Apple's M5 Max Chip Offers Notable Boost for Older MacBook Users

Apple's latest MacBook lineup, featuring the new M5 Max chip, presents a significant upgrade for users with older laptops, particularly those with models from three years ago. While the new MacBooks maintain the same design as last year's versions, they offer faster SSDs that could entice users to consider upgrading. The standout feature of the 2026 models is their ability to deliver up to twice the sustained read and write speeds compared to the M4 laptops. Testing revealed that the 16-inch MacBook Pro with a 4TB SSD achieved read speeds of 13.6GB/s and write speeds of 17.8GB/s, marking an 86 percent increase in read speed and a 123 percent increase in write speed over the M4 Max.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro's configuration includes an M5 Max chip with 18 CPU cores, 40 GPU cores, 128GB of memory, and a 4TB SSD. Compared to the M4 Max, which had 16 CPU cores and the same GPU core count, the M5 Max introduces a new core architecture. It features six super cores and 12 redesigned performance cores optimized for power-efficient, multi-threaded workloads. The efficiency cores remain part of the base M5 chip but are absent from the Pro and Max models.

In single-core CPU tests, the M5 Max's new super core provides an eight to nine percent performance boost in benchmarks like Geekbench 6 and Cinebench. Multicore performance shows a 10 percent improvement in Geekbench CPU multicore tests and a 14 percent increase in Cinebench 2026, despite the M5 Max having only 12.5 percent more cores than the M4 Max. Further testing is needed to fully understand the impact of the new core architecture, especially in workloads that utilize multiple cores over extended periods.

GPU enhancements are more straightforward, with the M5 Max's GPU cores delivering a 26 percent improvement in the OpenCL framework and an 18 percent increase in Metal graphics rendering. The M5 Max also reduced the time for a 4K Premiere Pro export test by eight seconds compared to the M4 Max, representing a 10 percent improvement.

While the M5 Max's performance gains may not justify an upgrade from an M4 Max, they are more pronounced when compared to older models like the M2 Max from 2023. The M5 Max offers a 55 percent increase in single CPU core performance and nearly doubles multicore performance in Geekbench 6. In GPU tests, Metal rendering performance improved by 64 percent, and Premiere Pro 4K export times were reduced by 30 percent. These substantial gains highlight the M5 Max as a compelling upgrade for users with older laptops, particularly those with the M2 Max, who are experiencing performance limitations.

Overall, the M5 Max chip provides a significant performance boost for users with older MacBooks, offering faster SSD speeds and improved CPU and GPU capabilities. However, for those with more recent models like the M4 Max, the improvements may not be as compelling, aside from the enhanced SSD performance. A full review of the new MacBooks is forthcoming.