Apple M5 Pro and M5 Max Unveil New M-Core Tier and SoIC 2.5D Design
Quick Report
Apple has introduced M5 Pro and M5 Max for new MacBook Pro systems, and TechPowerUp reports these chips bring a new CPU hierarchy centered on a mid-tier M-core class. The report describes an 18-core CPU layout with six super cores and 12 M-cores, while the traditional efficiency-core tier is absent in these SKUs.
On the graphics side, TPU says M5 Pro carries a 20-core iGPU and M5 Max scales to a 40-core iGPU, with both clocked at 1.62 GHz. Memory is listed as LPDDR5X at 9,600 MT/s, with up to 64 GB on M5 Pro and up to 128 GB on M5 Max, alongside larger cache allocation on the Max variant.
A key architectural shift is Apple's move to TSMC's SoIC-MH 2.5D packaging, which separates CPU/NPU and GPU components rather than relying on a single large monolithic approach. According to the report, this could improve scalability and yield by allowing Apple to size CPU and GPU portions more independently across future SKU designs.
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