MacBook Air M2 - 8 vs 10 core GPU - Thermals and Battery Life?

[Imory]

I picked the 10 core GPU because I occasionally play WoW classic. It ran fine on my iMac with the 8 core but I figured two more can’t hurt. If I was going to play games I would have chosen the 8 core

You might want to watch this. It throttles like hell where WoW becomes unplayable.

 

[russell_314]

You might want to watch this. It throttles like hell where WoW becomes unplayable.

I wish he would’ve tested WoW classic. It’s much less graphically demanding especially on the classic graphic setting. On my M1 iMac regular WoW wasn’t really a good experience so I kind of gave up on that for my Mac. I play it on my gaming PC.

From the reviews I’ve seen regular WoW didn’t really get good framerates till the M1 Max.

He’s playing regular WoW but never showed what graphics settings he used. That’s what I hate about a lot of reviews is they quickly go through benchmarks with little or without any context. It would’ve been nice if he showed it on different graphics settings and maybe see if it’s playable on lower settings. I suspect he was trying it on high graphics. I say that because of those low framerates even before it throttled. Even that didn’t look very playable. It’s going to be a little bit of a bummer if I can’t play because it’s something I like to do just when I’m bored. Maybe I’ll get the M2 MacBook Pro when it comes out.

 

[calstanford]

It's silly to spend more money to get 10 instead of 8 GPU cores for a laptop that is clearly very heavily temperature limited.

 

[Livelovemac]

Saw a lot of orders on 10 cores before the release.. 🫣 remembered the % was 30-50, in favour of 10 cores. did not age well

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

If you don’t understand the concept of throttling and heat, don’t try to make me look ridiculous.

In the ideal word, obviously, 10c performs better than 8.

In the real word, 10c generates more heat than 8c and therefore in the same thermal envelope, without active cooling, it will not scale linearly. It might perform better for a short burst but if you need the 10c is not for a short burst but for some rendering or gaming and then the excess heat will get the system to throttle. It is very likely that it will throttle earlier than the 8c and then defeat the purpose of the 2 extra cores.

It’s logic, pure logic.

If you think you need 2 extra gpu cores on a MacBook Air, you are buying the wrong machine. The machine for you is the m1 pro because that’s the machine for the kind of workflow you are trying to push on the air.

it's not this logic

binning doesn't necessarily cut the power that those 2 cores require. so ,in the case of the mbp 14 iirc, both the 8c and 10c have the same power consumption and heat .

you don't get the extra performance because the cores have been killed thus rendering them ineffective . yet the power still feeds these cores . and energy has to transform itself into something (Lavoisier) ,in this case it's heat .

bit lazy to check but i believe i got my confirmation from notebook check's tests ,you might wanna check it out .

 

[joshwithachance]

The M2 in a fan-less chassis can't even reach the full (sustained) potential of the 8-core GPU without throttling. And you'll also get better battery life from the 8-core. Seems like the better option to me...

 

[Philthy84]

Just watched this thought it might be useful.

 

[thorlindberg]

it's not this logic

binning doesn't necessarily cut the power that those 2 cores require. so ,in the case of the mbp 14 iirc, both the 8c and 10c have the same power consumption and heat .

you don't get the extra performance because the cores have been killed thus rendering them ineffective . yet the power still feeds these cores . and energy has to transform itself into something (Lavoisier) ,in this case it's heat .

bit lazy to check but i believe i got my confirmation from notebook check's tests ,you might wanna check it out .

I don't know if this is true for other graphics processors, but it is not true for the M2. Luke Miani compared the 8-core and 10-core, and found that the 8-core pulls 10W where as the 10-core pulls 14W, which is 2W extra per extra core.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I don't know if this is true for other graphics processors, but it is not true for the M2. Luke Miani compared the 8-core and 10-core, and found that the 8-core pulls 10W where as the 10-core pulls 14W, which is 2W extra per extra core.

intersting thank you

 

[mxrider88]

That's ridiculous. How do you know that the 10 core GPU won't perform better? Based on what test? Will the 10 core scale linearly up from the 8 core? No one knows yet but it isn't going to be worse than a binned version of the same SoC. The SSD thing is unfortunate but a completely different issue probably related to the current supply chain issues in the industry.

