Home / CPU Comparison / Apple M3 or Intel Core i7-2670QM: What's better?

Apple M3

vs

Intel Core i7-2670QM

CPU Comparison Result

Below are the results of a comparison of Apple M3 and Intel Core i7-2670QM processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.

Advantages

Apple M3

More Total Cores: 8 (8 vs 4)
Higher Technology: 3 nm (3 nm vs 32 nm)
Higher Memory Type: Unified LPDDR5-6400 (Unified LPDDR5-6400 vs DDR3 1066/1333)
Newer Launch Date: October 2023 (October 2023 vs October 2011)

Basic

Apple

Label Name

Intel

October 2023

Launch Date

October 2011

Laptop

Platform

Mobile

Apple M3 performance cores + efficiency cores

CPU Architecture

Apple M3

CPU Name

Apple M3

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

i7-2670QM

Code Name

Sandy Bridge

TSMC

Foundry

Apple M3 series

Generation

CPU Specifications

Performance Cores

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Efficient-cores

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Max Turbo Frequency

Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.

3.10 GHz

2.75 GHz

Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency

Maximum E-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.

NEON

Instruction Set Extensions

Intel® AVX

4.06 GHz

Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency

Maximum P-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

ARMv8.6-A, NEON

Extended Instruction Set

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

Yes

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

2.0

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

3.10 GHz

P-cores: 192 KB instruction + 128 KB data per core; E-cores: 128 KB instruction + 64 KB data per core

L1 Cache

P-core cluster: 16 MB; E-core cluster: 4 MB

L2 Cache

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCPGA988

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

3 nm

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

32 nm

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100 C

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

2.0

Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

ARMv8.6-A

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

64-bit

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

1x16 | 2x8 | 1x8 2x4

25 billion

Transistor Count

Memory Specifications

128-bit

Memory Bus Width

Unified LPDDR5-6400

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

DDR3 1066/1333

LPDDR5-6400

LPDDR5 Speed

24 GB

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

32 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

100 GB/s

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

21.3 GB/s

6400 MT/s

Maximum Memory Speed

ECC Memory Supported

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

Intel Flex Memory Access

Yes

GPU Specifications

Thunderbolt 3 / USB4 with DisplayPort, HDMI

External Display Standard

Apple M3 GPU

GPU Name

Intel® HD Graphics 3000

Up to 6K 60Hz external display; up to 5K 60Hz second external display with lid closed; HDMI up to 4K 120Hz

Max External Display Resolution

Hardware-accelerated video encode/decode; AV1 decode

Video Concurrency

H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1 decode

Video Decode

H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW

Video Encode

Apple media engine with ProRes acceleration and AV1 decode

Video Processing Unit

1400 MHz

GPU Max Dynamic Frequency

Graphics Base Frequency

Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

650 MHz

Graphics Core Count

Graphics Frequency

Graphics max dynamic frequency refers to the maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency (in MHz) that can be supported using Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency feature.

1.10 GHz

Up to 2 external displays with lid closed

Number of Displays Supported

Metal, OpenCL

GPU APIs

Up to 3.55 TFLOPS FP32

Graphics Performance

Graphics Output

Graphics Output defines the interfaces available to communicate with display devices.

eDP/DP/HDMI/SDVO/CRT

Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, and AV1 decode

Media Engine

Intel Clear Video HD Technology

Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, like its predecessor, Intel® Clear Video Technology, is a suite of image decode and processing technologies built into the integrated processor graphics that improve video playback, delivering cleaner, sharper images, more natural, accurate, and vivid colors, and a clear and stable video picture. Intel® Clear Video HD Technology adds video quality enhancements for richer color and more realistic skin tones.

Yes

Video Decode Engines

Video Encode Engines

ProRes Encode/Decode Engines

Intel InTru 3D Technology

Yes

OpenCL Support

OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for heterogeneous parallel programming.

Intel Quick Sync Video

Intel® Quick Sync Video delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.

Yes

AI Specifications

16-core Apple Neural Engine

AI Engine

Neural Engine Core Count

Apple Neural Engine

NPU Name

18 TOPS

NPU Performance

Connectivity

Yes

Bluetooth Support

Bluetooth 5.3

Bluetooth Version

Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)

Wi-Fi Standard

Interfaces and Ports

Yes, Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb/s

Thunderbolt Support

USB4

USB Version

Yes, USB4 up to 40 Gb/s

USB4 Support

Miscellaneous

Yes, Apple silicon secure boot chain of trust

Hardware-Verified Secure Boot

Kernel Integrity Protection, Pointer Authentication Codes, Fast Permission Restrictions

Runtime Anti-Exploitation

Secure Enclave

Security Processor

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes