Ever since the M1 was unveiled in the 2020 MacBooks, the PC industry has been starstruck. For one, having so much power in a tiny frame is unfair. Or, as reviewers at Player.com would say, it’s an Apple thing. Everybody knows the tech giant is always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on smartphones, laptops, monitors, and other gadgets.
Now, the consumer-oriented company has announced its newest lineup of M3 chips which may be capable of playing games like Red Dead Redemption 2 later on. Unveiled during Apple’s “Scary Fast” event, the M3’s performance is a huge leap forward in terms of processing power and speed. It’s the best chip for Macs, especially as it’s embedded in the circuit boards of Apple’s laptops. The competition is fierce so this is Apple’s chance to prove its consistency as a chip maker.
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Second-Generation Apple Silicon Chips Were Underwhelming
M2 chips were met with positive feedback when they were released, though it wasn’t quite the leap that developers, engineers, and fans expected from Apple. In short, M2 chips are only second-generation chips in name only and the reason is their similar architecture to their predecessors. Before Apple released its M2 chips, reports hinted at a 3 nm process instead of a 5 nm process. However, the company couldn’t secure enough resources for mass-producing M2 chips (3 nm), so it refined the M1 chip instead.
The M1 and M2 chips share similar architecture, so many consumers resigned themselves to waiting for the M3 chip. Luckily, the M3 chip offers a proper generational gain time. We haven’t tested the laptops ourselves so we don’t know if they’ll throttle under pressure. However, for all intents and purposes, the M3 is a proper replacement for the M1s.
M3 Chip’s Improvements over the M2 and M1 Chips
Apple says M3s are 30% faster than M1s and 15% faster than M2s. We expected at least a 40% increase, so this isn’t quite the leap that we experienced when the M1 was released. However, it’s perfect for anyone who still owns a M1 MacBook. As for its efficiency, MacBooks with M3 chips will be 50% and 30% more efficient than the M1 and M2 chips respectively. Ultimately, there are also three types of M3 chips, which are:
- The vanilla M3.
- The M3 Pro.
- The M3 Max.
However, despite the shift to a new 3 nm node, the vanilla M3 still rocks an 8-core CPU and either an 8-core or 10-core GPU. The M3 Pro boasts a 12-core CPU and an 18-core GPU, while the M3 Max outperforms its siblings by offering a 16-core and 24-core CPU and GPU, respectively. The M3 Max can be equipped with up to 128 GB of unified memory, an equivalent of RAM. The only difference is that the memory isn’t split across the CPU and GPU. Instead, the CPU and GPU operate as one.
The M3 Chip Spots a New GPU Architecture
One of the biggest areas that changed in the M3 chip is its GPU architecture. Apple really focused on the processing power of its new GPU, listing features such as:
- There’s support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing now.
- It also extends to Dynamic Caching and mesh shading.
Dynamic Caching makes the M3 chip a lot more efficient than the M2 and M1 chips. In layman’s terms, the chip now allocates the right amount of memory to tasks, depending on how complex they are. M3 chips do this by inspecting each task and determining how much memory it requires. This is a more efficient method of allocating power since your PCs won’t run every task with equal power.
So, it seems like Apple is finally investing in the gaming industry, and the iPhone 15 Pro was just the first of many. Sure, the tech giant has always offered some games via Apple Arcade, but these games aren’t hardcore like Elden Ring, Uncharted 4, or The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Now, though, the company is bringing hardcore gaming to laptops, not only its smartphones.
Over the past 12 months, the giant has been trying to penetrate the gaming market. For one, the presentation showed M3 Macs running games like Lies of P and Baldur’s Gate 3. So, post the new chip’s release, we can expect to play many AAA games on MacBooks. Yes, this includes future titles like GTA 6.
Apple Still Has Rivals
Following the shock in the PC industry, many chip makers and laptop manufacturers scrambled like eggs to challenge Apple’s apex silicone. AMD, Qualcomm, and Intel all reached for the stars, and some years later, the scene has changed. All three chip makers we mentioned have almost caught up to Apple.
