How operating frequencies of CPU cores used by the latest base M5 chip compare with those from previous families in the M series, and what that means. Complete with updated tables for all current chips.
M3
If you have a Mac Studio M3 Ultra and want to upgrade it to run macOS 26.0 Tahoe, […]
How much faster are the P cores in M3 and M4 chips, compared to late Intel Macs? How do they compare when running threads at low QoS, such as those of macOS background tasks?
Why is an M2 Pro or Max preferable to an M1 Pro or Max? Is 8 GB of memory sufficient? Can I extend the internal SSD with an external drive? Can I buy and upgrade?
How Apple’s new CPU cores can guess which code to run, and which data to load from memory. How those speculative techniques can be exploited, and should we be worried?
Running older macOS, support for Intel apps and kernel extensions, booting from an external drive, Boot Camp and Windows support, cloning, and startup key combinations.
How Apple silicon CPUs control core frequencies and power use when running in Low Power mode. Includes M4 Pro and M3 Pro data, and estimates of energy requirements.
Apple refers to Energy Modes and Power Modes, and despite older MacBook Pro models offering Low Power mode, tells us that isn’t what Low Power mode is now. Here are the observations and explanations.
From the start of the fourth cycle in M4 Macs and the smallest ever, through the omission in macOS VMs, and QuickLook shortcomings, to the stealth firmware update.
How macOS controls CPU P core cluster frequency according to the cluster total active residency, in synthetic in-core tests, compression and when running virtual machines.
The Eclectic Light Company 