Intel Core 5 320 chip in Dell XPS 13 matches Apple Silicon in performance per Watt

Intel's Efficiency Gains

A recent comparison by Jeff Geerling revealed that the Intel Core 5 320 chip in a Dell XPS 13 demonstrated superior performance per Watt compared to Apple Silicon in a MacBook Neo. The Dell XPS 13 achieved 6.21 Gflops/W, while the MacBook Neo reached 5.38 Gflops/W during the HPL Linpak test, a benchmark used for supercomputers.

Benchmark Details

In the HPL Linpak test, the MacBook Neo produced 57.012 Gflops at 10.6W, resulting in 5.38 Gflops/W. The Dell XPS 13, powered by the Intel Core 5 320, delivered 127.91 Gflops at 20.6W, yielding 6.21 Gflops/W. This performance metric places the Dell XPS 13 above M3 and M4 Mac Studios, only being surpassed by the M4 Mac Mini at 7.57 Gflops/W. Furthermore, the XPS 13 matched the MacBook's energy efficiency during idle and web browsing activities.

Implications for x86 vs. ARM

These results challenge the long-held belief that ARM architecture inherently offers significant power consumption advantages over x86. The performance of the Core 5 320 chip suggests that the observed efficiency differences may be more attributable to specific chip designs and optimizations rather than the instruction set architecture itself. This development indicates a narrowing gap in power efficiency between x86 and ARM processors.