Intel
Core Ultra 5 245K
Arrow Lake · 14C/14T · 125 W · LGA1851
81
/ 100
From $309
VS
Apple M4 Max wins by 16
Apple
Apple M4 Max
16C CPU · 40C GPU · 16-core Neural Engine
97
/ 100
From $1,299
Specdex verdict
Apple M4 Max takes it — here’s why.
In our weighted Specdex score, Core Ultra 5 245K lands at 81 and Apple M4 Max at 97. That puts Apple M4 Max ahead by 16 points — a decisive margin driven mostly by its strengths in the categories below.
Pick Core Ultra 5 245K if…
- ✓Strong per-core performance
- ✓Hybrid P/E cores (12th gen+)
- ✓Wide platform availability
Pick Apple M4 Max if…
- ✓Industry-best perf-per-watt
- ✓128 GB unified memory option
- ✓Hardware ray-tracing
Core Ultra 5 245K 81
vs 97 Apple M4 Max
Score breakdown
Core Ultra 5 245K
81 single 83
multi 81
gaming 80
efficiency 83
Apple M4 Max
97 single 98
multi 96
gaming 82
efficiency 100
Specs side-by-side
| Spec | Core Ultra 5 245K | Apple M4 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Arrow Lake | — |
| Cores | 14 | ▲ 16 (12P+4E) |
| Threads | 14 | ▲ 16 |
| TDP | 125 W | — |
| Socket | LGA1851 | — |
| Release year | 2024 | — |
| Memory bandwidth | — | 546 GB/s |
| Neural engine | — | 16-core, 38 TOPS |
| Process | — | TSMC N3E |
| Max memory | — | 128 GB unified |
Core Ultra 5 245K
Pros
- +Strong per-core performance
- +Hybrid P/E cores (12th gen+)
- +Wide platform availability
Cons
- −Power draw on top SKUs
- −Frequent socket changes
- −Arrow Lake gaming regressions
Apple M4 Max
Pros
- +Industry-best perf-per-watt
- +128 GB unified memory option
- +Hardware ray-tracing
Cons
- −Apple ecosystem lock-in
- −Not user-replaceable
- −Limited Windows gaming
FAQ: Core Ultra 5 245K vs Apple M4 Max
Which is better, Core Ultra 5 245K or Apple M4 Max? +
Apple M4 Max scores 97 on our weighted rubric — ahead by 16. Your best pick depends on the sub-scores above.
Is Core Ultra 5 245K worth the price? +
At $309, Core Ultra 5 245K delivers a Specdex score of 81 — strongest in single.
Is Apple M4 Max worth the price? +
At $1,299, Apple M4 Max delivers a Specdex score of 97 — strongest in efficiency.
Does Core Ultra 5 245K or Apple M4 Max last longer? +
Based on our long-term update and support ratings, both ship with multi-year support. Battery and reliability scores are visible in the breakdown above.