Apple hasn't provided many demonstrations of its M2 chip, which will soon debut in the MacBook Pro , so we lack references for its performance in real-world use cases. A recent benchmark analysis claims that Apple's M2 chip outperforms an AMD Ryzen iGPU in gaming , suggesting the 2022 MacBook Pro could be a gaming laptop worth considering.
YouTuber HardwareUnboxed compared the M2 chip to various processors from AMD and Intel. In his tests, he found that Apple's new SoC outperformed the AMD Ryzen 2 7U CPU's RDNA 6800 iGPU by 10%. The test involved running Shadow of The Tomb Raider at 1200p with SMAA enabled.
Apple's M2 could serve very well for games, according to benchmarks
In another test conducted, the M2 also outperformed the same processor and the Intel Core i7-1260P for battery life when running a 4K video playback test on Youtube. The M2 offered 48% more battery life than AMD offerings, and 2,2 times more than Intel.
These tests highlight that, while the graphics improvement isn't particularly substantial, it stands out for its significantly lower energy consumption . This positions the MacBook Pro with the M2 chip as a good travel laptop, as it allows for extended use on more demanding tasks.
HardwareUnboxed has done many other tests with a wide range of processors, including 12th Gen, 11th Gen, Ryzen 6000, and Ryzen 5000, with very mixed results. In addition, as reported by the WCCFTech portal, the M2 was found to be slower than the Intel Core i7-1260P and Ryzen 7 6800U in Cinebench R23, while the M2 leads against the same Ryzen processor, but loses to the Intel chip in the Cinebench R23 Single-threaded tests.
The summary of all the benchmarks is that, although some are disappointed with the M2's performance compared to its predecessor, Apple is showing good results in use cases far removed from pure benchmark testing. In other words, while benchmarks are standardized tests designed to maximize potential and produce results, real-world use cases are closer to what home users and professionals prefer. And in this case, the M2 has demonstrated performance comparable to top-of-the-line models while consuming less power, according to these benchmarks.
Source: TechRadar
