Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G vs Apple M3 Pro 11-Core vs Apple M3
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G
► remove from comparison![Qualcomm SD 8cx Gen 2 5G](fileadmin/_processed_/f/2/csm_Qualcomm_Snapdragon_8cx_Gen2_5G_Launch_c0236e32ea.jpg)
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G Compute Platform (or SD8cx Gen2, SC8180XP) 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 Samsung. The 4 Kryo 495 Gold cores are based on the ARM Cortex-A76 architecture (for performance) and clocked at 3.15 GHz under load. The 4 Kryo 495 Silver cores are small ARM Cortex-A55 cores for power efficiency and clocked at 1.8 GHz under load (most likely).
Compared to the predecessor, the Snapdragon 8cx, the Gen 2 offers higher clock speeds and an integrated 5G modem (X55 with Sub-6 GHz and mmWave support). Wi-Fi was also bumped up to Wi-Fi 6
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 could also be a bit higher clocked.
The chip is very power efficient as its produced at TSMC in the modern 7 process. Therefore, laptops using the Snapdragon 8cx can be passively cooled (no fan) and should not throttle under constant load.
Apple M3 Pro 11-Core
► remove from comparison![Apple Apple M3 Pro 11-Core](fileadmin/_processed_/4/8/csm_m3-pro_ed826bf586.png)
The Apple M3 Pro 11 Core is a system on a chip (SoC) from Apple for notebooks that was introduced late 2023. It integrates 11 of the 12 CPU cores with 5 of 6 performance cores with up to 4.06 GHz and 6 efficiency cores with 2.8 GHz.
Compared to the M2 Pro the M3 Pro has been slimmed down somewhat and swaps two performance cores for efficiency cores. This is due to the changed core configuration, as 6 cores are now used per cluster (the M2 Pro and M3 still have 4 cores per cluster). Furthermore, the memory bus has been reduced from 256 bits to 192 bits (150 GB/s vs. 200 GB/s). Thanks to the new architecture and higher clock rates, the new M3 Pro is still slightly faster.
The M3 Pro also integrates a new graphics card with dynamic caching, mesh shading and ray tracing acceleration via hardware. In the entry-level model, only 14 of the chip's 18 cores are used and support up to 3 displays simultaneously (internal and 2 external).
GPU and CPU can jointly access the shared memory on the package (unified memory). This is available in 18 or 36 GB variants and offers 150 GB/s maximum bandwidth (192 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.
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 37 billion transistors (-7.5% vs. Apple M2 Pro).
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.
Model | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G | Apple M3 Pro 11-Core | Apple M3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series | Qualcomm Snapdragon | Apple Apple M3 | Apple Apple M3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Codename | Cortex-A76 / A55 (Kryo 495) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series: Apple M3 |
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Clock | 3150 MHz | 2748 - 4056 MHz | 2748 - 4056 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L3 Cache | 2 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cores / Threads | 8 / 8 | 11 / 11 5 x 4.1 GHz Apple M3 P-Core 6 x 2.7 GHz Apple M3 E-Core | 8 / 8 4 x 4.1 GHz Apple M3 P-Core 4 x 2.7 GHz Apple M3 E-Core | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TDP | 7 Watt | 27 Watt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology | 7 nm | 3 nm | 3 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Features | X24 LTE Modem, Adreno 680 GPU | ARMv8 Instruction Set | ARMv8 Instruction Set | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
iGPU | Qualcomm Adreno 680 | Apple M3 Pro 14-Core GPU | Apple M3 10-Core GPU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architecture | ARM | ARM | ARM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announced | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | www.qualcomm.com | www.apple.com | www.apple.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transistors | 37000 Million | 25000 Million | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L2 Cache | 4 MB |