Apple M1 vs Apple M2

Processor comparisons 21-10-2022

   You may have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the full tests Apple M1 vs Apple M2 and decide which is better for games or normal use for streaming, rendering, programming, video editing, machine learning. Here you can find all information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful review of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in software tests such as Dolphin Emulator, PassMark, RealBench, Furmark, VeraCrypt, 3DMark, Blender, Prime95, GeekBench 6, 5.2, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), DaVinci Resolve Studio, AIDA64, Handbrake, PCMark 10, UserBenchmark, Blender, SuperPi, MATLAB, Gears 5, WPrime, 7zip.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

Last Man Standing
Apex Legends
Grand Theft Auto V
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare
Rainbow Six Siege
Cyberpunk 2077
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Valheim
DOOM: Eternal
Fallout 76
Watch Dogs Legion
Death Stranding
Halo Infinite
Overwatch
Fortnite
Valorant
Borderlands 3
Red Dead Redemption 2

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming Apple M2 or Apple M1.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

56%

59%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M2 is 5% better than M1. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

54%

55%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And it is clear that this is a server processor, on which no one will run games. Because the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a little game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: Half-Life: Alyx, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, DOTA 2A, Ghostrunner, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), NBA 2K20, Horizon Zero Dawn, Forza Horizon 4, Hitman 3, Metro Exodus, Battlefield V, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Monster Hunter World, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, League of Legends (LOL), Control, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	95.8	97.4
Valorant	108.9	110.7
Cyberpunk 2077	61.0	62.0
Apex Legends	102.4	104.1
Call of Duty Warzone	81.7	83.0
Overwatch	88.2	89.7
Red Dead Redemption 2	75.1	76.4
DOOM Eternal	54.5	55.4
Warzone	84.9	86.4
Assassin's Creed	91.5	93.0
Valheim	90.4	91.9

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The tested computers not only did they have different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: FullHD, 2K or 4K. So the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance the processor will be in games, if you compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

388%

535%

To make a final decision on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the M2 is more energy efficient than the M1 as it consumes less power: 15W vs. 12W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. It is necessary to calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

Let's say you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, programming, streaming, video editing or video rendering, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor turns on all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the software that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to run, and all the advantages of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Apple M1	Apple M2
Cinbench 15 Single-core	209	298
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1163	1586
Cinbench 20 Single-core	402	558
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1987	2699
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1512	2057
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	7782	10520

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Apple M1	Apple M2
Single-Core	3413	4095
Multi-Core	22028	29665

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Apple M1	Apple M2
Single-Core	1746	1929
Multi-Core	7683	9243

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most helpful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in new games. It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	Apple M1	Apple M2
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	October 18, 2022
Type	Laptop	Laptop
Socket	M1	M2
Core name	4x Firestorm;4x Icestorm	4 x Avalanche and 4 x Blizzard
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Generation	1	2
Turbo Frequency
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.49 MHz
Cores	8	8
Threads	16	8
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	5 nm
Transistors count	16000 millions	20000 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	15 W	12 W
Memory type	LPDDR4 - Up to 4266MHz	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz
Max. Memory
Memory Frequency	4266	2400
Memory bandwidth
L1 cache	2MB	2MB
L2 cache	16MB	12MB
L3 cache		16MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	APL1102

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M2 is 8% better than M1 in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Apple M1 is better: 3
The number of parameters for which Apple M2 is better: 27
Although it should be understood that all the data in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the testing video and read the reviews of real owners of Apple M1 and Apple M2 before making a selection which of the CPUs to buy for gaming.

• Apple M1 specs and review.

Apple M2 - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Apple M2 specs and review.