Go to 9:27 and listen. That’s exactly what I meant.
Ridiculous for you but physics and reality don’t care about it.

 

[calstanford]

I don't know if this is true for other graphics processors, but it is not true for the M2. Luke Miani compared the 8-core and 10-core, and found that the 8-core pulls 10W where as the 10-core pulls 14W, which is 2W extra per extra core.

it's true for all processors. The more transistors (on the same chip/architecture) have to light up the more power you need.

 

[TheBeev]

I picked the 10 core GPU because I occasionally play WoW classic. It ran fine on my iMac with the 8 core but I figured two more can’t hurt. If I was going to play games I would have chosen the 8 core

How are you finding the 10-core with WoW Classic? Does it run better than your 8-core iMac? Any noticeable thottling over time?

 

[thorlindberg]

it's true for all processors. The more transistors (on the same chip/architecture) have to light up the more power you need.

Yes, but the question was whether binned transistors need to "light up" since they're unusable by the system. I'd assume they're completely disabled due to their inefficiencies

 

[russell_314]

How are you finding the 10-core with WoW Classic? Does it run better than your 8-core iMac? Any noticeable thottling over time?

I just got it in today and unfortunately I have to go to work so I left it to do photo indexing. I will test this when I get off work.


I had it open really quick and it was doing 60 FPS just like I expected but of course that doesn’t test long-term. I plan to play for about an hour or so and that should tell if it has any issues. Keep in mind I’m talking about WoW classic so that’s a lot less graphic intensive than I guess what you call retail WoW. I just want to be clear because I would feel bad if someone bought this thinking I said it could play certain game and it was terrible at it.

I will update this in about 10 hours I guess.

 

[Scott-n-Houston]

Saw a lot of orders on 10 cores before the release.. 🫣 remembered the % was 30-50, in favour of 10 cores. did not age well

Too early to tell from just a few videos looking for clicks.
Also, even if there is truth to it, it can likely be fixed with a software update. I don't think those with 10's are sweating it too much.

 

[Gelam]

Loading a web page is more of a function of having enough memory to prevent hitting the Swap. In case of hitting Swap, yes, you will notice a slow down.

As per "laggier" on PDFs and the OS in general, it depends. If you day to day usage is to move files under 50MB, you literally won't notice the difference as what matters mostly is random 4K @ QD1 speeds. Those are fast enough for all day to day tasks. Heck the OS has more files that are basically sub 50MB in size.

As per PDFs, if its big you might see 1 to 2 seconds extra time to copy/paste. At highest sequential speeds the SSD does 1.4GB/s

Thank you for your input! I feel better with going with 24gb of ram to be confident of not hitting the swap.

 

[Gelam]

It's silly to spend more money to get 10 instead of 8 GPU cores for a laptop that is clearly very heavily temperature limited.

Thats what we are trying to find out for certain =)

Saw a lot of orders on 10 cores before the release.. 🫣 remembered the % was 30-50, in favour of 10 cores. did not age well

Yes it is very interesting, the tides in the poles have changed significantly and now its almost a tie between 8 and 10 cores.

Just watched this thought it might be useful.

Thank you very much for this video! It is very interesting the 10 core perform worse than the 8 core after gaming for a while in this test. Would await for further test samples to feel which one to return!

I just got it in today and unfortunately I have to go to work so I left it to do photo indexing. I will test this when I get off work.


I had it open really quick and it was doing 60 FPS just like I expected but of course that doesn’t test long-term. I plan to play for about an hour or so and that should tell if it has any issues. Keep in mind I’m talking about WoW classic so that’s a lot less graphic intensive than I guess what you call retail WoW. I just want to be clear because I would feel bad if someone bought this thinking I said it could play certain game and it was terrible at it.

