Apple M2 Max vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx vs Apple M2 Pro 10-Core
Apple M2 Max
► remove from comparison![Apple M2 Max](fileadmin/_processed_/0/f/csm_Apple_M2_chips_M2_Max_230117_3eb74f4960.jpg)
The Apple M2 Max is a System on a Chip (SoC) from Apple that is found in the early 2023 MacBook Pro 14 and 16-inch models. It offers all 12 CPU cores available in the chip divided in eight performance cores (P-cores) and four power-efficiency cores (E-cores). The E-cores clock with up to 3.4 GHz, the P-Cores up to 3.7 GHz (mostly 3.3 GHz in multi-threaded workloads and 3.4 GHz in single threaded).
The big cores (codename Avalanche) offer 192 KB instruction cache, 128 KB data cache, and 36 MB shared L2 cache (up from 24 MB in the M1 Pro). The four efficiency cores (codename Blizzard) are a lot smaller and offer only 128 KB instruction cache, 64 KB data cache, and 4 MB shared cache. CPU and GPU can both use the 49 MB SLC (System Level Cache).
The unified memory (32, 64, or 96 GB LPDDR5-6400) next to the chip is connected by a 512 Bit memory controller (400 GB/s bandwidth) and can be used by the GPU and CPU.
The CPU performance should be quite similar to the M2 Pro as only the higher memory bandwidth and bigger L3 cache could make a difference for some workloads.
The integrated graphics card in the M1 Max offers a 30-core GPU or a GPU with all 38 cores.
Furthermore, the SoC integrates a fast 16 core neural engine (faster than M1 Max), a secure enclave (e.g., for encryption), a unified memory architecture, Thunderbolt 4 controller, an ISP, and media de- and encoders (including ProRes).
The M2 Max is manufactured in 5 nm at TSMC (second generation) and integrates 40 billion transistors. The power consumption of the CPU part is up to 36 Watt according to powermetrics. When fully loading the CPU and GPU cores, the chip uses up to 89 Watt and the CPU part is limited to 25 Watt.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
► remove from comparison![Qualcomm SD 8cx](fileadmin/_processed_/7/8/csm_snapdragon_8cx_small_bf3c1da8ac.jpg)
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Compute Platform (or SD8cx) is a ARM based SoC for Windows laptops. It integrates a similar CPU part as the Snapdragon 855 (same cores but without the Prime Core feature) and is manufactured in 7nm at TSMC. The 4 Kryo 495 Gold cores are based on the ARM Cortex-A76 architecture (for performance) and clocked at 2.84 GHz under load (no single core Turbo). The 4 Kryo 495 Silver cores are small ARM Cortex-A55 cores for power efficiency and clocked at 1.9 GHz under load. According to Qualcomm, the clock speed should not be reduced under constant load with typical (fanless) cooling. The integrated X24 LTE modem supports up to 2 Gbps download speeds. Furthermore, the SoC integrates ac-Wifi and a dual-channel 32-bit 1866 MHz LPDDR4x memory controller.
The processor performance should be similar to a Intel Core i5 8th gen U-series (e.g. i5-8250U) according to Qualcomm. However, this is only the case for native ARM64 compiled Windows apps which are not that many (in mid 2019). 32 bit applications and games for AMD/Intel run in a rather slow emulation and 64 bit apps wont start at all (but an emulator should come in Windows in 2021).
The integrated Adreno 680 graphics card is a beefier version of the Adreno 640 in the Snapdragon 855 and should be twice as fast as the old Adreno 630 (in Windows laptops) and offer a 60% higher efficiency.
The chip is very power efficient as its produced at Samsung in the modern 7 nm process (7LPP). Therefore, laptops using the Snapdragon 8cx can be passively cooled (no fan) and should not throttle under constant load.
Apple M2 Pro 10-Core
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The Apple M2 Pro 10-Core is a System on a Chip (SoC) from Apple that is found in the early 2023 MacBook Pro 14 and Mac Mini entry level models. It offers 10 of the 12 cores available in the chip divided in six performance cores (P-cores) and four power-efficiency cores (E-cores). The E-cores clock with up to 3.4 GHz, the P-Cores up to 3.7 GHz (mostly 3.3 GHz in multi-threaded workloads and 3.4 GHz in single threaded).
The big cores (codename Avalanche) offer 192 KB instruction cache, 128 KB data cache, and 36 MB shared L2 cache (up from 24 MB in the M1 Pro). The four efficiency cores (codename Blizzard) are a lot smaller and offer only 128 KB instruction cache, 64 KB data cache, and 4 MB shared cache. CPU and GPU can both use the 24 MB SLC (System Level Cache).
The unified memory (16 or 32 GB LPDDR5-6400) next to the chip is connected by a 256 Bit memory controller (200 GB/s bandwidth) and can be used by the GPU and CPU.
The performance of the M2 Pro 10-Core should be similar to the old M1 Pro with all 10 cores. The multi-threaded performance should be slower, as the M2 10-core has two p-cores less (and 2 e-cores more) but the single-threaded performance should be better due to the faster clock speed and architectural improvements. The old M1 Pro 8-core should be noticeably slower.
The integrated graphics card in the M1 Pro 10-core offers all 16 of the 19 cores.
Furthermore, the SoC integrates a fast 16 core neural engine (faster than M1 Pro), a secure enclave (e.g., for encryption), a unified memory architecture, Thunderbolt 4 controller, an ISP, and media de- and encoders (including ProRes).
The M2 Pro is manufactured in 5 nm at TSMC (second generation) and integrates 40 billion transistors.
Model | Apple M2 Max | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx | Apple M2 Pro 10-Core | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series | Apple Apple M2 | Qualcomm Snapdragon | Apple Apple M2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series: Apple M2 |
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Clock | 2424 - 3696 MHz | 2840 MHz | 2424 - 3696 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L1 Cache | 3.3 MB | 7.3 MB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L2 Cache | 36 MB | 36 MB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L3 Cache | 48 MB | 2 MB | 24 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cores / Threads | 12 / 12 | 8 / 8 | 10 / 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TDP | 79 Watt | 7 Watt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transistors | 67000 Million | 40000 Million | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology | 5 nm | 7 nm | 5 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Features | ARMv8 Instruction Set | X24 LTE Modem, Adreno 680 GPU | ARMv8 Instruction Set | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
iGPU | Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 680 | Apple M2 Pro 16-Core GPU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architecture | ARM | ARM | ARM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announced | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Codename | Cortex-A76 / A55 (Kryo 495) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | www.qualcomm.com |