Geekbench stats show Apple Silicon MacBook Air trouncing pricey 16-inch MacBook Pro
- Reference: 1605192311
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/11/12/geekbench_stats_show_apple_silicon/
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On the GeekBench 5 test, [1]the MacBook Air 10,1 with 8GB RAM scored 1687 for single-core performance and 7433 on multi-core performance. Each score represents a composite of multiple smaller tests, which determine how the chip performs in specific scenarios, like graphics rendering and AI tasks.
[2]
Green with envy: The Macbook Pro 16 inch laptop circa 2019
For context, [3]a 16-inch MacBook Pro from late 2019 , clad with an Intel Core i9-9880H and 16GB of RAM scored just 1029 on the single-core benchmarks, and 6012 on the multi-core ones. This is remarkable, not least because the 16-inch MacBook Pro - last updated in late 2019 - is massively more expensive than the Air, with a price tag of £2,799 compared to £999.
Apple now Arm'd to the teeth: MacBook Air and Pro, Mac mini to be powered by custom M1 chips rather than Intel [4]READ MORE
At its [5]launch event , Apple promised the M1 chip would be faster than 98 per cent than all existing PC laptops. There was some (perhaps prudent) skepticism whether that would also be true for variant used on the MacBook Air, which comes with one fewer GPU core and uses passive cooling rather than a fan.
Passive cooling isn’t new, nor for that matter, unique to Apple’s computing lineup. Cupertino adopted the tech [6]with the ill-fated G4 Cube in 2000, and revived it again in 2015 with the (also ill-fated) [7]12-inch MacBook . Separately, there are no shortage of fanless PC laptops and desktops, including the [8]Surface Pro 7 . But they’re not exactly what you’d call “widespread.”
That’s because passive heat dissipation isn’t typically as effective at cooling a processor than a massive, spinning fan. As a result, these processors control temperatures by throttling performance. This makes the 2020 Apple Silicon MacBook Air scores even more remarkable.
We’ve seen Apple Silicon benchmarks before. In June, [9]stats from the Mac Mini-based Developer Transition Kit appeared on Geekbench’s site. At the time, we cautioned readers to take them with a grain of salt, due to the lack of a native ARM MacOS benchmarking tool. Since GeekBench 5 had to operate within the Rosetta2 emulation software, there was no guarantee the results would be representative of the final product.
Leaked benchmarks from developer kit for Apple's home-baked silicon appear to give Microsoft a run for its money [10]READ MORE
We don’t have to make any throat-clearing this time around. The latest version of Geekbench 5, released [11]earlier this week , supports Apple Silicon via a Universal Binary, allowing it to determine native performance.
That said, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that GeekBench 5 primarily measures CPU performance. There are other, better tools for benchmarking GPUs, like Cinebench R23 and 3DMark. These will prove most illuminating when contrasting the integrated graphics on the newest Mac line with older machines, which tout discrete GPUs and support for eGPUs via Thunderbolt.
Separately, it’ll be interesting to see how the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro fares, which largely uses the same processor, albeit with one additional GPU core and the addition of fan-based cooling.
Will it provide fanbois with a dramatically improved experience, or will it be more of the same, leaving the sole point of differentiation the TouchBar? Finger nail biting time for some. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/4648107
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/11/12/shutterstock_macbook_pro_16_inch_green.jpg
[3] https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/4653108
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/10/apple_silicon_debut/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/10/apple_silicon_debut/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2011/06/30/ten_years_on_g4_cube_rip/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2018/06/23/apple_macbook_keyboard_replacement_free/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/18/surface_pro_x_hands_on/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/30/apple_developer_transition_kit_leaks/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/30/apple_developer_transition_kit_leaks/
[11] https://www.geekbench.com/blog/2020/11/geekbench-53/
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Clock speed
It's only the base model of the Air that has one GPU core fewer, so there's definitely something more going on — the more expensive Air has the same stated quantity of CPU and GPU cores but is still passively cooled.
That all being said, how thoroughly does Geekbench measure sustained versus peak performance? If all active cooling does is allow the CPUs to maintain peak performance for longer then the benchmark metrics might not look any different. Though that kind of cuts to the meaningfulness of benchmarks more than anything else.
I'm curious to know if there's any multi CPU support in these?
Their use of stacked memory limits the expandability, hence we're only seeing 16GB as the max for now.
But if you're going to have a 'pro' version of this that's not going to cut it, so it'll be interesting to see how they solve that. Could you for example put 4 M1s together to get 64GB in some kind of NUMA style layout?
Interesting times ahead.
On Apps made for the new chip, things work okay.
On apps not made the new chip? There is a bit of a slowdown.
Or so I have read.
Remember, FANS GET NO FANS!
REMEMBER THE APPLE 3!
HAHAHA!
I remember the 2015 Retina MacBook because I still use it.
That said, it's on its third logic board because they kept melting. Luckily only while it was still under warranty and not for the last couple of years, but nevertheless I'd be a little cautious.
If the reviews check out, I'll probably buy one of the Mac Minis. I guess we'll see.
guessing
I'm guessing they're stacking 16Gb base LP DRAM ..... there is talk of 24Gb before we get to 32Gb in 2 ish years time.... so unless they increase the stack count - we're at least 2 years off a 32GB offering .... famous last words
Anandtech speculates that the entire die size of an M1 is 120mm^2; having a quick look around I found that an i9-9900K is 180mm^2 and that obviously doesn't include RAM. Apple will be benefitting hugely from the hard work of TSMC here and that 5nm node (even if TSMC's nanometres don't correlate exactly with Intel's), but it suggests that — purely in terms of fabrication, anyway — they could go to higher core counts and RAM sizes while still being sensible sizes and without going multi-CPU.
All armchair speculation, of course.
13" Pro scores the same
The 13" Pro is showing identical Geekbench numbers to the Air. People are speculating that the passively cooled Air won't be able to sustain this level of performance for too long, whilst the fan-equipped Pro should be able to. Anyone who was considering one of the faster Intel Macbooks can now get more performance for far less money. Of course, Apple being Apple, something has to give and these new machines are limited to 16GB of memory and only a single external display - not really 'Pro' specs IMO.
Finger nail biting time for some
Like, Intel for example?
On chip DRAM
The speed boost can mainly be contributed to the fact that the DRAM is on the SoC die. If it were connected via a North bridge the results would probably have been much less to write home about.
Clock speed
AFAIK Apple haven't published clock speeds for the M1 Air vs M1 Pro, the addition of the fan suggests to me that there is rather a lot more going on than 1 additional GPU.
Im betting there are or will be M1 SKU's with significantly higher clock speeds for the Pro than the one used in the Air. Obviously depends on the yields TMSC are currently getting on the M1 die of course.