When Apple announced the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips this month, it also revealed a new breakdown of core types: efficiency, performance, and super. In a new interview this week, Apple is shedding more light on the motivation for these changes and what each core is designed to handle.
The new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips
As a refresher, there are three different core types in the M5 generation of chip:
- M5: Efficiency cores and super cores
- M5 Pro and M5 Max: Performance cores and super cores
The “super cores” are Apple’s most powerful CPU cores. These were previously called “performance cores,” but Apple renamed them in conjunction with the introduction of the new “performance cores.”
The new performance cores are now the middle-tier in the M5 chip architecture, offering a balance of power efficiency and multi-threaded performance. The performance core architecture is what’s new with M5 Pro and M5 Max.
In an interview with German publication Mac & i, Apple talked more about the M5 generation of chips.
Anand Shimpi, who works on Apple hardware technologies, offered an explanation of the three aforementioned M5 core types:
“The super core is the fastest CPU core in the world. It is optimized for single-core performance. The efficiency core is our CPU core with the highest efficiency.” Although the latter does not achieve the same single-clock performance as a Super Core, it does lower the power consumption for background tasks.
Shimpi also confirmed that the difference with the super core is not just that it has a higher clock speed. “In fact, it is a completely tailor-made microarchitecture. It therefore differs significantly from both the Super Core and the Efficiency Core. In addition, it succeeds in surpassing the efficiency of the efficiency core,” he said.
The new performance core, meanwhile, is responsible for multi-threaded performance. “That’s how you get the best of both worlds,” Shimpi explained.
Doug Brooks, Mac product manager at Apple, added that the reason for the three core names is so their “respective performance characteristics are clearly expressed.”
Finally, when asked how the new Fusion Architecture of the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could be applicable to a future M5 Ultra chip, Shimpi was tight-lipped. “At the moment we have only announced the M5 Pro and M5 Max,” he said.
You can read the full interview on the Mac & i website.
Buy the new M5 Macs:
Follow Chance: Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastodon.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.