Apple M2 Max vs Intel Core 2 Duo SP9600 vs Intel Core 2 Duo P8800
Apple M2 Max
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The Apple M2 Max is a System on a Chip (SoC) from Apple that is found in the early 2023 MacBook Pro 14 and 16-inch models. It offers all 12 CPU cores available in the chip divided in eight 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 49 MB SLC (System Level Cache).
The unified memory (32, 64, or 96 GB LPDDR5-6400) next to the chip is connected by a 512 Bit memory controller (400 GB/s bandwidth) and can be used by the GPU and CPU.
The CPU performance should be quite similar to the M2 Pro as only the higher memory bandwidth and bigger L3 cache could make a difference for some workloads.
The integrated graphics card in the M1 Max offers a 30-core GPU or a GPU with all 38 cores.
Furthermore, the SoC integrates a fast 16 core neural engine (faster than M1 Max), 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 Max is manufactured in 5 nm at TSMC (second generation) and integrates 40 billion transistors. The power consumption of the CPU part is up to 36 Watt according to powermetrics. When fully loading the CPU and GPU cores, the chip uses up to 89 Watt and the CPU part is limited to 25 Watt.
Intel Core 2 Duo SP9600
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The Intel Core 2 Duo SP9600 is a upper middle class dual core CPU for laptops, at the time of introduction. The SP9600 is basically a Core 2 Duo P9500 produced in a BGA Package for direct soldering on the mainboard. The package of the chip is therefore smaller and more suited for thin laptops. The power consumption is similar to the P9500.
Due to the relatively high clock speed and 6MB Level 2 cache, the SP9600 offers enough performance for most demanding games (in 2009) and applications.
The SP9600 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 to save power (in idle mode).
Intel Core 2 Duo P8800
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The Intel Core 2 Duo P8800 is a dual core processor for laptops. It features 2.66 GHz and a shared level 2 cache of 3 MB. Due to the smaller cache (Core 2 Duo T-Models got usually 6 MB at this clock rate), the TDP is only 25 Watt (instead of the 35 Watt of the T-models).
Due to the relatively high clock speed, modern games (in 2009) should not be limited by the CPU speed (in conjunction with a middle class graphics card). High end gamers should choose a higher clocked Dual Core instead (when using a high end GPU).
The P8800 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 1200 MHz to save power (in idle mode).
The Core 2 Duo P8800 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 Max | Intel Core 2 Duo SP9600 | Intel Core 2 Duo P8800 | ||||||||||||||||
| Series | Apple M2 | Intel Core 2 Duo | Intel Core 2 Duo | ||||||||||||||||
| Series: Core 2 Duo Penryn |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Clock | 2424 - 3696 MHz | 2530 MHz | 2660 MHz | ||||||||||||||||
| L1 Cache | 3.3 MB | 128 KB | 128 KB | ||||||||||||||||
| L2 Cache | 36 MB | 6 MB | 3 MB | ||||||||||||||||
| L3 Cache | 48 MB | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cores / Threads | 12 / 12 | 2 / 2 | 2 / 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| TDP | 79 Watt | 25 Watt | 25 Watt | ||||||||||||||||
| Transistors | 67000 Million | 410 Million | 410 Million | ||||||||||||||||
| Technology | 5 nm | 45 nm | 45 nm | ||||||||||||||||
| Features | ARMv8 Instruction Set | Virtualization Technology (VT-x), Trusted Execution Technology, Intel 64, Enhanced Speedstep, Execute Disable Bit | SSE4.1, Virtualization Technology, Execute Disable Bit, Enhanced Speedstep, Ehnaced Halt State (C1E), 64 Bit, Trusted Execution Technology | ||||||||||||||||
| iGPU | Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU | ||||||||||||||||||
| Architecture | ARM | x86 | x86 | ||||||||||||||||
| Announced | |||||||||||||||||||
| Codename | Penryn | Penryn | |||||||||||||||||
| FSB | 1066 | 1066 | |||||||||||||||||
| Voltage | 1.05-1.15V V | 1.00V-1.25V V | |||||||||||||||||
| Die Size | 107 mm2 | 107 mm2 | |||||||||||||||||
| max. Temp. | 105 °C | 105 °C | |||||||||||||||||
| Socket | BGA956 | BGA479, PGA478 | |||||||||||||||||
| $316 U.S. | $241 U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | ark.intel.com | ark.intel.com |
Benchmarks
Average Benchmarks Apple M2 Max → 0% n=0
Average Benchmarks Intel Core 2 Duo SP9600 → 0% n=0
Average Benchmarks Intel Core 2 Duo P8800 → 0% n=0
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation
