Intel Core 2 Duo P7550 vs Apple M3 vs Apple M3 Max 14-Core
Intel Core 2 Duo P7550
► remove from comparisonThe Intel Core 2 Duo P7550 is a dual core processor for laptops. It features 2.26 GHz and a shared level 2 cache of 3 MB. It is an OEM CPU and similar to the Core 2 Duo P8400 (additional Trusted Execution Technology, and VT-x) and Core 2 Duo P7570.
The performance of the P7550 is on par with the fast Turion II Ultra with about 2.4 to 2.6 GHz. Modern demanding games like Supreme Commander may be limited by the CPU performance. High end gamers should choose a higher clocked Core 2 Duo (or Core i5 / i7).
The P7550 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).
Apple M3
► remove from comparison![Apple M3](fileadmin/_processed_/9/a/csm_apple-m3-stats_8e0f221ffe.jpg)
The Apple M3 is a system on a chip (SoC) from Apple for notebooks that was introduced in late 2023. It integrates a new 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores with up to 4.06 GHz and 4 efficiency cores running at up to 2.75 GHz. Apple claims that the CPU is up to 20% faster than in the old Apple M2 (3.5 GHz).
Due to the higher clock speeds and architecture improvements, the processor performance is also significantly better than the M2 in benchmarks (see e.g. Geekbench below) and can keep up with the fastest CPUs in short single-core tests (like the Raptor Lake i9-13950HX).
The M3 also integrates a new graphics adapter with dynamic caching, mesh shading and ray tracing acceleration. According to Apple, it is 20% faster than the GPU in the M2. The chip integrates again 10 GPU cores, but the cheaper variant only offers 8 cores (e.g. in the entry iMac). Furthermore, the GPU only supports 2 displays (an additional 6K60 display to the internal one).
Both GPU and CPU can access the unified memory on the package together. It is still available in 8, 16 and 24 GB variants and offers the same 100 GB/s maximum bandwidth (unlike the Pro models that feature a reduced memory bandwidth).
The integrated 16-core Neural Engine has also been revised and now offers 18 TOPS peak performance (versus 15.8 TOPS in the M2 but 35 TOPS in the new A17 Pro). The video engine now supports AV1 decoding in hardware. H.264, HEVC and ProRes (RAW) can still be decoded and encoded.
Unfortunately, the integrated wireless network module only supports Wi-Fi 6E (no Wi-Fi 7) and due to the support of only a single external monitor, the chip also has to make do with no Thunderbolt 4 (Thunderbolt 3 / USB 4 support only for up to 40 Gbit/s).
The chip is manufactured on the current 3nm TSMC process (N3B most likely) and contains 25 billion transistors (+25% vs. Apple M2). The 3nm process should also contribute to the excellent efficiency of the chip. Under load, the M3 CPU consumes approximately 20 Watt.
Apple M3 Max 14-Core
► remove from comparison![Apple Apple M3 Max 14-Core](fileadmin/_processed_/d/9/csm_Apple-M3-Max-chip-series-unified-memory-architecture_c0044e24af.jpg)
The Apple M3 Max 14 core CPU is a system on a chip (SoC) from Apple for notebooks that was introduced towards the end of 2023. It integrates a new 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores with up to 4.06 GHz and 4 efficiency cores with 2.8 GHz. There is also a more powerful 16-core variant with 40 GPU cores.
Thanks to the higher clock rates and architectural improvements, the processor performance is also significantly better than the M2 Max in benchmarks and can keep up with the fastest mobile CPUs.
The M3 also integrates a new graphics card with dynamic caching, mesh shading and ray tracing acceleration via hardware. In the cheaper model, 30 of the chip's 40 cores are used and support up to 5 displays simultaneously (internal and 4 external).
GPU and CPU can jointly access the shared memory on the package (unified memory). This is available in 36 and 96 GB variants and offers 400 GB/s maximum bandwidth (512 bit bus).
The integrated 16-core Neural Engine has also been revised and now offers 18 TOPS peak performance (compared to 15.8 TOPS in the M2 but 35 TOPS in the new A17 Pro). The video engine now also supports AV1 decoding in hardware. H.264, HEVC and ProRes (RAW) can still be decoded and encoded. Like its predecessor, the Max chip offers two video engines and can therefore encode and decode two streams simultaneously.
Unfortunately, the integrated WLAN only continues to support WiFi 6E (no WiFi 7), unlike the small M3 SoC thunderbolt 4 is also supported (max 40 Gbit/s).
The chip is manufactured in the current 3nm process (N3B) at TSMC and contains 92 billion transistors (+37% vs. Apple M2 Max).
Model | Intel Core 2 Duo P7550 | Apple M3 | Apple M3 Max 14-Core | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series | Intel Core 2 Duo | Apple Apple M3 | Apple Apple M3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Codename | Penryn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series: Apple M3 |
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Clock | 2260 MHz | 2748 - 4056 MHz | 2748 - 4056 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FSB | 1066 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L2 Cache | 3 MB | 4 MB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cores / Threads | 2 / 2 | 8 / 8 4 x 4.1 GHz Apple M3 P-Core 4 x 2.7 GHz Apple M3 E-Core | 14 / 14 10 x 4.1 GHz Apple M3 P-Core 4 x 2.7 GHz Apple M3 E-Core | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TDP | 25 Watt | 78 Watt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transistors | 410 Million | 25000 Million | 92000 Million | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology | 45 nm | 3 nm | 3 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Die Size | 107 mm2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
max. Temp. | 90 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Socket | PGA478 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Features | Enhanced Speedstep, Intel 64, ExBit | ARMv8 Instruction Set | ARMv8 Instruction Set | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architecture | x86 | ARM | ARM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announced | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | ark.intel.com | www.apple.com | www.apple.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
iGPU | Apple M3 10-Core GPU | Apple M3 Max 30-Core GPU |