Apple M2 Pro 10-Core vs Intel Core 2 Duo T9900
Apple M2 Pro 10-Core
► remove from comparison![Apple M2 Pro 10-Core](fileadmin/_processed_/3/3/csm_apple_m2_pro_chip_b4deb2eab5.jpg)
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.
Intel Core 2 Duo T9900
► remove from comparison![Intel T9900](typo3temp/_processed_/4/2/csm_img_1614_intel-core2-duo_02_2b002cb714.jpg)
The Intel Core 2 Duo T9900 is the theoretical successor of the Core 2 Extreme X9100 (which also clocks at 3.06 GHz) that uses less power due to the modern stepping and the Enhanced Halt State (C1E). The only advantage of the X9100 is the free multiplikator (which allows easy overclocking of the CPU).
The T9900 is a fast dual core CPU for laptops which features 6 MB of shared level 2 cache and a TDP of 35 Watt. Due to the high clock speed, modern games (in 2009) should not be limited by the CPU speed. For single threaded applications it is one of the fastest CPUs for laptops (only beaten by the new Core i7 with enabled Turbo mode).
The T9900 uses a Penryn (Montevina Update) core that features 2 integer units, 1 floating point unit, 1 load unit, and 1 store unit in a 14-stages long pipeline. Due to the Wide Dynamic Execution Technology, the core is able to simultaneously execute up to four instructions.
The integrated Enhanced Speedstep is able to downclock the core dynamically as low as 800 MHz to save power (in idle mode).
The Core 2 Duo T9900 can be used in a Socket P socket with 479 pins: Socket P / Micro Flip-Chip Pin Grid Array (Micro-FCPGA) requires 479-pin surface mount Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket (mPGA479M socket) or Micro Flip-Chip Ball Grid Array (Micro-FCBGA) for surface mount (479-ball).
Model | Apple M2 Pro 10-Core | Intel Core 2 Duo T9900 | ||||||||||||||||
Series | Apple Apple M2 | Intel Core 2 Duo | ||||||||||||||||
Series: Core 2 Duo Penryn |
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Clock | 2424 - 3696 MHz | 3060 MHz | ||||||||||||||||
L1 Cache | 7.3 MB | 128 KB | ||||||||||||||||
L2 Cache | 36 MB | 6 MB | ||||||||||||||||
L3 Cache | 24 MB | |||||||||||||||||
Cores / Threads | 10 / 10 | 2 / 2 | ||||||||||||||||
Transistors | 40000 Million | 410 Million | ||||||||||||||||
5 nm | 45 nm, 1.05-1.2125 V | |||||||||||||||||
Features | ARMv8 Instruction Set | SSE4.1, Virtualization Technology, Execute Disable Bit, Enhanced Speedstep, Ehnaced Halt State (C1E), 64 Bit, Trusted Execution Technology | ||||||||||||||||
iGPU | Apple M2 Pro 16-Core GPU | |||||||||||||||||
Architecture | ARM | x86 | ||||||||||||||||
Announced | ||||||||||||||||||
Codename | Penryn | |||||||||||||||||
FSB | 1066 | |||||||||||||||||
TDP | 35 Watt | |||||||||||||||||
Die Size | 107 mm2 | |||||||||||||||||
max. Temp. | 105 °C | |||||||||||||||||
Socket | Socket P (BGA479, PGA478) | |||||||||||||||||
$530 U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | ark.intel.com |