I will update this in about 10 hours I guess.

When you game do you blow it with a desk fan or put a laptop cooling fan pad under the MacBook Air?

Too early to tell from just a few videos looking for clicks.
Also, even if there is truth to it, it can likely be fixed with a software update. I don't think those with 10's are sweating it too much.

That is what I am interested in as well!

--------------

It looks like there are many interesting information being posted now that the machines are arriving to reviewers. Please keep them coming! I will tag the notebookcheck review when it come out. They should have both gaming and battery life testing for the 8 and 10 gpu cores versions. Also there are more variables than anticipated raised by some here:
- rosetta
- driver update
- binned chips sipping power? (Do the disabled GPU cores receive full power like other "activated cores" or only sip small amount during and not during load?)
- thermal pad mod
- desk fan/laptop cooling pad
- ambient temperature?
- M2 MBA CPU and GPU mother board is inverted, meaning the chips and heat spreader are facing the keyboard?

All these things makes it harder to know for certain how the 8 and 10 core will perform!

 

[russell_314]

Thats what we are trying to find out for certain =)


Yes it is very interesting, the tides in the poles have changed significantly and now its almost a tie between 8 and 10 cores.


Thank you very much for this video! It is very interesting the 10 core perform worse than the 8 core after gaming for a while in this test. Would await for further test samples to feel which one to return!


When you game do you blow it with a desk fan or put a laptop cooling fan pad under the MacBook Air?


That is what I am interested in as well!

--------------

It looks like there are many interesting information being posted now that the machines are arriving to reviewers. Please keep them coming! I will tag the notebookcheck review when it come out. They should have both gaming and battery life testing for the 8 and 10 gpu cores versions. Also there are more variables than anticipated raised by some here:
- rosetta
- driver update
- binned chips sipping power? (Do the disabled GPU cores receive full power like other "activated cores" or only sip small amount during and not during load?)
- thermal pad mod
- desk fan/laptop cooling pad
- ambient temperature?
- M2 MBA CPU and GPU mother board is inverted, meaning the chips and heat spreader are facing the keyboard?

All these things makes it harder to know for certain how the 8 and 10 core will perform!

I haven’t really tested it yet. When I get off work I will. For my light gaming I don’t suspect any fans will be necessary but I’ll find out.

I wouldn’t buy an Air with the intention of doing some type of mod. That’s killing your warranty on a new laptop. If the Air isn’t good for your needs consider the 13” or even 14” Pro. The base 14” can be found at a discount sometimes. It’s going to be significantly more powerful.

 

[thorlindberg]

Too early to tell from just a few videos looking for clicks.
Also, even if there is truth to it, it can likely be fixed with a software update. I don't think those with 10's are sweating it too much.

You're not going to sustain those 10 cores. They draw 13-14 watt, which is twice as much as my M1 7-core GPU, which isn't even sustainable. There's a tangible benefit to having 10 cores in short tasks, but you're not buying GPU cores so you can use them for 5 minutes.

 

[Gelam]

I haven’t really tested it yet. When I get off work I will. For my light gaming I don’t suspect any fans will be necessary but I’ll find out.

I wouldn’t buy an Air with the intention of doing some type of mod. That’s killing your warranty on a new laptop. If the Air isn’t good for your needs consider the 13” or even 14” Pro. The base 14” can be found at a discount sometimes. It’s going to be significantly more powerful.

Interested in seeing your results!

I agree I do not want to mod the laptop. However just posting the information here. Also I have a gaming laptop as well so I want the air for maximum lightness. The 8 vs 10 core gpu debate is solely for the times where I don't bring my gaming laptop with me.

 

[Gelam]

You're not going to sustain those 10 cores. They draw 13-14 watt, which is twice as much as my M1 7-core GPU, which isn't even sustainable. There's a tangible benefit to having 10 cores in short tasks, but you're not buying GPU cores so you can use them for 5 minutes.

