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M4 vs M5 on MacDiff’s M1=100 scale
M5 is the newest base Apple silicon generation in this catalog. On MacDiff, base M4 lands at CPU 149–167 / GPU 151–192, while base M5 sits at CPU 203 / GPU 220–253. Treat Geekbench headlines as a different universe.
On MacDiff, M4 bins with models in the catalog run CPU 149–293 (×1.49–×2.93) and GPU 151–623. M5 bins run CPU 203–337 (×2.03–×3.37) and GPU 220–776. The scale is the entry-level M1 Air at 100/100.
The lowest M5 CPU bin is 54 points above the lowest M4 CPU bin on this scale. Ultra/Max bins sit much higher on GPU than on CPU — that is expected on MacDiff.
News posts often quote Geekbench scores for M5. MacDiff will not match those integers. Cite a specific model or bin URL and state M1 Air = 100.
Bottom line
Pick M5 when you want the highest base-chip MacDiff CPU class in the Air/entry-Pro band (203) and can use the GPU bump to 220–253. Stay on M4 when price or “good enough at 167/192” wins.
Representative configs
| Side | Config | Chip | CPU | GPU | Mem | Storage | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacBook Air | M4 (10-CPU/10-GPU), 16GB, 512 | M4 (10-CPU/10-GPU) | 167 | 192 | 16 GB | 512 GB | $1099 |
| MacBook Air | M5 (10-CPU/8-GPU), 16GB, 512 | M5 (10-CPU/8-GPU) | 203 | 220 | 16 GB | 512 GB | $1099 |
| MacBook Air | M5 (10-CPU/10-GPU), 16GB, 512 | M5 (10-CPU/10-GPU) | 203 | 253 | 16 GB | 512 GB | — |
| MacBook Air | M5 (10-CPU/10-GPU), 16GB, 512 | M5 (10-CPU/10-GPU) | 203 | 253 | 16 GB | 512 GB | $1299 |
| MacBook Pro | M5 (10-CPU/10-GPU), 16GB, 512 | M5 (10-CPU/10-GPU) | 203 | 253 | 16 GB | 512 GB | $1599 |
Chip bins
| Gen | Chip | Cores | CPU | GPU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M4 | M4 | 8 CPU / 8 GPU | 149 | 151 |
| M4 | M4 | 10 CPU / 10 GPU | 167 | 192 |
| M4 | M4 | 10 CPU / 8 GPU | 167 | 151 |
| M4 | M4 Pro | 12 CPU / 16 GPU | 230 | 333 |
| M4 | M4 Max | 14 CPU / 32 GPU | 255 | 513 |
| M4 | M4 Pro | 14 CPU / 20 GPU | 255 | 375 |
| M4 | M4 Max | 16 CPU / 40 GPU | 293 | 623 |
| M5 | M5 | 10 CPU / 10 GPU | 203 | 253 |
| M5 | M5 | 10 CPU / 8 GPU | 203 | 220 |
| M5 | M5 Pro | 15 CPU / 16 GPU | 300 | 411 |
| M5 | M5 Pro | 18 CPU / 20 GPU | 311 | 455 |
| M5 | M5 Max | 18 CPU / 32 GPU | 337 | 629 |
| M5 | M5 Max | 18 CPU / 40 GPU | 337 | 776 |
Related hubs
FAQ
Does M5 Max lead MacDiff CPU?
Yes — M5 Max 18-core leads /cpu. GPU leader remains M3 Ultra on /gpu.
Air M5 8-GPU vs 10-GPU?
Same CPU 203; GPU 220 vs 253 — pick the 10-GPU bin if graphics headroom matters.