For example, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite blows Intel chips out of the water with blazing-fast processing speeds. In fact, it makes the M2 look like a pushover while offering similar battery life. Also, Intel’s Meteor Lake is a worthy competitor that will start rolling out in December.
Apple certainly enjoyed its spot at the top, but everything changes, and competitors are out for blood this season. Heck, AMD, and NVIDIA are planning on developing ARM-focused processors for PCs. So, the rivalry isn’t stopping anytime soon.
The M3’s Competitors
The major competitors of the M3 are the Meteor Lake and the Snapdragon X Elite. The Meteor Lake is launching with a variety of features, such as:
- A dedicated AI coprocessor.
- Uses an Xe-LPG graphics architecture.
- There are up to 128 Execution Units (EUs).
- It exhibits as little heat as possible.
- Different chiplets for each component.
- Up to 8 Crestmont Efficient cores (E-cores).
- A low-power island for running lightweight tasks.
- Up to 6 Redwood Cove Performance cores (P-cores).
- An 8K/10-bit AV1 hardware encoder is embedded.
Meteor Lake will be released on December 14, and it’s already being called the most power-efficient processor that Intel has ever made. As for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite, it’s a chip that has been supercharged by AI to run over 13,000,000,000 parameters on a device. It uses an integrated Qualcomm Oryon CPU, so you can expect the processing power to be double that of the competition. However, the minor drawback to purchasing this chip is that it won’t be launched until 2024.
Kedar Kondap, Senior Vice President of Qualcomm, said, “Snapdragon X Elite represents a dramatic leap in innovation for computing as we deliver our new, custom Qualcomm Oryon CPU for super-charged performance that will delight consumers with incredible power efficiency and take their creativity and productivity to the next level”. He continued, “Powerful on-device AI experiences will enable seamless multitasking and new intuitive user experiences, empowering consumers and businesses alike to create and accomplish more”. However, competitors, including Apple, might have launched refreshed M3 processors before then. The future isn’t set in stone.
The Apple Game Porting Toolkit
The Apple Game Porting Toolkit is the company’s first step to convincing developers that ARM-based PCs are worth investing time and funds into. It’s a kit that allows developers to port existing games from platforms like Windows PCs over to MacBooks. This toolkit isn’t compatible with PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch games. However, PC games for Windows and Linux can easily be ported over to macOS.
Thankfully, the list of games you can bring over to MacBooks includes AAA games like Alan Wake 2. Using the toolkit, developers can evaluate a game’s prospects for macOS, so details like compatibility and audio-visual performance will be rated. In short, it emulates PC games to see how they perform on MacBooks before developers try to port them over. However, using the Apple Game Porting Toolkit is tricky as you may need to install it via the terminal.
Apple Products Getting the M3 Chip
Quite a few Apple products are getting the M3 chip and in the future, a mid-cycle refresh might even occur. For now, the iMac and MacBook Pro will be getting new processors and in the future, more devices will be added to the list or launched with refreshed processors. Hopefully, the chips will hold up well on the company’s laptops and PCs.
Our Final Say: It’s a Warning to AMD and NVIDIA
Apple’s baby steps into the gaming industry are anything but amateur. Especially as the company’s iPhone 15 Pro can play AAA games. It doesn’t seem like Apple is crushing its rivals with the M3 this time around. In fact, the nature of the competition dictates that a chip maker will eventually surpass M-series chips in efficiency and power. However, Apple’s dedication to gaming is seemingly going to pay off because its PCs are now capable of ray tracing and mesh shading, (Among others). You can expect to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on M3 MacBooks.
In short, Apple wants developers to consider its devices an ideal platform for gaming. The company is putting on a worthy show for game creators. They’re essentially being encouraged to natively create games for MacBooks. It’s not a pipe dream because the iPhone 15 Pro rocks a mini version of the M3 chip, which is why it’s so great at running games like Resident Evil 4 Remake, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, and The Division: Resurgence. However, Apple won’t always be in the lead because its rivals are also innovating.