple M2 Max 30-Core GPU
M2 Max 30-Core GPU

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


4.2 1598 votes

Rate GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB GA104 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.4 112 votes

Rate Apple M2 Max 30-Core GPU on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.