An accessible summary of the CPU cores in M1 chips, and how they appear to be managed by macOS to get the best for different classes of process.
AsmAttic
Results from running 10-70 identical compute-intensive processes on M1 chips shows the differences in strategy between background and high priority settings.
macOS manages the loading and frequency of M1 cores according to the QoS set, and rules which differ between the original M1 and the M1 Pro.
How the two Efficiency cores in the M1 Pro and Max chips can match the performance of all four E cores in the original M1.
How can the two E cores in an M1 Pro/Max apparently match the performance of the four in the original M1? Answers, please.
Does your M1 Mac run more slowly when it’s on battery power, or with Low Power mode enabled? An exploration of effects on its CPU cores provides an unexpected answer.
The E cores on the original M1 and M1 Pro chips appear to be managed quite differently, with respect to the performance of background processes at low QoS.
Obtaining estimates for individual P and E core performance of processes run mainly in an ALU and those using floating-point and SIMD gives further insight and confirms the cores haven’t changed from M1 to M1 Pro.
How does macOS load processes onto the cores in M1 series processors? Are its policies similar between the original M1 and the M1 Pro?
Geekbench 5 scores for the M1 Pro are around 2800 single- and 12500 multi-core. Do they represent maximum performance, though?
The Eclectic Light Company 