Apple's entry-level M5 SoC in the MacBook Air 13 only consumes 7-8 Watts in games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Baldur's Gate 3

We just reviewed the new Apple MacBook Air 13 in the base configuration with the M5 SoC. Contrary to the 15-inch model of the MacBook Air or the MacBook Pro 14 M5, the base model of the Air 13 is equipped with a slightly slower M5 SoC, which only offers 8 instead of 10 GPU cores. The performance is still very good and we were particularly surprised about the efficiency during our gaming tests, where the SoC only consumed between 7-8 Watts. 

The Air is a passively cooled device, which means the performance is throttled under sustained workloads and the M5 SoC will quickly level off at around 8 Watts under combined workloads. You might say that the processor also quickly stabilizes at this level (7-8W) while gaming, but this is not the case. While playing Cyberpunk 2077, for example, the SoC consumption is just 6.9-7.2 Watts, so still below the possible value of 8 Watts. This is sufficient to reach 19.6 fps in 1080p with ultra graphics settings, and this result does not change even after one hour. If you reduce the details slightly and also use MetalFX upscaling, it means you can enjoy smooth gameplay in demanding titles like Cyberpunkt 2077 or Baldur's Gate 3 (consumption between 7.5-7.8 Watts) on the MacBook Air without throttling.