How much does your 7 core M1 GPU draw?

 

[TheBeev]

I just got it in today and unfortunately I have to go to work so I left it to do photo indexing. I will test this when I get off work.


I had it open really quick and it was doing 60 FPS just like I expected but of course that doesn’t test long-term. I plan to play for about an hour or so and that should tell if it has any issues. Keep in mind I’m talking about WoW classic so that’s a lot less graphic intensive than I guess what you call retail WoW. I just want to be clear because I would feel bad if someone bought this thinking I said it could play certain game and it was terrible at it.

I will update this in about 10 hours I guess.

Excellent, I look forward to seeing your results. My wife and I only play WoW Classic, so as long as it runs that well for a few hours at a time without throttling, we'll be happy.

 

[russell_314]

Excellent, I look forward to seeing your results. My wife and I only play WoW Classic, so as long as it runs that well for a few hours at a time without throttling, we'll be happy.

Okay I played for 30 min on the classic graphics settings 3 but I had view distance maxed out and nothing... 60 FPS and the bottom was cool. The FPS bounced between 58-60 but I don't think it was because of a GPU limitation. It was like hitting a cap. It did the same with my iMac. The only way I know the FPS was I had the counter turned on. Otherwise it looked great so it wasn't an issue. I turned it up to 10 on the graphics and played that for 25 minutes roaming around. Also 60 FPS. That made the bottom of Air get warm but not hot. Server shutdown happened and I need some sleep. I would like to play for at least two hours on graphics set to 10 before I can say for sure.

First impressions were small screen... It's different than playing on my 24" iMac or my gaming PC also with a 24" monitor. I guess it takes getting used to. I played WoW back in the day on an Intel 13" MacBook Pro in window mode... Maybe my eyesight was better back then 🤣

 

[richard13]

Okay I played for 30 min on the classic graphics settings 3 but I had view distance maxed out and nothing... 60 FPS and the bottom was cool. The FPS bounced between 58-60 but I don't think it was because of a GPU limitation. It was like hitting a cap. It did the same with my iMac. The only way I know the FPS was I had the counter turned on. Otherwise it looked great so it wasn't an issue. I turned it up to 10 on the graphics and played that for 25 minutes roaming around. Also 60 FPS. That made the bottom of Air get warm but not hot. Server shutdown happened and I need some sleep. I would like to play for at least two hours on graphics set to 10 before I can say for sure.

First impressions were small screen... It's different than playing on my 24" iMac or my gaming PC also with a 24" monitor. I guess it takes getting used to. I played WoW back in the day on an Intel 13" MacBook Pro in window mode... Maybe my eyesight was better back then 🤣

I haven't played WoW in a few years. I'm guessing Classic Wow is what they used to call "Vanilla"? Either way, I remember at the time there was a setting for capping the FPS so maybe you have this turned on? I believe it is set by default.

 

[TheBeev]

Okay I played for 30 min on the classic graphics settings 3 but I had view distance maxed out and nothing... 60 FPS and the bottom was cool. The FPS bounced between 58-60 but I don't think it was because of a GPU limitation. It was like hitting a cap. It did the same with my iMac. The only way I know the FPS was I had the counter turned on. Otherwise it looked great so it wasn't an issue. I turned it up to 10 on the graphics and played that for 25 minutes roaming around. Also 60 FPS. That made the bottom of Air get warm but not hot. Server shutdown happened and I need some sleep. I would like to play for at least two hours on graphics set to 10 before I can say for sure.

First impressions were small screen... It's different than playing on my 24" iMac or my gaming PC also with a 24" monitor. I guess it takes getting used to. I played WoW back in the day on an Intel 13" MacBook Pro in window mode... Maybe my eyesight was better back then 🤣

Thanks for reporting back! That certainly does sound positive. Did you have the resolution set to the native (2560x1664) or is it running at a reduced resolution?

Let me know how you get on with 2 hours at graphics set to 10.